MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION  MINUTES December 4, 2023  The Montgomery County Board of Education convened in a regular monthly meeting on Monday, December 4, 2023, at 6:30 pm in the Montgomery County Schools Boardroom. Board members present were Steve W. DeBerry Chair, Tommy Blake Vice Chair, Angela Smith,  Lynn Epps, Anne Evans, Bryan Dozier and Cindy Taylor.  Chairman Steve DeBerry called the meeting to order. Mr. DeBerry moved to adopt the agenda as submitted. Tommy Blake made the motion with Lynn Epps seconding. The agenda  was accepted with unanimous approval from the board.  Chairman Steve DeBerry shared thoughts entitled "Benefits from the Christmas Season". Reading from Luke 2:13-14. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude ofl heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. At this season of the year when our minds are slanted towards peace it is an excellent time for personal improvement. Think first ofs someone else and express gratitude. Think more about giving than receiving and serving rather than being served. Dismiss a grudge or forgive a wrong. Try to be more understanding and apologize ifyou are wrong. These are a few oft the large number ofhelpful things we can do. They are simple and old but still relevant. Their influence is  immeasurable.  Mt. Gilead Elementary School students Serenity Baldwin, Trinity Alston, Jameson Wright, and China Little led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States ofAmerica.  Katie Crist was not able to attend.  Chairman Steve DeBerry turned the meeting over to board attorney, Max Garner to elect officers for the year ending 2024. Mr. Garner asked for nominees for board chair for the upcoming year. Bryan Dozier nominated Steve DeBerry. Angela Smith nominated Lynn Epps. Mr. Garner asked ifthere was a motion for the nominations tol be closed. Tommy Blake made the motion with Cindy Taylor seconding. Mr. Garner then instructed the board members write down their selection for board chairman. Mr. Garner then collected and tallied the votes which he stated would remain with the minutes of this meeting. In a balloted vote Steve DeBerry was selected 4-3. Mr. Garner turned the meeting back over to Mr. DeBerry for nominees for vice chair. Tommy Blake nominated Anne Evans. Bryan Dozier seconded the nomination with  unanimous approval from the board.  No one signed up to speak during the public comments section.  Chairman DeBerry then presented a Resolution of Esteem for. John Marion Cullers for his twenty years ofs service with the Montgomery County Schools. Mr. Cullers passed away on  October 1, 2023. The Resolution reads as follows:    MONTGOMERY COUNTYE BOARD OFE RESOLUTION OFE ESTEEM FOR Jofn Marion Cullers callhome. JohnMariono ourH HeavenlyF Falher, onc inHisinlinilek 16,2 2023, lovec WHEREAS, hise aliving! toN Monigomary Countys grity Schookstor and skil.o wenty and served. WHEREAS, butalsoll hislossy Ihroughoutl wilbe deeply entire felln community nolonlyby andcounty. thosey withw whomhe Educationg NOW, THEREFORE, goes beit thatt thei sensed Monigomery County andregrelinhis Boardof thato ouro deeps and the! thata BoardofEducalion. olll thes befil filedas COUNTYE BOARDO OFEDUCATION Bty C6Co.Secdioy Lna fommybinke  sowh ftto  Chairman DeBerry called upon Dr. Ellis and JaMese Black for Certified and Classified Employees of the Month for Mt. Gilead Elementary. Shakria Owens, Kindergarten Teacher Assistant, was the classified winner. Laverne Smith, Pre-K Teacher, was the certified winner. Dr. Ellis then recognized Camilla Medina Bello (3td grader at Green Ridge Elementary). Her poster was awarded an honorable mention for the 2023 NCSBA Elementary School Poster  Contest.  Dr. Ellis then presented the growth banners to principals of schools who met or exceeded growth during the 2022-23 school year. Page Street Elementary and Montgomery Early College both exceeded growth while Montgomery Learning Academy, Candor Elementary, Green Ridge Elementary, Mt. Gilead Elementary, Star Elementary, and West Middle School all met growth.  Dr. Ellis said these schools worked hard and should be very proud.  Chairman DeBerry asked the board for approval oft the consent agenda. Anne Evans Chairman DeBerry called upon JaMese Black, principal at Mt. Gilead Elementary for the school's presentation on Student Leadership. Ms. Black stated that she would like to introduce to the board something new at Mt. Gilead Elementary School which is our Student Leadership program. The young ladies and gentleman that led your pledge of allegiance are our first ever student council leaders. We were looking for ways that our students could take some ownership oftheir school and allow them to tell us what they would like to see happen in our building while also letting them know that we are listening and responding. Our purpose was to encourage student pride, leadership skills, ownership of their work and actions, connection to the community, and to have a voice concerning school activities. The student council concept was introduced to our fourth and fifth graders. Ift they were interested, they had to complete an application, complete an essay and video of why they should be selected, and then were given  made ai motion with Cindy Taylor seconding. The board approved unanimously.    one week to run for office. Their accomplishments include participation in Red Ribbon Week, weekly meetings with advisors, participation in daily announcements and the pledge. Our current project is a can food drive. The benefits have been improved attendance, better classroom focus and behavior, and completion of assignments with pride. The students also requested to add more members to their council, and they voted to add eight additional members. We decided to select the students who originally ran for election but did not win. These new members will be  announced later this week with a notification from the council.  Chairman DeBerry called upon Dr. Emily Shaw for a presentation on Partnership with Educational Partners International. Dr. Shaw started by saying what a wonderful partnership that Montgomery County Schools currently has with EPI, what it means to Montgomery County Schools and how we benefit from it as well as looking into some other options that come from this partnership. EPI is an Exchange Visitor Program authorized to sponsor teachers for placements (K-12) inj public, private, and charter schools in the US. Weare in our sixth year of partnering with EPI. They not only help fill our vacancies, but the teachers bring a culture and diversity to our district that only they are able to provide for us. This relationship not only exposes our students but also our staff to different experiences. We started with EPI in 2018 with only five teachers. This year we have ten EPI teachers throughout our district. We have three at Candor, two at Montgomery Central, one at Troy Elementary, one at West Middle, two at Page Street and one at Green Ridge Elementary. This program is ai five-year commitment and at the end oft the five years the EPI teachers must return to their home country. Most oft the teachers would love to stay and continue employment but cannot unless Montgomery County Schools can provide a work visa. However, due to the initial approval cost ofa approximately $4000-$9000 per teacher plus the recurring legal and renewal costs, although we truly value their service, this is currently not an option. Mr. Blake asked if wej provide any of the cost for their retirement? Dr. Shaw stated that Montgomery County Schools contracts with EPI for the service only. All the benefits the teachers receive are through EPI. Mr. DeBerry and Ms. Epps both agreed that if there was some way to split these costs with the individual, it would definitely be something that we should look into. Dr. Ellis stated that this subject also came up during our last school visits and we wanted to give the board an idea of the expense. We will continue to work on narrowing  down the costs and keep you updated.  Chairman DeBerry called upon Dr. Emily Shaw for policies for approval. Dr. Shaw stated that we have several policies up for approval. These changes are centered around personnel and facility updates as well as verbiage around school assignments. Dr. Shaw pointed out that we did add the clarifying statement to policy 4326 to include the MCHS student athletes who attend the Early College. Chairman DeBerry then asked for a motion for approval. Lynn Epps made the motion with Bryan Dozier seconding. The motion carried unanimously with the  board.  Chairman DeBerry called upon Matthew Woodard for an update on the MCHS baseball and softball field improvements. Mr. Woodard stated that in May our board accepted the Master Site Plan for the baseball and softball field improvements that included phase one safety enhancements. This included the extended soft netting, relocation of the baseball dugouts, bullpens. It also included the addition ofa field house, covered batting cages and a storage building. The County paid for the master plan, which included the construction documents and bid services for phase one for a cost of $43,500. After two bid dates, we only received one bid for what was deemed Phase #1. However, at thel November Board of Commissioners meeting they decided not to accept the bid and to not proceed with the project at this time but could possibly revisit this at a later date. We now need to discuss what options wel have available. One    option would be to discuss with the county what they consider a later date or is it due to construction costs. We found a third-party construction estimator that would review the single bid proposal and provide their cost estimate. We did offer this to the county for a cost of $2500 but they did not indicate any interest. The second option would be to discuss with the county regarding an enhanced bid that would include the proposed fieldhouse, storage building and covered batting cages inl hopes of enticing more bidders. The cost estimate given by the architect was $1.4 million for a forty-nine hundred square foot facility. The third option would be to redesign the netting. The new netting for the softball field will work fine, however, ifthe decision is made to leave the baseball dugouts in their current location, new engineering will be required. Ifnew netting is installed without moving the dugouts it will reduce the effectiveness oft the project as the netting would not extend down the baseline as far as needed to catch foul balls. Dr. Ellis stated that unfortunately with this project there is no private funding available to help with the more equitable aspects oft the project, but we decided the netting was needed due to safety concerns. However, the issue is ifwe elect now to spend the $180,000 to install the netting, then the county decides to move forward with the full project in a few years, the project will have to be redone due to the placement oft the netting we approve right now and then that money willl have been wasted. Unfortunately, even if we approve this tonight, the netting will not bei inj place for the upcoming baseball season and as it stands, it will not extend far enough to protect the spectators. Mr. DeBerry asked what ifwe pay the $2500 to have the third-party construction estimator review the bid proposal? Mr. Woodard responded that making these improvements would improve safety in the game and he felt that it would be money well spent. Mr. Woodard did point out that it could be March before the estimator would be available to come out. The board members expressed concerns for the safety of spectators this baseball season. Dr. Ellis stated that they hear the concern. Mr. DeBerry then asked for a motion to approve the $2500 expense for the independent appraiser. Lynn Epps made a motion to approve  with Bryan Dozier seconding. The board approved unanimously.  Chairman DeBerry then stated the board members attended the 2023 NCSBA Annual Conference in Greensboro last week and wanted to give the board members a chance to share some oft the information they received during the sessions. Anne Evans stated she would like to share information from two ofthe sessions she attended. The first one was Global Game Changers, and it is a free program for Pre-K thru 5th grade students. Thej presenter was a teacher from Buncombe County, who uses the program in her classroom. The lessons are thirty-minute, ready-made lessons that help build social and emotional type skills. The goal is to use service learning and talent development to build social, emotional and leadership skills in children Pre-K to5th grade. Ms. Evans said that she feels it would be a game changer in our classrooms. The second session Ms. Evans spoke about was Hot Topics - NCI DPI Innovation Team - "Promising Practice Clearing House" and they provided al lot ofuseful information. They have a tool that uses a spreadsheet that allows you to put in your information such as your ESSER funds and you can see your return on the investment. Ms. Evans stated how proud she was when they came to the part on Notable Practices and number one on the list was Montgomery County Schools. She also stated that she was pleased tol hear that there will be a revised NC Teaching Working Conditions Survey this year. They also stated that they are looking at a survey. just for principals aswell as a redesign of the School Performance Grade for the 2024-2025 school year. Lynn Epps then shared that she attended a session on sports safety where they shared a story ofa student that collapsed on the soccer field and how long it took to receive the needed medical attention. The staff was not prepared. No one knew how to locate the IED, the trainer was on the other side of the field, and by the time the ambulance arrived fourteen minutes had gone by without the student's heart beating. We need to make sure the coaching staff and volunteers at all our schools know where and how to access the equipment needed in an emergency. Mr. Dozier    suggested that we have one staffn member on each oft the athletic teams in charge ofi making sure the proper emergency equipment is available during their event since this is a very time sensitive matter. Ms. Epps stated she also attended a session on AI. This was a form of AI they are using and developing things for non-verbal students by using a headband that allows you to understand what the student is wanting. As this becomes available, we just need to try to stay up to date. Mr. DeBerry stated that one ofthe sessions he attended but was unaware Montgomery County Schools was already partnering with was the NC Education Corps. They are an independent, non-profit that partners with the school system to recruit and train community members to offer high end impact tutoring to our students. They have also partnered with NC State and Duke University to evaluate and track your schools progress and offer this data to the school to see how well the students are progressing. Mr. DeBerry stated that he spoke with Dr. Ellis and the biggest challenge in Montgomery County is finding the community members to become tutors. Mr. Auman stated that we are currently still in thei recruiting phase. We do not have anyone in the NC Education Corps program yet, but we met with them three weeks ago and signed contracts and we: now have the tutor positions posted on our website. This information has also been shared with both Montgomery County Community College and Stanly County Community College to post on their websites as well. Our hope is that we will get enough recruited and through the principal's selection sO that we can begin training in. January.  Chairman DeBerry called upon Dr. Dale Ellis for the Superintendent's Comments. Dr. Ellis presented "What is Impacting Student Learning" which consisted oft the student comments from the Student Advisory Council meeting on October 18th. Principals selected two students from East and West Middle, Montgomery Central, Montgomery Early College, and Montgomery Learning Academy to represent the school at the meeting. The students were asked to list the positives and negatives at their schools, in the classrooms and future topics they would like to see discussed. One oft the biggest areas of concern was particularly at the high school, things seemed rushed to them because we are using the different calendar which is something that we need to keep our eye on. Overall, the feedback was positive. One oft the issues listed was bugs at WMS. This will be one area of focus during our next meeting, and wel have asked Mr. Bill Mingin to come speak about the work that he does tol help prevent bugs at our schools. Mr. DeBerry noted that one oft the positives was great safety at our schools. Ms. Taylor questioned the one comment about not much talk about mental health. Dr. Ellis stated that wel had not had time to discuss that comment but since we offer sO much mental health assistance that he would try to touch on that with the students at the next meeting. Ms. Epps also mentioned issues with the WIFI and internet access after school but unfortunately this is to prevent malicious hackers on our system. Dr. Ellis stated that any oft the items that are listed as a delta will be taken back to the individual departments and schools to share because the students are our customers and we  value their input.  Chairman DeBerry then asked for a motion to go into closed session. Bryan Dozier made the motion, with Anne Evans seconding. The board approved entering into closed session  unanimously.  The following items were approved: 1) Board Minutes from Novmeber 6, 2023    2) Personnel and Auxiliary Report  3) Budget Resolution    BudgetA Amendment#3 CountyA  Budget  BudgetA    Budgot Amendment #3  Budget    4) Early Graduation  441Pagestreel. P.0.Ber427 Troy, 27371-0127    5) Capital Needs Non Mechanical  Troy. 441Pafes 0.Bor427 7371-0427  Upon return to open 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, January 8, 2023, at 6:30 pm at the Montgomery  County Central Office.  Steven W.D  Delo DaleEllis, Ed. D., Secretary  Aas