##VIDEO ID:NS0wZkRKAvo## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e okay I would like to call to order I would like to call to order the meeting of the Williams County Board of Education on November the 18th we will uh Begin by recording attendance board members please record on your devices is it not automatically tallying R there are 12 members present e testing is that working okay okay the next item on our agenda is our public comment period uh we are fortunate to have 27 speakers tonight um on a variety of topics so that's going to give each person a minute 1 minute 15 seconds um as you come up you'll notice a screen on the podium computer screen there that will show your time so rather than me interrupting you or showing you a placard just please pay attention to the screen that's on your Podium and be aware of your time um I will call um as usual call you up two at a time so you'll be the second person will be aware that you're in the queue um we are going to start with Amy Cook followed by Eden cook hey guys uh my name is Amy and I'm a mother of three kids that go to WCS schools and I stand before you a third time to let you know it's still disheartening to see that Eden's dedicated theater director has concluded only her only paid show getting compensated at a rate below minimal wage she has already started daily rehearsals for the junior theater Festival and two shows to follow that and she'll be doing that for free in contrast I have no hesitation in supporting my son's involvement in football and wrestling this year his coach is Amazing by the way and he deserves a raise as well but he get get this I'm not even joking he received two supplement checks at a higher rate than in almost the exact same amount of time as my the theater director did um for the performances of one show so it's truly bananas and what's even crazier is the way the supplements are set up so I could come in as a fine arts supplement or Fine Arts staff right now I know nothing about singing or dancing I could work 200 hours a quarter and I could get paid over $8,000 more than the director for the school this year and that's Bonkers lastly I think it's incredibly unfair to make the Fine Arts teachers serve any more time on a committee collecting data that they've already provided you in the fall of 2023 the reason why a majority of the families move here is for these opportunities thank you so much thank you [Applause] Eden cook followed by gray rose um hello everyone I hope that you are all doing great I'm here for the third time to talk about something that's really important to me in our Middle School um the Fine Arts programs especially our theater Department two weeks ago we closed our amazing show called The JY sha r at mil Creek Middle School so here's the thing no I'm only in middle school but even I can understand how terribly lower the Fine Arts supplements are compared to the sports ones it's not fair that the my theater or the theater is lower than the Fine Art supplements are compared to the sports one it's not fair that my theater director just finished her only paid show and now she's working for us for upcoming jtf Junior theater Festival and the next biggest show of the Year bece followed by one more after that she's doing all this without getting paid that just doesn't seem fair especially when I get to see the other sports teams like my brothers football and wrestling have coaches who get paid for their time and effort for each sport which Noah's coaches definitely should but also um shouldn't my coach so I have an idea that no one said yet but maybe could work let's move the theater to the sports supplements after all there's dancing cheering competitions and using our muscles to build sets using our diaphragms and vocal muscles to sing and act I mean what do you say what's next thank you for listening gray rose and then Izzy Rose will follow hello I'm gray rose and I'm currently in the middle of rehearsing my second Middle School production I want to let you know that participating in theater has been a life-changing event for me already at just 12 years old and in case you aren't aware it is very timec consuming after watching the last board meeting I hear Mr Golden say that compared to surrounding counties our art stiens are higher I'm curious if you Mr Golden or any other school board members have attended any of the Productions from the surrounding counties you are making this comparison to I'm asking the decision makers here tonight to acknowledge that equable pay in Williamson County shouldn't come from comparing us to other counties but instead should be rude in the idea that when you determine coaching stiens based on one set of standards and art stiens based on another this is not fair I want you to know that I think this play scale determination goes against our WCS vision statement excellent in acade academics Athletics and the Arts the more I think about it it even goes against the be nice Campaign which ironically enough originated in a Fairview school I encourage all of you to extend this niceness the kindness that we all claim in value to our Fine Arts programs and show us that we matter just as much as Athletics I'm really concerned that if these stiens remained untouched and still then we will lose these fantastic teachers thank you for your time Izzy Rose followed by traxon Pierce good evening I'm here to talk about something that has been bothering me since last school year the way we value our Arts teachers versus coaches you've heard us say that Arts teachers deserve more support more respect and yes more pay but I'm not just here to ask for it again I'm here because I'm tired I'm tired of feeling like our voices aren't loud enough tired of seeing coaches get paid higher stiens even though the people teaching us how to create how to think critically how to express ourselves are making so much less and it's not not just about the money it's about what we're saying when we treat the Arts as if they don't matter it's about how we as a school and as a community choose to show what we truly value are we students like me that are create are we telling students like me that our creativity doesn't count I'm not saying that Sports aren't important I know they teach teamwork discipline and resilience but you know what so do the Arts I'm asking you to stop treating Arts like an afterthought I'm asking you to look at the teachers who are shaping our futures with as much value as those who coach Us in sports we work hard in both and we need to see that effort reflected in the way we fund and support them so yes I'm tired tired of speaking up and feeling like nothing changes but I'm also hopeful I'm hopeful because I believe you can make the right decision I believe you can look this issue and see it for what it is a chance to be fair to be just and to show all of us students and teachers alike that Arts matter that creativity matters and that people who teach us how to create are just important as teach people who teach us how to compete thank you traon pierce followed by Riley B boswer go ahead hi everyone I am track and Pierce I am a sixth grade student in Fairview quick question why do we tear for touchdowns and perfect test scores but forget the Arts my incredible theu teacher who makes every student feel seen valued and loved deserves better pay Arts teachers not just teach us to act sing or paint they teach confidence creativity and how to sign in a rule world full of rules the theater is for everyone athletes math wizes side kids all of us so let's be real if we value creativity in our students let's pay art teachers what they're worth because no one is clapping for underpaid inspiration thank [Applause] you R Riley and then Jaden Spencer hello my name is Riley Bowser and I am a student of Fairview Middle School the reason I am speaking today is because there is a difference and supplements between Performing Arts teachers and athletic coaches in the Williamson County School System in addition to their yearly salary coaches are compensated for their additional hours based on a percentage of this salary the supplement pay to Performing Arts teachers is a set amount regardless of the countless hours at school and at home that they work on their programs I'm in band theater and choir and I am also the eighth grade president in our Orchestra program I have benefited from these programs all four of them have helped me become a better person and find out who I truly am I do not have anything against the athletic program go Falin my brother plays football and baseball I will always try to make it to his games and other important events events that my school holds for these programs all of these programs are important for our growth and success please consider the importance of these programs and the wonderful jobs that these amazing teachers do to help us grow and let's give them the equal compensation that these teachers deserve thank you Kaden Spencer followed by Carolyn Brown hello I am Jaden a student at Fairview Middle School I participate in a variety of Fine Arts programs such as playing Trum bone in our school band and having roles in both Frozen Jr and now our show Matilda Jr I stand here to tell you what Fine Arts is to me a place of growth a place where Talent is allowed to thrive I myself can say our FMS theater program led by the wonderful Rachel Hansen has enhanced my skills I now know of talents I never knew I had for as much as they invest in me we should invest in them they have taught me even more than a coach or a sponsor could they te they they treated me not as a human but as an individual ual one with good talent for all the work and personal money they put in they deserve more thank you for your time and consideration thank you Carolyn Brown followed by jenev V pus hi thanks everyone for taking time to be here with the kids best interest at heart some of you are probably aware of a situation that was brought to our attention but the occurrence may or may not be an isolated one and it is a symptom of a bigger problem the day after the election one high school teacher told the students they W allowed to discuss the election at all while in school should they be heard talking about the election they would be sent to the principal's office this edict is wrong on so many levels these students will soon if they are not already voting they are still developing their critical thinking skills some expect a different out expected a different outcome and are wor wondering why their anticipated outcome didn't happen this is a good opportunity to guide the class into an objective discussion examining local factors that might have impacted the outcomes such as inflation Rising unemployment immigration Etc that motivated voting patterns or the variables that might influence the difference in polling results and the actual election results or an opportunity to discuss what takes place after an election including certifications the intent of checks and balances cab cabinet appointments and Confirmation students similar to adults have questions our students deserve better in this incident the principal did talk to their teacher involved but we need teachers to stay neutral thank you jev V poo followed by Becca Ripley good hello my name is Genevie phos and I am the chapter chair for moms for Liberty Williamson County and I want to thank you for giving me the time to speak today uh last month sadly I was sick and was not able to attend the meeting uh but after I watched um I was honestly just taken back by the continued push of division within our student body I want to make something clear when I am up here speaking or in any communication with the board myself as well as my organization I'm not simply representing my community or our students we're out here speaking for what we believe to be for the benefit and the best interest of all students within Williamson County we took a dress code policy which clearly still includes all students and turned it into a Podium for further division in fear making students believe that somehow a dress code policy was now going to allow children to bully other students and that was simply not true whether we agree or disagree on an issue we should all be looking out for the best TR interest of all students we need to stop instilling Fear and furthering Division and start creating an environment of unity within our schools this is a problem not only in our County but in our entire country and it is time we take steps to rectify that we want to thank the board for continuing to make policies that unite all students and and parents I really hope that we can model that as well thank you guys Becca Ripley followed by Greg hi I'm Becca and I'm a district 8 parent on the second day of transgender Awareness Week at last Thursday's work session this board was presented with a proposal to eliminate legally sound and in fact legal council recommended protective and inclusive Equal Opportunity Employment policy language this proposal is alarming and disheartening legal council advises and has advised on multiple occasions that this language is precisely in line with what would be required should a lawsuit be lost to a discriminated against party Additionally the precedential case indicates that not only would the Fallout include an inordinate amount of settlement money and legal fees but a version of the Dei training currently forbidden in Williamson County Schools would become required now was still thrilled as I might be if that much needed training were implemented districtwide I'm just not sure that that is the universal sentiment in this room our lgbtq plus community members continue to fight for their rights including first and foremost the right to Simply exist if there's an amendment that eliminates the inclusive language it will effectively erase these already marginalized community members in this case it is so straightforward to fight with them and for them we do nothing we simply leave the policy as written let's contribute to the safety of our vulnerable students but keeping all of our staff [Applause] safe Greg coie and then Courtney Foley good evening uh my name is Greg kulie and I'm here because the proposed school calendar fails to address a critical issue for many families with joint custody since enrolling my children in our school years ago we have never shared a single fall or spring break together this has been a profound loss of family time that we can never reclaim the main issue is that the breaks are imbalanced the current schedule favors one parent consistently because they end up getting both fall and spring breaks if they have a week on WE off schedule which most do this neglects the others opportunities to bond with their children during these critical breaks it's been suggested to just change the custody plan to have the other parent alternate it with you but unfortunately altering C for breaks is costly impractical and disrupts the child's routine because that would then Force One parent to go three whole weeks without seeing their children fortunately the solution is simple shifting just one Break by a week forward or backward which many neighboring Counties have done would equitably distribute school break time enhancing the well-being of our student and supporting their family life I urge you to consider the needs of families like mine and uh move the braks one week back or forth thank you thank you Courtney Foley and then James and Courtney McCarthy good evening um I'm here to ask the board to consider moving either fall break or spring break uper back just a week like Mr coie just presented as a parent with joint custody of School Aids children who alternate weeks the current calendar schedule of fall break and spring break gives one parent both weeks without the kids or with the kids so as he said we would have three weeks without our children or three weeks with our children which just isn't fair to either party or the kids so if one of the breaks were moved up or back just one week it would provide both parents to have the quality and necessary time with their children surrounding counties have oddly spaced breaks whereas Williamson County braks are evenly spaced and When developing a parenting plan alternating weeks provided the most um stability during an unstable transition and now that we're realizing with this plan only one of us has the luxury of spending both fall break and spring break with our kids I ask that you please consider moving one break either up a week or back a week to spend the precious time with our children for parents with join custody thank you thank you James and Courtney McCarthy Then followed by Theodore Pisa hi my name is Courtney McCarthy and this is just Our intention is to make this a public record our daughter was hit in the head twice by soccer ball last Friday November 8th um she was sent to the nurse after much crying uh and the nurse basically told her oh it should only sting fix your shirt and sent her on her way when in fact our daughter did have a mild concussion from the kicks um we're not upset that she got hit with the ball That's Sports we tried to bring it up with the nurse and she basically didn't even have the right places noted in her chart that my daughter was injured with she was hit twice one face on and one on the side of her head in a row so she was sent back we contacted the principal paits and she basically sent us some very almost condescending emails letting us know that oh well we'll take care of it no big deal ho hum um we're not really happy at all with how this is we also came to our attention that Williamson County Schools do not have any sort of concussion protocol outside of extracurricular Sports so in an incident like my daughter gets hit in gym class the nurse didn't even care enough or show her any empathy to go back and ask her questions as to how she felt so she's treated for a TBI right now at the moment thank you thank you Theodore Pisa followed by Ashley Webster good evening my name is Theodore Francis Pisa Jr I am a queer single father of two here in the beautiful city of Franklin Tennessee and I stand Here speaking on behalf of my children and the marginalized whose quality education is at stake marginalized communities in our County stand to lose crucial access to education and resources in the face of bil Le's for-profit voucher scam it came as no shock to see District 3 helped pass a measure repaving the way for this voucher scheme and what a national embarrassment you're playing games with access to school counseling and mental health services for those who need it you are reducing access to free and lowcost meal programs you hamstring music and the Arts and you are risking Futures and careers by diminishing stem programs with this program supporting a dark program masquerading a school choice Which siphons tax money away from special education and over to special interests puts you embarrassingly on the wrong side side of history and to the at risk to the minorities to the special needs and the queer kids in this County and state we the rational adults of Tennessee see you and we will not go down without pushing back on grifters and some of the blind ignorance that is now seated before us on this board and nothing will be made great again through normalizing bigotry censorship and revision revisionism while raiding your school's piggy bank thank you Ashley we followed by Kimberly Cal hi I'm Ashley Webster and I have two kids who graduated from Williamson County Schools I would like to thank the previous gentleman who spoke I share some of his sentiments um I have two queer children one of them attended a funeral service yesterday for a young transwoman who had just gotten access to gender affirming care so I give that to you for submission this week in transgender remembrance week what I'm here to talk about though is the fo of your emails after you all took a vote to resend the anti voucher resolution saying that your constituents largely were wanting you to do this and were you know against the anti voucher resolution that was passed in the first place and I'll show that the numbers run from 61 emails against resending it all the way to the highest number of 69 emails to Margie Johnson against resending it um and then the number of emails Pro resending are in the one or two position and only Jay galberth got two emails for resending the anti voucher resolution so I would like for you in the future to be more transparent and methodical when you go about Gathering the input from your constituents for these matters thank you thank you Kimberly calat and Then followed by Christopher seavoy hi my name is Kimberly calote I'm a mom of four and three of my children attend Williamson County Schools Williamson County Schools provide Prides itself on its quality education but in one area we're failing recess while our district provides 20 to 30 minutes of recess in elementary is that enough to maximize the benefits of screen-free and structured play the common misconception is that recess is just a break but research including our own Department of Education highlights its critical role in developing students social skills emotional well-being academic success and physical health the link project at TCU launched 60 Minutes of recess in school districts across the US in over nine years documented its impact on children's education and emotional well-being results included a 40% decrease in off task Behavior 10% rise in math and 7% rise in ela standardized test scores for fourth graders and a significant reduction in chronic stress and anxiety we urge you to implement 1 hour of recess split throughout the day which only means really carving out about an additional 30 minutes this change could boost student engagement well-being and academic success ensuring our County continues to lead in educational Excellence while fostering a balanced environment for our children thank you thank you Christopher seavoy and Then followed by Brittany Pope hi uh I'm Christopher Sawa and and uh I have an aerospace engineering degree a systems engineering degree and I'm working on a counseling degree and I was asked to talk about why recess is important um and it's not really about recess what it's about is that I'm sure all of you are ready to stand up and take a brief break and kind of digest all of the passion and the information that everybody's brought studies show that at any age taking a break to digest information improves quality of learning and retention over time for five-year-olds for seveny olds for niney olds who've not learned to control their body their mouth or their mind and sometimes other things it can be really challenging to sit for two or three or four hours without any kind of a break recess is a fantastic one the Arts that we're advocated for or another one really anything that gives the children a break from rigorous academic intensive learning just as you guys are experiencing right now is something that could benefit all of our children and make them better learn ERS and better people over time so I really appreciate your time and attention not just to me but to all the issues that you heard tonight thank you thank you Britney Pope and Then followed by Trisha rer hi I'm Britney Pope I have a daughter at mil Creek uh Elementary and we all agree that we want our children to thrive in school and thriving means being emotionally regulated socially connected and developmentally supported not not just academically successful maso's hierarchy of needs states that you must meet a child's basic needs food sleep exercise confidence before they can reach full academic and social potential developmentally appropriate activities movement Hands-On exploration and opportunities for social interaction are critical for building foundational skills children need to succeed our education system demands more from the kids than their developmental stage can support K through two have 150 minutes of ela 90 of which are block time despite the research that five and sixy olds have attention spans of only 12 to 18 minutes with fifth grade maxing out at only 35 minutes what are they absorbing and how much is wasted on redirection and reteaching it stresses their focus far beyond their capacity leading to an alarming rise in mental health and behavioral issues the solution is clear we need to rethink how we structure learning to achieve academic ex Excellence we must prioritize students well-being nurturing their physical mental and emotional health through play thank you thank you Trisha rer Follow by Tracy Anderson I'm Trisha reer a mom and nurse here to emphasize the critical role of recess for our children's physical and mental well-being physical activity is a basic need and is vital for kids physical and mental health it supports healthy bodies lowers the risk of chronic diseases like obesity diabetes heart disease and when kids run and play it boosts blood flow to the brain which improves cognitive functions like memory attention and processing speed activity enhances mood and mental health by reducing stress anxiety and depression per our state's physical activity report it improves self-esteem emotional regulation academic performance and when Physically Active from age 6 to 8 it decreases symptoms of major depressive disorder the benefits of growing benefits for growing minds and bodies are endless adults recognize the importance of movement in the workplace with employers adopting Wellness programs and activity focused initiatives yet in schools children are more sedentary than ever today one in five kids are clinically obese and Tennessee's kids rank number sixth in the nation Vanderbilt just got 10 million to study child obesity the link study noted a 6% decrease in body fat in one year with 60 Minutes recess adequate recess is key to beating this crisis it Fosters healthier habits and coping mechanisms improves behavior and performance with active kids scoring higher on tasks and excelling in math please give kids the recess they need to thrive physically mentally and academically thank you thank you after Tracy Anderson we have Kayla Johnstone hello my name is Tracy Anderson I live in Franklin and I have twins who attend Woodland what did you do at school today sweetie so many times the excited answer has been something that happened at recess my daughter has high functioning autism and is sensitive to loud noises and overstimulating environments I remember when she told me how excited she was to find a jumping spider who lived in a hole in a pipe on the playground at school she showed this little booper to several kids and her sister she would visit it often and give me updates she made new friends because of that little spider she found at the playground at recess these girls are still her best friends in Middle school kids use recess to engage in physical play for social interaction but also as a quiet respus respit sorry uh to investigate nature to discover the shapes and clouds to feel the wind on their skin and let the S sun shine on their precious faces and to store up vitamin D emotional regulation is Nature's profound gift children should be given enough time to enjoy peace too our current allotted time is not enough it's absurd it's fair and we can do better I urge you to invest in our school children's joy and improve their mental health I urge you to talk to special education teachers and Paras for their important input on this issue thank you very much thank you Kayla Johnstone followed by Aaron grimit hi I'm Kayla Johnstone and I have two students in the William Williamson County school zone it's essential to improve academic academic performance and mental health correct physical activity enhances students cognitive social emotional and executive function skills driving academic success when underdeveloped kids struggle with self-regulation social interaction and problem solving overloading kids with developmentally inappropriate tasks increases stress and frustration mimicking ad ADHD symptoms the iris center at Vanderbilt warns that PO poor social emotional skills are linked to increased rates of suspension expulsion academic challenges increased anxiety and depression today 94% of teachers report a sharp decline in these critical skills fueling a rise and classroom disruptions per our state department unstructured play reduces disruptive behaviors and is essential for student growth fostering self-regulation creativity cooperation and executive skills like working memory emotional regulation and flexible thinking all key to lifelong learning the evidence shows to support a kid's mental health and academic success we must make unstructured play and recess a priority thank you thank you after Aaron grimit it's Ashley pots good evening my name is Aaron grimit mom of anoing amazing fourth grader en R in Williamson County Schools Rising behavioral challenges are a key factor in teacher burnout leading many Educators to leave the profession this issue is increasingly urgent according to the educational research review it shows that nearly 50% of teachers leave within the first five years of their profession with student misbehavior being a primary reason for job dissatisfaction additional recess is a straightforward solution the link study recorded that increasing recess to 60 Minutes led to a 40% drop in offes Behavior setting a clear standard providing students with 60 Minutes of unstructured play will improve self-regulation reduce disrupted behavior and ultimately help retain teachers by easing the burden of classroom management teacher retention is a top priority for Schoolboard members and Community stakeholders implementing additional recess periods offers a concrete way to enhance teacher job satisfaction and create a more focused productive environment for students let's Foster a supportive School Culture by addressing these challenges to keep value teachers in the classroom thank thank you thank you I'm going to go ahead and call out the final three Ashley Ashley pots Katie medin and David grimit okay hi my name is Ashley Potts I have three kiddos at grassland Elementary despite laws protecting recess time we continue to hear stories of recess being withheld across our district while advocating for increased recess time we must also ensure that children receive the current recess that they're entitled to the state law 4206 states that recess cannot be taken away as punishment or withheld to complete schoolwork physical activity should never be used as a form of discipline and withholding it denies children The Proven benefits of outdoor play recent testimonies reveal that some teachers allow students to vote between watching a movie or playing outside with screen time often winning with screen time use amongst children at an all-time high the studies link it to negative effects on developing brains programs like Danny go are currently used for movement brakes but screens are undermining the purpose of these braks research shows that screens over stimulate and decrease Focus ultimately impairing self-regulation even when kids are moving offering movies during recess risk making screen time a habit when outdoor play should be our priority children need outdoor play for physical and mental well-being let's keep recess screen free and let's get these kids outside and moving thank you hi my name is Katie I'm just going to tell you a quick story about our family um we have three kids in Williamson County Schools now but we actually pulled our three kids out of Williamson County Schools scales due to recess they love and need to be outside they are 25 they get 25 minutes on a perfect day not too hot not too cold not sprink clean and sometimes it's actually up to the teachers's mood we just met friends from Ohio at the beach and the same age kids get three outdoor periods throughout the day I think it's 20 minutes three times I was done when my athletic fourth grader who struggles with Focus came home almost in tears on a beautiful April Day last year he said Mom our teacher let us vote on indoor recess vers outside and the class voted 80% to stay inside on Chromebooks kids need Vitamin D and fresh air to think for their moods and wellbeing for their brain to function after much debate we changed schools to a school with more outdoor time they got to have unstructured play on a farm play in Creeks make fors it was incredible their well-being mood self-control and focus on homework in the classroom and after school was so much better with our recess they were honestly like different children they were still under a full curriculum and yes got all of their Ela and math minutes in we have since moved them back to scales and I asked my son today um about what he misses from his old school he said the only thing is recess he said recess but that's a big thing I told my kids while I was coming here tonight and they were so excited hugged me told me good luck and then passionately said mom please help make this happen for all my friends it would be amazing [Applause] should you say yes to recess that's the question before you this past weekend I had the opportunity to host 12 9-year-old girls for a birthday party I'm pretty sure some of them spent the night I don't know how many but the next day I asked my little girl what was her favorite part and it wasn't the presents and it wasn't the cake it was staying up till 3:00 playing with her friends making up games and talking that's what recess is recess is an opportunity for our children to sit down to use their imaginations to play but how can they do that in 20 minutes that's how long they have right now we are asking you to extend that time to give them the opportunity to actually spend time with their friends make up stories talk to each other and talk about what's going on their lives as a father and as as an attorney who has represented over a thousand children they're involved in serious situations I think we can all agree that recess and school is the only time that children actually have an opportunity to be kids given that I would ask that you say yes to recess and as an add in I wouldn't be where I am except for Arts teachers so I'd add that [Applause] too all right thank thank you so much to the speakers um each and every one of you um we will um now move on to approval of our agenda I want to make a couple of comments about the agenda because there have been some changes since this was publicized um really three changes um one is that we are adding uh this was discussed at our work session on uh Thursday but uh we need to add it to the agenda and that's the school board Norms policy change that we talked about um we're going to insert that um under new business that's going to become new item D and then items d and e that are currently there will follow that so they'll become E and F the second one is that we discussed Thursday night and had on the agenda a discussion of the non-exempt pay scale and some changes that were going to be made there that has been removed um I'm going to ask Mr Golden to comment as to why um but that's being removed from the agenda because of some federal action and then secondly or thirdly um I suggested to Mr Golden this morning that we remov the headli policy from the agenda he agreed um it it became apparent to me after the discussion on Thursday night and after receiving a lot of feedback from the public um that we really need more clarity on this we really need to understand this better um and understand whether any substantive changes are actually needed and if they are um what those might be I think it's going to take some more time to get there so we pulled that from the agenda that will be sent back to policy committee and then we will um discuss any potential revisions then and if it needs to come back to the board for a vote then we'll put that through the process at that time so um Mr Golden do you want to comment on either of those on the pay scale or the LI headlight policy thank you Mr chair uh I'll go backwards uh the headlight policy that you mentioned last um we know that there has to be a balance between the health department stand standards that where we know this is not headlight is not a communicable disease we also know that there's not an infection related to head to headlight but there's the potential for an infestation and so right now we have a a good balance uh and but it deserves some some additional discussion so we thought it was wise as well uh to to spend some more time discussing that and we want to make sure especially within that context of pediculosis or headlight uh that we we honor our our am's need to not allow that to spread while still respecting uh every individual student's uh privacy and so that that balance is something that's very important to us on the non-exempt pay scale the day after our board work session there was actually a US District Court in Texas that uh that ordered the Department of Labor to stay implementation of the new regulations related to those non-exempt positions now that might not have a direct impact on us but we felt like making a decision in November for something that has a potential to go into effect in January but also might change in Jan January especially given that recent decision again the day after we that night we spoke about it the wise thing to do is to is to give it some time uh before we make a recommendation on a on a pay change in the middle of the school year so that's why we're we're mentioning those final item uh Schoolboard Norms it was just a typographical error so thank you for uh for correcting that and and uh and uh and I think Mr bosk actually noticed it so thank you for that yes he did thank you for catching that okay so with that explanation um we will need to get a motion in a second on the floor I'm going to remind you that we talked about doing motions and seconds on our devices so you will see a button for motion if someone would like to do motion in second great okay any discussion on the agenda uh need to say who makes the motion second minut okay I'm told we need to say for the record who makes the motion in the second so the motion was made by Mr Welch second by Mr bosk any discussion all in favor of approval of the agenda as amended say I I any opposed agenda is approved okay let's move on to the consent agenda need to also get a motion in a second on that please motion made by Mr bosk second by m Reeves any discussion of the consent agenda seeing none all those in favor of the consent agenda say I I any opposed cons agenda is approved and with that you approve the October 2st 2024 school board meeting minutes board policies on second reading which are 4.60 and 46051 approval of the 2024 25 hearing officers list approval of laa compliance report adoption of the Williamson County multi-hazard mitigation plan approval of the building model request Creekside School shade structure approval of RightWay request and easement acquisition from the town of Thompson Station at Thompson Station Elementary and Middle Schools and the recommendation for field trip fee requests all right item five Communications to the board uh superintendent report Mr golden thank you Mr chair and thank you board members for the work you did uh Thursday night at our work session where we had a lot of uh good robust discussion I'm not going to spend any time repeating that discussion um we had except to just mention a couple a couple of items number one we had a report on our Gallup q12 Employee Engagement survey which is in its third year second we gave you what I think of as a primer on budget uh may be drilling in into a little bit of detail enough to let you know it's going to be complex so certainly encourage you to double check the PowerPoint that our CFO Rachel farmer shared with you and and ask and ask her if you have any questions as we progress through the budget process I also want to mention a thank you to you all as board members we're in our third month of uh the new iteration of this board and just last week I know that many of you attended Veterans Day C celebrations at our schools I sat with some of you in that uh I know that some of you went to Jordan Elementary Schools Blue Ribbon celebration I we we participated in that I know that some of you went to Saturday morning's robotics competition uh at brenwood Middle School many others I was so tempted to name you but the reality is I could name each one of you for something you've done to participate in the schools I continue uh I I encourage you to continue to do that uh I think the more you the more time you spend in schools the more you're going to get a grasp of uh of what's going on there uh and be able to ask those informed questions uh as we go through our excellent work I want to especially thank our teachers uh and our staff for the work that they've done in serving our students Thanksgiving is coming up uh it is of course a holiday break I did want to mention one piece related to our calendar and I know it's an agenda item and we may have some detailed discussion related to it generally speaking the calendar is structured on that parameter of trying to make sure students uh don't start before August and then having that winter break based on what day Christmas Day and New Year's Day fall uh they're always the same day of the week because they're seven days apart uh and then working our way back so that fall break Falls in between the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter winter break Falls in between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third and spring break of course Falls in between the end of the third quarter qu and the beginning of the 4th and so it's really designed for that purpose uh so that we have the most sound instructional calendar we have of course there's additional holidays mixed in on that uh finally Mr chair I do want to specifically thank some of our other public commenters uh students I very much appreciate you all sharing uh your thoughts uh uh I love that it's a combination of script and impromptu uh it's fun to see that uh it it does my heart good to see the the work that you all do related to that uh we have actually initiated this conversation uh um when when we started talking to our WCA leadership about art supplements because we see that there's a gap uh our plan is and has been to address this through our budget process uh and and our our WCA leadership is is talking with us about that another item on our agenda is the superintendent goals for the year of course we're in November but we're talking about the superintendent goals for the year uh one of my proposed goals is to prepare play pan pay plan within budget uh that especially focuses on supplements and hardto fill positions related to that I did let you all know a month or two ago as part of the process we did a market analysis and you all may recall that I said we did a market analysis and if we just relied on market analysis uh that there wouldn't be an indication uh that there that that it was important which means we're going to have to rely on other factors uh and so we are working on that also I wanted to thank the commenters about recess I want to give you a little bit of understanding of where the state is the state standard is 15 minutes a day uh and we we believe that's low right now we're at 20 to 30 minutes uh We've we we've seen some research uh I've seen research comparing uh 30 minutes to none I've seen research up to up to an hour with some recommendations Dr Julia oyer and I uh she's our assistant superintendent for elementary schools we've had some pretty detailed discussions already uh we've talked about that transition time that some of our students have and that transition time is a little bit different depending on the grade level kindergarteners might have transition time between between uh topics between content areas some of our older elementary students might have some transition time going from class to class but the recess especially is uh something that we know deserves a little bit more discussion and we're going to initiate that discussion uh uh with our with our leaders especially on you know the implications of of a change that's a significant change going from 25 or 30 minutes to an hour what that might mean for our schedules for mapping of uh services for students with disabilities all those state requirements that they build in with that 15minute uh uh expectation for us so we're going to be doing that because it does deserve uh some work so with that Mr chair before I bring Carol up Carol bird song up do you all have any questions Miss Wyatt yes I was going to ask if you could please speak to more to the Gallup q12 engagement survey from our employees I was just really impressed with those results and I want to make sure that we're sharing that good news before you do I just want to say thank you to the leadership team that's here tonight and to all the teachers and staff in our schools thank thank you thank you for that uh Miss Wyatt that that prompt uh we spent some time talking about Gallup q12 and most everybody has heard of Gallup the Gallup organization uh that does research uh on so many levels that's in that organization is coming up on on their 100th anniversary uh what the the the program that we are using with the help of Gallup is what they call q12 which through their research has identified the top 12 questions related to employee engagement uh and it varies from uh do I have a best friend of work to to do I have the tools I need and and on and on and on you can actually Google those 12 questions we started this thoughtfully three years ago uh because we felt like we had an opportunity to to grow in engagement which we believed had the had the potential to improve job satisfaction had the potential to improve uh our retention rate uh and really just overall improve how how those who serve our students uh uh do at their job uh what we found was the first year uh we initiated it uh we were at about the the 30th percentile among those who participate in Gallup so among those organizations that thoughtfully work on this we were at the 30th percentile uh we now two years later are at the 86 percentile uh in that and it just reminds me uh of what I've known and see so often in so many different context uh that we have excellent people who have the professional skills and if we give them the tools and and help them start working on something they're going to succeed we see that in so many areas uh so I'm I'm my it does my heart good let me put it that way to see how we're growing even our leadership team has done it uh as a leadership team and um I'll give you one example of what we've worked on as a team we've worked on thanking each other a little bit more because that's one of those q12 we had without thinking about it gone into the process of get the work done move on uh but but there's value in all of us spending some time uh building each other up and supporting each other as a team it's not a supervisory issue it's a team issue so thank you for the prompt any other questions for Mr Golden before we move to miss Birdsong thank you Mr chair M Carol Birdsong is going to share some uh District celebrations thank you and my feelings are not going to be hurt that half the audience left when you said that I was coming up to speak it's it's okay I'm not taking it personally okay we are going to start tonight with Athletics and we have the Nolanville High School class 3A girls volleyball state champions yes their coach is Brett young congratulations to them if I'm correct I think they defeated Brentwood is that right yeah yeah so I mean how now how impressive though is it that we had Brentwood and Nolanville competing for that title love it love it love it all right now we're going to Cross Country and this is um this is Asher oats and uh Independence High School won the boys uh cross country and their coach is Luke Finley and um this is Claire steall and also from Nolanville she is a repeat state champion winner in girls cross country Christopher Dimitra her coach and then the boys uh brunwood High School sorry girls cross country team uh Robert patinas patinas uh is is the coach for um for the brunwood girls so lots of Superstar athletes out there representing us congratulations to them now let's do academics and we are going to talk about perfect ACT scores we have five students who we are going to celebrate tonight first this is John Choy from Brentwood High School this is parsa coroli from brenwood high school Katie Wang Brentwood High School Evan Moore Paige high school and Connor Britt from Independence High School now we're moving to the Arts and we have 28 students who who have been named to the All State Choir and so these are your students from Brentwood High School Tatum AIT Addison bracie Jackson Campbell Taylor Deans Reagan uh schmicker and their Coral director is Natalie Pratt from Centennial High School this is Anna Myrick uh her Coral director is Jonathan vest from Nolanville High School David Fick Jacob gray Lila McKenna and Anar Ross Wetzel their Coral director is Cassidy van Amberg from Paige High School pet Peter single ter Brock n the coral director there from Ravenwood High School Ashi ER erawa Brooke Boer Eli Miller Andrew M fer coena moeri Jack Odell Audrey odonnell Drew Porter Sarah Smith Rose Helmer is the coral director at Ravenwood and from Summit High School Zach arot Cadence Aurora Emily Derek Olivia Elston Melissa hogard Nate hogard Autumn schaer and Wyatt Yer kayn will Willams is the coral director at Summit High School congratulations to all of our students and the staff folks that support them and Mr chair that is my report thank you Mr Golden um I don't have a report I do just want to thank uh deputies Randy purcel and Guy Whitley for being here tonight uh thank you sir or gentleman okay um let's move on to new business first item for discussion is approval of the five-year Capital Improvement plan Mr golden thank you Mr chair this is our annual five-year Capital plan that we prepare uh at the prompt and request of County Commission so that so that it helps them with their bond ratings we also of course use this as a planning document uh certainly open any questions you may have we had a we had a good discussion at the work session I want to mention one specific item uh well actually two uh the Middle School uh in the on the uh Northeast part of the county is still scheduled for to open in Fall 2017 which means we do expect that we'll make a a I'm sorry 2027 I lost a decade there fall fall fall 2027 we do expect that we will at the end of this fiscal year be making some funding requests from County Commission uh ALS so we have a proposal to actually move back uh the one year to the fall of 2028 the Northeast Elementary School based on the total uh numbers in in the Four elementary schools in that in that region being projected where we would probably have somewhere around 4450 available seats still in 2027 okay we have a motion and a second motion by Mr G alth second by Mr Beasley uh we can now open this up for discussion um Mr galberth thank you Mr chair um Jason I know we talked a lot U about the about the individual items and and um since the work session I just um just keep on thinking um about ways that we can provide more more information to the um to the County Commission so I'm I'm perfectly fine submitting this as is I just I want to I want to make sure that if we that if we add some information to this between the between the approval and the and the um and the when we when you send it off um like it editorial change isn't a isn't significant to to that right I mean we if because what I'm asking is is that we add some some supplemental information that always comes up and what I'm thinking um the the date that when if we could if we could add to this the date on which these items first appeared uh the year that they first appeared on the 5year capital plan as well as the original amount and the expected closing date I think that's going to inform a lot about um about how how long these things have been on here the fact that this is a a planning document and not a spending plan um and so it just uh it'll just help to to know even with the growth that we've had um I mean I know for for sure I don't know the exact date it's going to take it'll obviously take going through some of these things um a little bit of time I'm happy to to help if you need but um but the the split Log Middle School um went on the plan um well before um well before Jordan Elementary was was was thought of and built because it was out furthered it finally came to fruition and then um and then we because we almost we almost voted it together with um with the elementary school and we decided to to wait um and now by the time it gets built it'll be a decade um between the opening of Jordan and the opening of this which is crazy um but that's just that's just what we've that's just what we do so I I anticipate the the likelihood that um you know that some of these outward things actually open in the year that that that we're projecting them is pretty low um but also want to focus uh on the fact that you know with waiting we've had there just an unbelievable amount of of inflation that nobody could have could have imagined so usually there's a cost of waiting I think in this case the cost of waiting is is well in excess of what anybody could have expected so thank you for those suggestions and you're right uh some of some of these become as practical matters placeholders right because we don't ask for for the work until we know there's a need and so some of them do move from year to year we'll make sure to do that that's a good suggestion uh uh chairman Brown and I have also talked about making sure that the County Commissioners know our projections especially in those areas uh another piece related to that is districtwide our student population numbers have flattened out and even actually gone down I think maybe if I'm not mistaken three4 of a percent districtwide this past year uh but we still have some areas growing uh we have some other areas where where uh folks aren't moving out of their homes right because it's such a good place to live and that can have an impact as well there's limits on how far a bus can travel you you can't travel across the whole County uh and and run a bus route so we'll make sure we include some of that detail as well thank you for that suggestion we got a couple of folks that are in the queue before we do that before I call on them can we get the the the capital plan document back up on the screen please okay thank you all right Miss Clemens thank you Mr chair um I think it's been fascinating to look at the history of our Count's growth um and I think the big marker in the middle of that growth was the year 2020 which I've heard people say that year didn't do anything for me it kind of got us off the skew um and I think it was interesting to look back to the years before I mean we were growing with you know a thousand a year a thousand a year I mean it was a lot and then when 2020 happened then you see it just a a change a really big change and so you know you know when we came back 2122 we had some growth then two years ago we lost about a 100 students and then um this year we lost um 400 student around that so it's we're seeing just a big change you know we were just it's like we were going down a roller coaster now we're going back up um and and I think sometimes we may I'd like to look at this document more closely and it would be neat to kind of just like we did with the budget to look at this document maybe over a couple months coming up to it because I think um I just have a hard time just looking at these last three years thinking we we're going to build eight new schools in five years I I I think we might need to kind of relook at that and with that in mind we've seen over the last with all the um new buildings the you know the new Page Middle School the new page High School the new Brentwood middle school and then we see some older schools that have missed out on I mean there's just a a growing disparity between some of these schools and so instead of focusing on building more schools in this season where we might not our growth might not be as strong as it was say seven years ago I would really like to focus on some of our schools like Franklin High um they have had a lot done to their Athletics since the mid 80s you know and so to take this time now where we're not growing cuz it's it could happen again you know so let's focus on these schools these older schools get them you know up to some of their counterparts on these newer schools and um really focus on those Renovations and um and so I'm I'm not voting for this I'm not voting in favor of this primarily because this is a a document that we do send to our County Commission and I I I just have a hard time seeing some of this coming to fruition in in in five years so um and I'd also like to see us really focus in on some of these schools um that need some attention thank you for that uh we we do have Renovations in in our in our programming and of course we're working on the replacement to the brenwood Middle School the page High page middle part of that is is included us adding capacity at those particular spots where there's some need uh on the on the on the growth versus not side what we what we traditionally do is look at five basic methods of dealing with it in those areas where there where there where there is growth uh we squeeze in as much as we can which might mean a teacher on a cart here and there uh we uh we will we'll bring Portables uh then uh we'll rezone uh we also uh when opportunity arises and it's appropriate uh expand and we've done that for some of the high schools uh and then finally the fifth thing is to ask for a for an increase for a new for a new school uh but concurrent with that we do work on some Renovations uh and a lot of that's based on on need uh our maintenance staff reviews those we do have on the current proposal at Hillsboro uh renovation funding uh in in in addition to some work at grassland middle but I see what you're saying especially in those areas those older schools that are built in the 80s or 90s and actually Hillsboro is older than that uh they they do deserve some renovation work as well and I think just in addition to I'm perfectly aware that we can't bust kids all the way from Nolanville up to the Northwest but we may need to I mean maybe consider kind of some migration northward expansion Northwest is yeah there's there's always a potential for a domino effect um I will say generally speaking uh when a when a Zone has been stable I'm going to have a hard time getting to where I might recommend a complete shift of a Zone that's been in in good shape for a long time um but we're certainly open to that as well Dr Johnson thank you um so our first learned of the 5-year Capital plan when it was appeared on the agenda for November 8th um it wasn't mentioned at the school board orientation in August nor was it mentioned at the planning session on October 21st so asked questions made a comment during the work session that you know while I would love to have two new schools the price tag is $158 million um so I had concerns about like what data was used to make the determination now I do appreciate what you gave us cuz I think the elementary was going to be before for the middle but when you did look at the data I mean it it's obvious that the middle schools are the ones that are overflowing uh so I sent an email after the meeting just saying you know could I have more information about like how this document was created what data we used to determine which priorities are which especially like we're hearing at fair viiew you know sewage is coming through the bathrooms and I know we got oder buildings College Grove Elementary in my district needs some upgrades um the reply was a link to a spreadsheet um similar to this one I think the numbers had changed but again I don't really know the process I don't know what data were used to determine that priority and it just seems like we're just trying to rush this through and that there's just a lack of transparency around this entire process and so at this time I really don't think I have enough information to make an informed decision about this matter certainly respect that especially with this being the first year that's something that we'll we'll work on in other contexts especially um when we're when we're when we're dealing with with those annual items that we give to the County Commission I did want to specifically mention that for each of these items when we make a request for funding there will be another vote so generally speaking the design of this document is to let folks know the these items may be coming uh and so we'll make sure to give you all some more detail before that comes Mr bosti yeah I just Echo um what Donna and Margie kind of mentioned about just when it comes to Renovations and we talked about this a little bit the work sessions but just to have it here as well you know I know with uh fair viw and we've talked about I know they're working on the uh the plumbing issues over there with Fairview Elementary but I I would love to know as well well kind of what the criteria is for even making it to a list like this like what has to be in place how's that assessed who does that assessing uh because I I do know um and I've heard from several constituents about some needs that we have over in my area the woods and I'd like to see that happen maybe or at least discussion around it so just want to have that noted uh actually Mr King might have something to share uh thank you Mr bosik and thank you for the the the comment so uh we do need we'll do a better job of explaining this especially to the new board and I'd be glad to meet with anybody that wants to sit down and go over how we come up with this but one thing I do want to mention the fiveyear capital is is our large projects and it's kind of broken down into four categories you can see with u new construction renovation there's also another item that you'll see uh during budget SE season called our annual capital and those are for smaller items that um you know like when you see our HVAC and stuff on here these are end of life that we know and needs a total replacement total refresh we may have a school that has one unit that's 20 years old but it's giving us fits and you know the degreg high so we'll put that on the annual capital and that's where the fair viiew Plumbing was last year and where it'll be next year based on what our engineer which is in the budget for this year and we'll start that process so it wasn't on the fiveyear last year um but it it was on the annual capital and that would be kind of where uh to miss Clement's point that would be where a Franklin type thing would be would be on the annual capital for items like that not the fiveyear Dr Reeves thank you Mr chair um I wanted to thank Mr galbert for his suggestions I really like the idea it would be nice to see for us to see that information so that we have um historic data on on the changes that have been made or the projects that have been pushed I also want to reiterate that I really liked the idea of the heat map that was brought up in the work session and want to encourage um Mr Golden to include that with the this document when it's submitted to the County Commission um a question about procedure with regards to this document um is there a deadline for presenting it to the County Commission and then what is their deadline for submitting it to their um rating agency the the uh traditionally the County Commission looks at it in January uh so we traditionally do it in November uh now that's been every year but one if I'm not mistaken and that one was last year uh that the county Comm if I'm not is that correct and if then the County Commission actually ended up looking at it I'm going to I may get it wrong March or April March they looked at it last last year in March so I can go back and double check um the expectation from the county is still that we get it to them so that they can do it in their January meeting as I understand it right now they are planning on looking at it in January but for what it's worth last year they combined it with their Capital plan uh and reviewed it in March I can't speak to exactly when they have that that obligation to get that to uh to their bonding um agency um but we'll double check that and find out for you all okay Al also Mr Golden um when I was uh not yet elected I sat down and met with you and we talked about this document and I was wondering if you could just give a highlevel summary of what you told me about this document at that time really helped me understand how this document is used sure thank you for that so I'll speak to the commission first I think I told you something to the effect of every time this goes before the commission someone on the commission says this doesn't commit us to spending on anything uh that's the that's the commission perspective and my experience is every year somehow some way a commissioner will say that again for the commission's purpose its design is so that they can get that information to their bonding company so they know what has the potential to come none of these items uh especially at the back end of of the of the years uh is is well none of those must come it's just letting them know what we project act now for us we do use it in a little bit deeper context we use it for planning purposes uh and we base we base our thoughts on at the in that first that first section what do our projections look like uh do where are where might our land needs come uh where might we need a new school and when uh and often those years will roll a year roll a year depending on our our uh our student enrollment uh as an as the example I gave you we actually had an increase in middle school numbers this year even though we had a net decrease and so that was an example of what we're what we're feeling especially in the Nolanville area uh so so that's that's the that's the the new schools to let the commission know these things may be coming uh we also put estimates uh um based on construction cost uh in there as well next is the major Renovations our maintenance department works on that they prioritize our buildings and it's not necessarily based on age we've had some detailed discussions on that that while our maintenance department does have metrics based on age they really evaluate it based on the quality of some of the systems HVAC systems even quality of the of of doors how much repair they're having to do from time to time and building to building and they prioritize based on that I don't know if I told you this particular example uh but I I have said from time to time sometimes uh the Furniture we bought is of such great quality that it's still in good shape when people don't want it anymore and so so even for some of those Renovations uh you know we we factor in we've still got good usable Furniture even though it might not look good anymore maintenance evaluates all all those issues when there's scheduling renovation uh the other items the next one the major projects asphalt um uh roofs Etc uh those are valuated based on uh lifespans uh and that's why we have those projections out but generally we don't ask for them until our maintenance department has said in that year one that column that first left column we're actually going to need it so from a commission perspective from our perspective that First Column that leftand column uh we're telling the commission you can expect we're probably going to ask for this this year on the far right column don't trust that very much at all it's we're just projecting and it's likely to change um final thing I want to mention is on the on the numbers uh these some of these construction numbers have actually gone down since last year and I don't think you and I talked about that at the time uh because we've noticed the cost of materials has actually gone down a little bit over the last year or so so I hope that kind of gave an overview uh we use it for a little bit more deeper planning than the commission does but it is letting them know these things may be coming just want to make a couple of observations about um some of the I said at the work session some some of it I did not but this just for clarity this is something that's on the annual agenda that this board votes on um we voted back in August I realized that some of you were not on the board yet but I'm sure that most everyone has observed our board meetings um for some period of time we we vote on an annual agenda that lays out month by month the things that we're going to take up as a board um this 5-year Capital plan is on there for November um has been since I've been on the board so this isn't something that I think is a is really should be a surprise to anyone it's something that's been on the agenda um and we've it's been previewed for us um number one number two um this is a document that really comes at the request of the County Commission I just want to underscore that this is not something that um is only for our benefit um and and I will I'll point you back to the I'm going to go back to May or June um you'll all remember the discussions that were had between the school board and the County Commission and the back and forth over the budget and the the discrepancy that we had and we finally got to a place where we worked it out and got agreement um in good faith conversations back and forth but but one of the things that was brought up during that period And I think was brought to light is the importance of information um between us and them and information flow them getting data points sooner rather than later think them not being surprised with things that um are coming their way from us from a budget standpoint that's exactly what in my opinion that's exactly what this document is designed to be is giving them a look ahead at what might be coming not not committing to anything not guaranteeing anything but hey this is what might be in front of us these are the budget items we might be looking at so um it's not binding it's not committing us to anything there's as as was already said there's a um there's an intent to fund so just take the one for the Middle School um that's in the current fiscal year and I I know just repeating what Mr Golden said the reason why this is important to get to the County Commission sooner rather than later is because there is an item in there in this current fiscal year that we would be asking them to potentially fund to start a new Middle School um in the current fiscal year so um and I want to point that out because you know I think if we wait until January February March when ever whatever time frame we were um has been discussed to send this over to them you know we're giving them very very little time to plan for what might be a $21 million um ticket item so um again the intent to fund would be a vote we would take so there'd be one more vote from us to affirm we want to spend that money or we want them to spend that money and then they have to vote to actually spend the money so there's two more I guess hurdles that have to be reached um before we before any of this would ever actually be spent so I only give that context because we do have a 50% new board I think it is important to kind of set the framework for why we're doing this and and to just give you my perspective as someone who's been through a couple of these now others have been through more of these than I have but um I just don't want us to get caught up in as I said last Thursday at the bottom right hand number basically 85% of that number would be spent sometime after after 2027 if everything went according exactly to this plan um so we're talking about a fraction of this that would be in front of us this year or the next year so again no one wants to spend money that we don't need to spend but it is important to just put this in context and again we talked about this at the at the work session as well that there is population growth happening in certain pockets of the county not everywhere um there's vacancy at certain buildings in certain places in the county but not everywhere so all of that has to be factored into these decisions um you know from a regional standpoint not necessarily countywide so just with that as a I just wanted to get that out on the table for discussion because I I want to make sure we're thinking through all of the angles on this and I know it's a lot to take in especially if you're a new board member it's this is a pretty daunting document I know it was when I was a new board member as well Mr Welch thank you um Mr Gold look at that number that Mr Brown alluded to sort of the total number in in the corner there um can you ever recall when we've actually spent that much on the timeline that we've had and and didn't push things back as as things changed and you know reality happened and we adjusted accordingly with our plans that you know everything didn't we didn't end up saying well we don't actually don't need this right now we're going to push it back a year or two years or we're going to pull it out no we uh I do not recall any time where a one fiveyear Capital plan has been consistent for for for some of these line items from the from the from the far right Year all the way to the point where we fund it it will change yeah I I can't either so um so I think it's important to keep in mind to Brown's point this is a living document as well and so while we know things will change we also don't know which things will change too that's the other part of it if if you know it's um I think we can prognosticate that some of these things will get pushed out growth doesn't happen what have you but we don't know which ones we don't know where the growth will not happen as it's planned we we can take the best information that we can um I guess you know I think it was Mike Tyson to quote you know everybody's got a plan until you get punched in the mouth and so same thing we we put our very best plan here and then there's a global pandemic or or what have you and we adjust and push it out but it would also be irresponsible to us I think to not put on the items here where we think you know based upon the data we have that there's a very realistic likelihood of this occurring and so when we do all that yes it can skew the numbers up a little bit but this is not a spending plan again this is simply a list of these are the items that based upon the current numbers and the very best data analysis that we have as of right now today this is what the next five years could realistically look like so as we're not surprising our funding body with these requests in these items if and when the things that do occur do occur thank you for that I want to mention one you mentioned that that could be pushed back uh cting Mr Cash and I were having a conversation today about June Lake in Spring Hill uh right now we have that schedule for fall of 2030 it's possible that could move up depending on the construction schedule um but I will say uh we there are a lot of Sals on this chart and it it is a lot to take in so I want to make sure that we're respectful of that too uh and it will continue to be a work in progress as you as as you guys go through that with us Mr galbert thank you Mr chair I just want to I just want to speak to uh I mean especially we've got the middle school that we're going to be looking at in the in the spring and as well as the um the design phase of the of the elementary school um I mean Nolanville is is giving us that land um for the the developer they've they've negotiated with the developer to give us the land um and they they could have negotiated with the developer to to give the value of that land that we would have ultimately purchased from them to to do other things with it with Road you know Road improvements or I mean they could have taken that three or four million bucks whatever they would have gotten for the land might be more um and and required the and and they could have given that to the the city could have required them to to do all those improvements around the roads um I guess and when you think about June Lake yes there's obviously thousands of houses going in there how fast is is that going to occur not not really sure um but we don't have the schools and the capacity to to handle the the the amount of children that are going to come there and if they if if we if they build it and and those houses get built or they don't and they get pushed back um I mean we're not under any obligation I just can't imagine Allison's done a great job in her team of of looking and saying there's 2,000 houses that have that are um that are approved developments approved um that haven't been built yet um a number of them have had permits built pulled um but you know thousands more have have not um but how can we how can we not look at that growth and say if that growth happens then we're going to you know here's here's what it's going to cost and that's what the commission is asking us to do I I just think it's irresponsible to sit here and say well I don't think we're going to build this so I'm going to vote no um when we have a fiduciary duty to to actually provide a document if you don't if there's things on here that you don't want tell us which ones and and you know and and try to try to strike them out or get to something like it at some point if if a majority of us sat here and said we don't want to do this like we would have to do it at some point so there's going to have to be something that that everybody gets on board with and and approves unless I me I don't know that's it just feels like that's that is our role we have to provide a document and so um I just don't understand voting no um you know vote no and say I don't I don't like spending you know $100 million on a on a middle school or a high school in four years maybe um can we strike that from the from the plan I don't I don't know I just I'm just interested to say what would it take for everybody to get comfortable with this because I it's it's beyond me so thanks Mr Cash thank you Mr chair um I agree with with Jay and and uh Eric on this and so many others um you know Mr Golden mentioned uh June Lake um got 2,900 family dwellings going in there and I talked to Allison earlier and she got requests for pickup for bus Service uh at uh some of the apartments right around the corner from there there's another 400 units in an apartment you go down to um 31 and Thompson Station Road there's another 200 plus houses underway uh I mean subdivisions along 431 412 houses going in um we got the mill another 50 another 150 right down the road this place is exploding and the purpose of this plan is a projection this can change it's it's it's like uh Mr Welch said it's a living document but we've got to have something to work off of so it's it's hard to say what we're going to take off or what we're going to add to but is a working document and the maintenance uh heating and air conditioning they're going to go out and we try to project those as much as possible you know it's not like $1,000 or $4,000 for a home unit these units are lots of money tatara roof is very costly and it's constant maintenance Plumbing issues is constant maintenance um this is a this is a a pretty well oiled machine in Williamson County schools and uh everything's thought about so this document I'm like Jay I think you should really take a look at this before we just turned it down because there's a lot of things on here that can change and will change so thank you Mr Golden may I ask a question that this was talked about at the work session but can you go back and talk about the Middle School um populations in the in this part U we're proposing for Jordan Middle School uh split Log Road so eastern part of the county can you reiterate what you said about where we stand currently with student populations at the middle schools in that general area sure thank you for that um I had the exact numbers of Allison's projections at the work session I don't have them right in front of me but I'm going to give some approximations uh we projected out um projected enrollment at in 2027 fall of 2027 for mil Creek Middle School Sunset Middle School and paig Middle School and we projected that there would be somewhere around 275 uh students over the combined capacity of those three schools um in 2027 uh Middle School is a little bit easier to predict because we have the elementary school students to matriculate up to the next grade level and then she included some of analysis of the of new homes in that area uh that assumes that every one of those three M middle schools is at 100% capacity we're still somewhere around 275 uh students above capacity so ideally uh a school's capacity is probably going to be at maybe 85 or to 90% or so to actually function you know kind of kind of at Peak so if we opened up a middle school in 27 we would pull some of that so that each of those three schools uh would not be that full Woodland Middle School actually would be somewhere within 15 students um uh give or take of its capacity so it's it's functioning very close to capacity right now but it's been stable uh so we did give you that data but we really didn't factor that in in the context of of of that question you asked and and again just I think for clarity I'm coming to you right now um for clarity I think the we're talking about an intent to fund in the spring which means construction would start at the earliest in the fall right that's right at the very earliest and that assumes it could be completed in a two-year time period to open in the fall of 27 that's correct which may not even be realistic well we believe a 2-year construction schedule is very doable um we do um I think 18 months is the absolute minimum and that'd be one I'd say I'm not confident we could get it done that quickly uh for the Middle School design um we are tentatively looking at uh a design similar to Legacy which was our most recent Middle School uh they would have have that that that size if then so I certainly invite any of you all if you'd like to visit Legacy to get a get a look at what it might look like Mr Boston yeah uh for me and to Mr G's point which I totally understand about you know that we we kind of have to put this forward and and that thing that that makes a lot of sense I I get why we do it I think for me and maybe to Donna and Margie's Point as well um I'm I guess I was unaware maybe this happened before the new board came on so please correct me if I'm wrong but maybe if we were more involved in some of how we arrived at these numbers for this these specific things which kind of goes into the methodology when creating this document to begin with might help some of us feel a little better about voting for it to begin with instead of just here it is vote on it yes or no right now kind of thing which is I think it's just what it feels like a bit to me um and maybe that's just how it goes but I guess to to you know my other colleagues points with this just when it comes to creating this and getting to these numbers and where these things are at I feel like we're talking about it in the rears once it's already set and then trying to justify to some of us why we want to spend it or do it or this or that there when we might have just basic questions of like well why this over another one and how did you arrive at some of these schools that that would kind of be my question with some of that because I I don't remember being involved in that process thank you for that and like I like I mentioned um ear it's this this is complex especially through the rest of this year we're going to do a double check on some other items that could have that same concern uh and and uh and make sure that we uh that we address that just like Mr King mentioned it's a point well taken it's something that we that we're now doing with the budget itself right we're starting to look at that sooner thanks to miss farmer and Mr Golden um that was a request that came from the board that if we can get a an earlier review into what the budget process is and how things are determined where the funding sources are so I think it's a valid point um I think it's a takeaway for maybe the next time as we do this um people need to vote however they feel on this one but um I think we I think there's a compelling reason to go ahead and move it forward just because the County Commission I think needs to see it but but it's a valid point as far as process any other questions all right we're going to vote on our devices this time so um if you're in favor of advancing the capital plan um push your yes button if you're opposed you no do recommend approval the vote is nine yes one no two abstain motion carries we will now move on to Item B approval of the 2025 26 Calendar with early release and late start days included and then the 2026 27 calendar Mr golden thank you Mr chair Dr Webb Lee Webb who who chaired the calendar committee was unable to attend tonight um but I know we were at the work session had some discussion I want to point out a couple of key points that she mentioned in addition to what I mentioned uh during the superintendent report related to the basic structure the just as a reminder the goal is to have the the best instructional calendar that the calendar committee can come up with that that committee consists of school administrators teachers and parents so I want to especially thank uh some of the WCA Representatives who who are in the back who participated in that calendar and I already talked about the some of the the holidays built in but I do want to specifically mention that based on what we heard from our community so many parents the calendar committee brought forth two calendars uh one for this coming year and one for I'm going to I'm going to get it wrong for 2627 so 25 26 and then 2627 uh really to give parents a little bit more time to plan uh so we do have two calendars uh for you to review has certainly open any questions you may have a motion for Mr galus second from Mr Bostic Mr bosic you're recognized uh Jason could you just speak a little bit to because we talked some and I know uh there were a couple parents that mentioned tonight just about the um changing the the fall breaker Spring Break by a week and kind of what impacts that might have sure thank you for that the main goal of those breaks uh the fall break winter break and spring break is to have an appropriate instructional break and so the calendar committee designes that to be at the end of each quarter um I may be wrong but as the calendar shifts from day to day every six years because you factor in leap year uh the the the the weeks tend to shift a little bit so there may be a little bit of change maybe every six years or so uh based on how the calendar Falls as an example Dr Webb mentioned you at the work session I think in um in uh spring of 27 May is going to have one more week than it has next year uh so sometimes it'll shift a little bit uh the one difficulty we have is there are so many varied parenting plans um uh the the individuals who spoke mentioned that they have a week to week every other week shared plan uh others have different custodial structures with every other weekend some have summer structures different um and you know and we did have that discussion about the structure in Tennessee for parenting plans in in the event of a divorce and there's there are specific uh lines in those parenting plans where parents evaluate when what they want to do at fall break spring break and and winter break so those three are actually specifically on there I understand what those parents shared uh you know that that might mean a a 3-week window where one parent has the the children potentially every other week the difficulty we have is we can't we can't resolve every issue and and a worry that I have is if we do if we do something to accommodate one we're going to conflict with something else so the mission of the calendar committee is find the best instructional calendar we can Mr galbert thank you Mr chair um Jason just if I could thank you on behalf of the of the calendar committee and Dr web I know is has been so um responsive and and helpful on on this and I just want to extend my gratitude I I'm I was one of the ones who who asked just to you know out of hey if it's if it's possible know look look forward the next year and kind of give us the just the rough start and end dates and breaks just because so many people have to make you know are making plans year a year in advance the athletic uh Athletics are making you know have to have to adjust their um their schedules every two years and so having um so they kind of went I mean very much above above and beyond it that it's not a full I think for the staff it's not it's not full for the second year but but these start dates and um and breaks um you know a year in advance um next year it'll be you know it'll they'll be looking and and just and looking out a year and maybe I mean there there may be some some tweaks here and there probably not to the starting end of the breaks but maybe some of the little um election days and things but they've they've accommodated all that today um so I'm just really really thankful I think this provides a lot of a lot of stability and forward thinking and and they went kind they went above and beyond what we what we asked them to do and I'm really appreciative I think it's great thank you for that and I I I do want to mention you specifically have a have a very good memory of this the fall break discussion that we had an evolution over the course of years um to to get a week's fall break and it was overwhelmingly a success two years ago I'm thinking yeah we hting the third year maybe um of that so that so we we worked hard on on on making sure that we did what we could to help our community have that stable break system thank you for that any other questions Mr Beasley yes thank you Mr chair um I know the the kids that are students that are in district 12 are very excited about this proposed calendar because on October 31st next year there are no students in school so I know my district they're very excited about that so um I appreciate Dr Webb for attempting to accommodate those kids so thank you well I will say Mr Beasley just happened to fall that way this year uh I did have some middle schoolers email me uh during uh like the day before Halloween saying we needed the day after Halloween off um so that was definitely a middle school drive so you're saying this shouldn't be a precedent that's is this is not a precedent it just happened to be how the calendar fell all right we're ready to vote the vote is 12 yes Zer no calendars are approved we will now move on to board policies for second reading inter Scholastic Athletics and Equal Opportunity Employment I'm going to refer to Mr galberth from the policy committee uh to get the conversation started thank you Mr chair um yes so we're first item for a second reading is 4.31 inter classic Athletics um the um the change that we've been we've been looking at um so no changes since the work session um we did make some uh make some changes at the uh for the last policy committee but none since then um and uh is we're essentially looking at um better defining um club sports specifically for the purpose of communication and recognition um by schools in the district um and so what we what we did do um from policy um was to from our discussion in policy committee was to uh was to remove the last um section that uh on line 44 that says to the same extent as school sponsored Sports so what we're doing is we're um we're the Sha is requiring schools and um and District to including communicating and recognition um but for now there's still some uh discretion and how that um how that needs to be done it does it will be a little bit different um and it will be qualified and um these are not tsaa Sports they are club sports but they are students first and they're recogniz and they are um for all intents and purposes they um they're serving their schools and um and their name and school colors and mascot on their on their Jersey is uh is their is their school and so I all all the policy is asking is to is to recognize them as such can I get a motion in a second to begin conversation motion by Mr galber a second by Miss Wyatt any discussion Dr Johnson uh yes on lines 42 and 43 what was the reasoning for striking out affiliated with nonprofits um because at the policy meeting and at the work session you know one concern I really have are people profit profiting off the name and likeness and school colors of our schools um so I'm wondering why that was struck out and might potentially ask for an amendment of that Miss OS Brooks would you mind speaking into that based on the policy committee discussion sure so um the identifier that we are using for club sports is no longer whether it's affiliated with a nonprofit but whether a club sport uses the name school colors and or mascot um of a WCS School uh is one reason that it is struck out and and um since we as a WCS entity do not monitor a club sport we also don't know um unless they get provide us with the information whether or not from a practical standpoint they are actually affiliated with a nonprofit so I'm not sure how we would keep up with all of that um that is not something historically that we have um been able to manage that's good that's good for now okay Mr galber thanks I just a just a I I I actually really appreciate that that angle um and I I just want to give a little bit of history for we've been I've been talking about this for years um one of one of the roads that we went down um in the in a past um rendition of this was was actually was actually defining more of of what a club sport would be and and ultimately that was that was more crossing the line on on on having our hand in the in the club sports than simple recognition and and uh and and allowing communication that that we're able to do um and so like I I completely figure I do understand that I think where where we would know that they're a non for-profit um and where it would matter is if they wanted to use facilities um for based on our based on another policy or facilities use policy um they have to be a non for-profit in order to in order to use that so um so the only thing they're getting here is is the recognition for for the students participating um but if they and there may be other I don't know Jason if there are any other reasons that we would that that they would have to um that they would necessarily have to be for not for profits if they if they if they want to if they want to have a board and are um and are connected to some of our some a lot of our clubs are connected through the PTO um and so if they want to be connected through the PTO and and have a booster organization um then then more than likely well if they're if they're through the PTO then they have to be a not for-profit um is that a St some of the PTO do fundraisers for the student organizations for for for the for the for the sport um I'm not not aware of any PTO that actually run the sport they just they they've got they've got they the the clubs will have we'll have support organizations separately as a booster yeah and so those at least the least the support organizations will be be for right but but you hit the main one uh um we our our community use policy does require any user to be a Williamson County based nonprofit uh our staff member who manages that does check uh and what we know is from time to time some of these companies might lose their nonprofit status um because they failed to submit their annual form we actually see that from time to time um so we haven't monitored them for the purpose of a being a club sport we have monitored them for field use the most common one used to be lacrosse uh now they may still do that we don't know what those organizations may do they may still want to use our our some of our Fields um in a in a in a schedule that's different from when dsaa sets that up but rugby some of those other sports have used our fields for that um mean you you you hit it right that that the defining the club sport just a little bit better um was was part of what um was attractive to us with this with all that being said I got to say this this is not going to be a perfect a perfect process uh it's going to be a work in progress uh if if this passes and and it it always is right it's already been that with u with with sharing um but U um but in the conversations I had with uh Mr joins who's actually in the audience um we feel like this has a potential to make things a little bit better in celebrating students I don't see anybody else seeking recognition so um Mr Golden you prepare to make a recommendation I do recommend approval okay all right with that we're ready to vote the vote is 11 yes one no all right motion carries um Equal Opportunity Employment policy 5104 Mr galberth you ready yes sir Mr G thank you um sorry staring at the mic didn't work but uh um so uh yeah 5104 equal opportun Equal Opportunity Employment um so we have um the the request was ultimately um per the per the change that we made um last month to the to the dress code and this one were were both around um changes in the um at least in a court decision um just brought to light the the different um the different changes that happened from uh from time to time and so what we'll see in the both in the Regulatory Agencies as well as the as well as in the courts and so um what we have is um is a result of a of a couple of um policy meeting meeting discussions and um and board meeting discussions as well um but what we'll see the what we're what is what is proposed today um is the U modification of the um of the protected classes um to mirror the EOC um language um and also the the other change to our existing policy um is the um addition of the reference to the to the bosc case that um where where these um several of these changes um were were kind of codified by the court case law all right thank you for that explanation we have a motion from Dr Reeves a second for Mr Welch any discussion okay here they come all right Mr bosik you're first yeah talked about in our work session and several members brought up and we discussed about removing the the language and just sticking with the major um categories since it's covered under that which is kind of Boss do kind of covers all of the these subcategories under the major categories now we realize that that's protected that way to clean it up so we don't have to come back and do these things several more times as things change um I'm in favor of of that removing the language we don't do that for any of the other categories and I'm still unsure of the uh methodology or reasoning for including it for this one M Wyatt yeah with the new with the new buttons um if there's a if there's a motion to amend like how does that how does that get ordered into the into the order to speak because there's a motion to amend in a second on the floor but how does that how does that get ordered into the if you want to make a motion then when your name comes up then that's when you'll make your motion okay so for example he just spoke if he wanted to make a motion to amend he could would I think I think the confusion is that we've this was registered as a motion to amend and it's just a motion on the original um policy it's not a motion to amen yet well it is though on the on the screen instead of instead of instead of pressing request to speak um Claire pressed motion to amend okay um and then it so I'm I'm trying to understand I didn't catch that so that's the okay so we have a we have a motion to amend a second to amend but we don't have an amendment so yours would have been a second to amend I need pull that off I'm sorry okay no you didn't you didn't you you amended the I amended the motion to amend you I think you're you amended the original motion or you seconded theal all right so we I think we need to get um we're going to get you know used to this ending on the on the machine we haven't historically done that we we've amended through voice votes um so the the first button we push should be the motion and the second on the original uh item and then we once we get that on the floor there can to be a motion to amend okay but then I I guess what might what we might have to do is we press the motion to amend and then then request to speak and then when it's your turn to request to speak then right right is that how we'd have to which is what I did it just didn't respond it just didn't respond okay so you can't do both it wouldn't it get back on the original motion right can okay can I just request that um Claire that you withdraw your motion and Jay you withdraw your second so we can get back on the original motion and then we can take up amendments at that point if there's no discussion on the original motion that's fine okay the the can you how does how does she withdraw the should be back back to the original should be back to the original okay so M Wyatt are you you want to speak to the original motion yes okay can we hear from Miss osbrook about the your recommendation and also from the attorney for the school board recommendation on this policy I am happy to to speak to my recommendation um from a legal standpoint we've talked about the BOS bosck case and the fact that it um created a additional um protected class in that number one it's sexual orientation and also a protected class in um gender identity or expression uh those were added to the policy in 2021 um and continue to be the law of the land today um since it's a US Supreme Court decision um I don't anticipate right now that being overturned since there's not anything in the pipeline um additionally we have talked about the EEOC is the federal um forcement arm they recognize um and in and include um the word sex in their Equal Opportunity Employment policy but then also have in parentheses uh the language that we have added in red which is including pregnancy uh sexual orientation or gender identity or expression um that is why those are in parentheses to follow with the enforcement arm that does um would investigate um and does investigate any complaint of discrimination made by an employee for a protected class so it is it is still the recommendation of legal and Human Resources because remember this is a policy in section section five human resources to keep this language in um the policy as we recommended back in 2021 okay so my understanding that we're opening ourselves up to liability if we do not include those protected classes there is that potential yes and that was the case that I spoke about at the work session where a funeral home was uh found to discriminate against a employee based upon their transgender status and part of the remedy in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars was to update their policy to include this language and to provide specific training um regarding following this policy and having this policy language included thank you Mr gal I thought I was after player I thought she was on first there we have no speakers on the original motion anyone else seek recognition I have a screen that says request okay it's not showing up on here let's just do it let's just do it verbally you want to just seek recognition I can't also can't request okay Dr Reeves you recognized okay thank you thank you Mr chair uh I move to amend the policy by striking the parenthetical after the term sex okay that's a proper motion proper second so just restate the amendment is to remove everything in the in the parentheses after the words sex that's currently in red font we've got a second on the board any any discussion you everything in the parth everything in the parentheses following the word sex which is in red font um okay so do we this is a question for for you on the motion that would remove the word pregnancy which is also stricken in the sentence above that do we want to restore that or do we not am I um I think I believe we should be consistent and so what I believe we should do here is include the nine Federal protected classes in this policy and footnote any appropriate legal references um and that creates a clean policy that will be durable and stand the test of time as as the legal landscape changes and we all went we just went through this with the dress code we all know that um Court challenges come up that regulatory bodies get challenged on their interpretation of laws and so that's why I am advocating for this change understanding that we um don't discriminate against anyone that our HR training for any Williamson County um employee who does hiring and firing is going to comply with all anti-discrimination federal state and local laws so when I looked at the EEOC website sex is the federal protected class and in parentheses it includes pregnancy sexual orientation General identity and expression and that is why I think we strike the parenthetical and leave sex as the protected class okay so we have a motion in a second to amend the policy in front of us to remove everything in line four that is in parentheses is that correct that's correct okay any discussion on that amendment I see none we are ready Mr hang on I'm sorry on the amendment yeah I had I was covering up my fault sorry all right Mr Welch um so our our standard operating procedure has always been that when we create policy that is is driven by federal or state law or Regulatory Agencies at the federal or state level that we mirror the language from that legislation or the regulatory language um so this is a break from that um it it it just is because language that we are currently using Miss Al Brooks correct me if I'm wrong comes directly from the eeoc's recommended language for the policy is that correct as to that section thank you of the policy correct right so we are breaking from that first of all we have also heard from our general counsel and and to be clear we have no authority to exclude those categories we can't not cover these categories and changes but what we can do as we have heard from our general counsel is we can increase the risk and liability of the district by not having that in this policy that is what our general counsel has told us Mr cook I I would like to ask you for a second opinion on that if you concur Mr Welch um you're asking me to aine on a policy I'm here for procedural questions fair enough Mrs Hall as our assistant superintendent of human resources and a licensed attorney yourself I would like your recommendation on this um so thank you for asking from the human resources perspective um I I think for me despite the legal arguments on both sides of this which obviously we still have a legal obligation to not discriminate on any of this I'm concerned about our employees we have a very um we try to have a very open and and safe environment we want to be a great place to work so what's concerning is of alienating some employees by taking the language out thank you and Mr Golden correct me if I'm wrong but you've already opined from our work session last week that you didn't think this was a good idea and you were you were not going to recommend this change uh that's right and I I I do want to speak um Dr Reeses thank you for for what you spoke to when you said we're not going to discriminate I want to make sure that that's a key emphasis no matter what language you choose we we we do not discriminate we will not and if we get an accusation then we will investigate and take whatever action is is appropriate as part of that as I spoke to at the at the work session I think it's wise for us to include this language um The Proposal uh from from uh from our attorney was to move those existing words into the parentheses to bring it more in line with the EOC recommendation to to miss OS Brook's um comment about enforcement so uh um I know it's a little bit premature because the question came up because you usually ask me before the vote but yeah I don't think it's wise to make this change thank you so in this example when we talk about cleaning it up what we're talking about is breaking away from our longtime established procedure of mirroring federal and state law Andor Regulatory Agencies and recommended we're talking about going against the advice of both our general counsel our assistant superintendent for human resources and our superintendent and doing so in a way that we have been told increases the risk and liability for the district and doesn't change from a legal perspective anything still it's simply just a um more risk for the district so I'll leave it at that Mr galberth thank you Mr chair U I will agree with one thing that Mr go Mr Welch said and that this doesn't change anything legally and I wanted I wanted to to um to help you just reiterate Jason so and and I and I changed my mind over this after the after the work session after hearing some of the uh some of the discussion um and uh because at the end of the day um nothing nothing increases our risk of um liability if we continue to follow the Regulatory Agencies and the and and we follow all state and federal laws and and that includes case law and and U and these you know three and four-letter agency laws uh or regulations and so the what ultimately came what what It ultimately came down to me uh for me is is the fact that you know here we've we change we've we've modified this um this policy 3 years ago um the the counter policy to this on the on the dress code was was coming from a different agency um and and there's we removed that actually with the recommendation of of Council on that one actually because the um because right now we're the there's legal status there's there's fights in the court and they're adjoined and so like the what so that stuff changes all the time those interpretations Chang all the time what hasn't changed is the protected classes like they've been consistent for I mean what is this coming from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 like not changing at all um so policy is going to be is going to be solid our interpretations um I don't want to have to change policy every time somebody changes their interpretation um at a at one of the at one of the federal agencies and so I think this is a um this is a much better precedent to set um in terms of um in terms of making the making the policy Broad and giving us lots of flexibility to um for for Mr Golden for you to for you to enact your um you know everything that you have to do from a procedure standpoint and a training and from of HR and staff I have 100% uh confidence that that we're not going to be discriminating on against anybody for for anything whether it's on this list or I mean we're like that's just not that's not who we are that's not who um what we do um and and if we and if we don't discriminate um then the fact that our policy is Broad or narrow um is not going to matter in the least so I appreciate it thanks Jason Miss Wyatt thank you I disagree I think it does change if it even if it doesn't change our liability it does change how we support our employees es and when I think about our strategic plan and I think about that we are against discrimination and that we are in favor of of providing a safe environment for our employees um I just think I'm against this amendment I think that it should be included as proposed thank you Dr Reeves uh could you put the policy up on the screen please um could you scroll down please thank you so I I did want to point out that we are leaving the legal reference to the bosta case which is very important because that expanded the definition of sex to include those terms but since we are um striking the par parenthetical that includes pregnancy I wanted to ask if we need to add a separate legal reference for that particular piece because we do have legal references for genetic information and um disability and I can't you know the yeah yeah most of the protected classes have a have a corresponding legal reference yes that would be a recommendation if we would need to add that so if I if I may Dr Reed ask a similar question in a different way Dana is pregnancy included in in uh the definition of sex in in this context or is it or is it a separate code so there are to answer your question yes and no okay it is referred and the same logic is applied as to why we were removing sexual orientation and gender expression or but are there additional federal laws that protect someone because they are pregnant that we could site at the bottom the answer answer is yes um with that being said I do if if the if it is the will of the board to remove that language I do agree with Claire's statement earlier that you're wanting to be consistent with that said I this policy would my recommendation if this motion to amend passed is that this policy come back in January with an editorial change because to your point it is not in there um I would want it to be if the motion to amend passes Dr re would you like to amend your motion to include restoring the word pregnancy on line three that is currently stricken along with deleting everything in the parentheses on line four I think that would accomplish what you're suggesting by restoring that word and keeping it in there um explicitly defined I I know I want to remain consistent in that I believe the policy should be Broad and list all nine protected classes and pregnancy is not its own protected class so I think it's very important to be consistent okay and I if if it's if if if our legal council is recommending a an additional footnote then I think we should do that as a editorial change okay so the amendment remains as previously stated and it's on the floor any further discussion Mr bosic yeah I would just agree with Claire on that I think in the the need to be consistent it we believe it's covered under the broader category um with the rest of these years I would also like to point out that we also have written in the policy or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws which covers anything additional that might come up now or in the future and I would also like to point out that discrimination would have to occur and be proven in for this to be an issue uh not whether the language is in here or not whether discrimination actually occurred and um if we're worried about that I think that's a different discussion okay any further discussion on the amendment all right we're ready to vote we're voting on the amendment if the amendment passes we will it will be of the of the original motion and we'll vote on them on the original motion let's vote same recommendation as I made earlier I do not recommend just to be clear a v a yes vote is to add the amend amending language the Dr Reeves has proposed and no is to not to add the language the vote is nine yes three no okay the amendment passes we're now back on the original policy as amended any discussion all right we're ready to vote I do not recommend this change I'm sorry I do not recommend this change so this is the request the speak is this the original motion that was this is the original motion as amended as amended the original policy as amended and the only change was the was the amendment that we just adopted that Mr Golden had stated his disapproval for okay the vote is nine yes three no okay motion passes all right we added uh as a reminder we added School Board Norms as the next item on the agenda um and I'll just refer you to um our discussion last week this is a fairly simple change that we're proposing and that is um to add a line 25 which says board members should support having a vote vote of at least 75% of the sitting board members in favor of a non-binding resolution before it is presented to the Williamson County legislative delegation so essentially doesn't change a majority vote to pass something to pass a resolution it just says that we must have a 75% or nine votes in favor in order for it to be in order for Mr Golden to be instructed to move it on to send it on to the our legislature our legislative delegation from Williamson County can I get a motion in a second on that motion by Mr bosk second by Dr Johnson any discussion seeing none we're ready to vote Mr chair I do recommend this addition thank you the vote is 11 yes 1 no motion passes all right we're now on to approval of the 20242 superintendance goals Mr golden thank you Mr chair and thank you board for for the discussion that we had both at our planning session and at our work session uh based on that discussion I have added a third uh specific proposed goal and I'm going to go ahead and read that since we did not have this mentioned in detail at our work session but first I want to just give just the the core content of the first two uh mainly number one is to focus on bullying and develop a plan to take our next best steps towards addressing bullying behaviors for the for the coming school year and then second uh to to propose a budget that I mentioned actually during my superintendent report uh that that addresses uh uh competitive pay with a focus on supplements and hard to fill positions this third item I am going to read to identify opportunities to access alter ative funding sources for WCS academic arts and athletic programming through collaborative efforts with other stakeholders EG PTO booster clubs local businesses private individuals Etc uh so if if you all approve this I'm looking forward to to that work uh and and especially in that last goal I think we've got an opportunity to get some stakeholders involved to see where our community is can I get a motion in a second to get this on the floor motion by Dr Reeves second by Miss HMA um any discussion questions for Mr Golden regarding these goals Mr Cash yeah thank you Mr chair I am just glad to see this in your goals uh Mr Golden because um I think you've learned from this group that there's a lot of money out there and we just got to get out there and seek it and uh raise money and get these hard and teachers and whatnot paid what they what they have coming thank you thank you Mr Cash to that point I just want to give a reminder our pto's brought in about $14.9 Million last year for their programs uh we've got some incredible support focused on students and we'll see what we can do to work on building on that Mr galberth thank you Mr chair oh that that's PTO and boosters and boosters thank you I did I not mention boosters well it's okay you didn't do it intentionally well at least at Ravenwood it's one entity so well kind um so um but the um but I so I do thank you for for adding that third one after our work session um but I'm and I'm pretty sure we we should be able to tie that to a um to a strategic plan goal I know you you just it was it was late and well I looked I looked and I felt like there were there would have just been a bit of a bootstrap and so I felt like just just keep it clean I didn't I didn't look until I just I just noticed that both of the other two had um had strategic plan I feel like I mean it certainly fits within our mission of trying to trying to fund but um yeah there wasn't a specific objective but I will say there there's some that pop into my head that weren't directly related increasing student participation participation in extracurricular activities um uh some of those goals of of competitive pay Packages Etc right that are others they have the potential to be touched on that right okay no thank you just for the benefit of our perhaps of our new board members can you give a a time frame of by which you expect to have completed these goals or give us a report if you will on on these goals sure so number one the Strategic plan objective related to student bullying uh spring 2025 um my goal is to have a plan for you by May because that's my evaluation uh so I want to have that report so that you can evaluate the success of that so in that context we have about a six to seven month window the budget uh we plan to propose to you a budget in February so I will have a proposal for you on that one in February uh number three I plan to have a update for you uh um in May uh before my evaluation so may February May okay thank you very much um any questions or comments all right we're ready to vote the vote is 12 yes Z no the goals are approved uh our final item for the night the appointment of a pekka special question committee Mr golden thank you Mr chair uh we participate in what the state describes as the professional Educators collaborative conferencing act or Pekka uh every 3 years we go through the process of renewing that one of the content areas for that is once the the professional staff submit signatures that tell us they want to do this again for the next three years there is a a question that is sent out to all professional employees licensed employees under the state law asking them do they want to participate with a couple other questions related to that the law requires a special question committee consisting of a board member and a representative from the teachers group uh to evaluate that and in essence set up the structure for how that question's asked uh so we have that memo making that recommendation so that you approve uh Mr galberth for the school board and Angela Frederick who is the president of the Williamson County Education Association to oversee that I get a motion in a second to get this on the floor motion by Miss Clement second by Mr bosic uh Mr Cash you recognized I just wanted to make a motion sorry okay we got a third all right any questions any discussion all right we're ready to vote recommend approval the vote is 12 yes Z no all right that is approved um I will uh remind everyone one uh what you already know which is we don't have a regularly scheduled meeting in December um so I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving um we are adjourned