Scholars Admin Team: Welcome everyone to the special board meetings. August 16, th 2,024.
Scholars Admin Team: We would like to record the attendance and guests.
Scholars Admin Team: But I'll call the meeting to order at 1 55 Pm.
Scholars Admin Team: Do we have a quorum?
Scholars Admin Team: Oh, yeah, yes, we do. Thank you.
Scholars Admin Team: Alright. Welcome to the Metrolin Regional Scholars Academy Board meeting.
Scholars Admin Team: I will entertain a vote for the adoption of the agenda.
Scholars Admin Team: So moved. Second
Scholars Admin Team: Agenda approved.
Scholars Admin Team: Oh, I'm so sorry! Thank you.
Scholars Admin Team: Would like to vote for the adoption of the agenda.
Scholars Admin Team: Those that say, aye, those who approve say aye, aye.
Scholars Admin Team: savings
Scholars Admin Team: those that are pose
Scholars Admin Team: any that oppose
Scholars Admin Team: all right, the agenda is approved.
Scholars Admin Team: I'll entertain a motion to approve the meeting. Minutes from the June 17th Monthly Board meeting
Scholars Admin Team: so moved.
Scholars Admin Team: Second.
Scholars Admin Team: those who are in favor. Say, aye.
Scholars Admin Team: alright, Nick.
Scholars Admin Team: any that oppose
Scholars Admin Team: I'm I'm abstaining because I wasn't at the meeting. Okay.
Scholars Admin Team: we will note that in the record
Scholars Admin Team: I will entertain a motion to approve. The June 25, th 2024 special board meeting
Scholars Admin Team: so moved.
Scholars Admin Team: Second.
Scholars Admin Team: all those that
Scholars Admin Team: approve.
Scholars Admin Team: Aye.
Scholars Admin Team: any opposed
Scholars Admin Team: point. Abstention
Scholars Admin Team: on that one. It's that's
Scholars Admin Team: I wasn't at that. I'll make that the second. I was not at that meeting, so I'll also I can't vote so something you'll see?
Scholars Admin Team: All right, the meeting minutes are approved.
Scholars Admin Team: We are now at the point of the agenda where we welcome Mr. Carper
Scholars Admin Team: as our new Ed. This is your 1st board meeting as executive director. So welcome. Thank you. We will also provide you with time to give us an update on your 1st
Scholars Admin Team: 45 days, ish.
Scholars Admin Team: which probably feels like 6 months. I'm sure you've been busy.
Scholars Admin Team: Yeah, but we will give the floor to you.
Scholars Admin Team: Good!
Scholars Admin Team: Let me pull up real quickly
Scholars Admin Team: some notes here that I wanted to share.
Scholars Admin Team: I will say that so far the 1st responders been very successful. We're we've hired
Scholars Admin Team: 2 new, wonderful kindergarten teachers. We've hired a new receptionist.
Scholars Admin Team: 5, 6 teachers, yeah, 5, 6 teachers to 1, 5, 6 teachers. So the wonderful thing about that is that we have a teacher in every room for our students. So we're very happy about that. I've been able to meet with 90% of our staff members and have great conversations with them. And it was part of the 30 day Transition plan was to meet with our staff members and get input
Scholars Admin Team: and from them and meet them and learn more about the school. We've been able to do that. I've met with the foundation so far I've met with Pto representation. We've had a kinder. We've had kindergarten camps. We've had multiple camps here this summer, so I've got to meet parents, and I've gotten to meet a lot of our students. So it's been a great thing. And so far everything is going wonderfully.
Scholars Admin Team: Learning new systems, new procedures, new things every single day everybody's been very supportive piper has been instrumental in that transition and the big thing. Our help in getting our infinite campus schedules together and getting our teachers ready for the new school year using infinite campus.
Scholars Admin Team: Those trainings are have been invaluable, and so everything looks good moving forward. We've got a beautification day coming up on Saturday from 9 to 11,
Scholars Admin Team: and it's gonna be a great opportunity for our our parents to come out and our community to come out, volunteer and help unify the school and get school off and running. And we're very excited about that we also have with infinite campus. We have a new platform there where we can actually call our parents and communicate with a telephone call text and a
Scholars Admin Team: and an email. So Sunday night you'll get to hear my voice as I'm going to tell you what's coming up in the in the future with a nice little telephone call that that'll be at 6 o'clock, and I'll
Scholars Admin Team: continue that tradition throughout the year. You'll get a phone call. You'll get a an email. And that's along with your Friday letter that you guys get. I think it's the nest. Is that what that's eagles nest? You'll get that on Friday. But you also get a follow up from me on Sunday, just as a voice of the school just saying, Hey, this is what's gonna happen, and and congratulations to this group. Congratulations to that group
Scholars Admin Team: just another form of communication to get the great, the word out. All the great things that are happening here
Scholars Admin Team: so well. So we've got a lot of great things planned, and I got some other things planned in the future as far as with the kids, some exciting stuff. So we're excited about school year.
Scholars Admin Team: Well, we are excited, too, or else
Scholars Admin Team: based on conversations with other parents back to routine. So just a few more sleeps.
Scholars Admin Team: Anything we should be thinking about as
Scholars Admin Team: we year get ready for
Scholars Admin Team: the open house next week, and then, shortly thereafter, 1st day of school. Well, yeah, I guess the big thing is the traffic, and also our construction is going on there and we've been told that they will have our second
Scholars Admin Team: entranceway will be open.
Scholars Admin Team: This is what they're telling us in time for school, and so that's what we expect. If not, we have talked about different plans, ways in which we can get our our students in and back out. We can get our car car lines through and out.
Scholars Admin Team: We've also talked about a possibility of our buses letting off here in front of the school because we do have another entrance there and allowing those students to walk here that way. We not get the buses and the cars all mixed up in the same line.
Scholars Admin Team: That's you know. That's a worst case scenario.
Scholars Admin Team: We are hopeful that they will have that set the second entrance open for us. So well, we'll see, we'll see. But we do have some plans in place, and we feel like that. We can get everybody in every and everybody out if we're very careful. And you know we all work together.
Scholars Admin Team: Thank you.
Scholars Admin Team: All right. We look forward to hearing more great things.
Scholars Admin Team: including 1st day of school.
Scholars Admin Team: Alright.
Scholars Admin Team: We'll move on to reviewing amendments, policies and handbooks for the 2024 to 2025 school year.
Scholars Admin Team: Handbooks.
Scholars Admin Team: That's them. Okay, can you get copies of the new handbooks?
Scholars Admin Team: No. So we will share that with the board. We have made some adjustments to the handbooks. And
Scholars Admin Team: I don't have my computer. Yeah. And I'll get that sent. Julie is finishing up. She did a couple of things on just to make it beautiful, but other than that, we can share that with you.
Scholars Admin Team: and that's both. Yes, in in that. When we're sharing these documents with you. Where should we share those? How should we share this? Should share it with you
Scholars Admin Team: publicly board at Scottish Academy is the email that I'll receive. Now that they're all on email, they'll be able to receive that
Scholars Admin Team: hmm.
Scholars Admin Team: And just just need to know in the minutes that they are being shared with the board, because they don't have to be approved by the board. They just need to be shared with board annually.
Scholars Admin Team: Thank you.
Scholars Admin Team: The other things are me, I think, on here. So then, We
Scholars Admin Team: have one outstanding action item for our charter renewal.
Scholars Admin Team: which was to make an adjustment to one part of our original charter. So the charter was written in 1,999.
Scholars Admin Team: The language of that charter was written, knowing what they knew about gift education 25 years ago. And so that the writers of that document use a lot of very specific information about curriculum that existed, resources that were going to be used, relationships that were going to be used. Then a lot of those things either do not exist or no longer relevant. And so, in the discussions with our people who were reviewing us for the Charter renewal.
Scholars Admin Team: I probably should back up for the 2 new people.
Scholars Admin Team: their charter charters renewed every 10 years. So our charters. Renewal is this coming school year. It's a 2 year renewal process. So last year was our year one where they actually came, and they did. A full day of interviews with our staff, with administration went through all these different processes, and then we also had to submit a ton of documentation. So the only thing left
Scholars Admin Team: that's standing between us and our 10 year renewal for 2535. Is this. p. 1 piece, which is to submit an amendment to our charter, which basically updates the language of our charter.
Scholars Admin Team: And so there are 2 documents that you've been sent, I hope? Yes, except yes, that show.
Scholars Admin Team: basically. Taking the language of the charter, and not changing the spirit of the language, but just removing specific examples out of it. So instead of it saying, our students will take the act explore test, which was what was being offered. Then it says, our students will take an above grade level assessment. So
Scholars Admin Team: the spirits there, that's what they wanted to happen. But that's not the specific example of how we do it. And so I have 2 documents that have been red lined. Taking out specific example, putting in generalized language.
Scholars Admin Team: and so we do need to submit that back to the State.
Scholars Admin Team: So I'm assuming. Probably most of you have not at this point reviewed that. So what I would say at this point to make sure that everyone on the board has the opportunity. Let's not vote on that today, and let's go to in the August Board meeting vote.
Scholars Admin Team: That would be my recommendation, because it does need to be approved by the Board, and in the minutes of the Board meeting, so that I can then submit that to the State. But, it was they wanted it in July. So there's a.
Scholars Admin Team: you know.
Scholars Admin Team: problematic, or like changing the mission or charters. I don't foresee anything being like a real issue, right?
Scholars Admin Team: No, I I actually spoke with the person from from Ocs. Going through it, line by said, Here's what I'm sick thinking. And she said, Yes, like we we work through it. You know how I was going to change the language. So, but it does need to be approved by the State Board. So it's a you know. It's it's an actual process, and it does take a few months for them to go through their process. So we just we need to get it. Submit submitted as soon as possible. So I would say, you know, since
Scholars Admin Team: it's not something that's not really been reviewed yet.
Scholars Admin Team: Let's if everyone could review that before the 26, th and have that vote be
Scholars Admin Team: that night.
Scholars Admin Team: Thank you. Another thing on this list is last year, or the board approved. Paid parental leave.
Scholars Admin Team: That was a opportunity that was
Scholars Admin Team: made possible
Scholars Admin Team: just last year, and Charter schools had the option to opt in. If you choose to opt in. You have to provide it to all. It's not like. You can only provide it to some you have to provide it all. So there was a little bit of a monetary impact on us. But what we end up getting is if a
Scholars Admin Team: teacher goes out on
Scholars Admin Team: maternity leave, we continue to pay them their salary at full amount rather than what had been done previously, which was short term disability, which is 60% of their salary.
Scholars Admin Team: They continue to receive their full time, the State will reimburse us the cost of a substitute at $120 a day 100. Believe it's $120 a day.
Scholars Admin Team: which, if we end up hiring a substitute, cost more than that, we'd have to pay the difference. But the salary has already been budgeted, because when we hire somebody we budget the salary for the whole year, so it's not an additional cost to continue to pay them.
Scholars Admin Team: It's only the pay, the cost of the sub. That would be our additional cost, and we are being reimbursed. The only people are eligible for this. They have to have worked for us for 12 months to be eligible, but other than that they can receive that. So that was an opt in that the board made last year, and we are required to opt in every year. And so recommending that we continue, we did actually use it for
Scholars Admin Team: a teacher last year who was able to use that benefit, and she wrote a very nice letter to the board. I'm thanking the Board for this opportunity, and I would highly recommend that we continue to provide that option. So that is something we do need to have the board vote on to continue that opt-in
Scholars Admin Team: did Cms do it? They had to. They had to. Yeah. The regular school systems had to charter schools had an option to be completely honest. If that was one of the reasons that we said, Yes, we're doing.
Scholars Admin Team: But also it's just the right thing to do.
Scholars Admin Team: 100 and 30 seconds.
Scholars Admin Team: Thank you.
Scholars Admin Team: Are we at a position where we can vote on the parental leave annual opt-in?
Scholars Admin Team: I'll entertain if there there aren't any questions I'll entertain a motion to vote
Scholars Admin Team: second
Scholars Admin Team: and
Scholars Admin Team: it's the same problem as last year as as
Scholars Admin Team: approved the previous year.
Scholars Admin Team: Now I can second it. Great.
Scholars Admin Team: Those that are
Scholars Admin Team: in favor. Say, aye, aye.
Scholars Admin Team: any opposed?
Scholars Admin Team: The opt-in is approved as recommended.
Scholars Admin Team: Is there a particular committee I should name? I should write down that record
Scholars Admin Team: trying to mend. This is just to happen.
Scholars Admin Team: Thank you. And then we will
Scholars Admin Team: add the education plan and assessment plan to the August 26th meeting. Should we discuss that
Scholars Admin Team: sub thing here, or
Scholars Admin Team: Oh, I have it later. Also, please, did you have it somewhere else? Okay, sorry.
Scholars Admin Team: At this point I would like to turn it over to you, Noel, to provide us with updates on title 9 and the behavior threats plan. Yes.
Scholars Admin Team: so this year there is an update to the title 9 procedures. And, Dominique, did you send everybody those documents that I sent to you? Okay, so there was a in one of the trainings that I had to attend for title 9. They broke it down, basically from the 2020 regulations, and then showed it in the 2024 regulations
Scholars Admin Team: so that you could see side by side comparison of what actually was changed. A lot of it was the verbiage that was used in those regulations. And so it just made it broader, basically when you look down at it. Some of the things instead of saying, and it says or so it just broadens up those terms. And then it changes when a complaint should be addressed.
Scholars Admin Team: So it also talks about instead of in 2020. There needed to be a written formal complaint. Now the complaint can be filed orally, it doesn't have to be a written formal complaint. In 2020. The decision maker could not be the same person as the title 9 Coordinator coordinator. Now it can be the same person. So there's all these little changes that have been made. The other thing.
Scholars Admin Team: That needs to be done is there is a 14 page, title 9. Policy that Lisa Gordon Stella had created. That the school needs to adopt. We did purchase it from Lisa Gordon, Stella and so the Board needs to look through that
Scholars Admin Team: and make the little changes because it says, insert link to website and all that good stuff on here. And so we need to adopt the new policy. So
Scholars Admin Team: that is the title, 9 changes.
Scholars Admin Team: So anybody have any questions about those.
Scholars Admin Team: It's fun, fun, things, little change to how we do things.
Scholars Admin Team: how we do things for title 9.
Scholars Admin Team: No. I mean, like as far as decision maker, like, since i'm the title 9 coordinator, I can make the decision. Now instead of Prior. I couldn't make the decision at all. We would still have the same people that were involved in investigating, and all that. We there are some little things
Scholars Admin Team: like. For example, we had in 2,020. We had to send advance written notice of any investigative interviews. Now, in 2024. We don't have to send advance notice of investigative interviews. Now, we can just go ahead. So there's little changes like that.
Scholars Admin Team: Any other questions. This is just updated for the 2024, 2020, August 2024 is when it takes place. Yeah. The last time
Scholars Admin Team: that was updated was in 2020. Yes, ma'am.
Scholars Admin Team: any other questions? Okay, that's all fine on that. We have a deadline as to when we have to put in policy.
Scholars Admin Team: We probably should do that by, I guess in the next one. Yeah.
Scholars Admin Team: we can have the policy. We just have to do the reads and vote on it
Scholars Admin Team: go through all that.
Scholars Admin Team: So 1st week would be August 26.th
Scholars Admin Team: Okay.
Scholars Admin Team: it's long, too. It's 14 pages
Scholars Admin Team: bedtime reading, huh? Bedtime reading.
Scholars Admin Team: That would take me most the next thing that we have had to do is the behavior, threat, assessment, and management otherwise known as B tam. So I'm going to refer to it as B tam, because it's long but basically, this has come down from the North Carolina center for safer schools.
Scholars Admin Team: And is for preventing incidents of targeted violence within the school. So this is coming from House Bill 6 0. 5. And I believe I sent that in the documents that I sent to you, Dominique, so that everybody could see what that was. So it's basically asking that all public school units are establishing a multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment
Scholars Admin Team: team. And so that is something that we will have to do here at the school. This summer I had to go to a rise conference in Wilmington, which ended up being fabulous, since I spiked a hundred 3 feet. While I was looking about all of this
Scholars Admin Team: and then there were several other trainings that I had to attend as well throughout the summer. But what we need to do as a board is, we need to create a policy that aligns with the House Bill 6 0, 5,
Scholars Admin Team: and the policy also needs to include. And I put that in the email that I sent to you. It needs to include the establishment of the multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment team at the school level.
Scholars Admin Team: It needs to also include the roles and duties to be performed by the threat assessment team members, the expertise and training of professionals who will serve on the Btm team. It needs to include the awareness training for staff students and parents.
Scholars Admin Team: It needs to include the reporting procedures and requirements and the threat assessment steps, procedures and documentation, including exceptions, to confidentiality. So it's a whole process that we have to create a policy to be included
Scholars Admin Team: into our wonderful policies. Lisa have one of these. No, she does not. Yeah.
Scholars Admin Team: I did try looking on. The Cms board policies. I tried looking through Union County. I did not find any so far. I don't know if there are any lawyers, so it's wonderful.
Scholars Admin Team: you know, tricks of the trade to try to find ones that were already created, and we can adopt in. And you know, tweak as as long as you know, when's the deadline for that one? We were not given a deadline but we do need to create what it has to be done this year. State law, State law. It's a House Bill, 6 0. 5, session law 2023 78.
Scholars Admin Team: So it was adopted last year, then in 23, or I guess it was in that or started, and I guess it was started. We know what I don't know all of those, all those things. I'm sorry. That's okay. That's that's not my wheelhouse
Scholars Admin Team: And then we have to at our level, create the team and the entire prevention plan. So this entire stack here is all documents that we can utilize to create for team.
Scholars Admin Team: so should be able to give you some direction on that, because that was trains. I was a trainer in South Carolina of that particular tool, so
Scholars Admin Team: I should be able to get that for you.
Scholars Admin Team: What's a deal?
Scholars Admin Team: See, Denise, you're fine.
Scholars Admin Team: is it normal like? But they don't give us yes, like
Scholars Admin Team: a template of what they're looking for. Yes.
Scholars Admin Team: we had a few last year, and it was like
Scholars Admin Team: it has to be implemented by like last week, but we don't know what needs to be in it, or how we're going to enforce it. But you need to have it.
Scholars Admin Team: So that was for something completely different. But you're like.
Scholars Admin Team: what's okay.
Scholars Admin Team: give you guidance later on. But at least we have like for the wrong plan. I have the guidance and the template and the sheets. But for the policy. No, I just have at least what needs to be in it.
Scholars Admin Team: but I don't know the slightest on how to begin to write it so, or when it's supposed to be done, you know, like, when you know, you need to do this, but there's no defined time has to be done. Yes.
Scholars Admin Team: pretty standard.
Scholars Admin Team: Alright. Thank you so much.
Scholars Admin Team: We'll move on to next on the agenda is to approve, substitute teacher pay rate.
Scholars Admin Team: We have not made any adjustments to our sub pay in about
Scholars Admin Team: 4 or 5 years, and so we are aware that the sub rates
Scholars Admin Team: for Cms have gone up
Scholars Admin Team: and so we. I'm I'm just recommending that we consider either at least raising the rate for certified teachers
Scholars Admin Team: to match Cms's pay rate
Scholars Admin Team: or we can also raise it to match, for uncertified as well
Scholars Admin Team: had it open. And now I don't know where it went.
Scholars Admin Team: I want to give you the actual numbers here.
Scholars Admin Team: So we're saying certified.
Scholars Admin Team: We currently we pay a hundred $20 per day
Scholars Admin Team: for a person to substitute for us at who's not certified. If they are certified meaning. They have a teaching license either from North Carolina or another State, a current teaching license. We pay at a certified rate of $140. Today, Cms is currently paying 129 uncertified and 151 for certified. And so sabrina, leiner, finance director, had run some numbers compared to last year.
Scholars Admin Team: We had filled 235 days were filled on certified teachers for substitutes, and 25 days were filled with certified teachers. So when you think about the total amount of money difference.
Scholars Admin Team: the uncertified makes up the bulk of our
Scholars Admin Team: substitute teachers.
Scholars Admin Team: the certified teachers.
Scholars Admin Team: Difference? Because it's so many, you know. So a few days obviously, would be have a lower impact. So we spent
Scholars Admin Team: We spent last year 30, about $37,000 on substitutes. If we were to increase, just increase both
Scholars Admin Team: to match cms, we. It would be about a $3,000 increase if we were to just raise up just the certified pay it'll only be about $300 difference based on last year's numbers. Now, obviously, we don't know who our sorts of you know people are going to be. We know how many days we're going to have, but just kind of for some perspective of what kind of dollars we're talking about by increasing those rates. The
Scholars Admin Team: the recommendation from finance right now is that we are not sure of our final numbers yet. And so
Scholars Admin Team: her recommendation is that we only increase the certified rate at this time and hold off, and we could always increase the uncertified rate at a later time if we choose to
Scholars Admin Team: being certified being the priority. Because
Scholars Admin Team: when we have, we would like to have certified teachers that the priority right? So if you had someone, especially if they're going out for a longer period of time. It'd be
Scholars Admin Team: beneficial to have certified teachers in those positions. So we don't want to have a certified teacher who's looking to sub. Say, no, I'm not going to do that job at scholars, because I can get paid more in Cms.
Scholars Admin Team: So the recommendation is at this time is to just raise the certified rate. To match Cms, I think she's yeah, she's recommending that we match to 1 51 and
Scholars Admin Team: to consider raising the uncertified rate, either now or at a later date.
Scholars Admin Team: It's it's not currently in the budget. And that's why it's current going forward, because it would definitely raise that with what we need to budget for the supply.
Scholars Admin Team: But if the numbers were to stay the same as last 2, just one, it would be an increase in $300. So for certified. But if we were to look at, you know, certified and on certified
Scholars Admin Team: compared to last year, would it be about $3,000 increase.
Scholars Admin Team: I'd like to just
Scholars Admin Team: make one statement about it. That and I I feel like last year
Scholars Admin Team: substitute. We had a good solid substitute teacher situation, but I know that sometimes it's very difficult to find substitute teachers. And so if we find that that is happening
Scholars Admin Team: like I, I agree with. It's fine to postpone. But if we find that we're having trouble getting substitute teachers, I think we should
Scholars Admin Team: keep our finger on the pulse of that and and
Scholars Admin Team: then consider raising that lower rate if we don't do it now, so that we don't have a problem with filling those substitute
Scholars Admin Team: right? The majority of our substitutes are parents. So they're not looking for sub jobs in other places. There's subbing here because they're bringing their children to school, and it's just easy to, you know. Stay and and sub, and so I'm not sure that money is
Scholars Admin Team: the driver for the our current sub pool. But certainly if we raise, we maybe we can attract
Scholars Admin Team: other subs that we haven't been able to attract. So. And if we're having an issue, yes, we're struggling on, then that might be something that we can do to have a nice, nice strong pool of subs. Because yes, you
Scholars Admin Team: so I think you mentioned the majority of our subs are not certified right?
Scholars Admin Team: Did you gave a number for that? So on last year we had 235 days filled with
Scholars Admin Team: full days, filled with uncertified
Scholars Admin Team: 25 days filled with certified, and then she broke it down even more for half days, 81, half days, with uncertified and 9 half days certified.
Scholars Admin Team: and that was a total of
Scholars Admin Team: of $37,000 last year.
Scholars Admin Team: So are there thoughts on the approach
Scholars Admin Team: based on what you shared
Scholars Admin Team: certainly makes sense to look at for the certified.
Scholars Admin Team: I'm curious what the Board thinks
Scholars Admin Team: of
Scholars Admin Team: making that broader keeping with the certified. What are the thoughts so that we can move this to a vote.
Scholars Admin Team: Oh, I I got Julie's thoughts is, you know, let's do the certified just to stay competitive and try to attract them and and be on par with Cms. But, you know, taking y'all's, you know. Input. Hey? We're struggling to get substitute teachers filled. Well, then let's bring that to the next board meeting, and we're talk to Sabrina about how it looks.
Scholars Admin Team: But yeah, if we're not having a problem, if most of your subs are in house, anyway. Then
Scholars Admin Team: you know
Scholars Admin Team: we can punt it.
Scholars Admin Team: Is there a rationale that Sabrina gave us? For? Why not to do both. Why is it one? Because we are.
Scholars Admin Team: We're running a tight budget right now, and we're not sure like right now. We we approved a budget in May, based on very fuzzy numbers. We don't know our state revenue. We don't know our local revenue. We don't know our teachers salaries right? So we're kind of guessing. So right now we're getting those numbers finalized. We don't even we still don't know the county allotment numbers. So because there's so many unknowns, she's uncomfortable, recommending that we do an increase without having good solid information. However.
Scholars Admin Team: the certified piece, since it has such a
Scholars Admin Team: small economic impact, she felt like that was something to you know, to address immediately. We haven't.
Scholars Admin Team: so it could be quickly resolved. Once we start the school year and have the numbers, and she wanted to bring it now is because we have to submit payroll numbers for the year, for the September 5.th
Scholars Admin Team: Pay. Those numbers have to be submitted now. So if we have people subbing in the 1st week of school, which we probably will, somebody will get sick the 1st week of school. It'd be nice to have that pay rate set and done, and not dragging it out and changing it
Scholars Admin Team: mid year. So. But we can change mid year. Yes, we can.
Scholars Admin Team: Do you have any other thoughts? I just, you know, to me I think it's important that that we do at least raise for the certified just because
Scholars Admin Team: I I want to be able to get a good certified person in there if we've got a long term. So I I mean, I think it's essential that we do that. And anyone that's around here, if we're pulling from just the Charlotte area that you know when it all shakes down. They love scholars, Academy, but it's a lot of people. It's going to be a money situation. So you know, and there's such a small pool of subs out there that I would like a larger pool that we can pull from.
Scholars Admin Team: because when you don't have a sub in a classroom.
Scholars Admin Team: it
Scholars Admin Team: it puts stress on every single person in the whole building. I mean, we have to pull from our tas. We got to pull from the office. We got to pull from administration. So at least the certified folks. I think I'd like to to bump that up. And of course, if we feel like the budget is tight right now. It's like I said, I think it's okay for us to wait. We need to. And but then, if we can't get up to par with everybody else. I think it's a good step to move. Move towards.
Scholars Admin Team: Yeah, that would be a good end goal. Yeah, because subs subs and bus drivers.
Scholars Admin Team: probably 2 of the most poor people I mean they really are. I mean, they get
Scholars Admin Team: they can make a difference. Another advantage to certified subs is that when we do have people go out on long term, leave for illness, maternity. Leave that kind of thing. We definitely want a certified teacher. And if we developed a relationship with a certified teacher in our building as a substitute, it's
Scholars Admin Team: fantastic to have those people on reserve to be like, Hey, we don't pay them when they do long term, we pay them at their actual contract what they would be contracted. Typically but it is nice, too. It is nice having to be having a relationship developed. So you don't have to go find somebody to fill that position.
Scholars Admin Team: Is there a motion?
Scholars Admin Team: It's our primary approval that we just had all sorts of defense. Decisions
Scholars Admin Team: in theory would increase that number as well. Yep.
Scholars Admin Team: and I think she had those numbers as well.
Scholars Admin Team: Oh, for corontal leave!
Scholars Admin Team: I don't think she did. The comparison with the substance
Scholars Admin Team: normally unavoided, which is not so good.
Scholars Admin Team: We do have it.
Scholars Admin Team: 8 weeks of Cms certified sub pay would be our cost to us is $1,400.
Scholars Admin Team: So it's a $400 difference.
Scholars Admin Team: Our current cost is a thousand dollars
Scholars Admin Team: for for us to cover our certified. So it's a $400 difference for someone for those 8 weeks.
Scholars Admin Team: So I'll make a motion to
Scholars Admin Team: increase the substitute teacher pay to match Cms. At 1 51 right
Scholars Admin Team: substitute teachers.
Scholars Admin Team: as recommended by the Finance Committee.
Scholars Admin Team: No one recommended Finance committee hasn't met.
Scholars Admin Team: It was as recommended by finance on the high finance. Our finance director. Yeah.
Scholars Admin Team: there a second
Scholars Admin Team: second.
Scholars Admin Team: Thank you. All those in favor say, aye, aye.
Scholars Admin Team: any opposed?
Scholars Admin Team: It's been approved to increase the certified substitute substitute pay rate.
Scholars Admin Team: Alright, next in the agenda is a traffic circle updates. But I think we've already covered that, Chad. Thank you very much. Do you want me to say like that? I got a little bit more info from the development. So I mean not no, not more than I had. But just
Scholars Admin Team: so, just so. You all know what's happening 10 days ago. They have the storm storm system completed at the entrance they just installed most of the 8 inch water line, heading down the road towards the office building hydrant. They have pressure and chlorination approvals to obtain from Clt. Water before they can complete the tie in which should have been the end of that week, and he said in writing. We will have the school entrance areas completed before 8, 27.
Scholars Admin Team: Maybe, he'd reply. And be like fingers crossed entrance areas. So big lot, too, they know about that. Okay, I mean, we had a whole
Scholars Admin Team: thing with them about the design of that. I rode through Carpool with their landscape architect.
Scholars Admin Team: to make sure she knew where everything went.
Scholars Admin Team: and
Scholars Admin Team: even picked up my kids on the way but too long ago.
Scholars Admin Team: Can you
Scholars Admin Team: reply and ask, Hey, what's going on now it's 10 days. Okay, yeah.
Scholars Admin Team: there's no asphalt.
Scholars Admin Team: It seems like a key piece. Yeah, I had. Alex did tell me that he went down there to go talk to them, and it was just going to be stone by the start of school.
Scholars Admin Team: and then pavement would come in shortly thereafter. But by at least by the start of school. It's just going to be stone like gravel down. Paving is super fast. Yeah. So I was like, as long as it's something that we they can drive on.
Scholars Admin Team: So now, just for my understood, they're just gonna be able to obviously make left
Scholars Admin Team: and get out of there. But there's nothing else to go.
Scholars Admin Team: They can't go anywhere. Make it right? They're just going into that big lock. Correct? Well, yeah. But we need. We need to make sure that the entrance to the school and the adjacent lot
Scholars Admin Team: access. Yes. So yeah, we're gonna have to take a left. But it'll be nice, because there'll be no oncoming traffic, so it'll just kind of be in front of me. The issue, and I don't know if we're going to get into it now? Probably not, maybe later. But like, what does this look like when that actually happens when we actually
Scholars Admin Team: we did discuss that way back in the day with them, and told them, this is when they still kind of liked us, and they were still communicating that we never signed
Scholars Admin Team: We at. We told them the daily rate for traffic control and they're like, I'm sure we could work something out. And then we didn't sign the document.
Scholars Admin Team: We don't have what they need now. They don't need us and so I doubt that they would pay for it.
Scholars Admin Team: They've kind of been
Scholars Admin Team: words that I should not use an open forum.
Scholars Admin Team: What document did we not sign? I mean, there was an easement. There was the easement. But
Scholars Admin Team: you want to just decide Africa. But essentially like, remove
Scholars Admin Team: more control over our land.
Scholars Admin Team: And so we were like, no thanks.
Scholars Admin Team: thank you for that. Update anytime, and I will reach out to him, and we'll let anyone know if anyone wants an update, let me know. I'll see if we get one
Scholars Admin Team: great. You know what I can. CC. You on this.
Scholars Admin Team: Thank you, Alison. Yes, ma'am.
Scholars Admin Team: At our June
Scholars Admin Team: 17th meeting, when we voted in officers, we did have a vacancy for the secretary role.
Scholars Admin Team: Our new board member, Julie Dahl, has graciously
Scholars Admin Team: offered to step into that role. So I'll entertain a motion
Scholars Admin Team: to
Scholars Admin Team: approve
Scholars Admin Team: or vote for the new secretary, Julie Dahl.
Scholars Admin Team: Second. Oh, so you
Scholars Admin Team: second, okay.
Scholars Admin Team: all those in favor say, aye, aye.
Scholars Admin Team: any opposed
Scholars Admin Team: congratulations, Julie. You're officially the new secretary
Scholars Admin Team: at this time? I will entertain a motion to go into closed session to discuss employee contracts.
Scholars Admin Team: See me? Second.
Scholars Admin Team: all right, approved. We will be going to closed session
Scholars Admin Team: kind of law.
Scholars Admin Team: those in favor say, aye, aye, any opposed?
Scholars Admin Team: Alright, thank you. We will go with the quote, Bye, Noel, bye, Noel.
Scholars Admin Team: we are back into in the open.
Scholars Admin Team: and it's just me.
Scholars Admin Team: Are we doing all 5 votes together?
Scholars Admin Team: We are back in open session. It is now 3 0. 3.
Scholars Admin Team: I will entertain a motion to approve the employment contracts as presented and closed.
Scholars Admin Team: so moved. Second.
Scholars Admin Team: all those in favor.
Scholars Admin Team: Aye, aye.
Scholars Admin Team: any opposed
Scholars Admin Team: the employment contracts are approved.
Scholars Admin Team: I will now entertain a motion to adjourn the meeting
Scholars Admin Team: so moved. Second.
Scholars Admin Team: the meeting is adjourned.
Scholars Admin Team: Thank you. Everybody for attending the Special Board meeting today.