MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION  MINUTES May 6, 2024  The Montgomery County Board of] Education convened in a regular monthly meeting on Monday, May 6, 2024, at 6:30 pm in the Montgomery County Schools Boardroom. Board members present were Steve W. DeBerry Chair, Anne Evans Vice Chair, Tommy Blake,  Angela Smith, Lynn Epps, Bryan Dozier, and Cindy Taylor.  Chairman Steve DeBerry called the meeting to order. Mr. DeBerry moved to adopt the agenda as submitted. Bryan Dozier made the motion with Lynn Epps seconding. The agenda was  accepted with unanimous approval from the board.  Chairman Steve DeBerry shared an opening with a reading titled "No Rules Required". Albert Camus once said, "integrity has no need ofrules". Rules are designed to keep behavior in order. Ifsomeone has strong character and lives with integrity, rules are unnecessary as that person will act consistently with his/her values. We need to decide what our true values are and grow into those values. Things like inner courage, wisdom, a sense ofc duty, ora commitment to something larger than ourselves. Then the character that results is what ultimately assures success for us and for our relationships. Strong character creates trust within any group of people and develops an uncommon bond. Don't focus on keeping the rules, focus on becoming the kind  of person whose character is sO strong, rules are not necessary. ofAllegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.  Candor Elementary students, Vanessa Estrada-Munoz and Sofia Robledo led the Pledge  No one signed up to speak during the public comments section.  A Resolution of Esteem for Michael Edward West was presented for his twenty-one years of service with the Montgomery County Schools. Mr. West passed away on April 6, 2020.  Chairman DeBerry read the resolution as follows:    MONTGOMERY COUNTYB BOARD OFE EDUCATION RESOLUTION OFESTEEM FOR MichealEdvard" West Father.i to Monigomery coach, were Schools for  wisdom,  WMERHAS his THEREFORE, beit awaks Debemy. Chairman  CAuEls  A Resolution of Esteem for Cynthia Anne Sweet was presented to Ms. Leigh Anne Lamonds in honor ofMs. Sweet's twenty-nine years of service with thel Montgomery County Schools. Ms. Sweet passed away on February 15, 2021. Chairman DeBerry read the resolution as  follows:  COUNTYB BOARDOFE EDUCATION RESOLUMONOFESTEEM FOR Cythia Ame Sweet sawft WHEREAS, loccl ourHeavenly home CynthioA Father. Annes Swesto inHsi onFebrvory) infrite 15.2 ondw 2021,and wisdom, WMEREAS her dedicafion lo Monigomery Counly Schools iving for WHEREASH she herloswilbed oul  wilh MontgomeyCounly anse hisresolutionbe pathyand olthep permonent czls  MONTGOMERYO COUNTY BOARDO OFEDUCATON awaks Slevenw.C Chgimpn  Chairman DeBerry called upon Dr. Ellis for recognitions. Dr. Ellis then called upon Enoc Robledo for the Certified and Classified Employees of the Month for Candor Elementary School. Jennifer Watts, Data Manager, was the classified winner. Katie Trogdon, 5th Grade Math  Teacher, was the certified winner but could not be present tonight.    Dr. Ellis at this time recognized the winners of the 2024 Math Olympics. First place winner Sahil Patel (EMS), second place winner Israel Mondragon (EMS), and third place winner  Pablo Garcia (EMS).  Dr. Ellis then called upon Casey Galloway, MCHS Fire Fighting CTE teacher, to present the SkillsUSA recognitions in Fire Fighting. Jackson Byrd-National Firefighting first place; Isaiah McCaskill-National Firefighting second place; Hunter Blake-Intermediate Firefighting first place; Cameron Jordan-Intermediate Firefighting second place; Gunner Britt-Intermediate Firefighting third place; Denver Rushing-Intermediate Firefighting fifth place; Destiny Rillo- Firefighting Basic second place; Cooper Cagle-Firefighting Basic third place; and Lucio  Rodriguez-frefighting Basic fourth place.  Dr. Ellis then called upon Daniel Kern, MCHS Woodworking CTE teacher, to present the SkillsUSA recognitions in Woodworking and Cabinetry. Edgar Cano-Cabinetmaking first place; Preston Giberi-Cabinetmaking fourth place; David Marquez Castro-Cabinetmaking 1 fourth place; Kimrey Clark-Cabinetmaking Showcase first place; Timothy Vumsamon-Cabinemaking Showcase third place; and Josie edbery-Construction Core second place.  Dr. Ellis then presented the SkillsUSA recognition in Culinary. Caitlyn McCaskill- Dr. Ellis then called upon Zach Shea, Director ofTransportation, to recognize Teresa Robinson for receiving a State Bus Inspection Perfect Score. Due to al bus emergency, they could not be present. Dr. Ellis stated that a perfect score is very difficult to achieve, and she doesa  Culinary Showcase third place.  tremendous job.  Dr. Ellis at this time called upon Dr. Heather Seawell to recognize Dewone Wright for being selected the North Carolina District 8. Art Contest Winner. His artwork willl be placed in  the United States Capitol for viewing by artist across the country.  Dr. Ellis then recognized Montgomery County Early College for be ranked as one oft the Best High Schools in the USA by the U.S. News and World Report. This ist the second year in a  row that Montgomery County Early College has been ranked.  Chairman DeBerry requested to approve the consent agenda as submitted. Anne Evans Chairman DeBerry called upon Enoc Robledo for the Candor Elementary presentation on Home Economics. Mr. Robledo stated the Ms. Adriane Clarett would bej presenting assisted by Ms. Allie Coggins, 4th grader at Candor Elementary School. Ms. Clarett stated that they received ad donation from Troy Lumber in the amount of $5000. We wanted to bring something ofi interest to our students. We decided on Home Economics and sat down with our teacher assistants to decide what we would like to offer our students. We tried to make it safe, easy, interesting for our students and something they could easily prepare at home for their family. We began by teaching them how to create a recipe and how to follow ai recipe. Ms. Clarett asked Allie to share some ofher highlights of the classes. The first class was Chex Mix, Allie said that it was easy to make, and you could use many different ingredients to make it sweet, savory, or spicy. The next class was Rice Krispy Treats, the kids really enjoyed this one. Allie said she liked that they were easy to: make, it doesn'ttake many ingredients, and it only takes about five to ten minutes to make. The next class was grilled cheese. Allie liked that it only takes two ingredients, it takes  made the motion with Lynn Epps seconding. The board approved unanimously.    about five minutes to make, and you can fix iti in the microwave, the toaster or on a grill. Our last class was Pancakes al La Mode which was a hit. The students made mini pancakes and then put toppings oft their choice on them. Allie liked that the pancakes were soft and just a little sweet. She also learned how to mix the ingredients and get the right consistency by following the recipe. The: students also had classes on how to set the table, fruit kabobs, eggs in al bag, apple tacos, pizza in a biscuit, waffles, and yogurt parfaits. Allie said her favorite was the pizza in a biscuit. She liked that they were easy to make. She said that you rolled out the biscuit, added your toppings and then cooked it. She really enjoyed it. All the children and teacher assistants  really enjoyed it and hopefully we can do it again next year.  Chairman DeBerry then called upon Wade Auman for the Perkins Innovation and Modernization presentation. Mr. Auman started by saying that he was pleased to be able to present something that is good for our schools. Our CTE programs are doing great, and this was an opportunity to strengthen some of our pathways. We were awarded al Perkins Innovation and Modernization grant through USI Ed. We are one oft the first recipients ini the Nation to get this grant, and one of only 19 recipients out ofmore than 500 applications nationwide. This is also an opportunity for us to strengthen our partnership with Montgomery Community College. Thisi is a five year CTE grant, and we were awarded 1.4 million dollars per year. This will cover staffing and start up equipment and will allow us to create or improve multiple pathways. Student impact being the advancement of five career pathways. There will be a career coach position for both the Montgomery County Schools, grades 9-12, and Montgomery Community College, for post- secondary. There will also bei increased work-based learning opportunities to allow for apprenticeships, internships, and job shadows. This will allow students to take what they are learning in the classroom and apply it out in industry sO that they are ready to go out into the workforce. This grant will enable our partnership to increase the offerings in five pathways: Nursing, EMT, Dental Hygiene, Dental Assisting, and Medical Informatics. We already havea strong nursing and EMT partnership with Montgomery Community College, but dental hygiene, dental assisting and medical informatics are all new pathways we will be able to offer. The State forecast indicates that from 2021-2030 the NC Dept. of Commerce projects to add 76,000 Healthcare related jobs with 1.3% annual growth in Healthcare Support and 1.7% annual growth expected in Healthcare Practitioners. Also, the annual regional growth in these fields is expected tol be 1.6% inl Healthcare Support and 1.5% inl Healthcare Practitioners. The reason we chose the Healthcare fields in this grant is because you can see the immediate impact these students are  going to have on filling these jobs in our state and region.  Chairman DeBerry called upon Dr. Dale Ellis for the Teacher. Appreciation Proclamation. Dr. Ellis stated that the proclamation before the board stating that the week ofl May 6-10is National Teacher Appreciation Week, with May 7 being National Teacher Appreciation Day. Our teachers are one of our greatest investments. Susanna and thel Marketing staff got bagels on behalf oft the board and delivered them to our teachers at each ofourschools this morning. It would be my recommendation to approve the Teacher Appreciation Proclamation presented to you tonight. Bryan Dozier made motion to approve with Anne Evans seconding. The  proclamation was approved unanimously by the board.  Chairman DeBerry called upon Wade Auman for the Cognia Accreditation presentation. We just recently went through the district re-accreditation. The purpose oft the accreditation is to let the State, colleges, and parents know that we: are a good education system and that we: are preparing students for whatever their future endeavors may be. This was our re-accreditation year. Therefore, we completed the process and once the Summer International committee meets, they will approve our report and we will be re-accredited for six years. There are three    components to the accreditation process. We began the first component in July with the collection of our data and analysis of the parent, student, and teacher surveys. Wet then used that information to complete a district self-assessment and then wrote out our summary reflection narratives. Chairman DeBerry and Vice-Chair Evans were also involved with the process by reading the narratives to prepare for an interview with Cognia. Once this was completed the next item was the theories of action to show what we are doing well, what we can do to improve and make things better. The final piece oft this component was artifact collection which required us to provide the documentation to support the items we listed in our narratives. We then took all this information and created aj portfolio to submit to Cognia for them to review. Cognia provided us with monthly coaching sessions to. help guild us through the process andj provide feedback. Once the coaching sessions were completed, wel had the engagement review. They reviewed our information for thirty days and then provided us with a list of questions that they needed follow up on based on what we had provided to them. So, after the engagement review Cognia completed virtual interviews with our team and then completed a virtual interview with Chairman DeBerry and Vice-Chair Evans. We then completed our follow up meeting and received our report with our outcome ofc our accreditation. Montgomery County Schools received an IEQ of359. The Cognia IEQ network average is 253 and any score above 300 indicates the institution meets Cognia' 's expectations for accreditation. Montgomery County Schools exceeded the Cognia Network average in all the required categories. One the direct quotes from our engagement review was Montgomery County Schools cultivates: a healthy learning culture by prioritizing respect, fairness, equity, and inclusion, ensuring learner well-being through stakeholder engagement, structured support systems, and effective collegiality and collaboration  among staff."  Chairman DeBerry called upon Dr. Jack Cagle for the. Atrium Health School Based Virtual Therapy Overview presentation. Montgomery Central High school has been awarded a grant from Atrium Health to expand the School Based Mental Health Services. The grant covers start up costs and is fully sustainable. The program will begin at Montgomery Central and ifit goes well, we will look at offering this program to Montgomery County Early College, Montgomery Learning Academy, East and West Middle. School-based therapy is needed due to the increase in the number of students ini need of mental healthcare especially since Covid. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for persons aged 10-14. Mental health-related emergency room visits have increased for children by 24% and adolescents by 31% as compared to2 2019. Atrium Health has been providing school-based therapy for over twenty-six years and is currently in 152 schools across North and South Carolina. There have been zero suicides for patients engaged in Atrium Health virtual school based therapy. This therapy is offered tol High School and Middle School students and is provided by a licensed clinical therapist. The mental health and school counselors will be responsible for getting the students lined up with the program and then the student takes it from there. The goal will bet to schedule the sessions sO that very little educational time is missed. The students will have aj private room for confidentiality and will be able to access teletherapy using an iPad provided by the High School. This iPad will only have access to teletherapy which will be accessible through the Caregility app. This app eases clinical communications and care coordination while supporting on-demand consults and scheduled visits. With this app the clinician can add other participants into the call, including specialists, family, and interpreters. Parents will also be able to access the teletherapy using the Caregility app. The short term goal for this program is to deliver high-quality virtual healthcare services to historically underserved community members and has been received very well by the  community.    Chairman DeBerry called upon Dr. Emily Shaw for the policies being presented for first read. Dr. Shaw stated that there were: fourteen polices that represent the School Board Association recommendations for revisions. Ihave provided you with a cheat sheet for each of the recommended revisions and Iwill be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding the updates. There is no action needed by thel Board tonight as these are up for first read. Ms. Epps had questions regarding policy #2127 Board Member Technology Use. May need to look at adding clarity regarding board members use of! personal devices to handle school business and if we should provide school issued devices to board members for school business use only. Dr. Shaw and Dr. Ellis stated that we would go back and review the wording.  Chairman DeBerry then called upon Matthew Woodard for the athletic fields' proposal update. Mr. Woodard stated that on Aprill 11,2024, several of the board members met on site at the Montgomery Central high school athletic fields to obtain a better understanding oft the requests being presented to them. After reviewing the new construction in surrounding counties, Mr. Woodard concluded that Montgomery Central is neither unique nor inherently unsafe in design. However, the scheduling of concurrent games and practices for baseball and softball necessitates additional safety measures to protect players and spectators. We feel we would greatly reduce the risk of injury by removing the existing chain-link backstop fencing and installing a 40ft. high soft netting tie-back system. The dugouts for both baseball and softball should remain constructed as is, there are no issues with the shortening of the softball field, and noi issues with construction oft bullpens along the baseline for baseball and softball. The recommendations were to install tie-back soft netting for both baseball and softball fields, proceed with local contractors for installation ofbullpens and related turf work, and to proceed with local contractors to shorten the softball field to 200'and related turfwork. We have also received a request for a solar shade at the home concourse to help the tennis players to get relief from the sun during breaks. The estimated total costs would be $300,000.00. We are planning to meet with the County Manager to request funding for these safety needs from the County. Dr. Ellis stated that ifthey deny the request we can probably find it through some combination of funds, but it would be much easier ifthey agreed to provide all or split the funds. Chairman DeBerry requested a motion to approve the proposal as submitted. Lynn Epps made the motion  with' Tommy Blake seconding. The board approved unanimously.  Chairman DeBerry then called upon Dr. Dale Ellis for the Superintendent's Comments. Dr. Ellis stated that he saw former County Commissioner Jackie Morris last week. Love. Jackie and Ruthie, they never fail to ask about my family and how everyone is doing. Jackie always asks at the end of any conversation, "how's the school business going?" Wel have seen here tonight how the school business is going. When you look at the success ourl kids are. having it is just a very exciting time in Montgomery County Schools. We appreciate our teachers because they are the heartbeat and the ones that make it go. We appreciate thel hard work that our kids have done. Wel have lots of great kids as you have seen here tonight. We also appreciate the investment that the county has made. There have been a lot ofi investments, and we can sit here and pick them apart because nothing is ever perfect, but you can look at thei investments that have been made, particularly in the CTE and see the success with all the students here tonight. The investments that were made in the creation of the Early College that cost no funds from Montogomery County schools other than personnel because it was bond money that the college received that funded it. When you look at the partnership that wel have created here in Montgomery County and the facility, it is the absolute envy of the State, and we are starting to see the results from it as well. So good job to our kids, good job to our teachers and thanks to Montgomery County for having the foresight to make the investments that have been made and    ofcourse the stewardship oft this board to get us through all of that because it is much appreciated. Long after we are gone this County will still benefit from it.  Chairman DeBerry then asked for a motion to go into closed session to discuss personnel and consult the board attorney. Bryan Dozier made the motion, with Anne Evans seconding. The  board approved entering closed session unanimously.  The following items were approved: 1) Board Minutes from April 8, 2024 2) Personnel and Auxiliary Report  Fmilys  312004 712021  Moaty lxuep.  BelChsk    MONTGOMERY COUNTYSCHOOIS MAY6,2024  wemighi Mongomeyt ovlTnd -rickil M2SB6 6214 04-2025dhum Mamtguery Monigomery Commys Meatgnmeyn Coumy  USA gomery School  3) Budget Resolution  4H1P Pages streel. .P.0.B Box4 427 Troy, Norno Carolina2 27371-0427 PHOKE: (9105 5766511 1M91P576-2H4  Education  Fiscaly Year 2023/2024E Budget  2Nochangetoth Localfu    upportsenices).  Budget Amendment: #8 Montgomery Counly Administration! Unit  teracy. ZIOverall, thesea adlustments tothetotalz  f$215.735.70  STATEFUNDS  $38972  Budget Amendment: #8 FEDERALFUNDS  Budget Amendment #8 LOCALFUNDS  12408.50 51230  $7,080,01600  CAMEBAIER revenues rrent Budget  51240850  $7,358.591.10    Budget Amendment#8 LOCALFUNDB  Budget/ Amendment: #8 CAPTALOUTIAYFUND 159G Rermun 147559  pons0  57.031.00 $94.,66703 31.4X 2MH 55005 $2451.00 $24810  $2081.00 $13.51757683  DNUTRITROHFUND  CIk  v  4) Summer Hours  441Pages Streel. P.0. Box 427 Troy, Norc Carollna: 27371-0427 PBOKE-PS764511- H::10576-20H  May6,2024 RE: Summerll HousR  Montgomery County Schools will transitiont os working hours! beginning June24,2 2024, andremaine eflectivet throughA Aupust9, 2024. Duringthisti time. oltices willbeopmf from7 7amu untils Spul Monday-1 Thurday. Tleol ollices willbe closedonli ridays from Junc28,2 2024. ihrough August9, 2024.    5) 2024-25 Local Application for CTE State/Federal Funding Final Submission  FORCAREER STATE/FEDERAL AND1 FUNDING FINAL.S Alprograms, hecrEa assura servicesa ted state/federal Thisp accordwithStates cation, bocomes ana  APPROVAL  and  Lafsaaay Gakshh Agrary LEAT 620 Number APPROVEDB Suprrintendknt: BY: DaeEIl, DLRK FinaneOfficer: Akkhac Nshs Carera md7  Hlu/2y dgpfdegation heh LR PREPAREDBY: Director,Careran MHJSa MA  ducatic voationwland  ina.  Following closed session, Chairman DeBerry asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Bryan Dozier made the motion with Lynn Epps seconding; the meeting was duly adjourned. The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, June 3, 2024, at 6:30 pm at the Montgomery  County Central Office.  Oozic Dale Ellis, Ed.D., Secretary  Steven W. DeBerry, Chairman/