[00:00:02]
THIS IS VICE CHAIR ROBIN HARVEY PRESIDING ON BEHALF OF CHAIR JANE LICHTER.
I NOW CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF BALTIMORE COUNTY FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 28TH, 2025.
[B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE/SILENT MEDITATION (6:30 p.m.)]
YOU ALL TO RECITE THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG TO BE LED BY SCOUT TROOP 86 34 OUT OF TRINITY LUTHERAN IN BALTIMORE.COUNT IN REISTERSTOWN, BALTIMORE COUNTY.
WE WILL THEN HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE AND RECOGNITION OF THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED EDUCATION IN BALTIMORE COUNTY.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
TONIGHT'S BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING IS BEING BROADCAST THROUGH THE BCPS ONLINE LIVE MEETING BROADCAST AND ON BCPS TV, COMCAST, XFINITY, CHANNEL 7 73 AND VERIZON FIOS, CHANNEL 34.
IN ORDER TO EFFICIENTLY CONDUCT THIS MEETING, ALL VOTING ITEMS THIS EVENING WILL BE DONE BY A ROLL CALL VOTE.
[C. AGENDA (6:35 p.m.)]
THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE CONSIDERATION OF THE JANUARY 28TH AGENDA.DR. ROGERS, ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO TONIGHT'S AGENDA? I'M UNAWARE OF ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THIS EVENING'S AGENDA.
THE AGENDA STANDS AS PRESENTED EARLIER THIS EVENING.
THE BOARD MET IN CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS TO DISCUSS THE APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT ASSIGNMENT, PROMOTION, DISCIPLINE, DEMOTION, COMPENSATION, REMOVAL, RESIGNATION OR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF APPOINTEES, EMPLOYEES OR OFFICIALS OVER WHOM IT HAS JURISDICTION OR ANY OTHER PERSONNEL MATTER THAT AFFECTS ONE OR MORE INDIVIDUALS, AND TO CONSULT WITH COUNSEL TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE.
THE CLOSED SESSION SUMMARY AND THE OPEN SESSION INFORMATION SUMMARY CAN BE FOUND ON BOARD DOCS UNDER THIS BOARD MEETING AGENDA DATE.
[D. NEW BUSINESS - PERSONNEL MATTERS (Mr. McCall) (6:45 - 6:50 p.m.)]
ON THE AGENDA IS PERSONNEL MATTERS, AND FOR THAT I CALL ON MR. MCCALL.GOOD EVENING, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, SUPERINTENDENT DR. ROGERS.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, LIKE THE BOARD'S CONSENT FOR THE FOLLOWING PERSONNEL MATTERS.
WE HAVE RETIREMENTS, RESIGNATIONS, AND CERTIFICATE APPOINTMENTS.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL MATTERS AS PRESENTED IN EXHIBITS D ONE THROUGH D THREE? SO MOVES LESKI.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND HUMPHREY.
ANY DISCUSSION? MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL? VOTE PLEASE.
I'VE LOST MY, THE, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA
[E. NEW BUSINESS - ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS (Dr. Rogers) (6:50 - 7:00 p.m.)]
IS ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS, AND FOR THAT I CALL ON DR. ROGERS.THANK YOU, MADAM VICE CHAIR HARVEY, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M PLEASED TO PRESENT THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS FOR YOUR APPROVAL THIS EVENING.
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, HEREFORD HIGH SCHOOL ASSISTANT MANAGER, TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT, OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, OPERATIONS, SENIOR OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR, DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES, SENIOR SUPERVISOR CONSTRUCTION, OFFICE OF FACILITIES, CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT, AND SENIOR SUPERVISOR PLANNING, OFFICE OF FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL MATTERS AS PRESENTED IN EXHIBIT E ONE? SO MOVED ONG.
ANY DISCUSSION? MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL? VOTE PLEASE.
[00:05:01]
MS. UH, CHIKE KALU? YES.OUR FIRST APPOINTMENT THIS EVENING AND PLEASE STAND TO BE RECOGNIZED IS JULIAN COVER.
JULIAN IS ATTENDING AND IS BEING APPOINTED AS THE SENIOR OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND NUTRITION WITH 22 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
JULIAN'S PRIOR EXPERIENCES INCLUDE GENERAL MANAGER AT SPARROW INCORPORATED, CAMEL CENTER, MULTI-UNIT GENERAL MANAGER AND DISTRICT SAFETY LEADER AT NYU, DINING DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, DINING RESIDENT DISTRICT MANAGER AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY DINING AND FSE TRAINING GENERAL MANAGER AT WAWA INCORPORATED.
CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO BCPS.
OUR NEXT APPOINTMENT IS DEBORA FINI, PLEASE STAND.
DEBORA IS ATTENDING WITH HER HUSBAND, SCOTT MINTY.
PLEASE STAND OR WAVE
PRIOR EXPERIENCES INCLUDE PC TECHNICIAN AND IT SUPPORT TECHNICIAN IN THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT SERVICES AND LEAD IT TECHNICIAN ON SITE SUPPORT IN THE OFF OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS.
PRIOR TO THAT, UH, EXPERIENCES INCLUDE IT SPECIALISTS, TRANSLATOR AT GNM AND ASSOCIATES AND HELP DESK TECHNICIAN, TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT TECHNICIAN, AND PUBLIC TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT WITH THE BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY.
OUR NEXT APPOINTMENT THIS EVENING IS TIMOTHY GORDON.
TIMOTHY IS ATTENDING WITH PRINCIPAL ROBERT, UH, VERRE AT HEREFORD HIGH SCHOOL.
WE WANNA RECOGNIZE YOU AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK.
TIMOTHY IS BEING APPOINTED AS THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AT HEREFORD HIGH SCHOOL WITH 18 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
PRIOR EXPERIENCES INCLUDE SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER, RESIDENT PRINCIPAL, AND PRINCIPAL WITH BALTIMORE CITY SCHOOLS AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF GRANTS ADMINISTRATION AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO BCPS.
OUR NEXT APPOINTMENT IS GEORGE KNOTS.
GEORGE IS ATTENDING WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND EMILY BROWN, AND GEORGE IS BEING ATTENDED AS THE SENIOR SUPERVISOR PLANNING IN THE OFFICE OF FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVE WITH A YEAR OF EXPERIENCE WITH BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
GEORGE'S PRIOR EXPERIENCES INCLUDE SENIOR PROJECT ENGINEER IN THE OFFICE OF FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT.
PRIOR TO THAT, GEORGE SERVED AS ELECTRIC DESIGN ENGINEER AT HENRY ADAMS, LLC MANAGER AT BALTIMORE GAS AND ELECTRIC, AND SENIOR MANAGER AT SERGEANT AND LUNDY.
OUR FINAL APPOINTMENT THIS EVENING IS JIM KIRO GLUE.
JIM IS ATTENDING WITH HIS WIFE JOANNE, AND IS BEING APPOINTED AS THE SENIOR SUPERVISOR CONSTRUCTION IN THE OFFICE OF FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT WITH A YEAR OF EXPERIENCE WITH BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
JIM'S, UH, BCPS EXPERIENCE INCLUDES SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER IN THE, THE OFFICE OF FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT.
PRIOR TO THAT, JIM SERVED AS AN INTERN ARCHITECT AT RICHARD NIK, PC PROJECT MANAGER AT THOMAS ASSOCIATES, PROJECT ARCHITECT AT BURTON BUR AND SMITH PROJECT MANAGER AT TURNER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY AND AVIATION CONSTRUCTORS, ONSITE CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISOR, SENIOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER, AND A SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER AT, UH, JAY COCUS CONTRACTING, HSU BUILDERS AND HESS CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING SERVICES.
I THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS, AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO IS APPOINTED TODAY.
CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR BCPS STUDENTS AND FAMILIES.
[F. PUBLIC COMMENT (7:00 - 7:40 p.m.)]
ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMENT.THIS IS ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THE BOARD PROVIDES TO HEAR THE VIEWS AND RECEIVE THE ADVICE OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
I, IF NOT SELECTED TO ADDRESS THE BOARD, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY SUBMIT THEIR COMMENTS TO THE BOARD MEMBERS VIA EMAIL@BOEATBCPS.ORG.
[00:10:03]
THE BALTIMORE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT'S HOMELAND SECURITY UNIT AND OFFICE OF SCHOOLS SAFETY HAS RECOMMENDED SAFETY AND SECURITY PROTOCOL PROTOCOLS, WHICH ARE POSTED IN THE BOARDROOM AND AVAILABLE IN BOARD DOCS AND ON THE BOARD'S PARTICIPATION BY THE PUBLIC WEBSITE.WHILE WE ENCOURAGE PUBLIC INPUT ON POLICY PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THIS BOARD AND THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM, THIS IS NOT THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, OR THE PROPER FORM TO ADDRESS SPECIFIC STUDENTS OR EMPLOYEE MATTERS OR TO COMMENT ON MATTERS THAT DO NOT RELATE TO THE PUBLIC ED TO PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BALTIMORE COUNTY.
INAPPROPRIATE PERSONAL REMARKS OR OTHER BEHAVIOR SUCH AS LANGUAGE THAT PROMOTES VIOLENCE AGAINST A-B-C-P-S EMPLOYEE OR THAT DISRUPTS OR INTERFERES WITH THE CONDUCT OF THIS MEETING ARE OUT OF ORDER AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
PERSONS WHO OTHERWISE DISRUPT OR DISTURB THIS MEETING WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE THEIR REMARKS AND WILL BE ESCORTED FROM THE MEETING.
PLEASE OBSERVE THE THREE MINUTE CLOCK, WHICH WE WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN, WHICH WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR TIME IS UP.
THE MICROPHONE WILL BE TURNED OFF AT THE END OF YOUR TIME OR PRIOR TO THAT TIME AT THE DISCRETION OF THE BOARD CHAIR.
OUR FIRST CATEGORY IS SCHOOL SYSTEM AFFILIATED, AND OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS MEGAN STEWART SICKING, VICE CHAIR HARVEY.
DR. ROGERS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THE BCPS SYSTEM FOR 15 YEARS, AND FOR SIX OF THOSE YEARS I WAS CHAIR OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
I HAVE SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS AT THESE BOARD MEETINGS, AND I'M RETURNING TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING WE'VE ALL PROBABLY HEARD HUNDREDS OF TIMES THE IMPORTANCE OF FULLY FUNDING SPECIAL EDUCATION IN OUR BUDGET.
OF COURSE, YOU ARE USED TO EVERYONE ASKING FOR FUNDING AND EVERYONE EXPLAINING WHY THEIR AREA IS IMPORTANT AND DESERVING.
THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPETING GOODS FOR YOU TO WEIGH, BUT AS WE, AS WE KNOW AS WELL, SPECIAL EDUCATION LITERALLY TOUCHES EVERY AREA OF THIS SYSTEM'S LIFE.
GEN ED TEACHERS, RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, SOCIAL WORKERS, ADMINISTRATORS, CLIMATE, TRANSPORTATION, LEGAL AND SO ON.
SPECIAL EDUCATION ALSO TOUCHES EVERY AREA OF PROGRESS, REPORTING, COMMUNITY SATISFACTION, AND ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
YOU CANNOT SHORT CHANGE SPECIAL EDUCATION WITHOUT SHORT-CHANGING EVERY STUDENT, EVERY TEACHER, AND EVERY ASPECT OF OUR SYSTEM, EVERY PERSON AND EVERY RESOURCE IS STRETCHED TOO THIN AND THE FABRIC OF OUR SERVICES IS THREAT BEAR.
THE GROWING HOLES CANNOT BE COVERED.
RECENT PRIORITIZATION OF CERTAIN SPECIAL EDUCATION GOALS HAS SUPPORTED FORWARD PROGRESS.
THE ADDITION OF IEP FACILITATORS LAST YEAR WAS A LONG TIME RECOMMENDATION OF CCAC, AND THE SUPERINTENDENT SHOWED HER COMMITMENT TO SPECIAL ED THROUGH THIS IMMEDIATE FUNDING AND HER FIRST BUDGET.
ADDITIONALLY, FUNDING SPECIAL EDUCATORS ALIGNED TO FULL DAY PRE-K ALLOWED OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE CRITICAL EARLY SERVICES WITHIN THEIR HOMESCHOOL.
STILL, CRU CRUCIAL ARE THE FOLLOWING NEEDS, FUNDING FOR INCREASED POSITIONS FOR TEACHERS, PARAS, AAS TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE SERVICE DELIVERY FOR OUR STUDENTS, FUNDING FOR SPECIAL EDUCATORS AS WE CONTINUE TO EXPAND FULL DAY PRE-K FUNDING FOR RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR NECESSARY PT, OT, AND SPEECH FOR OUR STUDENTS.
FUNDING FOR NON-PUBLIC PLACEMENTS TO ENSURE SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WHOSE NEEDS ARE COMPLEX AND OUR BEST MET BEYOND THE BCPS SCHOOLHOUSE SETTING.
WE UNDERSTAND WITH PROPOSED BUDGET CHANGES AT THE STATE LEVEL, FUNDING WILL BE TIGHT.
HOWEVER, AT THIS POINT, IT IS A MORAL IMPERATIVE AS WELL AS A PRACTICAL NECESSITY TO FULLY FUND SPECIAL EDUCATION AND ENSURE ADEQUATE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES RECEIVING SPECIAL ED SERVICES.
THE SUCCESS OF THE WHOLE SYSTEM DEPENDS ON IT.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LESLIE WEBER.
[00:15:01]
MS. WEBER, I I'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT SPEAKER AND WE'LL COME BACK TO MS. WEBER AND WE CAN GET HER SOUND ON.OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS NICHOLAS RICHARDSON.
DR. ROGERS MADAM VICE CHAIR BOARD.
I AM ALONG WITH ANTHONY FREEMAN, TWO OF THE MEMBERS OF OUR CURRENT CCAC, UH, SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD COUNCIL.
UH, WE ARE HERE TO ONCE AGAIN MENTION HOW IMPORTANT SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING IS INSIDE OF THE COUNTY.
UH, AS IT WAS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, WE KNOW THAT THE BUDGET IS TIGHT.
WE HAVE COM COMPETING PRIORITIES.
WE ALREADY ARE AWARE OF ALL OF THE STRAINS THAT NOT ONLY COUNTY THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT IS UNDER, BUT OUR STATE GOVERNMENT NOW IS, IS UNDER AS WELL.
BUT WITH THAT STATE GOVERNMENT BEING STRETCH TIGHT AND FAMILIES NOT BEING ABLE TO RECEIVE CERTAIN SERVICES THAT THEY WERE ACCUSTOMED TO RECEIVING IN THE PAST DUE TO, UH, BUDGET CUTS, HAVING SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDED INSIDE OF OUR BUB BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS IMPERATIVE.
UH, WE ARE BOTH ARE PARENTS OF CHILDREN THAT HAVE SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS.
HOWEVER, WE'RE HERE TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ALL CHILDREN BECAUSE OUR CHILDREN AREN'T THE ONLY CHILDREN THAT ARE SUFFERING DUE TO LACK OF FUNDING.
WHERE DOES THIS FUNDING GO? UH, THIS FUNDING GOES TOWARDS NOT ONLY THE TRAINING OF INDIVIDUALS INSIDE OF THE CLASSROOMS, NOT ONLY YOUR PARAEDUCATORS, BUT, AND YOUR GENERAL EDUCATORS, BUT THIS TRAINING ALSO AND FUNDING FOR TRAINING FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR SPECIALS, YOUR GYM TEACHERS, YOUR ART TEACHERS WHO ALSO HAVE TO DEAL WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE ON, UH, IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION REALM.
THAT TRAINING NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS AS WELL, AND FUNDING NEEDS TO GO TO SUPPORT THAT THOSE, THE TRAINING OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS, SERVICES AND INFORMATION, INFORMATION SERVICES AND SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES INSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM.
IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT AND SPEND A DAY OR SO WITH A CHILD INSIDE A SPECIAL EDUCATION, PLEASE DO THAT BECAUSE YOU WILL THEN SEE HOW, HOW THE MONEY THAT IS SPENT IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION AREA.
IT'S SO VITAL TO THESE CHILDREN, NOT ONLY, UH, TODAY, BUT MOVING FORWARD.
WHAT THIS FUNDING COULD POSSIBLY DO IS CREATE A SYSTEM FOR DATA TRACKING, WHICH PARENTS HAVE SAID AND SHOWN IS A NECESSITY INSIDE OF DEVELOPING GOALS TOWARDS IEPS.
PARENTS ARE UNAWARE OF HOW THEIR CHILD IS BEING MOVED FORWARD TOWARDS THOSE GOALS.
SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF JUST THE OBSERVATION COULD DEFINITELY BE USED FOR THE FUNDING INSIDE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR THE BALTIMORE COUNTY, UH, SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO I, I'LL, I'LL YIELD THE REMAINDER OF MY TIME BACK TO THE BOARD.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS MS. LESLIE WEBER.
MS. WEBER, I THINK WE'RE STILL HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH THE SOUND VIRTUALLY.
I'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT GROUP AND IF WE CAN GET MS. WEBER BACK, WE WILL.
UH, OUR NEXT CATEGORY IS OUT OF OUR UNIONS, AND OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LLOYD ALLEN.
DR. ROGERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TONIGHT.
I'M LLOYD ALLEN, MEMBER OF TAB CO'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS, BRINGING REMARKS ON BEHALF OF TABCO PRESIDENT CINDY SEXTON.
DR. ROGERS, WE KNOW THE BUDGET WAS A STRUGGLE AND WE THANK YOU FOR HONORING THE AGREEMENTS AROUND COMPENSATION.
OF COURSE, WE LOOK TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND THE COUNTY COUNCIL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BUDGET BOARD MEMBERS.
WE FACE A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY ON MANY LEVELS.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN ANNAPOLIS WITH OUR LEGISLATORS AROUND THE BLUEPRINT AND THE STATE BUDGET.
TABCO IS PLANNING TO TAKE A BUSLOAD OF MEMBERS TO SPEAK WITH LEGISLATORS ON FEBRUARY 24TH.
WE KNOW THEY NEED TO HEAR FROM ALL OF US.
[00:20:01]
DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL COME DOWN FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL ON MANY DIFFERENT FRONTS.WE ARE LIKELY TO FACE MANY MORE CHALLENGES IN THE UPCOMING DAYS, WEEKS, AND MONTHS.
WE WILL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER THROUGH THESE CHALLENGES.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WHAT WE DO KNOW AND WHAT I'M ASKING YOU TO FOCUS ON TONIGHT AS YOU HAVE YOUR WORK SESSION ON THIS BUDGET IS A LASER FOCUS ON WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR STUDENTS.
EACH DOLLAR MUST BE SPENT SO THAT IT HELPS OUR STUDENTS.
WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE GAINS ACADEMICALLY AND WE NEED TO CONTINUE AND TO INCREASE THEM.
OF COURSE, WHAT THAT WILL TAKE ARE THE EDUCATORS IN THE CLASSROOMS, THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND, THE SUPPORT AND HUMAN RESOURCES OUR STUDENTS NEED.
PLEASE ASK YOURSELVES IS EACH DOLLAR IS EACH POSITION IN THIS BUDGET, ONE THAT IS EITHER WORKING WITH OR FOR OUR STUDENTS TO HELP THEM? AND WHILE WE FOCUS ON THE ACADEMIC OUTCOMES, WE KNOW OUR STUDENTS NEED MUCH MORE, ARE THE POSITIONS WE HAVE ADEQUATE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS? PLEASE FOCUS ON THIS AS YOU WORK THROUGH THIS BUDGET.
WE KNOW THAT WE NEED THE BUSINESS SIDE TO BE STAFFED AS WELL, AND WE'RE NOT NEGATING THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT.
BUT WE ARE ASKING THAT YOU LOOK AT EVERY POSITION AND IF THAT PERSON IS BEING USED FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF OUR STUDENTS AND OR OUR EDUCATORS, WE KNOW THAT MOST OF OUR CONDITIONALLY CERTIFIED EDUCATORS CAN BECOME GREAT LICENSED EDUCATORS IF THEY HAVE THE SUPPORT THEY NEED.
PLEASE BE SURE WE KEEP THESE SUPPORTS IN PLACE.
WE CANNOT OVERSTATE HOW MUCH OUR STUDENTS NEED THEM AND OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM NEEDS THEM.
WE ARE FACING UNCERTAINTY ON SO MANY LEVELS.
OUR STUDENTS ARE LOOKING TO US NOT ONLY FOR THEIR ACADEMIC INSTRUCTION, BUT PERHAPS MORE IMPORTANTLY REASSURANCES.
AS ALWAYS, TABCO STANDS AT THE READY TO DO THE WORK TOGETHER WITH YOU.
MS. WEBER TEAMS. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, WE CAN.
I'M LESLIE WEBER, PRESIDENT OF THE PTA COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE COUNTY.
PTA COUNCIL RECOGNIZES THE CHALLENGING FISCAL LANDSCAPE.
LANDSCAPE FACING OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM DUE TO STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING DECREASES INTO THE INCREASING NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES.
WE'RE PLEASED THAT THE BUDGET HAS BEEN CLOSELY ANALYZED TO REVEAL COST SAVINGS AND THAT NO STAFF LAYOFFS ARE PLANNED.
I'D LIKE TO OFFER SOME COMMENTS ON SOME IMPORTANT PROPOSED INVESTMENTS OFFERING COMPENSATION ENHANCEMENTS FOR ALL BCPS STAFF.
BCPS NEEDS TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN TOP QUALITY STAFF AND STAFF MEMBERS NEED TO FEEL SUPPORTED AND NOT STRESSED AND OVERWORKED.
MAINTAINING REDUCED CLASS SIZES IN GRADES THREE THROUGH FIVE.
WE'RE HAPPY THAT THE PROPOSED BUDGET AIMS TO PRESERVE CURRENT CLASS STAFFING ALLOCATIONS BECAUSE LEARNING AND RELATIONSHIPS IMPROVE IN SMALLER CLASSROOMS, EXPANDING SPECIAL ED, SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFFING, AND INCREASING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS RESOURCES.
INVESTMENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION ARE CRITICAL AS OUR INVESTMENTS IN MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS RESOURCES.
DUE TO THE RAPIDLY CHANGING MAKEUP OF OUR COMMUNITY AND SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE INCREASING NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS ENHANCING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, WE FEEL THAT ENHANCED CTE PROGRAMS WILL IMPROVE, IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES, PREPARING STUDENTS FOR COLLEGE AND CAREERS, EXPANDING FULL DAY PRE-K CLASSES.
PRE-K ACCESS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT IT HELPS ENSURE THAT ALL CHILDREN ARE READY TO LEARN AND FIND SUCCESS IN KINDERGARTEN AND BEYOND.
I'D LIKE TO ADD SOME COMMENTS REGARDING CURRENT EVENTS POTENTIALLY AFFECTING UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN BCPS IN A RECENT STATEMENT, FREE STATE PTA REAFFIRMED ITS UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO THE WELLBEING AND RIGHTS OF EVERY CHILD IN MARYLAND AND BEYOND.
FREE STATE, PTA DOES NOT SUPPORT ANY ACTION, THE RESULTS IN THE SEPARATION OF CHILDREN FROM THEIR FAMILIES.
SUCH MEASURES RUN COUNTER TO OUR MISSION TO MAKE EVERY CHILD'S POTENTIAL A REALITY BY ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES TO ADVOCATE, ADVOCATE FOR ALL CHILDREN.
FREE STATE PTA STANDS UNITED IN THE BELIEF THAT SEPARATION IS NOT ONLY HARMFUL TO CHILDREN'S EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL WELLBEING, BUT ALSO VIOLATES THEIR BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS.
FREE STATE PTA WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE TIRELESSLY FOR POLICY THAT THAT PROTECT AND UPLIFT EVERY CHILD REGARDLESS OF THEIR BACKGROUND OR CIRCUMSTANCES.
WE ENCOURAGE ALL MEMBERS TO JOIN US IN THIS EFFORT BY SPEAKING OUT, SUPPORTING IMPACTED FAMILIES, AND WORKING TO CREATE COMMUNITIES WHERE ALL CHILDREN CAN THRIVE.
I URGE EVERYONE TO READ TWO NATIONAL PTA POSITION
[00:25:01]
STATEMENTS.THE FIRST IS RIGHTS AND SERVICES FOR UNDOCUMENTED CHILDREN, AND THE SECOND IS SEPARATION OF UNDOCUMENTED CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT.
BOTH STATEMENTS, UM, BOTH POSITION STATEMENTS BEGIN WITH THIS STATEMENT THAT THE NATIONAL PTA BELIEVES THAT ALL CHILDREN RESIDING IN THE US REGARDLESS OF THEIR IMMIGRATION STATUS, HAVE THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO A QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION, ADEQUATE FOOD AND SHELTER AND BASIC HEALTHCARE SERVICES.
OUR NEXT CATEGORY IS NONPROFIT COMMUNITY GROUPS, AND OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS MARIETTA ENGLISH.
DID YOU WRITE YOUR COMMENTS BEFORE YOU GET HERE? VICE CHAIR HARVEY, SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I'M PLEASED TO BE HERE IN SUPPORT OF THE FY 26 OPERATING BUDGET.
MY NAME IS MARIETTA ENGLISH, CHAIR OF THE BALTIMORE COUNTY NAACP EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
I AM HERE TODAY ON BEHALF OF THE NAACP BALTIMORE COUNTY BRANCH TO SUPPORT DR. ROGERS FY 26 OPERATING BUDGET.
WE'RE ASKING THAT THIS SCHOOL BOARD FULLY FUND THIS BUDGET THAT PROVIDES NEEDED RESOURCES TO OUR 110 STUDENTS AND 20,000 STAFF MEMBERS.
WE SUPPORT THIS BUDGET THAT PROVIDES FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION EXPANSION, MY FIELD SPECIAL EDUCATION, MY SECOND FIELD ES O COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS AND CTE PROGRAMS. WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE RECENT BCPS ACADEMIC GAINS ON STATE ASSESSMENTS WHERE B BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAD MORE FIVE STAR RATED SCHOOLS THAN ANY OTHER LOCAL JURISDICTION IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE FUND OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AND KEEP THIS MOMENTUM GOING.
THIS IS NOT A TIME FOR US TO GO BACKWARDS.
WHILE THIS BUDGET HAS AN INCREASE, IT IS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN THE GROWTH OF OUR STUDENTS, OUR QUALITY TEACHERS, AND MAINTAIN OUR BUILDINGS.
THE NA HAS BEEN A LONG TIME PARTNER WITH BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PROVIDING ACADEMIC SUPPORT, MEMBERSHIP, MENTORINGSHIP MENTORSHIP, AND ADMINISTERING CREATIVE ARTS PROGRAMS THROUGH OUR HIGHLY EFFECTIVE ACADEMIC, CULTURAL, TECHNOLOGICAL SCIENTIFIC OLYMPICS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND YOUR PARTNERSHIP.
IN ORDER TO CONTINUE THESE RECENT ACADEMIC GAINS, WE MUST FULLY FUND THIS BUDGET.
UNDERSTANDING THAT EDUCATION IS THE KEY TO ALL OF OUR SUCCESS.
OUR CHILDREN DESERVE THE BEST THEY DESERVE THE RESOURCES THIS BUDGET PROVIDES THAT GIVES OUR CHILDREN THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOOL.
IN CLOSING, WE CONGRATULATE SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS AND THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR THE INCREDIBLE WORK YOU ARE DOING AND HOPE THAT THIS BUDGET IS SUPPORTED BY THE SCHOOL BOARD AND SENT TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THEIR DELIBERATION AND APPROVAL AS WELL.
THANK YOU, DR. ROGERS AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS, PLEASE FULLY FUND THIS BUDGET.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS VIRGINIA JONES.
SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS, THE, UM, BOARD MEMBERS FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING FOR OUR CHILDREN, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY.
I'M REPRESENTING THE WOODLANDS OF DEER PARK COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION IN RANDALLSTOWN.
I'M HERE IN STRONG SUPPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS BUDGETS THAT REFLECT THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMITMENT OF BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL CHILDREN AND PROVIDE THE NECESSARY RESOURCES TO BE SUCCESSFUL DURING CHALLENGING ECONOMICAL TIMES.
WE MUST FIND A WAY TO SUPPORT THIS BUDGET THAT FUND FULL DAY PRE-K,
[00:30:01]
WHICH IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM, FUNDS, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, LITERATURE AND MATH AND SPECIAL EDUCATION.THIS IS A TIME TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE FINALLY SEEING THE FRUIT OF OUR LABORS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DR. ROGERS AND THIS SCHOOL BOARD.
PLEASE FULLY FUND THIS BUDGET FOR OUR CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITY.
PLEASE SUPPORT THIS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT BUDGET.
THERE IS NO GREATER INVESTMENT WE CAN MAKE THAN IN OUR CHILDREN.
THIS BUDGET, ALTHOUGH VERY DIFFICULT IN A TIGHT BUDGET SEASON, IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND ENSURE THAT WE KEEP MOVING BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL FORWARD.
I THANK EACH OF YOU FOR YOUR TIME, YOUR SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LESLIE MARGOLIS.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS DONALD CAMPBELL.
MOVING ON, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LATONYA LAWING.
MR. CAMPBELL WILL CALL YOU IN A MOMENT.
BOARD VICE HARVEY, BOARD MEMBERS AND CHILDREN, FAMILY AND COMMUNITIES.
SO I'M GONNA SAY AS LYNN LONGS, THE PRESIDENT OF BALTIMORE COUNTY CHAPTER CONTINENTAL SOCIETY, WE ARE PROUD PARTNERS.
WE ARE 48 WOMEN STRONG THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
ACTUALLY, WE HAVE THE LARGEST CHAPTER THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, AND WE ARE EXCITED TO CONTINUE SUPPORT THE BALTIMORE COUNTY SCHOOLS.
I KNOW WE HAVE LITTLE, BUT WE PUT OUR MONEY TOGETHER AND WE TRY TO SUPPORT THE TEACHERS AND WE TRY TO SUPPORT THE CHILDREN IN EVERY AREA AS MUCH AS WE CAN FROM COAT DRIVES TO FOOD, TO ANYTHING THAT THE SCHOOLS CALL AND ASK US.
SO I AM ASKING, EVEN THOUGH OUR BUDGET IS NOT LIKE YOUR BUDGET 'CAUSE WE COME OUT OF OUR POCKETS, I AM ASKING THAT THIS BUDGET FOR DR. ROGERS FY WELL, ACTUALLY IT'S NOT FOR HER, IT'S FOR THE SCHOOL FY 26 OPERATING BUDGET THAT THE SCHOOL BOARD WILL WILL BE DELIVERING THIS EVENING.
SEND A MESSAGE THAT THE COMMUNITIES NEED THIS FUNDING.
THEY NEED THE FUNDING TO MOVE FORWARD TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
WE HAD EDUCATION, WE HAD SUPPORT.
SO WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO TO MOVE THIS BUDGET FORWARD, JUST THINK ABOUT IT.
WE JUST HAD FIVE SCHOOL, FIVE STAR RATING.
SO I SAY ON BEHALF OF THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETY, BALTIMORE COUNTY CHAPTER, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO OUR SMALL PORTION AND WE WANT YOU TO CONTINUE TO THINK ABOUT ALL THE SMILES, UH, OF THE KIDS COMING TO SCHOOL WITH COATS AND HAPPY.
JUST WE HAVE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE CHILDREN.
I LOOK AT MY SCHOOL PICTURE WHEN I WAS MANY YEARS AGO, AND I WAS EXCITED TO BE IN SCHOOL.
I WANT THE CHILDREN OF TODAY TO BE EXCITED TO COME TO SCHOOL AND HAVE THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED.
SO WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE ALL OF THAT IN CONSIDERATION AND THINK ABOUT THE SMILES OF THE CHILDREN THAT THEY'D BE ACCOUNTINGS ONE DAY.
THEY'D BE IN YOUR SHOES ONE DAY.
PLEASE GET THIS FUNDING PASSED.
OUR CHILDREN, OUR COMMITMENT, OUR CONCERN ON BEHALF OF BALTIMORE COUNTY CONTINENTAL SOCIETY.
OUR OUR NEXT SPEAKER WILL BE DONALD CAMPBELL.
MR. CAMPBELL, GEEZ, WHAT'S GOING ON MR. CAMPBELL? WE
[00:35:01]
CAN HEAR YOU.SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS, CHAIR LIGHTNER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY AND THE BOARD MEMBERS.
I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHADWICK HOMEOWNERS IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION AND ALSO THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE GREATER FAIRBROOK COMMUNITY COALITION.
WE ACCOMPLISHED ABOUT 1500 HOMES IN OUR COALITION UNDER ABOUT SIX, UM, HOAS.
I'M HERE THIS EVENING IN STRONG SUPPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, DR.
AS A COMMUNITY LEADER, THIS BUDGET WILL ENSURE THAT OUR CHILDREN, OUR GRANDCHILDREN, AND OUR COMMUNITY WILL RECEIVE THE NECESSARY RESOURCES AND SUPPORT.
IT NEEDS TO ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS RECEIVE A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION REGARDLESS OF THEIR ZIP CODE OR THEIR STATION IN LIFE.
DURING THESE VERY CHALLENGING ECONOMIC TIMES, WE MUST FIND A WAY TO UNITE AND SUPPORT THIS BUDGET THAT FUNDS COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FULL DAY PRE-K MATH, SCIENCE, READING, AND FUNDS OUR CRITICALLY IMPORTANT SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. THIS IS NOT A TIME TO STALL, PAUSE OR SLOW DOWN OUR MORALE OR ARY RESPONSIBILITY IN PROVIDING OUR STUDENTS WITH A FIRST CLASS EDUCATION, ESPECIALLY, WE ARE FINALLY SEEING OUR STATE TEST SCORES MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AFTER MANY YEARS OF DECLINE, WE MUST SUPPORT SUPERINTENDENT ROGER'S BUDGET THAT WILL CONTINUE THE ACADEMIC PROCESS MADE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS AND CONTINUE TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS THAT WE ALL WANT TO SEE ELIMINATED.
I WANT TO THANK THE SCHOOL BOARD AND DR. ROGERS FOR TURNING THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM AROUND AND PLACING OUR FEET ON SOLID GROUND.
WE HAVE A CHANCE THIS YEAR'S BUDGET PROCESS TO LITERALLY PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS, TO LET THIS BUDGET REFLECT OUR SHARED VALUES AND COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION THAT WE ALL AGREE EDUCATION IS THE VERY FOUNDATION AND BACKBONE OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
I ASK THAT THE BOARD SUPPORT DR.
ROGER'S BUDGET AND SEND IT TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND THE COUNTY COUNCIL.
OUR NEXT GROUP OF SPEAKERS WILL BE INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS OR STUDENTS, AND OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS RALPH JAFFE.
PLEASE CAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES, SIR.
UH, I WANNA THANK BRENDA STIFFLER AND TRACY GOVER FOR THEIR PROFESSIONALISM THAT THEY HAVE EXTENDED TO ME IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.
I ALSO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I'M NOT HERE TO ASK YOU FOR MONEY.
THIS PROGRAM I'M TALKING ABOUT THE TWO MENTOR TEAM EDUCATION PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO SAVE LIVES.
AND BY THE WAY, UH, THERE HAVE BEEN MANY, MANY PEOPLE HAVE CALLED BRENDA AND TRACY
[00:40:01]
TO SAY THAT THEY WANT THIS PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED.AND THE LAST 20 PHONE CALLS HAVE SAID THEY WANT DR. ROGERS TO MEET WITH JAFF.
AND THIS PROGRAM ISN'T GONNA COST THE TAXPAYERS ONE PENNY.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO NOW, UH, MENTION SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN AND MY TEACHING EXPERIENCES, WHICH STARTED BACK IN 1969.
I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY I PIONEERED A NEW TEACHING DEVICE CALLED ACTIVISM IN THE CLASSROOM.
11 MINUTES, 11 MONTHS LATER WAS SIGNED INTO LAW BY RICHARD NIXON, DOCUMENTED IN 1970 EDITION JANUARY, 1970 EDITION.
I I MENTIONED THESE THINGS TO YOU, NOT TO BRAG, BUT TO, TO, TO PROVE TO YOU I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
I KNOW WHAT GOOD TEACHING IS ALL ABOUT.
I HAVE THE EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT.
AND I SENT YOU, UH, WHAT I CALL MY CREDIBILITY PAPERS, WHICH SHOWS AND DISCUSS IT, UH, MENTIONS ALL THE PROJECTS AND ALL THE NOTABLE PERSONALITIES INVOLVED IN THESE PROJECTS.
PEOPLE LIKE JOHN UNITAS, NATIONAL FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME.
WE DIDN'T ASK HIM FOR HIS ARTICLE IF WE ASKED HIM FOR HIS HELP.
BROOKE SCH ROBINSON NATIONAL HALL OF FAME, LENNY MOORE, NATIONAL FOOTBALL HALL OF HALL OF FAME, BRANDON BRADLEY, UH, THE EXECUTIVE EDITOR OF THE WASHINGTON POST.
A MOVIE WAS MADE CALLED ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, WHICH STORED, UH, JASON, UM, UH, BEN BRADLEY'S, UH, WITH HIS, UH, PERSON WHO PLAYED HIM WAS, UH, JASON ROBARDS, WHO GOT AN ACADEMY AWARD.
AND WE DIDN'T ASK MR. BRADLEY FOR HIS AUTOGRAPH.
SO THIS IS WHAT THESE PROGRAMS WERE DI DESIGNED TO DO.
WHEN I WAS AT PARKVILLE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, WE HAD TWO PIECES OF LEGISLATION INTRODUCED.
ONE WAS A SEEING EYE DOGS BILL, WHICH WOULD HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND TO USE THEIR DOGS IN PUBLIC FACILITIES.
THAT WAS A BAIL ON NON-RETURNABLE BOTTLES.
WE ALSO ESTABLISHED WHAT'S CALLED PEOPLE FOR COMMUNITY ACTION AT DRUG COUNSELING CENTER FOR STUDENTS WHO HAD ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT PROBLEMS WITH DRUGS AND RECEIVED OVER $150,000 IN GOVERNMENT GRANTS.
SO WAS THAT THE BELL? SO, SO, UM, I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
AND REMEMBER, THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST OVER 120 PEOPLE THAT HAVE CALLED YOU.
IT'S ONE THING TO IGNORE ME, BUT THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT YOU ALSO
MAY I ASK YOU A QUESTION? PLEASE? YES.
I APPRECIATE YOUR PERSISTENT ADVOCACY FOR YOUR PROGRAM.
UH, AND, AND I WANNA UNDERSTAND WHERE THE ROADBLOCK IS.
WHERE CAN I SEE YOU? WHAT, WHERE, RIGHT HERE.
WHO AM I TALKING TO? THIS IS VICE CHAIR HARVEY.
WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION, PLEASE? MY QUESTION IS, I WANNA UNDERSTAND WHERE YOUR ROAD THE ROADBLOCK IS TO YOUR PROGRAM.
HAVE YOU, IS IT THE CASE THAT YOU SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION AND YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN A RESPONSE? THE THE APP, THE, THE PROBLEM IS THEY'VE TOLD ME, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT WE WON'T EVEN CONSIDER YOUR PROGRAM UNTIL YOU GO THROUGH THEIR TRAINING PROGRAM.
AND I SAID TO THEM THE FOLLOWING, I REALLY, I SAID I WASN'T GONNA DO THAT, BUT I I, I'M, I'M A FLEXIBLE, REASONABLE GUY.
I'LL TAKE THE TUTOR, MENTOR, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT, UH, PROGRAMS. THE REASON WHY I'M SO, SO ANNOYED ABOUT THIS, I'VE BEEN MENTORING PEOPLE ALL MY ADULT LIFE.
I THINK I KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT TUTOR MENTORING AS ANYBODY.
I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS PROGRAM.
THEY TOLD ME THEY WON'T EVEN CONSIDER THIS UNTIL I GO THROUGH THEIR PROGRAM.
THIS PROCESS USUALLY STARTS WITH AN APPLICATION.
SO I'M GONNA ASK DR. ROGERS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET ONE BEFORE YOU LEAVE TODAY SO THAT THEY CAN, UH, FULLY VET YOUR PROGRAM, INCLUDE THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PROVIDED BASED ON YOUR APPLICATION, AND ALSO YOU LET THEM KNOW ABOUT ALL THE PHONE CALLS PEOPLE SAID THEY WANT DR. ROGERS TO MEET WITH ME.
THESE ARE, THESE ARE ALL, THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE WILLING TO TAKE THE TIME AND TROUBLE TO TELL YOU THIS.
WE'LL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
BUT DR. ROGERS, CAN YOU MAKE SURE THAT MR. JAFFE GETS AN APPLICATION PRIOR TO HIS, HIS LEAVING TODAY? THANK YOU, SIR, FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
BY THE WAY, I DID SEND YOU, I, I FILLED IT OUT THAT APPLICATION.
I DO BELIEVE IN FACT, I GAVE YOU AN OUTLINE.
I GAVE YOU AN OUTLINE ABOUT THIS AND FOR, FOR THREE OR FOUR MONTHS, THEY COULDN'T EVEN FIND THEM.
THIS WAS GIVEN TO YOU ABOUT IN NOVEMBER OF 2023.
OUR NEXT, UH, SPEAKER IS SHANITA KEVE.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I'VE MISPRONOUNCED YOUR NAME.
[00:45:06]
OKAY.MY NAME IS SHANITA KEVY AND I'M THE MOTHER OF THREE CHILDREN AGES 2012 AND FIVE.
I'M SPEAKING TONIGHT IN FAVOR OF THE SUPERINTENDENT'S BUDGET FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION BEING FULLY FUNDED.
EACH OF MY CHILDREN RECEIVES OR HAS RECEIVED SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES THROUGH BCPS VIA 5 0 4 PLAN OR IEPS.
THESE SERVICES HAVE BEEN AN INTEGRAL SUPPORT AND RESOURCE IN MY CHILDREN'S EDUCATION, NOT JUST ACADEMICALLY, BUT ALSO SOCIALLY AND BEHAVIORALLY.
AS A PARENT, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE MY EXPERIENCE WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION WITHIN BCPS.
MY OLDEST CHILD STARTED RECEIVING SERVICES VIA 5 0 4 PLAN WHEN HE STARTED MIDDLE SCHOOL.
MIDDLE SCHOOL WAS A VERY DIFFICULT TIME FOR MY SON AND HIS 5 0 4 PLAN TRANSITIONED TO AN IEP.
MY 12-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER CURRENTLY HAS A 5 0 4 PLAN, WHICH WAS IMPLEMENTED WHEN SHE STARTED MIDDLE SCHOOL.
BOTH MY SON AND DAUGHTER BEGAN EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.
I ALSO HAVE A 5-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO IS NEURODIVERGENT AND HAS HAD A IEP SINCE STARTING PRE-K.
MOST PARENTS WILL BE OVERWHELMED, WORRIED, FEARFUL AND CONCERNED, AND I WAS ALL OF THESE.
BUT HAVING RECEIVED SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES THROUGH THE BCPS SCHOOL SYSTEM MYSELF AS A CHILD, I WAS ABLE TO REQUEST THE NECESSARY SERVICES FOR EACH OF MY CHILDREN AS WELL AS RECEIVE, AS WELL AS ADVOCATE FOR THEIR NEEDS.
DESPITE THE CHALLENGES MY CHILDREN FACE OR HAVE FACED, HAVING THE ACCOMMODATIONS OF A 5 0 4 IEP HAS PROVIDED THEM WITH VALUABLE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES.
MY SON IS CURRENTLY A STUDENT AT CCBC AND HAS A GPA OF 4.0 AS WELL AS BEING ON THE DEAN'S LIST FOR THE FALL OF 2024.
HE RECEIVES CONTINUED ACCOMMODATION IN COLLEGE BECAUSE HE HAD AN IEP.
MY 12-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER RECEIVED STRAIGHT A'S HER SIXTH GRADE YEAR, MADE THE PRINCIPAL LIST EACH QUARTER FOR SIXTH GRADE AND HAD HER ARTWORK SELECTED TO BE IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL.
SUPERINTENDENT'S GALLERY CURRENTLY IN SEVENTH GRADE, SHE'S AN AB HONOR ROLL STUDENT.
MY FIVE-YEAR-OLD KINDERGARTNER RECEIVES STUDENT OF THE MONTH IN OCTOBER OF 2024 AND SCORED ABOVE AVERAGE ON HER YCA ASSESSMENT.
WITHOUT THE RESOURCES AND ASSISTANCE THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION PROVIDES, MY CHILDREN WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPACTED IN AN ADVERSE WAY.
SPECIAL EDUCATION HAS HELPED AND CONTINUES TO HELP THEM TREMENDOUSLY THROUGHOUT THEIR ACADEMIC JOURNEY.
I'VE LEARNED SOMETHING NEW WITH EACH CHILD AS I'VE NAVIGATED THROUGH BCPS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION.
I, AS WELL AS MANY OTHER PARENTS AND FAMILIES ARE ALREADY OPERATING AT FULL CAPACITY AND TRYING TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN SPECIAL EDUCATION TO ENSURE THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE BEING SUPPORTED AND HAVING THEIR NEEDS MET CAN BE DAUNTING AND OVERWHELMING.
THIS IS WHY IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TO BE 100% FUNDED AND SUPPORTED THROUGHOUT BCPS.
SO THAT CONTINUED SUPPORT IS PROVIDED NOT ONLY TO FAMILIES AND STUDENTS, BUT TO EDUCATORS AS WELL.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS SIMONE BYERS.
PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'VE MISPRONOUNCED YOUR NAME.
VICE CHAIR HARVEY, SUPERINTENDENT ROGER ON THE BOARD.
AND THIS IS MY SON, TYLER BURS.
HE IS A 10TH GRADER AT NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL AND A SELF-PROCLAIMED BIBLIO FILING SU PAVILION.
AND I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU THE SUCCESS THAT CAN COME WHEN YOU FULLY FUND A BUDGET AND YOUR APPROPRIATELY STAFF AND HAVE SPECIAL RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM PRE-K THREE TO 10TH GRADE.
TYLER WENT FROM FRANKLIN ELEMENTARY IN A GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM WITH, UH, PULLOUT SPECIAL ED SUPPORT.
THAT MODEL DID NOT WORK FOR HIM, AND HE WAS FAST TRACKING FOR SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE BECAUSE HE ENDED UP WITH DISCIPLINE ISSUES HE HADN'T HAD BEFORE AND HE WAS PARTIALLY MUTE DURING THOSE EARLY YEARS.
AND NOW, UM, I HAVE A HANDOUT FOR THE BOARD.
YOU CAN SEE NEWTOWN IS HIGHLIGHTING HIS WORD OF THE DAY WHERE HE'S USING TECHNOLOGY, WHICH I THINK IS ALSO INCLUDED IN DR. ROGERS BUDGET.
UM, AND THEY HAVE PUT A WALL BECAUSE HE GOES AROUND THE SCHOOL EDUCATING OTHER PEOPLE AND ADVOCATING.
AND THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN WHEN WE FUSS OVER WHETHER YOU HAVE FULL-TIME POSITIONS AND CAN FUND THEM.
THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SPEECH THERAPISTS, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS LIKE MYSELF OR PHYSICAL THERAPIST RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO EXTEND THAT VILLAGE.
SOME OF OUR VILLAGE IS HERE WITH US SUPPORTING US.
ONE OF HIS PREVIOUS PRINCIPALS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION CHAIR PERSONS
[00:50:01]
CONTINUE TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH US TO SEE WHERE THEY'RE WORK IN THE EARLY YEARS IS STILL IMPACTING HIM NOW.UM, IT'S HARD ENOUGH FOR PARENTS TO ACCEPT THEIR CHILD'S CHALLENGES AND THAT THEY MAY NEED SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
IT WOULD BE ABYSMAL FOR FAMILIES WHO CAN'T SPEAK UP LOUD ENOUGH FOR THEMSELVES NOT TO FULLY FUND THIS BUDGET.
I LOOK AT THIS BUDGET AND I THANK YOU DR. ROGERS.
IT'S NOT THE CEILING, IT'S WHAT YOUR DATA SHOWED YOU NEED PRESENTLY, BUT IT'S NOT QUALITATIVE IN WHAT REALLY NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN THE SCHOOL.
SO I LOOK AT THAT BUDGET AS THIS IS WHERE YOU START, AND I KNOW MONEY IS TIGHT, BUT WE NEED TO THINK BEYOND THAT AND SEE WHERE THESE STUDENTS CAN GO SO THEY CAN BE CONTRIBUTING CITIZENS.
TYLER IS COMMITTED TO COMING BACK TO THIS BOARD AND SHARING WITH YOU WHEN HE OPENS HIS OWN PERSONAL BUSINESS AND TAKES OVER THE WORLD.
UM, AND I WILL SEND YOU VIDEOS OF HIM FROM EARLY ON TILL NOW WHERE HE SPOKE FOR HIS FIFTH GRADE COMMENCEMENT AND WAS CHOSEN TO BE THE SPEAKER, A CHILD WHO DIDN'T USE TO TALK.
SO I JUST IMPLORE YOU NOT TO SHORTCHANGE THE STUDENTS AND NOT TO BURN OUT THE STAFF.
WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY DONE IS WONDERFUL AND I EXPECT YOU TO BE EXCELLENT.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS CLIFFORD COLLINS.
CAN YOU HEAR ME, MR. COLLINS? YES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN, SIR.
DR. ROGERS, CHAIR LITNER, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
MY NAME IS CLIFFORD COLLINS, A LONGTIME RESIDENT OF THE RANDALLSTOWN COMMUNITY AND A FORMER EMPLOYEE OF THE BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
I WISH TO INFORM YOU OF MY SUPPORT OF DR.
FISCAL YEAR 2026 OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
YOU MUST MAINTAIN YOUR COMMITMENT TO HELP ENSURE A SECURE AND VIBRANT FUTURE FOR BALTIMORE COUNTY BY CONTINUING TO INVEST IN THE PREPARATION OF OUR STUDENTS FOR THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES THEY WILL EXPERIENCE IN THE FUTURE.
I ALSO BELIEVE THIS BUDGET WILL PROVIDE THE RESOURCES NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN AND ENHANCE OUR RECENT ACADEMIC GAINS.
AFTER CAREFUL REVIEW, THIS BUDGET IS REASONABLE AND SUPPORTS CRITICAL AREAS OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, INCLUDING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND PROGRAMS FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS.
AND CET CT, THE BALTIMORE COUNTY SCHOOLS IS ASKING FOR FULL FUNDING OF THIS BALANCED BUDGET.
THIS BUDGET IS FOR AND ABOUT CHILDREN, TEACHERS, AND THE BALTIMORE COUNTY COMMUNITIES.
I WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE UNWISE FOR THE FUND FOR NOT TO FUND THIS FISCAL YEAR 26 OPERATING BUDGET, ESPECIALLY AFTER REVIEWING THE ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REPORT CARD.
BALTIMORE COUNTY SAW INCREASES IN OUR ACADEMIC RATINGS.
BCPS HAD THE GREATEST NUMBER OF FIVE STAR SCHOOLS IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND.
66 BCPS SCHOOLS EARNED A FOUR OR FIVE STAR RATING.
WITH 38 SCHOOLS INCREASING THE OVERALL STAR RATING, A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
GIVEN THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT, IT'S EVEN, IT'S EVEN MORE URGENT AND CRITICAL THAT LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS FULLY FUND THEIR FISCAL YEAR.
VCPS IS FINALLY MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
AFTER YEARS OF ACADEMIC DECLINE, NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO DECREASE FUNDING FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
NOW IS THE TIME TO FULLY FUND OUR BOARD SYSTEM ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT AND CONTINUE THE ACADEMIC GAINS ALL OF US HAVE SEEN THE PAST TWO YEARS.
THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS AND THE SCHOOL BOARD FOR OVERSEEING THIS REMARKABLE ACADEMIC TURNAROUND.
AND LET'S KEEP MOVING BCPS FORWARD AND AGAIN, BECOME NUMBER ONE ACADEMICALLY IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, DR. ROGERS AND THE BALTIMORE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, I APPLAUD YOUR TIRELESS WORK AND LEADERSHIP.
[00:55:01]
OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU THIS EVENING.OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS KENNETH BROWN.
GOOD EVENING, SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS, VICE CHAIR HARVEY AND OTHER BOARD MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS KENNY BROWN AND I'M HERE TO DATE IN SUPPORT OF DR. ROGERS OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OF 2026.
I SPEAK AS A FATHER OF THREE DAUGHTERS WHO GRADUATED FROM BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS A FORMER CHAIR OF THE NORTHWEST ADVISORY COUNCIL MANY, MANY YEARS AGO, AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF BEDFORD ELEMENTARY, PTA, AGAIN, MANY MOONS AGO.
THOSE EXPERIENCES HELPED SHAPE AND PROPEL MY BELIEF THAT EDUCATION IS AN INVALUABLE ASSET TO OUR PEOPLE, FAMILY, AND OUR COMMUNITIES.
NOW WHY DO I SUPPORT THIS BUDGET? WE ALL KNOW THAT A SCHOOL SYSTEM CAN HAVE THE MOST MOTIVATED STUDENTS WHO ARE SO EAGER TO LEARN.
THEY CAN HAVE THE MOST EXCEPTIONAL AND ENGAGED TEACHERS, AND A SYSTEM CAN HAVE THE MOST RESPONSIVE FORWARD THINKING LEADERSHIP.
BUT IF THE SYSTEM IS NOT FUNDED, WITH ENOUGH MONEY ALLOCATED TO THE RIGHT PRIORITIES, YOU'RE GOING TO STAGNANT.
YOU'RE NOT GONNA MOVE FORWARD.
I BELIEVE THIS BUDGET HITS ALL THE RIGHT PRIORITIES AND INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS STUDENTS' NEEDS AND HELP THEM EXCEL FOR THE FUTURE.
THE BUDGET SUPPORTS WHAT I AS WELL AS A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMUNITY FOLKS SEE AS CRITICAL AREAS FOR OUR SCHOOLS SYSTEM.
HIRING AND RETAINING QUALITY TEACHERS, SUPPORTING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, GIVING OUR CHILDREN THE BEST START WITH EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND HELPING THEM SUCCEED WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THIS BUDGET INVESTS IN OUR STUDENTS' FUTURE BY PROVIDING ESSENTIAL RESOURCES NEEDED TO SUSTAIN RECENT ACADEMIC GAINS.
THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORT CARD ON LOCAL SCHOOLS.
SO OUR B-B-C-P-S MAKE CRUCIAL GAINS IN OUR ACADEMICS.
I WAS PLEASED TO LEARN THAT 66 OF OUR SCHOOLS EARNED A FOUR STAR OR FIVE STAR RATING.
THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
THOSE STATE TEST RESULTS TELL US THAT DR. ROGERS, HER TEAM AND OUR C COMMITTED TEACHERS AND STAFF OF DOING SOMETHING RIGHT.
I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM AND DO EVEN GREATER THINGS FOR OUR CHILDREN.
BCPS IS A CRITICAL, IS AT A CRITICAL INFLECTION POINT WE CAN CHOOSE TO MOVE FORWARD, MOVE BACKWARDS, OR STAND STILL.
ONE FINAL POINT, TIMING IS EVERYTHING.
AS WE KNOW, THE STATE HAS A $3 BILLION STRUCTURAL DEFICIT WITH THE FEDERAL BUDGET SITUATION IN PLAY.
THERE IS A BIG RED QUESTION MARK REGARDING THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS THAT MAKES FUNDING THE BCPS BUDGET EVEN MORE URGENT.
AGAIN, LET'S DO THE RIGHT THING AND FULLY FUNDED THIS SCHOOL BUDGET.
THANK YOU DR. ROGERS, FOR YOUR VISION AND YOUR STEWARDSHIP.
AND THANK YOU SCHOOL BOARD FOR YOUR TIME AND LISTENING.
I WISH EVERYONE A GOOD EVENING.
NEXT WE WILL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON BOARD POLICIES.
THE FIRST BOARD POLICY IS POLICY 31 13 TRANSFERS AND SUPPLEMENTS.
AND, UH, FIRST SPEAKER IS S DR.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO REMAIN SEATED TO PROVIDE YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE ADDITIONAL POLICIES.
UM, THE FIRST POLICY IS 31 13, CORRECT? YES.
OKAY, SO THE POLICY 31 13 BASICALLY SAYS THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE BUDGET AND THE SECOND ITEM THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT WILL ASK THE BOARD FOR PERMISSION TO TRANSFER MONEY FROM ONE CATEGORY TO OTHER.
SO HERE IS WHAT I THINK, RIGHT? AND I DON'T KNOW AS MUCH AS YOU DO, BUT AS A CITIZEN TAXPAYER LOOKING AT THE POLICY, IT'S REALLY TOO BRIEF.
[01:00:02]
THE SUPERINTENDENT IS THE SECRETARY AND THE TREASURER.ALRIGHT, SO MY QUESTION IS, WHY DO WE HAVE TO SAY IN THE POLICY THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE BUDGET? OF COURSE, DR.
RAS IS THE TREASURER AND SHE'S THE SUPERINTENDENT TOO.
AND THE SECRETARY SECOND ITEM IS ABOUT TRANSFER.
I UNDERSTAND THE BOARD NEEDS TO HAVE SURVEILLANCE AND INPUT AND APPROVAL OF TRANSFER, BUT THE POLICY DOES NOT REALLY SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE TRANSFER.
YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S URGENT, EMERGENT, SEMI URGENT.
UM, TO ME IT IS KIND OF LIKE OPEN AND TOO BRIEF.
AND AFTER ALL, AS I SAID FOR THE FIRST THOUGHT, THE SUPERINTENDENT IS THE MANAGER OF THE BUDGET.
ACTUALLY, THE SUPERINTENDENT IS THE EXECUTIVE THAT HOLDS THE POWER ONCE YOU GIVE THE MONEY.
SO, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT BASICALLY THIS ITEM, UH, THE FIRST ONE SEEMS TO ME, YOU KNOW, WHY YOU PUT IT IN.
YOU KNOW, AND THE SECOND ONE IS JUST TOO VAGUE.
AND THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS ABOUT THIS POLICY.
THE NEXT POLICY IS POLICY 31 21, FUNDS MANAGEMENT AND CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURES.
POLICY 31 21 IS ALSO BRIEF AND IT SAYS THE SUPERINTENDENT MUST HAVE RECEIPTS AND COMPLY WITH THE COUNTY CODE, STATE STATUTES AND FEDERAL LAW.
SO BASICALLY THE POLICY SAYS THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT, WHAT HAPPENED? APOLOGIES.
UM, THE SUPERINTENDENT NEEDS TO HAVE RECEIPTS.
OKAY, WELL, I MEAN, YOU CHOSE THE SUPERINTENDENT GIVING HER $3 BILLION AND MORE.
AND SHE IS THE SECRETARY AND SHE IS THE TREASURER.
WHY DO WE ASK HER FOR RECEIPTS? I MEAN, DO WE EXPECT THAT SUPERINTENDENT WILL SPEND MONEY AND NOT REALLY HAVE RECEIPTS? EVERYBODY WILL HAVE RECEIPTS.
AND IF YOU SPECIFY IN THIS POLICY, UM, THAT SHE SHOULD HAVE RECEIPTS, THEN I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE EXPLAINED A LITTLE BIT MORE.
YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF RECEIPT IT IS? IT IS BY EMAIL.
IS THAT ACCEPTABLE? IS IT BY PAPER? IS IT BY HAND WITH A WITNESS? I, I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, TO ME THIS IS A POLICY THAT SEEMS TO BE OF NO VALUE AND I I REALLY DON'T GET IT.
AND, UM, IN MY ROMANIAN TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, I AM NOT REALLY AN ACCOUNTANT, BUT NONETHELESS, I READ, WHICH IS MY DOWNFALL.
SO THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING, UH, RULES OR POLICIES.
UH, I MEAN, TO ME A POLICY LIKE THIS SHOULD HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE ADMINISTRATION NEEDS TO BEHAVE IN RELATION TO EXPENDITURES.
AND THIS POLICY DOESN'T REALLY MENTION EVEN THE WORD AUDIT.
NOW I KNOW YOU HAVE AUDITS FROM INSIDE AND I KNOW YOU HAVE AUDITS FROM OUTSIDE THE STATE BASICALLY AUDITS THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN A WAY.
BUT I SINCERELY AS A TAXPAYER THAT HAVE BEEN TAXED ALMOST TO DEATH IN MY 50 YEARS OF BEING BALTIMORE.
AND YOU NEED TO HAVE A TRULY INDEPENDENT OUTSIDE AUDITOR THAT WHEN THEY GIVE YOU AN AUDIT, IT WOULD NOT REALLY BE WISHY-WASHY.
LIKE IT HAS PHRASES THAT NEGATES WHATEVER RESPONSIBILITY THEY HAVE.
FOR INSTANCE, THE REPORT THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO TONIGHT WHEN I READ IT IN ONE AREA, SHOWS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE A DISCLAIMER TO ME THAT'S A, A WIGGLE THAT IF SOMETHING WENT WRONG WITH THEIR AUDIT, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN WIGGLE OUT OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY.
[01:05:01]
A TAXPAYER IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS EFFICIENCY, THERE IS NO WASTE, THAT EVERY DOLLAR IS GOING IN THE RIGHT PLACE.AND I'M OKAY WITH SEVEN SECONDS.
OUR NEXT POLICY IS POLICY 31 23 FINANCIAL REPORTING.
AND THIS POLICY IS INTERESTING, LIKE THE TWO PREVIOUS ONES.
IT SAYS, SUPERINTENDENT SHALL PREPARE FINANCIAL REPORTS MONTHLY AND ANNUALLY, AND THEN ANOTHER ITEM MUST COMPLY WITH THE LAWS.
I KNOW I RAISED THIS ISSUE BEFORE AND THE BOARD ELECTED NOT TO TAKE OR ANSWER MY, MY POINT.
AGAIN, YOU CHOSE THE SUPERINTENDENT, YOU KNOW, YOU DID YOUR VETTING AND JUDGMENT, ET CETERA.
WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SAY MUST COMPLY WITH THE LAW? I I DON'T GET IT.
AND, UH, MADAM CHAIR, VICE CHAIR TO A CHAIR TODAY.
YOU ANSWERED THE OTHER PERSON.
I REALLY WANT MY QUESTIONS TO YOU TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE, YOU ANSWER ME IN WRITING BECAUSE I NEED TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT MUST COMPLY WITH THE LAW? IT'S, IT'S COMMON SENSE, REALLY.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, CAN, CAN THE SUPERINTENDENT NOT COMPLY WITH THE LAW? I GUESS ANYONE IN AMONG US CAN.
BUT OBVIOUSLY IT'S ILLEGAL IF YOU MENTION IT, IT'S STATING THE OBVIOUS.
YOU KNOW, WHY DO WE PUT IT IN? IT'S MORE INK, MORE PAPER, MORE FOR US PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR RESEARCH, WHO ARE TRYING TO READ THINGS IN THE APPROPRIATE AND REASONABLE TIME AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DOES THIS POLICY ADD TO THE QUALITY OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
OF COURSE, THE SUPERINTENDENT MUST PREPARE REPORTS AND THEY MUST BE ACCURATE, INFORMATIVE, AND SHARE THEM AND MUST COMPLY WITH THE LAW.
I DON'T GET IT WHY YOU HAVE TO STATE THE OBVIOUS.
SO WE WILL MOVE TO POLICY 31 25.
POLICY 31 25 IS A BIT OF A TROUBLE FOR ME.
ALRIGHT? SO I IMAGINE MYSELF AS A PRINCIPAL AND HERE ALL OF A SUDDEN AS A PRINCIPAL, I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR AN ACTIVITY THAT IS GENERATING FUNDS THAT I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE ACCOUNT.
AND THEN THIS POLICY STATES THAT THE ACTIVITY OF THAT SCHOOL MUST CONTRIBUTE TO THE MORAL VALUES OF THE STUDENTS.
AND IT ALSO STATES, AND IT MUST NOT CONFLICT WITH INSTRUCTIONAL TIME.
SO BASICALLY IF YOU REMOVE ALL THE, THE WORDING OF IT, THOSE ARE THE TWO POINTS.
PLEASE ANSWER ME WHICH MORAL VALUES WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH RELIGION, MORAL VALUES WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.
SO AS YOU KNOW, I HAVE BEEN BIAN FOR 50 YEARS AND WHEN I FIRST CAME, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAD MUCH MORE MORAL VALUES TEACHING OVER THE PAST 10, 15 YEARS.
SO I LIKE MORAL VALUES, BUT IT WORRIES ME, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU GOING TO IMPOSE ONE MORAL VALUE OVER OTHERS? I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE CLARIFIED.
AND YOU KNOW, MORAL VALUES ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE INDIAN MORAL VALUES, THERE ARE MUSLIM MORAL VALUES, JEWISH CHRISTIAN, THERE IS CARL MAXX MORAL VALUES.
UM, THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF MORAL VALUES.
IF YOU SEARCH IT ON BRITANNICA.COM OR ON ON GOOGLE.
AND LAST POINT ABOUT THIS IS AS A PRINCIPLE, THE BIGGEST RESPONSIBILITY OF PRINCIPLE IS TO BE A LEADER AND, YOU KNOW, SAFETY AND THE QUALITY OF
[01:10:01]
EDUCATION.WHY DO WE HAVE TO GIVE PRINCIPLES? THE CHARGE OF TAKING CARE OF ACCOUNTS THAT FOR MAYBE A FOOTBALL OR BASKETBALL OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE ENOUGH RESPONSIBILITIES.
YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO DO EDUCATION, YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THINGS.
UM, THAT IS NOT REALLY EDUCATION.
IT TAKES YOU AWAY FROM MAKING THIS SCHOOL SYSTEM GREAT AGAIN.
I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE CLARIFICATION.
AND MS. EY, YOU CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG IN, IN UNDERSTANDING THE POLICY, UH, THE POLICY SPEAKS TO THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE OR MORALE OF STUDENTS.
SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT WE'RE NOT IMPOSING MORALITY, UH, ON THE STUDENTS AS A CONDITION OF USING SCHOOL ACTIVITY FUNDS.
IT SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO A POSITIVE MORALE FOR THE STUDENT BODY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT CLARIFICATION.
IS THAT CORRECT, MS. HUMPHREY? THAT IS CORRECT.
I REALLY WISH THE PHRASEOLOGY WOULD CHANGE TO MAKE IT CLEAR.
'CAUSE WHEN I READ IT, IT MEANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
OUR NEXT SPEAKER FOR, UH, POLICY 31 25 SCHOOL ACTIVITY FUNDS IS MICHELLE HICKS.
I JUST NEED TO GIVE A A LITTLE PREFACE.
UM, SO THIS IS MY FIRST TIME SIGNING UP AND WHEN I DID THE FORM, I DID NOT DO IT CORRECTLY.
HOWEVER, HOWEVER, THE, UH, THE ISSUES THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED REGARDING, UM, KIND OF ALIGN WITH THIS POLICY, BUT MORE SO WITH TRANSPORTATION.
AND I'M A STUDENT AT PARKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL AND THE SECRETARY OF OUR N-A-A-C-P CHAPTER.
I'M HERE TODAY TO ADDRESS IMPLI.
I'M HERE TODAY TO ADDRESS THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET AND POLICIES REGARDING A CURRENT CONCERN OF STUDENTS RELATED TO POLICY 3, 1, 2, 5, AND OTHERS.
THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
LAST WEEK WE CONDUCTED A SURVEY AT OUR SCHOOL TO UNDERSTAND HOW BUS DELAYS AFFECT STUDENTS' COMMUTES.
OUR, THE RESPONSE IS 50% WERE FOR MAGNET STUDENTS LIKE ME WHO DEPEND ON BUS TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO SCHOOL ALARMINGLY.
89% OF ALL PARTICIPANTS REPORTED EXPERIENCING BUS DELAYS WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE OF THESE 19%.
THAT BUS SAID THEIR BUSES ARE TYPICALLY FIVE TO 10 MINUTES LATE, 15% REPORTED 10 TO 15 MINUTES, AND 39% SAID THEY'VE WAITED OVER 20 MINUTES MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK.
WE ALSO ASKED IF BUS DELAYS CAUSE STUDENTS TO MISS SCHOOL.
THIS IS, THIS IS A CONCERNING STATISTIC AS IT HIGHLIGHTS HOW TRANSPORTATION ISSUES ARE AFFECTING DAILY ATTENDANCE.
ADDITIONALLY, WE EXPLORED COMMUNICATION WITH BUS WITH TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.
WHILE, WHILE 42% OF STU STUDENTS HAVE CONTACTED THE BPS BUS TRANSPORTATION HELPLINE, 45% REPORTED WAITING OVER 15 MINUTES FOR ASSISTANCE, ALARMINGLY 57% DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THE HELPLINE EXISTED.
WHAT'S EVEN MORE WORRYING IS HOW BUDGET CUTS MAY WORSEN THESE ISSUES.
REDUCED FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION LEAD TO FEWER BUSES, LONGER ROUTES, AND INCREASED DELAYS, MAKING RELIABLE COMMUNICATION EVEN MORE CRITICAL.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE UNDERSTAND THAT FUNDING IS ALLOCATED TO MANY ESSENTIAL AREAS, SUCH AS IMPROVING CLASSROOM RESOURCES, SUPPORTING TEACHERS, AND ENHANCING SCHOOL PROGRAMS. THESE INVESTMENTS ARE VITAL FOR STUDENT SUCCESS AND WE APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS TO PRIORITIZE THESE NEEDS.
HOWEVER, TRANSPORTATION IS JUST AS CRUCIAL.
WITHOUT RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION, STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO ACCESS THESE OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH UNDERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE INVESTMENTS.
TO ADDRESS THIS STUDENT SUGGESTED, SUGGESTED ADDING A CHAT FEATURE TO THE BUS WARE APP TO PROVIDE REAL TIME UPDATES ON BUS STATUSES.
THEY ALSO EXPRESS INTEREST IN HAVING DIRECT ACCESS TO THE APP, WHICH IS CURRENTLY RESTRICTED TO ONLY PARENTS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE.
I HOPE WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE TRANSPORTATION REMAINS A PRIORITY, ALLOWING ALL STUDENTS TO BENEFIT FROM THE RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO THEM.
SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR CONCERNS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO ME OR MY FELLOW YOUTH LEADERS OF PARKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL AND OF NAACP CHAPTER.
[G. NEW BUSINESS - ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION (Board Counsel) (7:40 - 7:45 p.m.)]
IS ACTION TAKEN, ENCLOSED SESSION.AND FOR THAT I CALL ON MR. BURNS.
THE BOARD TOOK NO ACTION REQUIRING CO CONFIRMATION.
THE NEXT I, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS
[H. NEW BUSINESS - BOARD POLICIES (Ms. Pumphrey) (7:45 - 8:00 p.m.)]
NEW BUSINESS[01:15:01]
REPORT ON BOARD POLICIES.THIS IS THE FIRST READER FOR THESE POLICIES AND FOR THAT I CALL ON MS. HUMPHREY.
THANK YOU MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
THE POLICY REVIEW REVIEW COMMITTEE ASKS THAT THE BOARD ACCEPT THIS REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION OF PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE FOLLOWING BOARD POLICIES, BOARD POLICY 31 13 TRANSFERS AND SUPPLEMENTS BOARD POLICY 31 21 FUNDS MANAGEMENT AND CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURES BOARD POLICY 31 23 FINANCIAL REPORTING AND BOARD POLICY 31 25 SCHOOL ACTIVITY FUNDS.
THESE POLICIES ARE PRESENTED TO YOU ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA AS EXHIBITS H ONE THROUGH H FOUR.
COMMITTEE CHAIR, EY BOARD MEMBERS, ARE THERE ANY SEPARATION REQUESTS? HEARING NONE, MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD'S POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE FOR BOARD POLICIES? 31 13, 31, 21, 31 23, AND 31 25.
NO SECOND IS NEEDED SINCE THE RECOMMENDATION COMES FROM THE COMMITTEE.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE? MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL? VOTE PLEASE.
THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE WORK SESSION
[I. WORK SESSION - SUPERINTENDENT'S PROPOSED FY 2026 OPERATING BUDGET (Dr. Rogers) (8:00 - 8:45 p.m.)]
ON THE PROPOSED FY 2026 OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST.AND FOR THAT, I CALL ON DR. ROGERS.
GOOD EVENING, AND THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
I AM PLEASED TO, UH, PROVIDE A BRIEF UPDATE, UM, AND WALK, UH, YOU AND THE PUBLIC THROUGH SOME ITEMS RELATED TO OUR FISCAL YEAR 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET.
UH, BEFORE I DO THAT, I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE STUDENT THAT JUST SPOKE WITH US, UM, AS IT IS ALWAYS A VERY POSITIVE THING FOR US TO SEE OUR STUDENT ADVOCATES COMING FORWARD TO THE BOARD AND JUST REASSURE THE YOUNG MAN THAT WE INDEED HAVE AN INCREASE IN TRANSPORTATION IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET, NOT A DECREASE OF TRANSPORTATION.
SO, WITH THAT, IF WE CAN, UH, POST A SLIDE PRESENTATION.
FIRST THING WE WANNA DO IS MAKE SURE THAT WE GROUND OURSELVES AND OUR COMMUNITY IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 OPERATING BUDGET, MAKING SURE THAT WE REVIEW WHICH COMPONENTS, UM, OUR ARE INCLUDED AND WHICH COMPONENTS, UH, WE SPEND THE MAJORITY OF OUR EFFORTS ON AS PART OF THE OPERATING BUDGET.
UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL FUNDS LISTED ON THIS SLIDE THAT ARE PART OF THE TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET, BUT WE REALLY FOCUS FOR THE OPERATING BUDGET SEASON ON THOSE, UH, UH, FUNDS THAT INCLUDE OUR DAY-TO-DAY EXPENSES, ALL OF THE SALARIES AND BENEFITS FOR OUR STAFF, OUR OPERATIONS, AS WELL AS THE UPKEEP OF OUR, UH, FACILITIES.
YOU WILL NOTE THE, UH, FIGURES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 25 ADJUSTED BUDGET, UM, COMPARED TO THE FISCAL YEAR 26 PROPOSED BUDGET.
AND THE DIFFERENCE, THE DIFFERENCE IS $126 MILLION OVER, UM, THE ADJUSTED BUDGET, UM, WHICH IS A SIX AND A HALF PERCENT CHANGE FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, WE WILL ALSO NOTE AND REVIEW AGAIN THAT AS A RESULT OF THE SAVINGS THAT WE MADE, WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE OUR REQUESTS TO THE, UM, COUNTY SPECIAL REVENUE FUND INCLUDES, UH, GRANT FUNDING.
UH, THERE IS A, UH, CHANGE THERE.
AND THEN ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, YOU NOTE THE OTHER FUNDS THAT ARE A, UH, PART OF THIS, THE INTERNAL SERVICE FUND, WHICH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION REPORTS ON IN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND, WHICH WE HAVE A LOCAL AND A STATE CAPITAL BUDGET, AND A VERY DETAILED PROCESS, UM, THAT WE FOLLOW FROM THE, UH, SPRING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO BRING THOSE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD.
UH, YOU'LL NOTE, AND WE WILL, UH, LOOK AT IN THE OTHER SLIDE, THAT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND, UM, THE DEBT SERVICE FUND, UM, AS WELL AS THE ENTERPRISE FUND, UH, WHICH INCLUDES BOTH, UH, WORKERS' COMPENSATION AS WELL AS, UH, FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES, UH, MAKING UP THE OVERALL OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
[01:20:01]
THIS NEXT SLIDE SPEAKS TO, UH, BRIEFLY OUR CAPITAL BUDGET.UM, AS I'VE MENTIONED, UH, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION HAS A ROBUST, UH, PROCESS TO, UM, MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING CAPITAL PROJECTS.
UH, WHAT'S IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW IS ON EVERY EVEN YEAR, YOU'LL SEE A LARGE INCREASE IN TERMS OF OUR REQUEST.
UH, THE EVEN YEARS ARE TYPICALLY THE YEARS WHERE THERE ARE, UH, REFERENDUMS THAT ARE POSTED, AND THE EVEN YEARS ALSO INCLUDE, UH, FIVE YEAR PROJECTION OF OUR, UH, PROJECTS, UH, TO COME.
UM, ON THIS SLIDE IN UH, PARTICULAR, WE HAVE, UH, SOME CHANGES UPCOMING IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
IT IS UNPRECEDENTED, UH, IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL'S HISTORY SINCE THE INCEPTION OF BUILDINGS WHERE WE HAVE, UM, BUILT THREE HIGH SCHOOLS, UH, AND QUICK SECESSION.
AND SO, UH, LISTED JUST TO BRING TO EVERYONE'S, UH, UH, ATTENTION ARE THE PROJECTED COST OF, UH, THE HIGH SCHOOLS, DELANEY HIGH SCHOOL, TOWSON HIGH SCHOOL, AND LANSDOWN HIGH SCHOOL.
UM, IN PARTICULAR, WE ALSO HAVE TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, UH, THAT ARE ON DECK AS OUR, UH, UPCOMING SETS OF PROJECTS.
IT WAS IMPORTANT, UH, TO BRING THE SLIDE FORWARD TO THE COMMUNITY, NOT ONLY TO REMIND EVERYONE OF THE WORK, UM, THAT HAS, UH, TAKEN PLACE REGARDING THE CAPITAL BUDGET, BUT ALSO AS THERE WAS, UH, SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, UH, WAS GOING TO BE MOVING FORWARD WITH SUCH A ROBUST CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND, UH, GIVEN THE, UH, THE FISCAL SITUATION THAT WE FIND OURSELVES IN, UH, WITH THE STATE AS WELL AS, UH, FEDERAL FUNDING.
AND SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY, UH, WAS REMINDED OF THE STEPS, UH, THAT WE HAVE TAKEN THE 15 YEAR MY I PASS REPORT, WHICH DETAILS, UH, ALL OF THE FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE NEED AS A SYSTEM, AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM.
WE HAVE THE THIRD OLDEST SET OF BUILDINGS, AND SO IT IS PART OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO RELIEVE OVERCROWDING, BUT ALSO TO ENSURE THAT OUR STUDENTS, UM, RECEIVE THE BEST FACILITIES POSSIBLE, THAT WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS BUDGET AND JUST RAISE IT TO, UH, ALL BOARD MEMBERS' ATTENTION AND THE COMMUNITY THAT I KNOW, UH, HAS ADVOCATED FOR YEARS FOR THESE FACILITIES, THAT THIS WAS, UH, INDEED A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION THAT WAS RAISED MOST RECENTLY.
THIS NEXT SLIDE SPEAKS SPECIFICALLY TO THE PROCESS THAT WE HAVE UNDERGONE AS A SCHOOL COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT THIS OPERATING BUDGET REALLY REFLECTS THE NEEDS AND THE, UH, FEEDBACK AND INPUT OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS.
UH, WE HAVE SPENT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE YEAR ENGAGING WITH OFFICES, SCHOOLS, LEADERS AND STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT PRIORITIES, ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR SCHOOLS AND WHAT THE GROWING NEEDS ARE.
UH, WE STARTED, UH, TALKING ABOUT IT EARLY IN THE FALL, UH, THE BLUEPRINT FUNDING CHALLENGES THAT WE WERE HEARING WHISPERS ABOUT.
WE CAME AND BROUGHT FORWARD TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND IN ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS TO, UH, THE CHALLENGES THAT WERE BEING, UH, PROJECTED WITH THE STATE BUDGET, AS WELL AS THE GROWING NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS.
AND LISTED ON THE SLIDE ARE THE VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT OUR, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAD TO PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY IN THIS BUDGET.
AND SO I UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYONE IS NOT ABLE, THEIR SCHEDULE DOES NOT ALLOW THEM TO, UH, WATCH ALL OF OUR MEETINGS OR ATTEND ALL OF OUR MEETINGS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW ON OUR WEBSITE, BUDGET 1 0 1 IS UPDATED.
IT HAS INFORMATION DATING BACK TO FISCAL YEAR, UM, 17, IF I REMEMBER, OR 18.
AND, UM, YOU CAN ALSO FIND, UH, MANY VIDEOS AND QUICK MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS WHERE YOU HAVE A VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS SPEAKING TO THEIR EXPERIENCES, WHAT THEY FEEL THE UH, NEEDS ARE OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, AND SPEAKING TO THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING ON BEHALF OF BCPS STUDENTS, SINCE WE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGING, UH, FISCAL YEAR, WE HAD THE HINTS AT THE STATE LEVEL.
THERE ARE SOME SPECIFIC PRACTICES THAT WE EMPLOYED AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE BEING FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE.
I BRING, UH, BACK TO EVERYONE'S ATTENTION.
WE ENGAGED AGAIN IN ZERO BASED BUDGETING, WHERE EVERY DIVISION, UH, WHEN THEY MADE A PROPOSAL AND A REQUEST, THAT REQUEST HAD TO BE, UH, HAD TO INCLUDE A RATIONALE AS WELL AS THE NUMBERS THAT SUPPORTED
[01:25:01]
THE REQUEST, BUDGETING TO ACTUAL EXPENDITURES, UM, AND RISING COSTS THAT WE HAD, UH, DOCUMENTATION OF.WE EMPLOYED A CENTRAL OFFICE HIRING FREEZE FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WITH A SMALL EXCEPTION, UH, PROCESS THAT WAS LIMITED TO CRITICAL POSITIONS.
UH, WE DID EMPLOY A DIRECTOR OF, UH, GRANTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS, AS WELL AS SUPERCHARGING THE EFFORTS OF THE EDUCATION FOUNDATION, UM, TO MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRANT FUNDING AND PHILANTHROPY EFFORTS, REDUCED REDUNDANCIES, REALLY TAKING A CLOSE LOOK AT, UM, A CLOSER LOOK AT ALL OF OUR DIVISIONS AND DEPARTMENTS TO IDENTIFY THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, THAT WE HAD, UH, TO MAKE REDUCTIONS THAT WERE NOT GOING TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT OUR STUDENTS AND INCREASED OUR EFFICIENCIES IN TERMS OF OUR PROCESSES AND OUR PRODUCTS AS A RESULT OF THESE EFFORTS.
UM, LAST YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE 104, UH, MILLION DOLLARS THIS YEAR, UH, BECAUSE WE DID ALL OF THAT WORK, UH, LAST YEAR.
AND, UH, OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IS RATHER LEAN.
UH, THERE WAS, UH, INTENTIONALITY AROUND, AND THAT RESULTED IN ADDITIONAL $26 MILLION WORTH OF, UH, REDUCTIONS MM-HMM
UM, THE FOLLOWING WEEK, LAST WEEK, OUR, UH, TEAM RECEIVED AN UPDATED FISCAL NOTE, UH, THAT ALLOWED THE BUDGET TEAM TO CALCULATE THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN PARTICULAR.
UM, THIS SLIDE DEPICTS, UH, THE SPECIFIC AREAS THAT WOULD IMPACT, UH, BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SPECIFICALLY IN THE, UH, REVISED PROPOSED STATE AID FORMULA, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER STATE REVENUE, PRIMARILY NON-PUBLIC PLACEMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
WE SEE REDUCTIONS IN BOTH OF THOSE AREAS FOR A TOTAL OF, UM, ALMOST 10 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THEN, UH, THERE IS A REQUIREMENT, AN ADDITIONAL, UH, PERCENTAGE, UH, FOR, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STATE RETIREMENT AND PENSION.
AND THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL $9.4 MILLION FOR A TOTAL IMPACT ADDITIONAL, UH, UNANTICIPATED OF APPROXIMATELY $20 MILLION.
AND SO WE HAVE SPENT SOME TIME IN THE, UH, REVIEW OF THE BUDGET AND THE PRESENTATION OF THE BUDGET GOING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT EXTERNAL DATA POINTS AND THE PROGRESS THE BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, UH, HAS MADE OVER THIS LAST YEAR AND A HALF.
I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE QUESTION WHY OUR 111,000 STUDENTS ARE WORTH THE INVESTMENT IN THEIR FUTURE.
WHAT IS THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR OUR TAXPAYERS? UM, FOR OUR 800,000 PLUS TAXPAYERS WHO RESIDE IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WE CAN SEE FOR THE FIRST TIME IT HAS BEEN, UM, CONFIRMED BY OUR DIVISION, OUR DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AT LEAST SINCE 2012.
UM, ALL OF OUR DATA IS MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, YOU SEE HERE WE'VE NOTED CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM, MEASURES OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS IN READING AND MATH, ELEMENTARY LITERACY, UH, MCAP STATE ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE AND MATHEMATICS AND LITERACY ARE MARYLAND STAR RATINGS AND TEACHER RETENTION.
UM, UH, WE HAVE HEARD IT SAID THAT, UM, WHILE THERE ARE GAINS IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THEY'RE SMALL GAINS.
UM, AND I WOULD IMPLORE OUR COMMUNITY TO, UM, IMPLEMENT THE SAME STANDARD, UH, THAT WE HAVE WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WINNING OTHER AREAS THAT ARE PERHAPS NOT AS CRITICAL AS EDUCATING OUR FUTURE.
AND IDENTIFYING THAT A WIN IS A WIN, THAT IT IS TIME FOR US TO PUBLICLY APPLAUD NOT ONLY OUR STUDENTS, BUT OUR STAFF MEMBERS THAT ARE WORKING TIRELESSLY ON BEHALF OF OUR STUDENTS TO MAKE THESE GAINS.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN, UM, GOING ON 13 YEARS AS CONFIRMED, AND THE TEAM IS STILL DOING RESEARCH, WE ARE ABLE TO SHOW THAT WE ARE NOT MOVING BACKWARDS OR WE DON'T HAVE CONFLICTING DATA, UH, POINTS IN TERMS OF OUR SCHOOL, AND THAT IS WORTHY OF OUR APPLAUD.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, OUR STUDENTS ARE WORTHY OF THE CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN THE STEPS THAT WE HAVE
[01:30:01]
TAKEN, THE INVESTMENT THAT THE COUNTY HAS MADE THIS BOARD OF EDUCATION HAS MADE IN THEIR FUTURE, THAT IS TURNING THEIR TRAJECTORY AROUND.UM, ANOTHER, UH, SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR BUDGET IS THE PEOPLE.
UM, WE KNOW THAT OUR LEADERS AND OUR TEACHERS HAVE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON OUR, UH, STUDENT OUTCOMES.
TEACHER RETENTION IS AN AREA THAT ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS THE BOARD, FAMILY MEMBERS, UH, UH, STUDENTS, UM, UH, COMMUNITY PARTNERS, OUR LAWMAKERS, OUR ACTUAL TEACHERS, OUR STAFF HAS SAID RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
AND SO IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE SHARE THE DATA ON WHERE WE ARE WITH TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
LAST YEAR, I PRESENTED TO THE BOARD THAT MANY STAFF MEMBERS THAT WERE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT CHOSE NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH RETIREMENT.
AND THAT INSTITUTIONAL INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, UH, IN OUR SCHOOLS.
AND FOR OUR NEWER NOVICE TEACHERS.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY, UH, THE NATIONAL TREND DATA THAT IS OUT FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS, AND OUR, UH, DATA SHARED FROM THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION ON TEACHER RETENTION.
AND COMPARE THAT TO OUR TEACHER RETENTION YEAR TO DATE.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ARE OUTPACING NOT ONLY THE NATIONAL RETENTION NUMBERS IN A TIME OF NATIONAL TEACHER SHORTAGE, BUT WE ARE ALSO OUTPACING THE STATE OF MARYLAND.
WE WANNA MOVE TO STAFF ALLOCATIONS.
AND, UH, LAST WEEK I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY.
WE, UH, A LARGE TEAM INCLUDING HUMAN RESOURCES PARTNERS, INCLUDING CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION PARTNERS, UM, ALSO OUR DIVISION OF SCHOOL PARTNERS TO MEET WITH OUR PRINCIPALS, UM, ALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ASSIGNMENT OF STAFFING ALLOCATIONS SO THEY COULD BEGIN BUILDING THEIR MASTER SCHEDULE FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.
UM, IN THAT ALL ALLOCATION MEETING, WE DEBUTED A NEW TOOL.
UM, I DO WANNA THANK, UM, UH, THREE AREAS THAT CAME TOGETHER WHO BUILT THIS OVER SEVERAL MONTHS.
THE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH ASSESSMENT ACCOUNTABILITY, UM, DIVISION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, AS WELL AS HUMAN RESOURCES, UH, THAT WORKED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS SO THAT WE COULD REMOVE, UM, ANY ISSUES THAT WE HAD IN OUR SYSTEM WITH MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE PROPERLY ALLOCATING RESOURCES TO OUR SCHOOL.
UH, WE HAVE A NEW TOOL, UM, IT IS FUELED BY POWER BI, WHERE THERE IS AN ALGORITHM THAT IS PROGRAMMED.
UM, WE HAVE FORMULAS FOR HOW WE ALLOCATE STAFF, AND WE PROVIDED, UH, DIRECT INFORMATION TO ALL OF OUR PRINCIPALS AS WELL AS, UM, SAMPLE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SO EVERYONE COULD SEE WHAT NUMBERS WERE USED, UM, TO ALLOCATE STAFFING.
THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR COMPARED TO THE NUMBERS PROJECTED FOR THIS UPCOMING YEAR, AND WHERE THERE WAS VARIABILITY.
UM, YOU'LL NOTE, IN ADDITION TO ENROLLMENT, THE CATEGORY OF ADMINISTRATORS, AS WELL AS TEACHER AND SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS AND NON-TEACHING SUPPORT STAFF, UH, WAS ALL PROVIDED TO OUR LEADERS SO THAT THEY HAD THE BEST INFORMATION, UM, SO THAT THEY COULD MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT NEEDED TO BE MADE, AS WELL AS EXPLAIN CLEARLY TO THEIR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES IF THERE WERE CHANGES, WHAT THE CHANGES WERE BASED ON, UM, THAT THERE WAS OPEN CLARITY.
UH, WHEN WE SHARED THE, OR WHEN I SHARED THE, UH, PROPOSED BUDGET, UH, I TALKED ABOUT, UH, PROTECTING AND PRESERVING OUR STAFFING ALLOCATION FORMULAS.
AND I WANNA SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT STAFFING ALLOCATION FORMULAS ARE.
UM, IN THE BLUE CHART, YOU'LL SEE HOW WE ALLOCATE.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, THE FORMULA THAT DRIVES THE NUMBERS THAT, UH, SHOWS UP ON THE ALLOCATION, UM, CHART THAT EVERY SCHOOL RECEIVES IS BASED ON THE CHART THAT YOU SEE.
SO FOR EVERY 22 KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS THAT ARE PROJECTED TO BE ENROLLED IN YOUR SCHOOL, YOU'RE GOING TO RECEIVE ONE TEACHER.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMIND EVERYONE.
ENROLLMENT IS THE BASELINE STAFFING ALLOCATION.
EVERYONE, NO MATTER WHAT SCHOOL HAS ALLOCATION BASED ON ENROLLMENT, THEN WE LAYER ON TOP OF THAT FOR SPECIAL PROGRAMS. AND THEN WE LAYER ON TOP OF THAT FOR STUDENT NEEDS.
STUDENT NEEDS, MEANING OUR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS, OUR STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES, AND OUR STUDENTS LIVING, UH, EXPERIENCING POVERTY MM-HMM
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AND SO MANY TIMES WE HAVE RECEIVED FEEDBACK, UM, THAT THE STAFFING ALLOCATIONS CANNOT BE CORRECT, THE INFORMATION CANNOT BE TRUE, BECAUSE SOME OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF TEACHERS INSIDE OF A CLASSROOM IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.LAST YEAR, WE TRIED TO, UM, EXPLAIN, UH, THIS IN ONE WAY.
AND THIS YEAR WE'RE TAKING, UM, ANOTHER APPROACH BECAUSE IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
AND I SHARE DIRECTLY WITH PRINCIPALS, ESPECIALLY AS WE FACE, UH, THE STATE POTENTIAL CUTS AND UNCERTAINTY.
AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT EVERY COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ALLOCATION IN CLASS SIZES.
AND SO THE FORMULA THAT I JUST SHOWED YOU IS THE ALGORITHM, NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, WHAT SIDE OF THE COUNTY, HOW LARGE YOUR SCHOOL IS, HOW SMALL YOUR SCHOOL IS, BASED ON YOUR ENROLLMENT AND THE GRADE LEVEL OF THE STUDENT, YOU ARE GOING TO RECEIVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF TEACHERS.
SO FOR THIS SIMPLE EXAMPLE, LET'S PRETEND, UH, THIS DREAM SCHOOL ONLY HAS 105 STUDENTS BECAUSE THEY HAVE 105 STUDENTS.
THE COMPUTER ALLOCATES FIVE TEACHERS TO THAT SCHOOL.
NOW, WHAT THE CLASS SIZE LOOKS LIKE IS 100% DEPENDENT ON THE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE.
THE DECISIONS THAT THE LEADERSHIP TEAM MAKES WITH THE, UH, ANALYSIS OF STUDENT DATA, STUDENT NEEDS AND COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY WILL DETERMINE THE CLASS SIZES.
SO IN ONE SCHOOL, WE PROVIDE FIVE, FIVE, UM, TEACHERS, AND THEY DIVIDE ALL 105 STUDENTS INTO FIVE EQUAL SECTIONS.
THE CLASS SIZES, WHAT THE TEACHERS ARE POSTING ON FACEBOOK, WHAT THEY ARE EXPERIENCING, WHAT WHEN YOU GO INTO A BUILDING, YOU SEE WHEN YOU WALK INTO A CLASSROOM IN THAT INSTANCE, IS FIVE EQUAL CLASSES OF 21 STUDENTS EACH.
YOU CAN HAVE ANOTHER SCHOOL THAT CHOOSES TO PULL NINE STUDENTS OUT OF THE 105 OUT FOR A SPECIAL CLASS SECTION, WHETHER THAT IS ADDITIONAL REINFORCEMENT BASED ON ADDITIONAL NEEDS, OR IT IS A CLASS, UM, THAT IS THERE FOR ACCELERATION OF STUDENTS IN THAT SCHOOL.
YOU WILL HAVE ONE TEACHER WHO EXPERIENCES NINE STUDENTS IN THEIR CLASS, AND THE OTHER FOUR TEACHERS WITH 24 STUDENTS IN THEIR CLASS, THE ALLOCATION HAS NOT CHANGED.
AND IN THE LAST EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE A SCHOOL THAT PULLS 14 STUDENTS OUT, AND THEY WANT TO PROVIDE MORE THAN ONE SECTION SO THAT STUDENTS CAN FIT IN THE CLASS, MAYBE ONE IN THE MORNING, ONE IN THE AFTERNOON, THEY'RE NOT ALL LOCKED INTO ONE SECTION, AND THEN THEY DIVIDE THE REMAINING 91 STUDENTS INTO THE THREE EQUAL SECTIONS, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TWO CLASSROOM TEACHERS WHO EXPERIENCE SEVEN STUDENTS IN EACH CLASS.
AND THEN 91 DOESN'T, UM, DIVIDE, UH, BY THREE EQUALLY, TWO TEACHERS WITH 30 STUDENTS, AND ONE TEACHER WITH 31 STUDENTS.
AND SO THIS IS, UH, NOT ONLY OUR WORK, BUT THE SHARED RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PRINCIPLES TO ENSURE THAT ALL COMMUNITIES HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF STAFFING ALLOCATION, BUT HOW MASTER SCHEDULES ARE DEVELOPED AND HOW, UM, COURSES AND SECTIONS ARE PRIORITIZED AND WHAT THE IMPACT IS ON CLASS SIZE.
THE OTHER QUESTION, UH, THAT WE HAVE HEARD IS AROUND, UH, THIS, UH, INCREASE, THIS INCREASE REQUEST TO OUR COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
WHAT MAKES FOR SUCH A LARGE REQUEST, UH, IF EVERYTHING STAYED THE SAME, UM, JUST FOR INFLATION, WE WOULD HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR AN INCREASE.
UNFORTUNATELY, FOR US, EVERYTHING IS NOT STAYING THE SAME, OR FORTUNATELY, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT.
UM, WE SEE THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE IMPROVING.
WE SEE THAT, UM, AND WE SAW IT THIS EVENING THAT PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING TO COME TO BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR.
AND DEFINITELY IN THE SUMMER, WE SEE THAT TEACHERS AND STAFF MEMBERS ARE CHOOSING TO STAY IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND WE CERTAINLY KNOW THAT BECAUSE WE WERE DEALING WITH A, UH, DECADE PLUS OF ACADEMIC DECLINE, THAT THERE'S STILL A LOT MORE WORK FOR US TO DO.
UM, A LARGE PORTION OF OUR REQUEST IS OUR UNION AGREEMENTS.
WE HAVE A THREE YEAR COMPENSATION PACKAGE FOR 20,000 EMPLOYEES.
FUNDING YEAR TWO OF THOSE AGREEMENTS, UM, IS ABOUT $56 MILLION.
BECAUSE WE HAD ESSER CARRYOVER FOR QUARTER ONE, WE WERE ABLE TO FUND
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ADDITIONAL FUNDS, UH, FOR THE EXTENDED SCHOOL DAY AND THE $4 ADD-ON CARRYOVER FOR SUBSTITUTES AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.THAT CARRYOVER HAS TO BE COVERED.
UH, WE HAVE HEARD MANY ADVOCATES, UM, NOT ONLY SPEAK THIS EVENING, BUT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ABOUT, UM, THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS RECEIVING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES.
LAST YEAR, THIS BOARD, UM, PARTNERING WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND THE COUNTY COUNCIL MADE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, UM, AND TO CONTINUE THAT WORK AS WELL AS ENSURING THAT WE ARE BUDGETING TO OUR ACTUALS BECAUSE THERE IS NOT THAT FLEX AND THAT ADDITIONAL, UH, TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AVAILABLE, UM, DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, WE HAVE TO BUDGET FOR THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS, $23 MILLION FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION.
OUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS TOTAL A LITTLE MORE THAN $14 MILLION.
AND AS I, I HAVE SHARED, UM, ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AND HAD THE OCCASION TO MEET, UM, UH, WITH, UH, THE, UH, BALTIMORE GAS AND ELECTRIC, UH, THIS WEEK ARE RISING COSTS, UH, TOTAL ALMOST $10 MILLION.
AND SO THIS IS MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, UM, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE REQUESTING A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS.
BUT WHEN YOU ADD UP, UH, THESE NUMBERS AS WELL AS THE NUMBERS, UH, ADDITIONAL NUMBERS IN THE, UH, BUDGET, AND YOU SUBTRACT FROM THAT, THE SAVINGS THAT WE'RE BRINGING TO THE TABLE, THAT IS HOW WE GET TO THE $100 MILLION REQUEST THAT WE ARE MAKING TO OUR COUNTY FUNDING PARTNERS.
AND SO WITH THAT, I TURN IT OVER TO YOU, VICE CHAIR HARVEY, SO WE CAN OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
DO ANY MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS, MS. AL? UM, GOOD EVENING, DR. ROGERS.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE BUDGET THAT YOU PROVIDED US.
SO I THINK, UM, I GUESS I'M ASKING A QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION JUST FOR MYSELF AS WELL AS FOR, UM, INFORMATION PURPOSES.
UM, I THINK AT TIMES THAT WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT THE BUDGET, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY WANT TO FOCUS ON IS, UM, CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION AND SAYING THAT THERE IS A LOT OF MONEY THERE.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO HOW THE MONEY THAT'S SPENT AT CENTRAL AND THEIR DUTIES DO IMPACT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE AND HOW IT HELPS WITH OUR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, THAT WAS SOME FEEDBACK AND SOME INPUT THAT WE HAD RECEIVED FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN THE PAST THAT BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAD A VERY LARGE CENTRAL OFFICES.
AND SO AS A PART OF THE WORK THAT WE DID, UM, LAST YEAR, WITH THOSE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS SERV, UH, SAVINGS, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN A REORGANIZATION THAT REALLY PUT RESOURCES, UH, CLOSER TO SCHOOLS IN, UM, ALMOST EVERY AREA, YOU'RE GOING TO FIND THOSE SIGNIFICANT EFFICIENCIES.
UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR SPECIALISTS AND OTHER POSITIONS, WE HAVE A REQUIREMENT FOR THE PERCENTAGE OF TIME THAT'S SPENT DIRECTLY IN SCHOOLS.
UM, OUR CENTRAL OFFICES, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE INSTRUCTIONAL PART OF CENTRAL OFFICES, UH, THEY ARE IN SCHOOLS.
THEY ARE PROVIDING THAT TRAINING.
THEY ARE, UM, ENGAGING IN FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION, UH, WALKTHROUGHS, THEY'RE SITTING IN ON, UM, LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETINGS.
THEY'RE SITTING IN ON PLANNING MEETINGS, UH, WITH STAFF MEMBERS.
AND THEN IF YOU TAKE IT TO OUR OPERATIONS, UH, TEAM MEMBERS IN CENTRAL OFFICE, UM, THAT IS HOW WE EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY KEEP OPERATING THE THIRD OLDEST SET OF, UH, BUILDINGS BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO TROUBLESHOOT AND RESPOND IMMEDIATELY TO ISSUES AS THEY, UH, COME UP.
SO TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, WE'RE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS ARE IN SCHOOL.
UM, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO RUN A SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH 111,000 PLUS STUDENTS, UM, AND 176 FACILITIES WITHOUT HAVING THE CENTRAL OFFICE INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, TO, UH, MONITOR AND ENGAGE ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS TO, UH, TAKE CARE OF THE NEEDS SO THAT OUR SCHOOL STAFF CAN FOCUS DIRECTLY ON THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY, UM, STARTING WITH THEIR STUDENTS, AND OF COURSE, ADDING, UM, THE STAFF MEMBERS THAT ARE IN THE BUILDING.
UH, BUT WE ARE A LEAN CENTRAL OFFICES.
UM, LAST YEAR, THE, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL CHART THAT WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY THE
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BOARD REALIGNED OUR, UH, DIVISIONS AND OFFICES, UH, TO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE, UH, MOVING DIRECTLY WITH OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM PRIORITIES.AND, UM, THAT IS WHERE WE ARE AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM.
WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SHOW, UH, WHAT WORK OUR CENTRAL OFFICE IS DOING.
THERE IS ACCOUNTABILITY, UH, FOR ALL MEMBERS ACROSS OUR TEAM.
AND WE ALSO ENGAGE IN A, UH, REGULAR MEETINGS WHERE WE'RE REVIEWING OUR STUDENT DATA PROGRESS AND IDENTIFYING, UM, ACTION STEPS, UH, FOR SUPPORT OF OUR SCHOOLS DIRECTLY.
I'M REFERRING BACK TO YOUR, UM, DISCUSSION ABOUT, EXCUSE ME, STAFFING ALLOCATION AND CLASS SIZES.
UM, AND I WANNA MENTION THAT, UM, MY QUESTION IS MORE FOR THE PUBLIC BECAUSE I BELIEVE, AND I ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER.
UM, SO MY QUESTION IS A COUPLE, A COUPLE QUESTIONS HERE.
UM, FOR CLASS SIZES, ARE SOME OF THE CLASSES SUCH AS AP COURSES LIMITED BY HOW SMALL THE CLASS CAN BE IN ORDER TO, UM, MAKE THIS ADJUSTMENT WORK? IN, IN OTHER WORDS, ARE THEY LIMITED TO HAVING A, NOT HAVING A CLASS OF EIGHT, FOR EXAMPLE? SO THIS UPCOMING YEAR, ONE OF THE THINGS, ONE OF THE BEST PRACTICES THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO IMPLEMENT WITH OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEMS IS HAVING A MINIMUM NUMBER.
NOW, THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO THAT, CERTAINLY A REGIONAL, UM, SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM, UM, DIFFERENT LEVELS OF OUR ELD COURSES FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS.
OUR, UM, SENIORS WHO ARE IN PROGRAM COMPLETERS NECESSARY FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION, WE WOULD NEVER IMPLEMENT, UM, A PRACTICE THAT WOULD PUT THEIR GRADUATION STATUS, UH, IN DANGER.
AND SO THERE ARE, UH, EXCEPTIONS LIKE THAT, OR THERE ARE SOME LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, FOR A NURSING PROGRAM, THE STATE SAYS THAT AN RN CAN ONLY SUPERVISE A MAXIMUM OF EIGHT STUDENTS.
AND SO IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE NURSE THAT DICTATES THE SIZE OF THE CLASS.
BUT IN OTHER INSTANCES, UM, THE REQUEST, UM, THE, THE EXPECTATION FOR ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS IS THAT WE'RE NOT RUNNING CLASSES THAT ARE SMALLER THAN 15, AND THERE ARE MULTIPLE BEST PRACTICES IN WAYS THAT WE CAN ENSURE, PARTICULARLY FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, THAT THEY STILL HAVE MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREERS TO SIGN UP FOR THOSE CLASSES.
AND I ASSUME THAT IT'S PROBABLY MORE DIFFICULT FOR SCHOOLS WITH MAGNET PROGRAMS TO SORT OF MAKE THAT ADJUSTMENT, BECAUSE THEY PROBABLY NEED SOME CLASSES THAT ARE SMALLER BASED ON, UM, THE MAGNET PROGRAM ITSELF.
IS THAT CORRECT? NOT NECESSARILY.
UM, WHAT WE FOUND WHEN WE'VE EXAMINED, UH, THE SPECIFIC SECTIONS AND THE COURSES ARE IN SOME INSTANCES, WE'VE OFFERED FIVE AND SIX SECTIONS OF THE SAME COURSE, THE SAME LEVEL, VERY SMALL NUMBERS.
AND SO, UM, THOSE TEACHERS, MOST, YOU KNOW, OUR TEACHERS ARE CERTIFIED IN A CONTENT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT A SPECIFIC MAGNET PROGRAM.
AND SO IF YOU HAVE A, UH, TEACHER THAT IS TEACHING IN A LITERACY MAGNET AND THEY'RE CERTIFIED IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, UM, INSTEAD OF OFFERING SIX SECTIONS OF SIX FOR 36 STUDENTS OVER TWO DAYS A DAY AND B DAY, YOU COULD OFFER TWO REASONABLE SECTIONS OF 18.
AND THAT TEACHER IS NOW AVAILABLE, UM, TO TEACH FOUR OTHER SECTIONS OF LITERACY, WHICH IS THEIR AREA OF CERTIFICATION.
UM, FOR, UM, ADMINISTRATORS THAT MAY HAVE SOME DIFFICULTY IN THEIR ALLOCATIONS AND, YOU KNOW, SEEM TO HAVE RIDICULOUS CLASS SIZES, UM, IS ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO THEM TO HELP THEM WORK THIS OUT TO MAKE IT MORE REASONABLE? ABSOLUTELY.
UH, FIRST WE HAVE, UM, A, UH, SPECIALIST, MISS GIANELLI, WHO SHE IS OUR MASTER SCHEDULE, UM, GURU IN OUR SPECIALIST.
AND SHE IS AVAILABLE TO HELP ALL SCHOOLS CREATE THEIR MASTER SCHEDULE.
UM, NOT ONLY THE TECHNICAL PIECE, BUT SHE GOES THROUGH THE THINKING WITH THEM AND WHAT OPTIONS THEY HAVE THAT EXIST.
UM, THERE IS, UH, CERTAINLY A PROCESS WHERE SCHOOLS CAN REQUEST EXTRA STAFFING, BUT, UM, I WAS VERY FORTHRIGHT IN MEETING WITH ALL OF OUR PRINCIPALS DIRECTLY LAST WEEK IN THAT WE WILL NOT BE ALLOCATING ANY ADDITIONAL STAFFING BEFORE THE MONTH OF MAY, UM, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.
AND SO, UH, WE WANT THEM TO, UH, PARTNER WITH COLLEAGUES.
WE WANT THEM TO CALL ON THE DIVISION OF SCHOOLS, UH, DIVISION OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION FOR US TO PROBLEM SOLVE TOGETHER.
UM, MASTER SCHEDULING IS, IS SOMETHING I ACTUALLY LIKE TO DO.
AND SO I, I HAVE, UH, STEPPED IN, UM, WHERE WE HELP OUR PARTNERS TO WORK THROUGH IT, BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE NEVER DONE AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL, BECAUSE FOR A LONG TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, FINANCES WEREN'T AN ISSUE FOR US AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM.
SO THIS IS NOT ONLY A SHIFT IN TERMS OF A TECHNICAL SHIFT,
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BUT IT ALSO IS AN ADAPTIVE CHALLENGE OF, OF HOW YOU WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS AND HOW IT CAN BE DONE.AND WE HAVE ALL OF THOSE SUPPORTS, UH, AVAILABLE FOR THEM.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS? UH, MS. TIERRA, I'M SORRY.
AND SO WHEN I LOOK AT PAGE 85 OF OUR BUDGET BOOK, UM, WHICH IS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION'S BUDGET, AND WHEN I LOOK AT OUR FY 24 BUDGET, AND WHEN I LOOK AT FY 24 TO FY 25, UM, WHEN THE REST OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TOOK A, A HIT A DECREASE IN THE BUDGET, WE ACTUALLY GOT AN INCREASE IN OUR BUDGET.
AND SO THEN WHEN I LOOK AT FY 25 TO FY 26, WE DO GET A DECREASE IN OUR BUDGET.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING, AS A BOARD, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE COULD SACRIFICE SO THAT IT COULD GO TOWARD THE SCHOOL SYSTEM? IS THERE ANY OTHER CUTS THAT WE COULD TAKE TO OUR BOARD OF EDUCATION BUDGET? UM, I KNOW THAT IT IS WHAT WE'RE AT 1.7 MILLION, IT WOULD JUST BE PENNIES.
BUT, UM, CONSIDERING THAT FY 24 TO FY 25, WE ACTUALLY GOT AN INCREASE.
UM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT COULD BE CUT FROM OUR BUDGET, UM, TO SHOW GOOD FAITH WITH THE, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM? UH, I, I DON'T CALL ON PEOPLE, UH, UH,
WELL, SHE ASKED THE QUESTION, WHAT WOULD YOU CUT? UH, ONE MINUTE, MR. MCM.
AND I, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I'M ACKNOWLEDGING PEOPLE IN IN ORDER, UH, MS. LESKI REQUESTED TO COMMENT PRIOR TO.
UM, I JUST HAVE TWO QUESTIONS, UM, JUST ON BEHALF OF THE, OF THE PUBLIC.
THIS IS ALL VERY HELPFUL INFORMATION.
I REALLY LOVE THE, UM, THE POINT YOU MADE WITH CENTRAL OFFICE THAT A PERCENTAGE OF THEIR TIME IS SPENT DIRECTLY IN THE CLASSROOM.
FOR THOSE THAT ARE CURIOUS, WHAT IS THAT PERCENTAGE? I BELIEVE, I KNOW IT'S MORE THAN 60%.
I THINK IT'S 70, 80% ARE SPECIALISTS, 60% FOR COORDINATORS, 80% FOR SPECIALISTS, AND 60% FOR COORDINATORS.
AND FOR, FOR SCHOOLS, UM, 50 TO 70% DEPENDING ON, BUT, UM, 50 TO 70.
JEN, FOR THE DIVISION OF SCHOOLS, 50 TO 70% FOR THE DIVISION OF SCHOOLS RESPONSIBILITY, 50 TO 70%.
50 TO 70% FOR THE DIVISION OF SCHOOLS.
AND THEN JUST, UM, THE OTHER QUESTION ON BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC, FOR THOSE THAT HAVE ASKED, IN TERMS OF CENTRAL OFFICE, CAN YOU SPEAK TO, UM, THE SALARY CHANGES OR INCREASES FOR CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF FOR THE FY 26? SURE.
SO THE SALARY INCREASES ARE NOT UNIQUE TO, UM, CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF.
UM, I WOULD JUST CALL EVERYONE'S ATTENTION TO THE ADDITIONAL, I THINK IT'S $56 MILLION, UH, WORTH OF INCREASED COMPENSATION THAT TOUCHES ALL 20,000 EMPLOYEES.
IT IS, UM, THE YEAR TWO COMPENSATION INCREASES THAT WERE AGREED TO AS A PART OF THE THREE YEAR, UM, NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT FOR EVERY SINGLE UNION.
YOU KNOW, MS. BOOKER DWYER MADE THE COMMENT ABOUT WHAT WE COULD CUT AS A BUDGET OF BUDGET OR ON THE BOARD OF EDUCATION BUDGET.
I THINK WE COULD START LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, THE TRAVEL TO THE CONVENTIONS, THE NATIONAL CONVENTIONS, AND THE FLIGHTS AND THE HOTELS AND ALL, ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
I DON'T THINK PERSONALLY, WELL, YOU CAN SMACK ME IF YOU WANT TO, BUT PERSONALLY, I DON'T THINK THAT WE NEED TO, TO EXPEND THAT KIND OF MONEY GOING ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND DOING THAT KIND OF STUFF.
THAT'S MY OPINION, AND I THINK I HAVE A RIGHT TO MY OPINION.
YES, THANK YOU, MR. MCMILLION.
UM, AND, AND WE HAVE TAKEN THAT INTO ACCOUNT, AND THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS, PARTICULARLY, UH, IN THIS TIME OF FISCAL CRISIS ACROSS THE SYSTEM.
WE LOOKED AT THINGS WHERE, UM, WE HAVE REQUIREMENTS, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, CERTAIN PROGRAMS. THERE ARE REQUIRED TRAININGS ANNUALLY.
AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE KEPT THOSE MINIMAL THINGS IN THERE, BUT WE MADE SIGNIFICANT, UH, REDUCTIONS IN THAT AREA.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE, UH, AREAS.
SO THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT, MR. YOUNG.
DR. ROGERS, YOU MAY HAVE ANSWERED MY QUESTION WITH WHAT YOU GAVE MS. FRIEND PONG, BUT IN THE PRESENTATION YOU GAVE US, UM, LAST BOARD MEETING YOU MENTIONED AS PART OF THE COST SAVINGS, UM, I'LL SAY APPROXIMATELY 120 FTE CUTS.
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YOU KNOW, A WIN IS A WIN, ARE WE CUTTING POSITIONS THAT ARE, UM, NECESSARY THAT HAVE HELPED US TO IMPROVE THE SYSTEM AND, AND SUPPORTING, UM, THE SCHOOLS? I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION.UM, THAT'S WHY IT'S TAKEN US SO LONG TO ENGAGE IN THIS THOUGHTFUL, INTENTIONAL PROCESS, UH, WHERE WE HAVE MONTH AFTER MONTH, UM, IDENTIFIED, UM, AREAS FOR CONSIDERATION.
THE BUDGET TEAM HAS DONE, UH, YEOMAN'S JOB OF PROVIDING US WITH THREE YEARS WORTH OF ACTUAL EXPENDITURES.
UH, MY NORMAL PROCESS WAS TO TAKE THAT INFORMATION DIRECTLY TO OUR PRINCIPALS.
THEY WOULD FIRST ENGAGE WITH EACH OTHER, THEN WE WOULD HAVE A FULL GROUP CONVERSATION AND THEN BRING IT BACK TO CENTRAL.
AND WE FOLLOW THE SAME EXACT PROCESS WITH CENTRAL OFFICE, UM, WORKING WITH PEOPLE WHO WERE CLOSEST TO THE WORK, UH, TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF THE STEPS THAT WE'RE TAKING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION THAT WE DON'T, UM, THAT WE'RE NOT SO OVERZEALOUS, UH, THAT WE, UH, HAVE SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE IN SAVINGS IS MOVING FROM A HUNDRED, UH, PLUS MILLION DOLLARS TO $26 MILLION.
SO, JUST TO, SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP THE CAPITAL FUNDS, IF YOU GO BACK TO 23, WE REQUESTED 200 MILLION, THEN 250, AND THEN LAST YEAR WE ASKED FOR 160.
UM, I KNOW WE HAVE SEVERAL HIGH SCHOOLS THAT NEED ARE IN THE PROCESS OF RENOVATIONS, BUT WHAT MADE YOU CONFIDENT TO ASK FOR THE 550 MILLION NOW AS OPPOSED TO THE PREVIOUS YEARS WHEN WE ASKED FOR A LOT LESS? SO I WOULD CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO, UM, THE ACTUAL CAPITAL BUDGET PROCESS.
SO IT, IT WASN'T ME CONFIDENT ASKING.
I THINK, UH, THE BOARD HAS PRIORITIZED THE ORDER OF CAPITAL PROJECTS AND IDENTIFIED, UH, WHAT, UH, YOU GUYS AS A BOARD WOULD LIKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TO ADVOCATE FOR AT THE STATE AND COUNTY LEVEL.
UM, I WILL ALSO NOTE THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS EVERY EVEN YEAR IS USUALLY THE FIVE YEAR PROJECTS AND THE REFERENDUM, UM, THAT COME WITH THAT.
UM, THIS YEAR THERE WAS A REFERENDUM THAT OUR VOTERS IN BALTIMORE COUNTY VOTED FOR, UH, WHICH I BELIEVE WAS OVER $300 MILLION, UM, FOR SCHOOL FACILITIES EVERY EVEN YEAR.
IF YOU TAKE A LOOK, FFY 2020, UH, FFY 22, THE PROPOSED ASK WAS OVER $400 MILLION.
AND WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY HIGH SCHOOLS, UM, THAT WE WERE BUILDING THAT WAS ABOUT 591% INCREASE, UH, FROM THE YEAR BEFORE.
IN FY 24, THE ASK WAS OVER $300 MILLION.
UM, FY 26, THE REQUEST IS OVER $500 MILLION FOR, UM, OVER A 240% CHA UH, CHANGE.
AND, UH, THE DRIVING FACTOR ARE THE THREE HIGH SCHOOLS, UM, THAT, UH, WE ARE BUILDING.
UM, AND WE HAVE TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
AND, UM, WE HAVE USED BUILT TO LEARN FUNDS THAT SUPPLEMENTED SOME OF THOSE ASKS AFTER THAT LEGISLATION WAS PASSED IN 2021, UH, THAT DO NOT EXIST AT THIS POINT.
AND SO I WOULD, UM, SUBMIT THAT THE PRIORITIES THAT HAVE BEEN SET FORTH UNANIMOUSLY BY THIS BOARD OF EDUCATION IN TERMS OF THE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITIES, UM, PARTICULARLY HAVING THREE HIGH SCHOOLS AT, UH, THE, UH, BRAND NEW, UH, BILLS, UM, HAVE DRIVEN THE COST UP.
AND THE IAC UM, HAS ALSO SHARED WITH US SINCE, UM, 2012, COSTS OF SCHOOL BUILDING HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED.
AND SO THIS IS THE COST THAT WE KNOW NOW FOR THESE MAJOR PROJECTS.
UH, BY THE TIME WE START BUILDING AND LOOK AT MATERIALS, ET CETERA.
UM, IT, IT'S NOT UNLIKELY THAT THERE ARE GOING TO BE INCREASED COSTS IN INCURRED.
AND SO, UM, I WOULD SHARE THAT THERE HAS BEEN STAUNCH, UM, ADVOCACY FROM, UH, COMMUNITIES, UM, FROM MEMBERS OF THIS, UH, BOARD OF EDUCATION.
AND, UM, UH, IT'S, IT'S WHAT IS REQUIRED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE STUDENTS.
AND THIS IS NOT, UH, MISALIGNED WITH THE CAPITAL BUDGET PROCESS THAT HAPPENS EVERY EVEN YEAR IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
JUST A QUICK FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
YOU SAID IN 22, YOU WERE, THE ASK WAS OVER 400 MILLION, BUT THE, UM, APPROVED WAS 83 MILLION.
SO THAT'S KIND OF ALARMING IF WE'RE ASKING FOR 540 NOW.
WELL, I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT.
I, I CAN SHARE WHAT THE ASKS WERE, AND THE ASKS ARE ALWAYS COMPRISED OF THE FIVE YEARS WORTH OF
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PROJECTS, UM, THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS PROJECTED.AND THEN THE STATE AND LOCAL, UM, GOVERNMENT WILL MAKE A DETERMINATION BASED ON THE FUNDING THAT THEY HAVE AVAILABLE TO ALLOCATE TO US, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR BUILDING NEW FACILITIES.
UH, CAN WE, MOVING ON TO TITLE ONE FUNDS.
UM, LAST YEAR THE BUDGET WAS AROUND $9 MILLION, AND THIS YEAR IN 25, IT'S GONE DOWN TO 57.
CAN WE EXPLAIN TO THE PUBLIC WHY THAT'S GONE DOWN AND HOW WE ARE STILL ABLE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS IN THIS AREA? YES.
TITLE ONE FUNDS ARE FEDERALLY, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, FEDERAL SPECIAL REVENUE, UH, GRANT FUNDS.
UM, WE RECEIVED THAT ALLOCATION, UM, UH, DIRECTLY, UM, THE STATE OF MARYLAND OVERALL, BECAUSE WE DID ENGAGE IN SOME, UH, ROBUST CONVERSATIONS WITH MSDE.
UM, WHEN WE LEARNED OF OUR ALLEGATION ALLOCATION, THEY SHARED WITH US THAT THEY RECEIVED THEIR ALLOCATION FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL, AND THERE WAS A REDUCTION IN THE STATE OVERALL.
AND SO THERE WAS A TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT, UM, BECAUSE TITLE ONE IS, UH, FORMULA BASED.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TEAM WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT THE STUDENT DATA AND, UM, UH, SHARE, YOU KNOW, HERE ARE THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAD.
WE, UH, DID, UM, WE SHARED THIS LAST YEAR AS A PART OF OUR PROCESS AND EQUITABLE RESOURCE ALLOCATION.
WE DID, UM, CREATE, UH, PROCEDURES WHERE ALL OF THE ALLOCATION, ALL OF THOSE, UM, TEACHERS WERE ASSIGNED DIRECTLY TO OUR STUDENTS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS IN OUR, UM, SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
AND, UH, REDUCE SOME OF THE, UH, FUNDING THAT IN THE PAST WE HAD USED, YOU KNOW, FOR OTHER, UM, ITEMS AND, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT WE REALLY INVESTED HEAVILY IN THE PEOPLE THAT WERE REDUCING, UH, CLASS SIZES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, THAT, THAT IS ONE AREA THAT WE ARE WATCHING CLOSELY TO FIND OUT WHAT IS ULTIMATELY ALLOCATED TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.
UM, NOT ALL, BUT IN PREVIOUS YEARS, I, I WANNA SAY IT WAS 24, WE DID ADD 15 MILLION FROM THE GENERAL BUDGET.
IS THAT SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IF WE DON'T GET THE FUNDING THAT WE NEED? IF WE WERE NOT FACING WHAT I JUST SHARED WITH YOU FOR THE PROPOSED STATE, UM, UH, BUDGET, AS WELL AS UNCERTAINTY AROUND THE FEDERAL FUNDS, I THINK WE WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER POSITIONED TO SUGGEST THAT.
I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, UH, OUR POSITION RIGHT NOW HAS TO BE, UM, TAKING A CLOSE LOOK AT WHAT IS POTENTIALLY HAPPENING AND, UH, REALLY SPENDING A LOT OF TIME, UH, FOCUSED AND ENERGY ADVOCATING AT THE STATE LEVEL.
SO SOME OF THESE CUTS DON'T COME FORWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I HAVE SHARED THAT LAST WEEK I WAS IN ANNAPOLIS ADVOCATING ON BEHALF OF TEAM BCPS.
TOMORROW I WILL BE TESTIFYING IN FRONT OF THE, UH, EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE AND MEETING WITH OTHER, UM, UH, COMMITTEE LEADS.
I'LL BE BACK ON THURSDAY AND FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS, AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF TEAM BCPS, OUR TEACHERS, OUR ADMINISTRATORS, OUR EDUCATION SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS, UM, TO ADVOCATE, UM, SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THIS REDUCTION IN FUNDING.
I THINK WE WOULD BE IN A BETTER POSITION IF WE KNOW THAT, UH, THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE'RE GONNA RECEIVE FROM OUR COUNTY, UH, PARTNERS AS WELL AS, UM, THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA RECEIVE ADDITIONAL CUTS FROM OUR STATE BUDGET TO, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT SUPPLEMENTING IN THAT WAY RIGHT NOW.
UH, GIVEN THE BLEAK FINANCIAL OUTLOOK, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THAT.
THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD, UM, REASONABLY DO.
UM, $15 MILLION, YOU KNOW, WE SHARE THE, UH, UH, FOR ONE TEACHER IS ABOUT 105,000, UM, DOLLARS.
AND SO FOR $15 MILLION, UM, THAT IS A COMMENSURATE NUMBER OF, UH, TEACHERS.
AND, AND WE HAVE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA PRIORITIZE OUR TEACHERS AND KEEP THEM IN THOSE CLASSROOMS WORKING HARD ON BEHALF OF OUR STUDENTS.
SO CERTAINLY I WILL HAVE MY FINGERS CROSSED IF WE HAVE FUNDS, UH, ABSOLUTELY, UH, WILLING TO, YOU KNOW, TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
BUT RIGHT NOW, IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT THAT'S THE CASE FOR US OR ANY OTHER SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE, UH, STATE OF MARYLAND.
I'M, I'M, I'M GONNA ASK YOU TO HOLD YOUR QUESTION TO ALLOW OTHER BOARD MEMBERS TO ASK QUESTIONS.
I THREE MINUTES, RIGHT? UH, ARE WE AT THREE MINUTES? NO.
'CAUSE IT STOPS WHEN THE PERSON STOPS, RIGHT? WHERE ARE WE? YOU'RE AT ONE 30.
UH, WITH THE CAREER IN COLLEGE READINESS, IT'S TAKING A 50% CUT THIS YEAR.
HOW WILL THIS AFFECT PROGRAMS LIKE AVID ECAP EARLY COLLEGE ACCESS PROGRAMS AND ADVANCED PLACEMENT? SO, UM, CAN YOU POINT ME TO WHICH CAREER AND COLLEGE READINESS? I KNOW WHICH PAGE YOU'RE
[02:05:01]
REFERRING TO.SO I WOULD, UH, REQUEST WHICH PAGE WE'RE SPEAKING OF SO I CAN RESPOND TO WHETHER OR NOT, UM, THESE ARE BLUEPRINT, UH, FUNDS.
THE FUNDS ARE, IT'S 1.27 MILLION IS FOR THIS YEAR AND 2025.
GENERAL, IT'S GENERAL FUND SEEMS LIKE THE TEAM IS LOOKING FOR THAT PAGE.
UH, WE CAN, UH, MOVE FORWARD WHILE THEY LOOK BECAUSE IT CAN BE BLUEPRINT.
MS. DOMINQUE, DO YOU HAVE AN ADDITIONAL QUESTION WHILE HER TEAM IS LOOKING FOR THE DOCUMENTATION OF YOUR YEAH, BUT YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA HAVE TO KEEP LOOKING FOR DOCUMENTATION IF YOU DON'T KNOW.
'CAUSE THE REST OF MY QUESTIONS ARE PRETTY LIKE THAT AS WELL.
WELL, I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD PRESUME THAT.
I THINK YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR QUESTION AND WE'LL FIND OUT.
SO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LITERACY AND HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT IN 95 DID THIS REPLACE THE TEACHING AND LEARNING DEPARTMENT IN 95 OF THE PREVIOUS YEARS IN 25 AND 24 23.
SO IF YOU'LL RECALL, LAST YEAR, WE BROUGHT FORWARD A, UM, NEW ORGANIZATION CHART TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION WHERE WE REALIGNED IN CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS TO BE ALIGNED WITH THE ACADEMIC PRIORITIES.
AND SO THAT THERE, THAT WAS INDEED A CHANGE THAT WAS, UH, APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
I UNDERSTAND, BUT THE, UH, THE FORMER 95, THE TEACHING AND LEARNING HAD A BUDGET OF OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, AND NOW THE LITERACY AND HUMANITIES HAS A A $500,000.
WHAT IS THE, WHAT CAUSED THE DRASTIC CHANGE IN BUDGETS? SO LAST YEAR, UH, WHEN WE WENT THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE WERE ABLE TO REDUCE, UM, SIGNIFICANTLY FUNDING THAT WE SPENT IN CONTRACTUAL SERVICES.
WE WERE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE, UM, GRANTS.
UH, WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO REDUCE POSITIONS.
WE HAD THE, UH, REDUCTION IN, UM, SOME OF THE, UH, RESOURCE TEACHERS THAT WERE CONVERTED TO OUR, UH, SPECIALISTS IN, UM, CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION.
AND THOSE SPECIALISTS PROVIDE DIRECT SUPPORTS, UH, TO OUR SCHOOLS.
UH, WE COULD, I MEAN, WE, WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT, BUT THAT WAS A PART OF, UH, LAST YEAR'S, UH, BUDGETS.
AND YOU WILL NOTE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN NO, UH, NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON LITERACY IN INSTEAD, WE'VE SEEN QUITE THE OPPOSITE IN TERMS OF OUR LITERACY OUTCOMES FOR OUR STUDENTS.
AND THE LITERACY LITERACY TEAM, UM, HAS, UH, IMPLEMENTED LAST YEAR ALL OF THEIR FIDELITY VISITS TO THE SCHOOLS WITH THE, UH, VENDORS AND HAVE PROVIDED, UM, I THINK AT LEAST THREE REPORTS TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ABOUT THEIR WORK.
UM, ALSO, IT'S PAGE 1 44 FOR THE COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS.
IT'S 1.2 MILLION FROM THE GENERAL FUND, AND LAST YEAR WE WERE RECEIVING, UH, 2.6.
SO HOW WILL THAT AFFECT ADVANCED PLACEMENT? AVID AND EARLY COLLEGE READ EARLY ACCEPTANCE.
WELL, I CAN TELL YOU THERE, THERE ARE GONNA BE NO CUTS TO THOSE, UH, PROGRAMS. SO, SO I CAN SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
UH, THE BOOK THAT I HAVE HAS A DIFFERENT, UM, PAGE.
I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, MR. C, YOU HAVE FOUND THAT YOU, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO DETERMINE WHERE $2 MILLION.
UH, WELL, YOU HAVE TO GO BACK BECAUSE YOU GUYS DON'T PUT THE, UM, THAT WAY.
SO I HAD TO GO BACK TO THE LAST YEAR'S BOOK DEFINED.
SO WE'LL FOLLOW UP IN, UM, WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL FOLLOW UP IN WRITING AND POST THAT.
THERE'S NO APPARENT VARIANCE OF, OF $2 MILLION ON THAT PAGE.
MS. DOKI, YOU COMPARED IT TO THE LAST BOOK OPERATING BUDGET FROM LAST YEAR.
FROM, 'CAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN FIND IT.
UM, UH, THE ONLINE LEARNING, WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THE INCREASE? ARE WE ADMITTING MORE STUDENTS TO OUR ONLINE AND LEARNING PROGRAM? IT'S, UH, GONE UP ABOUT 80% THIS BUDGET.
UM, SO REMEMBER LAST YEAR WE COMBINED ALL OF THE SEPARATE ONLINE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAD, UM, INTO ONE OFFICE, UH, FOR EFFICIENCY.
SO I, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SPEAKING TO, AND WE CAN CONFIRM IS, UM, YOU SEEING ALL OF THE GROUPS COME TOGETHER, WE USED TO HAVE, UM, UH, REMIND
[02:10:01]
ME ALL THE DIFFERENT LETTERS OF THE DIFFERENT ONLINE PROGRAMS, E E-LEARNING AND VLP.SO THERE WERE TWO DIFFERENT MECHANISMS. SO E-LEARNING WAS, UM, STUDENTS COULD REGISTER THROUGH E-LEARNING TO DO, IT WAS ALL FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
I MEAN, BUT VLP WAS ORIGINALLY PAY TO 12 MODEL FOLLOWING.
I'M SORRY, MS. DEDO, CAN YOU PLEASE STEP UP SO EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU? THANK YOU.
SO PREVIOUSLY THERE WERE TWO SEPARATE PROGRAMS, THE VIRTUAL LEARNING PROGRAM, WHICH WAS OUR ONLINE PROGRAM THAT STARTED FOLLOWING COVID, WHICH INITIALLY WAS KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 12TH GRADE.
AND THEN E-LEARNING WAS A HIGH SCHOOL, UM, WITH A FEW MIDDLE SCHOOL COURSES PROGRAM THAT HAD BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
THE TWO PROGRAMS MERGED TOGETHER.
SO THIS IS REALLY THE COMBINING OF THOSE TWO PROGRAMS. SO LAST YEAR THEY WERE PROBABLY LISTED AS TWO DIFFERENT BUDGET ITEMS, UM, VLP AND THE ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAM, BECAUSE THAT HAPPENED AFTER JULY ONE.
UM, I, I PROBABLY MR. SOROS NEEDS TO COME BACK.
WHY THE INCREASE OF 60% IN BUDGET? DID WE HAVE A CHANGE OR ADDING IN FTES? IT'S WENT FROM ABOUT 350,000 TO 600,000.
I THINK, UM, ON ONE OF THE PAGES IN THE BUDGET, BECAUSE WE WANTED TO NOTE THIS, UH, THERE WAS A BUDGET NEUTRAL REORGANIZATION FROM, UH, IN HUMAN RESOURCES WITH, UH, THE DIVISION OF FINANCES.
AND I THINK IT WAS FOR RISK MANAGEMENT WHERE STAFF MEMBERS MOVED OVER ALONG AND, UH, THE BUDGET TEAM IS ALL SHAKING THEIR HEADS.
AND THE CHIEF HR WHERE THE BUDGET, THE PEOPLE AND THE SALARIES MOVED OVER UNDER THE CFO? YES.
CAN I HAVE A POINT OF ORDER TO ASK THAT? THANK YOU, MS. DOKI.
YOUR TIME HAS, MR. BURNS HAS NOTED THAT YOUR TIME IS UP.
MS. HEN, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? DO YOU HAVE ST DO YOU HAVE A POINT OF ORDER? I DO.
JUST SO THAT THE REST OF THE BOARD MEMBERS CAN FOLLOW ALONG IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE BUDGET, IF THE PERSON SPEAKING CAN REFERENCE THE PAGE NUMBER SO THAT THE REST OF THE BOARD CAN FOLLOW ALONG AS WELL.
THANK YOU, MS. HIN, PLEASE PROCEED.
UM, MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE GENERAL FUND BALANCE, AND I'M ON PAGE 33 OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, THE FORECASTED FY 25 BEGINNING GENERAL FUND BALANCE IS 128.6 MILLION.
UM, MY FIRST QUESTION IS, IS THE, WHAT IS THE FORECAST AMOUNT OF THE ENDING FUND BALANCE FOR FY 25, ALONG WITH WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE AVAILABLE, UM, FOR EXPENDITURES FOR FY 26? AND IF DR. ROGERS, IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT, THERE IS A FISCAL NOTE INDICATING THAT BCPS INCREASED ITS USE OF FUND BALANCE BEGINNING IN 2023 DUE TO REQUIREMENTS FROM BLUEPRINT.
UM, SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU COULD, UM, ELABORATE ON IN TERMS OF OUR USE OF THE GENERAL FUND BALANCE VERSUS WHAT IS AVAILABLE FOR EXPENDITURES VERSUS WHAT IS REAPPROPRIATED.
UM, I THINK I'LL HAVE, UH, MR. TANT LIFT AND MR. CS COME TO SPEAK TO THE NUMBERS, BUT YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
THE, UM, STARTING AT FY 23, UM, THE, UH, FUND BALANCE WAS BEING USED.
IT WAS PART OF, UM, UH, YOU'LL SEE HERE, TRANSFERRED TO 25 MILLION, TRANSFERRED TO BALTIMORE COUNTY GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT SOME OF THE, UH, CAPITAL PROJECTS.
AND, UM, AS, UH, I PROPOSED IN THE BUDGET, SOME OF THE ACTUAL EXPENDITURES WERE ANNUALLY, UM, NOT ONLY IN BALTIMORE COUNTY, BUT ACROSS THE STATE TO THE TUNE OF MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLARS WHERE, UH, THE SPECIAL EDUCATION COSTS, UM, EXCEED THE BUDGETED AMOUNTS.
AND, UH, MR. CS WENT TO ACTUALLY CHECK, AND I BELIEVE HE TOLD ME HE COULD SEE FOR AT LEAST, UM, 10 YEARS WHERE THAT HAS BEEN THE CASE.
THIS, AND YOU, AND YOU WOULD KNOW THAT AS WELL.
THAT IS GONNA BE, UM, PART OF OUR EXPENDITURES, UH, THIS YEAR AS WELL AS, UM, OTHER ITEMS TO, UH, MAINTAIN OPERATIONS.
BUT, UH, THESE, UH, TEAM MEMBERS CAN SHARE DETAILS ON THE, UH, FUND BALANCE.
AND THAT WAS THE SECOND PART OF MY QUESTION.
UM, IN THAT SAME CHART ON 33, THE EXPENDITURES EXCEED REVENUES BY, UM, WELL, IT'S 1.9 MILLION IN REVENUES TO CLOSE TO 2 BILLION IN EXPENDITURES.
SO IF, GOOD EVENING, GENTLEMEN, IF YOU COULD COMMENT ON THOSE TWO NUMBERS AS WELL, I'D APPRECIATE IT.
SO ONE THING IS THE USE OF FUND BALANCE.
YOU CAN'T, UH, SEE IN THERE BECAUSE REVENUE, UH, VERSUS EXPENSE, IT'S NOT, UH, NEW REVENUE.
IT JUST, UH, REDUCES OUR EXPENDITURES.
[02:15:01]
RIGHT NOW WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THIS YEAR'S PROJECTIONS.UH, IF WE NEED TO DO A SUPPLEMENTAL, AS WE, IF YOU RECALL, WE DIDN'T NEED TO DO LAST YEAR, UM, WE'RE EXPECTING OUR YEAR END FUND BALANCE WILL PROBABLY BE IN THE GENERAL BALLPARK OF WHAT YOU SEE THERE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S A PRETTY DYNAMIC SITUATION.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, LATER IN THE YEAR AS WE GET TOWARDS THE BAT AND THE SUPPLEMENT, WE'D HAVE A MORE EXACT FIGURE FOR OUR, UH, YEAR END PROJECTION.
BUT BECAUSE SO MUCH GOT SQUEEZED OUT OF THE BUDGET AS WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING, OUR, UM, END OF YEAR VARIANCE, UH, HAS PRETTY MUCH GONE AWAY RIGHT NOW.
SO, AS DR UM, UH, YOU KNOW, DURING THE PRESENTATION WHEN WE, UH, LOOKED AT THE AMOUNT THAT WE CUT LAST YEAR, THE AMOUNT WE HAVE CUT IN THE 26TH BUDGET, UM, THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT OF MONEY DROPPING TO POSITIVE VARIANTS, WHICH WE, WE SAW A LOT OF, ESPECIALLY POST COVID.
I, WHEN PEOPLE WERE AT HOME, A LOT OF PURCHASE ORDERS DIDN'T GET USED AND WE WERE GENERATING A LOT OF POSITIVE VARIANTS.
WE JUST DON'T HAVE THAT FLEXIBILITY, UH, LIKE WE HAVE HAD IN THE PAST.
SO THINGS ARE VERY COMPRESSED AND TIGHT, AND THAT'S WHY, UH, DR. ROGERS TALKED ABOUT BUDGETING TO OUR EXPENDITURES BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE FLEX THAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
SO WE ARE NOT LOOKING AT HAVING A POSITIVE STARTING FUND BALANCE FOR FY 26 AVAILABLE.
WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A, WE'LL HAVE A POSITIVE STARTING FUND BALANCE FOR SURE.
DO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF THAT NUMBER OR BALLPARK? I, I, IT'S CITED HERE, I DON'T RECALL.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 30, AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE IS THAT ACCURATE, TALKED ABOUT THAT, WHERE WE HAVE PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE, THAT IS NOT THE ACTUAL FUND BALANCE.
THAT IS THE PORTION OF WHICH WE HAVE ROLLED OVER TO NEXT, WE PLAN TO USE FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO I THINK THAT THAT FIGURE OF 18 MILLION, 18 MILLION AND THE SMALLER FIGURE IN THE CHART YOU CITED OF 40 MILLION ILLUSTRATES THE FACT THAT THAT THE BALANCE ITSELF IS INCREASING AS WELL AS OUR ABILITY TO USE IT.
AND WE COORDINATE WITH BALTIMORE COUNTY GOVERNMENT ON THIS VERY CLOSELY BECAUSE THAT FUND BALANCE IS THE TAXPAYER'S MONEY.
SO WE DON'T WANT IT TO BE TOO BIG BECAUSE THAT'S MONEY THAT'S SITTING ON THE SIDELINES THAT'S NOT GOING TO DIRECT EDUCATION EXPENSES.
SO IT IS, UH, IT, IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAXIMIZE THAT WHEN IT'S AVAILABLE, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO, UH, ALLOW IT TO ACCUMULATE.
WE WANNA PUT IT BACK INTO THE BUDGET AND THAT, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
AND I THINK, UH, AS MR. TANIFF INDICATES, WE'LL, WE'RE ONLY REALLY HALFWAY THROUGH THE INSTRUCTIONAL YEAR.
WE'VE GOT EXPENDITURES IN OUR ACCOUNTING SYSTEM THROUGH, THROUGH DECEMBER.
SO WE WILL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT THAT NUMBER'S GONNA BE AS WE GET TOWARDS, UH, THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT'S FINAL ADOPTION.
AND BELIEVE ME, THEY WILL BE, UH, UH, ASSURING THEM THEMSELVES THAT, THAT WE MAXIMIZE THE USE OF THAT FUND BALANCE.
IT JUST WILL NOT BE AS BIG AS IT HAS BEEN.
AND THAT CAN BE A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT.
AND IS IT PREFERENTIAL TO USE THAT, DOES IT AFFECT THE CALCULATION OF MOE? DOES IT REALLY NOT MATTER? NO, IT'S NOW, BECAUSE IT'S ALL THE SAME APPRO APPROPRIATION POT IN TERMS OF COUNTY ONLY, UH, MONEY APPROPRIATED FROM THE COUNTY COUNTS TOWARDS MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
SO FUND BALANCE IS NOT IN THAT CALCULATION BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY BEEN APPROPRIATED.
YOU COULD THINK OF IT THAT WAY, BUT IT'S JUST NEW COUNTY REVENUE THAT GOES INTO MAINTENANCE OF, UH, EFFORT CALCULATIONS.
AND MILLER IS WHAT THEY WOULD GIVE ABOVE.
MOE IS THE NUMBER THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON THAT DR. ROGERS WAS TALKING ABOUT WITH A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE'D BE ASKING IN ADDITIONAL REVENUE.
WHATEVER PORTION OF THE FUND BALANCE WE'VE BUDGETED HAS HAS REDUCED THE AMOUNT WE'RE ASKING FROM BALTIMORE COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
AND THERE'S A FOOTNOTE, AND THIS IS MY LAST QUESTION ON THIS
AND THAT IS THAT OTHER SOURCES, UM, EXCLUDES REAPPROPRIATED FUND BALANCE OF, FOR FY 25, 49 0.6 MILLION.
SO POTENTIALLY THAT COULD INCREASE OUR GENERAL FUND BALANCE THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR FY 26.
SHOULD THE COUNTY APPROVE THAT.
THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE MECHANICS OF THE CHART BECAUSE YOU ASKED ABOUT THE THE FUND BALANCE PIECE.
IT DOESN'T GO, UM, IT ISN'T NEW REVENUE,
[02:20:01]
BUT IT, THAT EXPENSE STILL HAPPEN.SO IT WAS JUST, IT WAS REALLY JUST TRYING TO TELL HOW MUCH WAS BUDGETED FOR FUND BALANCE IN THOSE YEARS.
SO THAT WAS RETURNED MORE OR LESS TO THE COUNTY.
SO COULD IT BE, IT TENDS TO BE TUITION INTEREST, EARNINGS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
ISN'T THAT CORRECT? WHAT THE OTHER SOURCES, UM, IN THIS CASE THOUGH, IT'S JUST TRY THAT FOOTNOTE IS JUST IDENTIFYING HOW MUCH WAS USED OUT OF, UH, FUND BALANCE.
AND ONE THING ALSO OF NOTE IS, YOU KNOW, OUR FUND BALANCE USAGE HAS BEEN INCREASING AS THINGS HAVE GOTTEN TIGHTER AND TIGHTER.
AND OUR USAGE OF FUND BALANCE, YOU CAN SEE IN THE BUDGET DROPS FROM ALMOST 50 MILLION TO 18 MILLION NEXT YEAR BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THAT FLEXIBILITY ANYMORE.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER FACTOR THAT MAKES THE BUDGET TIGHT THIS YEAR.
WHICH STILL INCLUDES THE PHASING OUT OF THE, UH, COVID RELATED GRANT.
WHICH HAD SUPPORTED A LOT OF COMPENSATION AND, AND ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION AND THE LIKE.
AND A LARGE PORTION OF SAYING THAT FUND BALANCE HAD BEEN UNSPENT SALARIES AND WAGES.
SO AS WE SEE IMPROVEMENT WITH, UM, RECRUITING AND RETENTION AND FILLING THOSE VACANCIES, I WOULD EXPECT TO SEE A DECLINING FUND BALANCE AS WELL, AS WELL AS USE OF THE FUND BALANCE TO MEET OUR BLUE BLUEPRINT REQUIREMENTS.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT? WELL, LESS STATE MONEY WE GET AND THE, YEAH, WE'LL BE PRESSURED TO USE, MAXIMIZE THE USE OF THAT.
AND WE'LL BE WORKING WITH COUNTY GOVERNMENT ON THIS STARTING YESTERDAY,
ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS FROM BOARD MEMBERS? MS. CHIKE? KLU.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, DR. ROGERS.
I JUST HAD TWO QUICK QUESTIONS.
SO FOR THE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FUNDING, JUST IN MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, WE WERE KIND OF LIKE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE THE ADDITIONAL CTE CERTIFICATION EXAMS EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T FEEL AS PREPARED AS A RESULT OF THAT.
SO I WAS WONDERING, ARE THERE GONNA BE STRICTER GUIDELINES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE MAXIMIZING SUCCESS AND STUDENT PREPARATION? AND IF SO, HOW IS THAT GONNA BE COMMUNICATED ON A SCHOOL-WIDE LEVEL TO ENSURE IT'S ACTUALLY BEING FOLLOWED? SO, UM, UH, YOU BRING UP A GREAT POINT, UH, IN TERMS OF THE CERTIFICATIONS THAT WE WERE PAYING FOR AND, UH, OUT OF THE MOUTH OF THE STUDENT, WHETHER YOU WERE PREPARED OR NOT, UH, WE WERE ENCOURAGING, UM, STUDENTS TO TAKE THOSE AND IN INCURRING A COST FOR THAT.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF OUR WORK, UH, IS WITH STAFF ENSURING THAT, UH, SO THERE IS FUND, THERE ARE FUNDS IN THE BUDGET TO CONTINUE TO PAY FOR CERTIFICATION FIRST, UH, FIRSTLY, BUT WE WANT TO, UH, MAXIMIZE THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO ARE EARNING THOSE CERTIFICATIONS AND WHAT COMES WITH THAT.
AND SO, UM, THAT'S PART OF THE, UH, RETRAINING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE AND LEVEL SETTING EXPECTATIONS, UH, FOR OUR STAFF THAT WE'RE NOT JUST TAKING, UM, UH, EXAMS TO TAKE EXAMS BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING PAID FOR.
AND, UH, THAT'S REALLY, UH, ALL THE EXAMS THAT WERE PROVIDED.
WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE PAYING FOR AP EXAMS, WE'RE STILL GONNA BE PAYING FOR, UH, COLLEGE COURSES, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE IS DOING THEIR DUE DILIGENCE, US AS THE ADULTS IN TERMS OF SHARING THE EXPECTATIONS AND PROVIDING THAT TRAINING.
AND, UM, IN MANY INSTANCES, THERE ARE MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE THESE ASSESSMENTS.
AND SO, UM, UH, MAKING SURE THAT AS STAFF MEMBERS, UH, WE PERHAPS ARE NOT SAYING, JUST GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT IN OCTOBER AND YOU'RE SHAKING YOUR HEAD SO YOU, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT IN OCTOBER, IN NOVEMBER, AND WAITING FOR YOU TO TAKE IT IN THE SPRING WHEN WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THE REQUISITE KNOWLEDGE TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
AND THEN FOR MY SECOND QUESTION, IT WAS ABOUT THE, UM, SOFTWARE LICENSES.
SO FOR THE PROGRAMS THAT REQUIRE IT, LIKE THE MAGNET PROGRAMS WHERE IN LIKE THE GRAPHICS PROGRAMS, THEY NEED THE ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE, AND IN HEALTHCARE THEY NEED THE OSHA.
SO ARE WE LIKE, I THINK WE ALREADY DO THIS, BUT DO WE HAVE THAT DIFFERENTIATED MODEL WHERE WE JUST IDENTIFY STUDENTS WHO REQUIRE THOSE SPECIFIC SOFTWARE SO WE'RE NOT INCURRING ADDITIONAL EXPENSES? AND THEN FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE ALREADY LEFT THE PROGRAM, LIKE FOR ME AGAIN, AS EXAMPLE AS A SENIOR IN THE GRAPHICS PROGRAM WHERE IT'S NOT COMPULSORY FOR ME TO HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE ADOBE PROGRAMS, AM I ALSO LIKE TERMINATED FROM THAT? SO WE'RE MINIMIZING THAT COST AS WELL.
OH, WE CERTAINLY DO NOT HAVE LICENSES FOR EVERY SINGLE STUDENT THAT GOES TO, UH, YOU KNOW, GOES THROUGH OUR TEAM BCPS SCHOOLS.
I CAN ALSO SHARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT OUR DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, THEY ARE,
[02:25:01]
UH, THEY ARE WORKING DOUBLE TIME TO INCREASE EFFICIENCIES, PARTICULARLY KNOWING THE INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, HARDWARE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS UPCOMING YEAR.UH, THEY'VE LOOKED AT EVERY EXPENSE, NOT ONLY FOR, UH, STUDENTS, BUT ALSO STAFF, UH, PERHAPS LICENSES THAT AND SUBSCRIPTIONS THAT WE'VE JUST RENEWED ANNUALLY BECAUSE WE'VE ALWAYS HAD THEM, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT THE ACTUAL USAGE AND, UM, SOME SUBSCRIPTIONS THAT WE PAY FOR THAT HAVE OTHER CAPABILITIES THAT WE NEVER USE BECAUSE LONG TIME AGO WE WERE USING ANOTHER, UM, SYSTEM.
AND SO I WOULD SAY, UM, ABSOLUTELY MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCIES AND THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HAS DONE THEIR DUE DILIGENCE IN EXAMINING EVERYTHING.
AND THEN FOR MY FINAL QUESTION, I REMEMBER, SORRY,
AND SO I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT THAT BUDGET, THAT'S LIKELY STILL CONTINUING, BUT FOR LIKE THE ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAM AND FOR OTHER ADDITIONAL SERVICES, WE MAY NEED, KIND OF WHETHER THE STEPS BEING TAKEN TO STILL SUPPORT THOSE FAMILIES, LIKE THIS NECESSARILY MIGHT NOT BE A BUDGET RELATED QUESTION, BUT JUST WITH THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM SETS, KIND OF HOW ARE WE STILL ACCOMMODATING THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT, UM, I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE WITH PRINCIPALS, UM, AND WITH OUR UNION PARTNERS IS, UM, UH, AROUND MAKING SURE THAT STUDENTS WHO HAVE NEEDS, THEY HAVE, THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY.
SOME SCHOOLS HAVE ACTUALLY, UH, TRIED IT OUT ON THEIR OWN WHERE THE DEVICES DON'T GO BACK AND FORTH EVERY DAY, BUT THEY HAVE A SYSTEM WHEREBY FAMILIES CAN CHECK OUT A DEVICE FOR A YEAR.
SO, UM, A STUDENT WHO DOESN'T HAVE ACCESS TO A DEVICE AT HOME, IT'S PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL AS WELL AS THE HOTSPOTS THAT WE CONTINUE TO, UM, HAVE THAT, UM, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO SHARE THOSE WITH FAMILIES SO STUDENTS ARE NOT ADVERSELY IMPACTED.
THIS IS JUST MY LAST, UH, COMMENT ABOUT THE BUDGET.
SO I AM DEEPLY CONCERNED, UM, IF THE 20 MILLION IN CUTS ON TOP OF WHAT WE'RE ALREADY CUTTING HAPPENS, I AM ALSO DEEPLY CONCERNED IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL CUTS FEDERALLY, UM, ESPECIALLY WITH THE FEDERAL FREEZE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAN SUSTAIN THE, THE PROGRESS WE HAVE SEEN IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITH ADDITIONAL CUTS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAN RIGHT NOW.
WE KNOW THAT CLASS SIZES ARE, ALL OF OUR CLASS SIZES ARE NOT WHERE WE WANT THEM TO BE.
UM, AND I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW WITH THE CONTINUED CUTS, ESPECIALLY EVEN WITH, UM, CENTRAL OFFICE POSITIONS, HOW WE, HOW WE CAN SUSTAIN, UM, THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE.
SO I THINK YOU, THIS BUDGET, I MEAN, YOU HAVE DONE A, A PHENOMENAL JOB.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK DEEPER AT THE BOARD'S SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
I AGREE WITH MR. MCMILLION, YOU KNOW, CUT US TO THE BARE BONES, EVEN IF IT MEANS CUTTING ALL BUT ESSENTIAL POSITIONS, UM, BECAUSE WE WERE NOT TOUCHED LAST YEAR AND WE ARE IN CRISIS RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO DEDICATE FUNDS AND, YOU KNOW, TO THE SCHOOL BUILDING, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT.
UM, AND WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO ADVOCATE WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS OR WHOEVER TO, SO THAT WE CAN, UM, AT LEAST PRESERVE THAT 20 MILLION BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE GONNA GET IT.
AND THIS IS WHERE IT'S GONNA REALLY START HITTING, UM, AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE, IT'S ALREADY HITTING AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL, BUT IT'S GOING TO, IT'S GOING TO REALLY HIT HARD AND WE JUST, WE CAN'T AFFORD ANY MORE CUTS TO THIS BUDGET.
WE ARE ALREADY AT THE BARE BONES AND WE JUST, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO CUT.
UM, AND SO YEAH, THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO, TO SAY ABOUT THAT.
WELL, THANK YOU MS. BOOKER DWYER, FOR THOSE, UH, COMMENTS.
WE CERTAINLY ECHO THOSE SENTIMENTS, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE THANK YOU.
UH, WHICH IS WHY WE ARE CONTINUING TO ENGAGE IN ADVOCACY AT THE STATE LEVEL.
I WOULD SAY TO, UM, ALL OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS AND OUR FAMILIES WHO ARE WATCHING, UM, THAT WE NEED THEIR VOICES.
UH, WE NEED EVERYONE TO BE ADVOCAT, UH, ADVOCATING, UM, TO THE STATE, UM, THAT WE NEED THE FUNDING THAT IS, UH, AVAILABLE FOR THE BLUEPRINT SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO INVEST IN, UH, MEMBERS OF TEAM BCPS.
UM, I WILL SHARE WITH YOU THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WE HAVE, UM, VERY POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE DON'T TAKE FOR GRANTED FOR WITH ALL OF OUR UNION PARTNERS.
AND WE'RE GONNA BRING THEM TO THE TABLE AND HAVE OPEN AND HONEST CONVERSATIONS, UM, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR, UH, NEXT STEPS ARE.
BUT, BUT REALLY OUR WORK RIGHT NOW IS, UM, ADVOCACY AT THE STATE LEVEL.
AND I SAY AT THE STATE LEVEL BECAUSE OUR COUNTY FUNDING PARTNERS, UM, THEY HAVE DEMONSTRATED TIME AND TIME AGAIN, UH, THEIR COMMITMENT
[02:30:01]
TO, UM, UH, HIGH LEVELS OF FUNDING FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.AND, UH, THEY REMAIN, UH, COMMITTED TO BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
AND SO, UM, AND, AND WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE IMPACT ON A, UH, FEDERAL LEVEL.
I THINK YOU RAISED THE FREEZE, UH, NOTICE THAT WE RECEIVED, UM, TODAY, WHICH RIGHT NOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THE STATE DEPARTMENT IS, UH, UNPACKING WHAT THAT, UH, MAY OR MAY NOT MEAN, UH, FOR SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL SYSTEMS, UH, ACROSS THE STATE.
UM, I JUST WANNA PROPOSE, AND IF I NEED TO MAKE A MOTION, I WILL, GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DISCUSSION, THE OUR MORAL IMPERATIVE TO SERVE STUDENTS AND, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT WE SAY HERE AND THE ANSWERS PROVIDED FOR STAKEHOLDERS, IF ANY BOARD MEMBER THAT HAS GONE BEYOND THEIR THREE MINUTES HAS ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, I DO BELIEVE IT WOULD BE HONORABLE TO ALLOW THEM TO ASK THEIR QUESTIONS.
AND IF I NEED TO MAKE A MOTION, I CERTAINLY WILL.
NO, I DISAGREE ABOUT COLLEGE AND CAREER.
DOES THAT REQUIRE A MOTION? I BELIEVE SO.
SO THAT, I WILL MAKE A MOTION THAT FOR ANY BOARD MEMBER THAT HAS GONE BEYOND THEIR THREE MINUTES, UM, THIS MOTION IS TO ALLOW THEM TO ASK THEIR ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS SO THAT THE COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDERS CAN RECEIVE, YOU KNOW, ANSWERS THAT THEY MIGHT WISH.
I'LL SECOND THAT THERE IS A MOTION MADE BY MS. LESKY THAT BOARD MEMBERS BE ALLOWED TO EXCEED THEIR, UH, THREE MINUTES.
IT HAS BEEN SECONDED BY MR. MCMILLION.
IS THERE DISCUSSION MS. HEN? THANK YOU.
UM, I WOULD OFFER AN AMENDMENT TO THAT MOTION IF I MAY, AND IF PROPER, IF I MAY PLEASE PROCEED.
UM, I MOVE TO AMEND THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO SCHEDULE TIME AT THE MEETING ON FEB, FEBRUARY 11TH FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO BR PREPARE AND BRING QUESTIONS, UM, ON THE BUDGET TO HOLD A FOLLOW UP WORK SESSION ON THE BUDGET.
SECOND MOTION TO BE, TO BE SCHEDULED ON FEBRUARY 11TH POINT OF ORDER.
UH, SO THAT, THAT IS A SEPARATE MOTION REMAIN AMENDMENT.
IT COULD BE MADE AS A SEPARATE MOTION, BUT IT WOULDN'T AMEND THAT THE LAST ONE THAT, SO DO YOU OFFER AN AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION, OR DO YOU I'LL WITHDRAW MY AMENDMENT.
IS THERE, DO WE HAVE A SECOND TO THE MOTION? YES.
MR. MCMILLIAN SECONDED THE MOTION.
IS THERE A DISCUSSION? MS. DOKI? I JUST WANTED TO ADD, SINCE WE NO LONGER HAVE A BUDGET COMMITTEE, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO HAVE THE ADDITIONAL TIME TO DISCUSS THESE ISSUES, BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE TO DISCUSS THEM.
IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION MS. AL? UM, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK THAT, THAT BE DONE AFTER THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE EXHAUSTED THEIR TIME AND AGAIN, JUST, UH, REQUESTING THAT BOARD MEMBERS REFER TO WHATEVER PAGE IN THE BUDGET BOOK THAT THEY'RE REFERRING TO, AND THEY ASK THEIR QUESTIONS.
SO BOARD MEMBERS, STAFF, AND EVEN THE PUBLIC CAN FOLLOW ALONG.
ARE YOU AMENDING THE AMENDMENT? THE MOTION AMENDING? I'M SORRY.
ARE YOU AMEND YOU'RE AMENDING THE MOTION.
CAN YOU PLEASE REPEAT YOUR AMENDMENT? MY AMENDMENT IS THAT IF WE GIVE THE ADDITIONAL TIME, IT'D BE DONE AFTER OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE EXHAUSTED THEIR THREE MINUTES.
UM, SO THE OTHERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO ASK THEIR QUESTIONS.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THAT ANY QUESTIONS, UM, FROM THE BUDGET, PLEASE PROVIDE BOARD, UH, PAGE NUMBER SO THAT BOARD MEMBERS, THE PUBLIC AND THE STAFF CAN FOLLOW UP ALONG WITH THE QUESTIONS.
IS THERE A DISCUSSION FIRST? THE FIRST PART, THE FIRST PART OF IT I THOUGHT WAS GERMANE BECAUSE IT TALKED ABOUT THE TIMING FOR THE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
AND YOU GOTTA BE CAREFUL, THE AMENDMENT'S BEING TOO, TOO MANY CLAUSES, TOO COMPLICATED.
SO MY ADVICE TO THE BOARD IS, OR, OR TO MS. FRONG, WOULD BE MAYBE PARSE IT TO WHAT'S AN APPROPRIATE AMENDMENT TO THE FOLKS HAVING ADDITIONAL TIME, WHICH I THINK WAS YOUR IDEA WAS I THINK I HEARD TO SIMPLY SAY THAT WOULD HAPPEN AFTER OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAD HAD THEIR OPPORTUNITY.
I WOULD ADVISE THAT'S AN APPROPRIATE ONE.
MS. ONG, ARE YOU AGREEABLE TO THIS RECOMMENDATION?
[02:35:01]
OH, YES.DO I NEED TO RESTATE PLEASE? OKAY.
SO MY, MY AMENDMENT IS JUST THAT, UM, WE ALLOW THE ADDITIONAL TIME AFTER OTHER BOARD MEMBERS HAVE EXHAUSTED THEIR, UM, GIVEN TIME OF THREE MINUTES.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND LESKI.
MS. LESKI, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SECOND.
IS THERE A DISCUSSION, MS. HUMPHREY? I ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION THAT MAY IMPACT MY VOTE ON THE AMENDED MOTION AND THE MOTION.
IF WE HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
UM, WE WERE GIVEN A TIMEFRAME TO SUBMIT IN WRITING, UM, A DEADLINE.
WILL WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT WOULD BE ANSWERED AND PROVIDED AND THOSE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PROVIDED TO THE PUBLIC OUTSIDE OF THIS FORM? YES.
MS. HEN I WAS GOING TO ASK TO RESPOND BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE A NEW MOTION AFTER WE VOTE ON THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR TO, UM, PROPOSE A SECOND WORK SESSION, WHICH IS WHAT I BELIEVE MS. PUMPHREY WAS ASKING ABOUT.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE A NEW MOTION AFTER WE VOTE ON THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR.
SO, UH, LET'S DO EVERYTHING IN GOOD AND DECENT ORDER AND HANDLE THE BUS, OF COURSE.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION MR. YOUNG? I'M SORRY.
I WANNA AMEND THE CURRENT MOTION SUCH THAT THE, UM, BOARD MEMBER IS GIVEN AN ADDITIONAL MINUTE TO SPEAK.
WAIT, IS THIS A SECOND AMENDMENT? THIS IS AN AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT ON.
SO AMENDMENT THREE, WE NEVER VOTED ON THE RIGHT.
WE DIDN'T VOTE, WROTE VOTE ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT.
WE DON'T NEED TO VOTE ON THE, OKAY.
SO WE CAN AMEND THE AMENDMENT? YES.
WITH THE SECOND 'CAUSE YOU HAVEN'T GONE BACK TO THE PRIMARY MOTION YET.
ALL YOU'RE DOING IS ADDING THAT CLAUSE.
IS THERE A SECOND TO MR. YOUNG'S MOTION TO LIMIT THE ADDITIONAL TIME TO ONE MINUTE? I'LL SECOND IT SO WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSION.
IS THERE DISCUSSION? UM, I GUESS QUICK QUESTION.
OKAY, MS. ONG JUST HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION.
SO IS THIS MOTION JUST FOR MOVING FORWARD OR IS IT SPECIFICALLY JUST FOR THIS MEETING SURROUNDING THE BUDGET PRESENTATION? OR IS THIS THE MOTION ESTABLISHING THIS PRESENT? ARE WE NO.
FORWARD IS TO AMEND THE CURRENT TIME FOR SPEAKING ON THE BUDGET AT THIS MEETING TO THE QUESTION TO EXTEND IT.
AND IT HAS BEEN AMENDED, PROPOSED AMENDED THREE TIMES TO INCLUDE AN ADDITIONAL ONE MINUTE, UM, TO, FOR BOARD MEMBERS TO, UH, BE ALLOWED THEIR ADDITIONAL TIME AFTER THEY'VE EXHAUSTED THEIR INITIAL THREE MINUTES.
WAIT, DID I, WHAT WAS THE I THINK THAT'S, AND THEN TO RESTRICT IT TO ONE MINUTE AND THEN SPEAK FOR ONLY ONE MINUTE.
SO THIS IS JUST SPECIFIC TO THIS BOARD MEETING.
IT'S NOT ESTABLISHING THAT PRECEDENT? YES.
UM, I DO THINK WE SHOULD PUT A LIMIT ON THE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
I DON'T KNOW THAT ONE MINUTE IS LONG ENOUGH.
IS THERE ANY, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? SO WE ARE VOTING ON AMENDMENTS.
THE FIRST AMENDMENT WE ARE VOTING ON FIRST, WHICH WAS IT'S THE OTHER FIRST YEAR VOTING ON IS MR. YOUNG'S AMENDMENT, WHICH WAS TO, WE ARE VOTING ON MR. YOUNG'S AMENDMENT TO LIMIT ANY ADDITIONAL TIME TO ONE MINUTE.
MS. LICHTER, ARE YOU PRESENT? YES, I'M PRESENT.
MS. LICHTER, MY VOTE IS WE'RE VOTING ON THE ADDITIONAL WORK SESSION, CORRECT? NO.
WE ARE VOTING ON MR. YOUNG'S MOTION TO EXTEND ANY ADDITIONAL TIME TO DISCUSS THE BUDGET TONIGHT TO ONE MINUTE.
[02:40:01]
WE ARE NOW VOTING ON THE AMENDMENT TO I GOT, I'M SORRY, I WAS DISTRACTED BY SOME SIDE CONVERSATION.WE ARE VOTING ON THE AMENDMENT MADE BY MS. FONG TO, UH, ALLOW VOTING, ALLOW BOARD MEMBERS TO HAVE THEIR ADDITIONAL TIME.
AFTER ALL BOARD MEMBERS HAVE HAD THEIR ADDIT INITIAL THREE MINUTES.
JUST HAVE A CLARIFYING QUESTION.
IF BOARD MEMBERS DON'T ALL USE THE THREE MINUTES, CAN THE INDIVIDUAL HAVE THE ADDITIONAL MINUTE? WE WILL CONFIRM.
THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE EXHAUSTED THEIR TIME, WHETHER BY TIME OR CHOICE.
SO IF BOARD MEMBERS CHOOSE TO NOT USE THEIR THREE MINUTES, THEN BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVE USED THEIR THREE MINUTES CAN HAVE THE ADDITIONAL MINUTE.
AFTER ALL BOARD THE MOTION IS AFTER ALL BOARD MEMBERS HAVE USED THEIR THREE MINUTES.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE'RE NOT FORCING YOU TO TALK.
MS. LESKI, MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL VOTE.
JUST TO REMIND THE BOARD, WE HAVE NOW APPROVED AN AMENDMENT TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL ONE MINUTE LIMIT.
ADDITIONAL SPEAKING TIME TO ONE MINUTE.
AFTER ALL BOARD MEMBERS HAVE, UH, PROCEEDED TO USE THEIR THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK ON THE BUDGET.
NOW WE WILL VOTE ON THE AMENDED MOTION, WHICH IS TO EXTEND TIME TO DISCUSS THE BUDGET THIS EVENING.
I, I'M, CAN YOU REPEAT THE MOTION? THE MOTION IS TO EXTEND TIME THIS EVENING TO DISCUSS THE BUDGET.
PRIOR TO CALLING ON BOARD MEMBERS, I'D CALL ON, UH, SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS FOR COMMENT.
UM, I WANTED TO ASK MR. C WHO HAS, UH, LOCATED, UH, INFORMATION DIRECTLY RELATED TO, UM, COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO THE FULL BOARD.
HOPEFULLY THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE OF THIS WILL BE CLEAR.
UH, I HAVE A, UH, 2025 ADOPTED BUDGET DOCUMENT, AND THAT DOCUMENT HAS A LOT MORE DETAIL IN IT BECAUSE IT'S THE FINAL DOCUMENT AND IT GOES THROUGH THREE ITERATIONS.
SO WITH THAT, UM, WE'RE ABLE, WITH CONSULTATION WITH DR.
DE DONATO AND MR. TANIFF, UM, WE FIND ON PAGE 200, THE, UH, THE CURRENT YEARS ADOPTED BUDGET FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS, UH, OF 2.6 MILLION APPROXIMATELY.
UM, AND THEN, UH, IT, IT, THERE'S FURTHER DETAIL HERE, WHICH WE DON'T HAVE IN THIS SUPERINTENDENT'S PROPOSED DOCUMENT THAT THERE WAS $1.2 MILLION IN TRANSFERS.
DETO INDICATES THAT THOSE FUNDS WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF TESTING AND TESTING FEES.
SO THEN WHEN WE, WE GO, NOW I'M CROSS-REFERENCING THAT TO PAGE 180 8 OF THE CURRENT YEARS FY 25 ADOPTED BUDGET.
WE SEE THAT, UH, THE, UH, RESEARCH, UH, ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT BUDGET IS 4.7 MILLION.
CROSS-REFERENCING AGAIN TO PAGE 1 44 THAT MS. DOKI ORIGINALLY REFERENCED.
YOU GO TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE, YOU SEE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH ACCOUNTABILITY AND ASSESSMENT HAS INCREASED BY $1 MILLION.
[02:45:01]
AND I THINK THAT THAT IS THE, EXPLAINS THE PRIMARY VARIANCE, UH, THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY, UH, GET, GO INTO THE DETAIL AND PROVIDE DR. ROGERS WITH ANY, ANY MORE DETAIL THAT WOULD TIE TO THAT DIFFERENCE.BUT I THINK THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE PROPENSITY OF IT.
SO IT IS A TRANSFER OF TESTING TO THE APPROPRIATE OFFICE.
IT IS NOT A CUT TO STUDENTS AND RESOURCES.
ARE THERE BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING THE BUDGET? MS. HEN PRIOR TO STARTING YOUR QUESTION, LET'S DO A TIME CHECK TO SEE HOW MUCH TIME YOU HAVE REMAINING ON YOUR THREE MINUTES.
I HAD A, UM, REQUEST TO MAKE A MOTION PRIOR TO GOING TO DR. ROGERS TO OPEN UP FOR BOARD MEMBER QUESTIONS.
I MOVE TO SCHEDULE AN ADDITIONAL WORK SESSION ON THE FY 2026 PROPOSED, UM, BUDGET FOR THE BOARD'S NEXT MEETING ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH.
IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND HUMPHREY.
IS THERE DISCUSSION, MS. EY? I WOULD JUST LIKE TO MENTION THE REASON, I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS APPROPRIATE, BUT THE REASON I VOTED NO ON THE INITIAL MOTION WAS BECAUSE I FELT THAT IT WOULD BE, I, I, SAME AS MY QUESTION, THAT WE COULD SUBMIT QUESTIONS, UM, IN WRITING AND BE PROVIDED THOSE ANSWERS.
AND IF FURTHER DISCUSSION IS NEEDED, THAT COULD BE DONE AT THE WORK SESSION, BUT OUR QUESTIONS MAY BE ANSWERED IN THE, IN THE MEANTIME, IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? MS. UM, I ALSO WOULD APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT FURTHER QUESTIONS AND WOULD STAFF HAVE THE CHANCE TO PREPARE THOSE IN ADVANCE OF THE WORK SESSION? THANK YOU.
I BELIEVE SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS HAS ALREADY AGREED TO, UH, PROVIDE THAT TO US.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION REGARDING THIS MOTION? SO I HAVE A, I GUESS A QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION MS. AL.
SO IF THE QUESTIONS ARE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY, AND THEN SUPERINTENDENT ROGERS, UM, RESPONSE, WHICH SHE HAS, DO WE STILL NEED THE WORK SESSION FOR FEBRUARY 11TH? YOU LIKE ME TO RESPOND THAT I'M VICE CHAIR MS. YES.
I BELIEVE THIS DIALOGUE IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL AND THAT IS WHY I'M MAKING THIS MOTION SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THIS DIALOGUE AND BOARD MEMBERS CAN HEAR EACH OTHER'S, UM, QUESTIONS AND THE RESPONSE AND INPUT FROM STAFF AND FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT.
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, MS. EY, MY OPINION WOULD BE, IT WOULD DEPEND ON THE ANSWERS AND WHAT WE GET DONE HERE TONIGHT.
UM, I THINK SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP TONIGHT MAY HOLD OVER UNTIL THE WORK SESSION IF NEEDED, BUT I THINK IT WOULD DEPEND ON THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS THAT WE RECEIVE.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION, MS. HEN? ONLY ONE.
I THINK THE LENGTH OF THE WORK SESSION WOULD BE DETERMINED BY THE, UM, THE QUESTIONS WE HAVE AND THE RESPONSES THAT WE'VE RECEIVED.
SO IT COULD BE A VERY BRIEF SESSION, UM, TO MS. RE'S POINT.
IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT MANY BOARD MEMBERS HAVE COMMENTED THAT THIS ASK FOR AN ADDITIONAL WORK SESSION IS CONTINGENT UPON THE QUESTIONS THAT MAY BE ASKED AND THE ANSWERS THAT MAY BE RECEIVED.
I WOULD REMIND THE BOARD THAT THE BOARD LEADERSHIP DOES, UH, ENGAGE IN AGENDA SETTING AND THAT THAT AGENDA SETTING IS PARTICIPATORY BY EVERY BOARD MEMBER.
I'M NOT SURE THAT SETTING A WORK SESSION, UH, IN, IN THE, UH, NEXT BOARD MEETING THAT MAY NOT BE REQUIRED BASED ON THE RESPONSES YOU'RE GIVING IS, IS, UH, NECESSARY.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER POINTS OF DISCUSSION? MAY I HAVE A ROLL CALL? VOTE PLEASE.
WHAT IS THE COUNT PLEASE? FAVOR IS SEVEN.
IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION ON, UH, THE BUDGET THIS EVENING?
[02:50:01]
HEARING NONE.WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS
[J. INFORMATION (8:45 p.m.)]
INFORMATION.INFORMATION ITEMS ARE THE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE MONTH ENDING IN NOVEMBER, 2024, AND THE REPORT ON THE SINGLE AUDIT.
[K. BOARD COMMITTEE UPDATES AND AGENDA SETTING (8:45 - 9:00 p.m.)]
ON THE AGENDA IS BOARD COMMITTEE UPDATES AND AGENDA SETTING.WE WILL START WITH BOARD COMMITTEE UPDATES, UH, PRIOR TO PRIOR TO ASKING COMMITTEE CHAIRS, UH, TO PROVIDE THEIR UPDATES.
I DO WANT TO, UM, PROVIDE EVERYONE, UM, WITH SOME INFORMATION REGARDING OUR COMMITTEE MEETINGS FOR THE NEXT, UH, FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, WE HAVE DECIDED TO PAUSE COMMITTEE MEETINGS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.
AS YOU ALL HAVE ALL HEARD ALL THROUGHOUT TODAY AND THIS EVENING, WE ARE FACING A DIRE SITUATION WITH OUR BUDGET.
UH, EVEN ADDITIONAL CUTS MAY BE MADE TO OUR BUDGET BASED ON, UH, STATE, UH, STATE FUNDING.
AND SO WE ARE GIVING THE SUPERINTENDENT AND HER TEAM THE SPACE AND THE ROOM TO DEDICATE AS MUCH TIME AS THEY NEED TO MAKING SURE WE HAVE A BUDGET THAT SUPPORTS NOT ONLY OUR GOALS AND OUR STUDENTS AND OUR FAMILIES, BUT THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE MAKING IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
THE LOOMING, UH, STATE BUDGET PROVIDES, UH, DIFFICULTIES THAT MAKE IT ESSENTIAL THAT STAFF ARE DEDICATED TO FOCUSING ON, UH, SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS IN SAFEGUARDING OUR PROGRESS.
HOWEVER, UH, THE, THE COMMITTEE WORK WILL CONTINUE WHEN WE RESUME THE COMMITTEE WORK.
COMMITTEE CHAIRS ARE ABLE TO EXTEND COMMITTEE MEETING TIMES AS NEEDED OR, UH, SCHEDULE ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS AS REQUIRED.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT CLEAR.
HAVING SAID THAT, WE'LL MOVE TO, UH, COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND WE'LL START WITH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
MS. BOOKER DWYER, PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR REPORT.
WELL, WE WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO KICKING OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE, BUT THE SNOW HAD OTHER PLANS.
SO ON JANUARY 7TH, UM, CENTRAL OFFICE WAS CLOSED DUE TO, UM, THE INCLEMENT WEATHER.
AND SO WE HAD TO CANCEL THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.
AND, UM, AND DUE TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT, UH, VICE CHAIR HARVEY JUST MADE, UM, OUR AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY IS CANCELED AS WELL.
SO WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, OUR MARCH AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO CELEBRATE ST.
PATRICK'S DAY WITH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MARCH 18TH.
WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD, UM, TO THAT AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING.
THANK YOU, MS. BOOKER DWYER, UH, WE WE'LL MOVE TO MR. YOUNG FOR BUILDINGS AND CONTRACTS.
THE BUILDINGS AND CONTRACTS NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 10TH, UH, VIRTUALLY AT 5:00 PM THANK YOU.
WE'LL MOVE TO THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE.
THE CURRICULUM COMMITTEE MET ON JANUARY 23RD, AND WE HAD TWO INFORMATIVE UPDATES.
THE FIRST PRESENTATION WAS, UM, PROGRESS MADE WITH HMH AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT.
AND OUR SECOND PRESENTATION WAS ON THE MSDE MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PROCESS OF REVIEWING AND APPROVING HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.
UM, AND WE DID APPROVE THE ELA CURRICULUM CONTRACT ON THAT EVENING AS WELL.
UM, OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON MARCH 20TH, UH, 2025, AND WE WILL MEET VIRTUALLY.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE EQUITY COMMITTEE.
THE EQUITY COMMITTEE MET JANUARY 16TH.
WE RECEIVED INFORMATION ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EQUITY AND CULTURAL PROFICIENCY AS PART OF THEIR WORK.
THIS DEPARTMENT WORKS WITHIN THE SYSTEM TO PROMOTE AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS ROOTED IN HUMANITY AND GROUNDED IN COMPASSION AND DIGNITY.
OUR TEACHERS PROVIDE INSTRUCTION IN A VARIETY OF MODES, VISUAL, AUDITORY, KINESTHETIC, ET CETERA.
WITH THE COACHING AND CONSULTATIONS, THE EQUITY DEPARTMENT TRAINS PERSONNEL ADDING SKILLS TO THE QUOTE UNQUOTE TOOLBOX OF BCPS PERSONNEL.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF TEACHING A CONCEPT IS NOT WORKING, THE TEACHER'S ABLE TO REACH INTO THEIR TOOLBOX TO SPEAK AND PROVIDE INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTION IN A MANNER THAT RESONATES WITH ALL STUDENTS.
THE DEPARTMENT CONTRIBUTES TO THE SYSTEM'S GOALS AND OUTCOMES IDENTIFIED BY DR. ROGERS.
A PREVIOUS PROGRAM WITH A FOCUS ON A STUDENT POPULATION WHOSE SUSPENSION RATE WAS HIGH AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT LOW HAD SUCCESS BY 75% OF THEIR STUDENTS HAVING AN A OR B FOR MATH IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
AND 70% HAVING AN A OR B AND ELA FOR THE THIRD QUARTER, AS WELL AS DISCIPLINARY REFERRALS WENT DOWN FROM 26% TO 5% BETWEEN QUARTER THE FIRST QUARTER AND
[02:55:01]
THE FOURTH QUARTER.THERE ARE THOSE WHO MAY THINK ONLY OF STUDENT POPULATIONS SUCH AS BLACK OR HISPANIC LATINO STUDENTS WHEN THEY THINK OF EQUITY, BUT THIS IMPORTANT WORK ALSO INCLUDES OUR MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS AND OUR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, DISABLED AND SPECIAL EDUCATION.
WE WILL RESUME MEETING AGAIN ON MARCH 13TH.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO LEGISLATIVE AND GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, AND FOR THAT I CALL ON MS. BOOKER DWYER.
SO WE HAD A GREAT LEGISLATIVE AND GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING.
UM, WE REVIEWED THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF BOARDS OF EDUCATION'S, UH, LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, AND WE ALSO REVIEWED THE 2025 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM OF THE MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
UH, WE STARTED DISCUSSING, UM, THE PRIORITIES, THE LEGISLATIVE POTENTIAL LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES OF THE, UM, BALTIMORE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
WE STILL HAVE SOME WORK TO DO ON THOSE, SO THEY ARE NOT READY TO BRING TO THE FULL BOARD, UM, FOR RECOMMENDATION JUST YET.
AND WE ALSO DISCUSSED SOME OF THE PRE-FILLED BILLS.
UM, AND, AND WE WILL NOT HAVE A MEETING, UM, AT THIS.
UM, WE WON'T HAVE A MEETING IN FEBRUARY, BUT IF THERE ARE ANY BILLS THAT WE NEED TO BRING TO THE BOARD'S ATTENTION, WE'LL DO THAT DURING THE, THE REGULAR, UM, BOARD MEETING.
UM, SO OUR NEXT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING IS MARCH 12TH.
UH, THANK YOU MS. BOOKER DWYER.
AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP THE POINT THAT ANY COMMITTEE, UH, ACTIVITIES THAT REQUIRE THE BOARD'S ATTENTION CAN BE BROUGHT TO THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION.
AND WE WILL MOVE ON TO POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE.
POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE DOES NOT MEET IN JANUARY, SO I DO NOT HAVE AN UPDATE BECAUSE IT WOULD BE THE SAME AS LAST MONTH'S UPDATE.
UM, OUR NEXT MEETING IS CURRENTLY SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 17TH.
HOWEVER, IF WE DECIDE THAT A, AN EXTRA MARCH MEETING IS NEEDED, UM, THE WEBSITE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE DATE.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEMS, PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY PROPOSED AGENDA ITEM? MR. MCMILLION? THANK YOU.
IF YOU, IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING ALONG ON THE AGENDA.
LETTER J, INFORMATION NUMBER TWO, REPORT ON SINGLE AUDIT.
THE TOTAL, THE, THE ENTIRE TITLE FOR THAT IS REPORT ON SINGLE AUDIT YEAR ENDED JUNE 30TH, 2024.
THAT'S A 25 PAGE DOCUMENT CONSTRUCTED BY CLIFTON, LARSON AND ALLEN ON PAGE 12, UNDER FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, THE, THE YES BOXES CHECKED SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY OR DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED UNDER FEDERAL AWARDS.
THE BOXES CHECKED SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY OR DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED FROM PAGES 13 THROUGH 25.
FIVE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED ON PAGE 13.
THE FIRST FINDING IS ADJUSTING JOURNAL ENTRIES.
IF YOU OPEN THAT UP AND LOOK AT IT, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE WAS UNDERESTIMATED BY $3.2 MILLION, ADJUSTING ENTRY, $5.5 MILLION ADJUSTED ENTRY TOTALING APPROXIMATELY $7.2 MILLION.
DO YOU HAVE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR US, PLEASE? YES.
THAT'S WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS TO PUT THIS ON.
I'M GIVING A RATIONALE FOR WHAT I WANT.
I WANNA SEE THIS TOPIC ON OUR NEXT AGENDA.
SO YOUR AGENDA ITEM IS TO HAVE THE REPORT AND DIG DEEP INTO THE, UH, THIS AUDIT REPORT.
AND I, IF, IF MISS IF CHAIR, UH, SHERRY AMOS IS AVAILABLE, I'D LIKE TO SEE HER HERE INVITED TO DISCUSS THIS.
SO THOSE TOTALS AMOUNT UP TO $22.4 MILLION IF YOU TOTAL THOSE UP.
SO I THINK THIS, THIS TOPIC NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT BY US.
ARE THERE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS? MS. POEY, AM I ABLE TO MAKE A COMMENT WITHOUT AN ACTUAL AGENDA ITEM? IS THAT ALLOWED? YES.
I JUST WANTED TO, UM, THANK THE SUPERINTENDENT AND HER STAFF FOR THE HARD WORK ON THE BUDGET.
AND I, UM, KNOW THAT THAT WAS DIFFICULT FA UH, CONSIDERING OUR FISCAL CONSTRAINTS.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT OUR QUESTIONS, WELL, AT LEAST MY QUESTIONS AS A BOARD MEMBER ARE NOT TRYING TO UNDERMINE ANY OF YOUR HARD WORK.
IT'S MORE TO BRING TRANSPARENCY, WHICH I, I'VE LEARNED NOT TO LIKE THAT WORD TOO MUCH BECAUSE I THINK IT'S OVERUSED, UM, BUT TO THE PUBLIC AND SO THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF WHERE THEIR TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING.
AND I THINK SOMETIMES OUR QUESTIONS ARE SIMPLY TO BRING LIGHT TO WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, TO MAKE THE PUBLIC UNDERSTAND THIS IS WHY THIS MUCH MONEY IS NEEDED.
UM, AND I ALSO APPRECIATE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS' QUESTIONS BECAUSE OFTENTIMES THEY ARE ABOUT THINGS THAT I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF.
AND I THINK IT BRINGS MORE ME MORE KNOWLEDGE WHEN OTHER BOARD MEMBERS ASK QUESTIONS.
AND THOSE ARE ANSWERED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT AND STAFF.
ARE THERE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS THAT HAVE AGENDA ITEMS? MSES, MS. LESKI, I HAVE, UM, COMMENTS.
SO SHOULD I WAIT FOR ABSOLUTELY.
SO FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANNA PUBLICLY RECOGNIZE
[03:00:01]
AND THANK ALL OF THE STAKEHOLDERS AND EMPLOYEES THAT REACHED OUT VIA EMAIL REGARDING THE SAFER TOGETHER CAMPAIGN.UM, WE KNOW THIS WILL TAKE TIME, BUT, UM, YOUR KAREN CONCERN FOR SCHOOL CLIMATE IS HEARD AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU.
I ALSO WANNA, UM, GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO OWINGS MILLS HIGH SCHOOL.
THERE'S A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS I WANNA RECOGNIZE.
FIRST, UM, I WANNA RECOGNIZE, UH, THE ART TEACHER, MR. CONWAY AND HIS STUDENTS FOR THE CREATION OF WHAT WAS CALLED THIS VIRTUAL CITY, WHICH KIND OF LOOKED LIKE A TRAIN GARDEN IN THEIR LOBBY THAT WAS DISPLAYED AROUND THE HOLIDAYS.
UM, IT HAD A, A VARIETY OF ELEMENTS OF MEANINGFUL AND ENGAGED LEARNING.
UM, THE STUDENTS HAD SUCH PRIDE IN THIS PROJECT.
THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO DISRESPECT.
IT WAS THIS HUGE TRAIN LAYOUT, UM, AND IT BROUGHT SUCH PRIDE TO THE SCHOOL.
UM, NEXT I WANNA RECOGNIZE, UH, MS. GAINES, WHO IS INVOLVED WITH THE FOWLS PROGRAM.
AND SHE HAS CREATED WHAT IS CALLED A TWICE AS NICE THRIFT SHOP, WHICH I HAVE, UM, WALKED THROUGH.
UM, IT'S COMPLETELY STAFFED BY THE STUDENTS IN THE SPECIAL ED FOWLS PROGRAM, GIVING THEM IMPORTANT, UH, DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTIONAL LIFE SKILLS.
ADDITIONALLY, AT OWINGS MILLS HIGH, THERE'S A COFFEE CAFE AND A SCHOOL STORE ALSO STAFFED BY THE STUDENTS.
UM, ALL OF THIS IS JUST AMAZING.
AND THEN FINALLY, AS A VOLUNTEER WITH THE STUDENT SUPPORT NETWORK.
AND THERE, IT'S CALLED THE NEST.
WE HAVE STUDENTS THAT COME AND VOLUNTEER AND THESE, THESE VOLUNTEER, THESE STUDENT VOLUNTEERS ARE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.
THEY HELP US WITH UNPACKING THE DELIVERIES ON THE DAY THAT THE FOOD BANK ORDER ARRIVES.
AND THEN ALSO ON THE DAYS THAT WE DISTRIBUTE THE FOOD TO FAMILIES, THERE ARE SENIORS THAT ARE ON EARLY RELEASE THAT COME AND VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME AND HELP.
SO I JUST WANNA RECOGNIZE AND THANK ALL OF THE STUDENTS THAT HELP US AT THE NEST.
ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL IN AGENDA ITEMS OR COMMENTS FOR MISS? I'M SO SORRY, DR.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THE WEATHER'S CHANGING AND SO SOON IT'S EXPECTED THAT SOME OF YOU WILL BE VISITING CLASSROOMS IN YOUR DISTRICT.
AND WHEN YOU GO INTO THE SCHOOL, USUALLY THE PRINCIPAL OR WHOEVER'S IN CHARGE THAT DAY WILL SHOW YOU EVERYTHING THEY WANT YOU TO SEE.
BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE QUESTIONS AFTER YOU'VE SEEN EVERYTHING.
QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN SCHOOL.
WHAT, WHAT ABOUT YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE? YOU CAN ASK ABOUT THAT.
YOUR PTA PARTICIPATION SPECIAL ED CLASSES ASK TO GO INTO A SPECIAL ED CLASS AND A ESOL CLASS.
UM, ASK ABOUT THE EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES.
WHAT ARE THE CHILDREN DOING AFTER SCHOOL? HOW ARE THEY INVOLVED, ESPECIALLY IN HIGH SCHOOLS AND, AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS? AND WHAT IS THE, UH, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT RATE? OKAY.
SO THOSE ARE SOME QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK.
AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS TO ASK, I HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED OF 'EM AT HOME THAT I CAN GIVE YOU.
YOU DON'T WANNA BURDEN THE PEOPLE, BUT YOU WANNA HAVE INTELLIGENT QUESTIONS, NOT JUST TERSE QUESTIONS FOR THEM.
OKAY? I MEAN, EVERYBODY HERE IS INTELLIGENT, BUT I MEAN, QUESTIONS THAT MAKE US APPEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW A LOT.
ARE THERE ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS OR COMMENTS, MS. FAL? UM, I HAVE COMMENTS AND THE FIRST PART OF MY REMARKS ARE ACTUALLY NOT MY OWN, UM, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD INTO THEM.
UM, SO IT SAYS, YOU CAN GO TO LIVE IN FRANCE, BUT YOU CANNOT BECOME A FRENCHMAN.
YOU CAN GO TO LIVE IN GERMANY OR TURKEY OR JAPAN, BUT YOU CANNOT BECOME A GERMAN, A TURK OR JAPANESE.
BUT ANYONE FROM ANY CORNER OF THE EARTH CAN COME TO LIVE IN AMERICA AND BECOME AN AMERICAN.
YES, THE TORCH OF LADY LIBERTY SYMBOLIZES OUR FREEDOM AND REPRESENTS OUR HERITAGE, THE COMPACT WITH OUR PARENTS, OUR GRANDPARENTS, AND OUR ANCESTORS.
IT IS THAT LADY WHO GIVES US OUR GREAT AND SPECIAL PLACE IN THE WORLD.
FOR ITS THE GREAT LIFE FORCE OF EACH GENERATION OF NEW AMERICANS THAT GUARANTEES THAT AMERICA'S TRIUMPH SHALL CONTINUE UNSURPASSED UNTIL THE NEXT CENTURY AND BEYOND.
OTHER COUNTRIES MAY SEEK TO COMPETE WITH US, BUT IN ONE VITAL AREA AS A BEACON OF FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY THAT DRAWS THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, NO COUNTRY ON EARTH COMES CLOSE.
THIS, I BELIEVE, IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCES OF AMERICA'S GREATNESS.
WE LEAD THE WORLD BECAUSE UNIQUE AMONG NATIONS, WE DRAW OUR PEOPLE OUR STRENGTH FROM EVERY COUNTRY AND EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD.
AND BY DOING SO, WE CONTINUOUSLY RENEW AND ENRICH OUR NATION.
WHILE OTHER COUNTRIES CLINGING TO THE STALE PAST HERE IN AMERICA, WE BREATHE LIFE INTO DREAMS. THANKS TO EACH NEW WAVE, EACH WAVE OF NEW ARRIVALS TO THIS LAND OF OPPORTUNITY, WE'RE A NATION FOREVER, YOUNG, FOREVER BURSTING WITH ENERGY AND NEW IDEAS, AND ALWAYS ON THE CUTTING EDGE, ALWAYS LEADING THE WORLD TO THE NEXT FRONTIER.
THIS QUALITY IS VITAL TO OUR FUTURE AS A NATION.
AND IF WE EVER CLOSE THE DOOR TO NEW AMERICANS, OUR LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD WOULD SOON BE LOST.
SO AGAIN, THESE WERE NOT MY WORDS, BUT SOMETHING THAT I CAME ACROSS AND THEY WERE ACTUALLY SAID BY A PERSON WHO SOME
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WOULD REGARD AS ONE OF OUR NATION'S GREATEST PRESIDENTS.AND THAT PERSON IS ACTUALLY RONALD REAGAN.
SO IN THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES, I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE BE MINDFUL THAT AS INDIVIDUALS WE'RE DESERVING OF HUMANITY.
HUMANITY, AND THAT OUR RELATIONSHIPS BE GROUNDED IN COMPASSION AND DIGNITY.
THE LAST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS
[L. ANNOUNCEMENTS (Ms. Lichter) (9:00 p.m.)]
ANNOUNCEMENTS.THE BOARD'S NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH, 2025 AT 6:30 PM I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, THANK BOARD MEMBER TIERRA BOOKER DWYER FOR TAKING ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE VICE CHAIR AND CHAIR LITTER'S ABSENCE WHILE I TAKE ON THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES.
I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S PARTICIPATION, FEEDBACK, AND PATIENCE AS WE WORK OUT, UH, SOME DIFFICULT DECISIONS AND HAVE SOME DIFFICULT DISCUSSIONS.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TONIGHT, AND HAVE A GREAT EVENING.