October 29, 2020 at 9:00 AM - Board of Education Regular November Meeting

Discussion (Visible on Public Minutes):  (Consent Agenda was voted on at the beginning of the Facilities Meeting at 9:00 am by mistake.  Mrs. Robinson ask for that vote to stand)

Discussion (Visible on Public Minutes):  -Dr. Dyer wants to recognize the Meigs County bus accident and wants to thank Mrs. Robinson for having a moment of silence at the beginning of the facilities meeting.  The governor is coming to CHS this afternoon to visit the jobs for TN Graduates program.  Its a program to help the students that face barriers to graduate.  It is a program to offer counseling, and whatever they need to help them graduate high school and get into a post secondary program of their choice.  We are glad to offer this program at CCS.  Student advisory council met at CHS yesterday.  They love the new food services at CHS.  They also talked a lot about COVID-19 and had some great questions.  They stated they do not want to close down and be in the red phase.  They want to be in the classroom.  We will be closed on Tuesday, November 3 because of a voting day.  The teachers will be working from home doing the virtual parent conferences.  The admin will have training on this day.
-The board asks what our enrollment numbers are? Mr. Kahrs states we are at 5,550 total and its down 40-50 from last year.  He states nationally the enrollment numbers are down, especially in kindergarten.  We are down 1% since last year.
-The board asks about the COVID-19 numbers in the schools?  Dr. Dyer states the numbers are higher at CMS and CHS because they change classes.  As of this morning, there are 22 in isolation and around 227 in Quarantine.  We are monitoring this situation and we have plans in place.

Discussion (Visible on Public Minutes):  -Dr. Dyer reads part of the Banner article about Dr. Dyer: "The TN Principal of the Year award is awarded annually to a school leader for outstanding service in education and exceptional leadership that drives overall improvements in his or her school.  To qualify, candidates must have a minimum of three years' experience as a principal and a minimum of five years' experience in public schools.  In addition, all nominees must have a proven track record of exceptional gains in student learning.  Lain was chosen among nine finalists for the state award, which was announced Tuesday evening.  Laing has served as a classroom teacher, math coordinator and assistant principal before becoming principal of Cleveland Middle School.  She was also awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching mathematics."  Dr. Laing is not only an outstanding administrator but also a teacher and the voting delegates saw this as well.  He knows they will have a banquet and huge celebration once the COVID restrictions have been lifted.
-Dr. Laing states we can't lead schools well without amazing people leading us.  You all are an amazing school board and CCS is an amazing place to be.  
-The Board gives Dr. Laing congratulations and states she is well deserving of this award.

Discussion (Visible on Public Minutes):  -Mr. David Stone wanted to talk about the first page of his presentation.  It shows how his special ed population are by school. On this chart it shows per school how many students have disabilities, how many of these students are participating virtually, how many teachers and assistants are employed at each school with the student to adult ratio for each school.  CCS has about 200 students who are participating virtually.  He talks about the 16 categories of disabilities in the district.  Our system is close to the national trend on our different categories.  
-The Board states they were surprised with how many autistic children our system had.  Mr. Stone states we are learning so much about autism so that maybe why more students are identifying as autistic which would explain the trend.  This is also a national trend as well.
-The Board states we don't see as many students being identified as being gifted because they have so many other outlets in the curriculum, is this correct?  Mr. Stone says that is correct. The state of Tennessee is one of the few states that serves the gifted through special education.  
-The Board asks what it means on the school profile chart at Mayfield when it says "# of Assistants" " 2+1" what that means?  Mr. Stone states they added an extra position during the school year on top of what they started the school year with.
-Mr. Stone talks about the budget.  The special education GP, $4,656,161, is from the district (buses, diesel fuel, etc.), the IDEA part B, $1,318,225.86,  is federal funds, the IDEA PS , $71,808.71,(preschool funds) is federal funds.  We received additional federal funds, around $27,000, in anticipation of students in virtual school and for students who missed instruction during the spring.
-The Board says they haven't increased the budget for special education in a long time.  
-Mr. Stone states they received some grants.  Received a grant for a behavior support specialist for $77,985.90.  Received a grant for a preschool position for $77,985.90. Received a grant for technology, remote learning, for $5,510.  Total funds received from grants: $161,481.80.
-The board states they have used inclusion in recent years.  How has that went?  Dr. Stone states COVID mitigating strategies has made it more challenging to move students from a contained setting to a whole group setting.  It has been a logistical challenge but the teachers have been very supportive.
-The Board ask if students at CHS can still be aides to the special education population?  Dr. Stone states we have been limited on doing this with COVID -19 restrictions, but the students are still interested and want to be a part of this program when they are allowed.
-The board asks since we moved the students back to their "home" schools have the enrollment numbers went down?  Dr. Stone states at the beginning of the school year our numbers were down, but as the school year has went along our enrollment numbers have went back up and we are only 10 students below last year.
-The board thanks Dr. Stone for how great he leads this department.
-The board asks how are you doing IEP meetings?  Dr. Stone states in the spring they had a quick learning curve.  They now have Google meets for IEP meetings, and they sign documents electronically.

Discussion (Visible on Public Minutes):  -Policy 2.805 Purchasing: Dr. Dyer reads over some highlights of this policy and asks if there are any questions.  Mrs. Robinson suggests on line 33:  we put "approved purchasing alliances".  Dr. Dyer states we can get with TSBA on the language on this.
-Policy 2.8051 Credit Cards and Credit Lines: Dr. Dyer talks about this new policy.  The board asks are we setting any limits on credit card purchases?  Mrs. Geren states we do not have a limit set on credit cards because you have to submit a PO, which will need to be approved (which includes the limit).

Discussion (Visible on Public Minutes):  -The Board asks why you are calling it a "new credit card"?  Dr. Dyer states CHS does not have a credit card at all, so this would be their first CC. They really need it for athletics.
-The Board asks if it will be the same credit card policy as the rest of the system?  Mrs. Geren states they will follow the same rules as the rest of the system.
-Dr. Dyer recommends to approve the request to obtain a new credit card at CHS.

Discussion (Visible on Public Minutes):  -Dr. Jeff Elliott states the task force continues to meet regularly.  We look at the case count numbers at every meeting.  Before fall break, the numbers had gone down, but during fall break and since then the numbers have went back up.  By looking at this number, positivity rate, etc.  we decided we needed to move back into the yellow phase starting yesterday October 28.  We have 22 isolations as of this morning, and 227 students in quarantined. This is the highest it has been on a weekly count.  Dr. Dyer wants everyone to know CCS does not set the requirements for isolation or quarantine.  This is a health department procedure that we follow through with.  
-The Board asks if more people are being tested?  Dr. Elliott states if you look at the TN Dept. of Health reports then yes, more are being tested.
-Dr. Elliott talks about Virtual School of Cleveland.  We have 1,002 enrolled in virtual school.  In the plan, we stated during the semester change the families can come back from virtual to traditional.  We are proposing Monday, November 2 through Friday November 13 we will be asking each virtual student if they plan to stay virtual or if they are going to transition back to traditional.  We need to know by November 13 so our teachers, and the transportation department, can make adjustments on staffing.  There is criteria to remain in virtual school.  They can not have any F's during the first semester, if they have received 1 F during the first semester they will need to attend an afterschool intervention program at the high school.  Attendance: If they have 8 or fewer absences during the first semester they can remain in Virtual for second semester, but if they have more than 8 they can not attend virtual school during the second semester.  If students breach the academic digital integrity (such as plagiarism) they will need to come back to traditional school.
-The Board asks if there have been inquiries made from these virtual families to come back to traditional?  Dr. Elliott states there have been quite a few inquiries over the past few weeks.
-The Board states they have received complaints about virtual school from families, and don't know how to respond to them?  Dr. Elliott states he has heard complaints and has spoken with families as well.  He knows the teachers are doing a great job, and specifically at the secondary level its hard to teach the class in person along with the virtual students.
-The Board asks if a student is quarantined can they watch the class from home?  Dr. Elliott states yes.  As laid out in the plan the quarantined students are watching online while the class is live.
-The board asks if during the Christmas break will you be looking at the procedures for virtual school and making changes?  Dr. Elliott states yes, that is part of our planning during this time for a normal year, but even more this year.
-The board asks if he thinks students will be behind coming from virtual to traditional?  Dr. Elliott thinks some will be.  There are intervention programs available during the summer that will be taking place.  Dr. Dyer states virtual learning is great, but nothing can replace being in person in the classroom.
-The Board asks if state testing will be taking place?  Dr. Dyer says the state testing is waiting on legislative approval.
-The Board wants to thank all of the teachers, because they know it is hard work right now.
-The Board states they miss being able to visit the schools.
-Dr. Elliott says our students are out Tuesday, November 3 for election day.  We will be having the P-EBT cards distribution on this day at CMS.  Dr. Dyer recommends Monday, November 2 be an At-Home Learning Day to clean the buildings over 4 days (Saturday through Tuesday).  This would help with cleaning, and quarantining issues.  Teachers and admin will still report to school on Monday to teach.  The Board states they would like the parents to have more time to find babysitting or to take off of work, but they understand the timing of the days to be effective.  The board states we are coming into the winter with flu, strep, etc. so this would be nice to "try" now.   On Monday, the students would still be provided meals at the pick up locations.  Mr. Taylor would like to get the cleaning crews at the schools all 4 days to make sure the cleaning service can be very thorough.  They clean every day already, but this would be a more deep cleaning.  The board states it will be Dr. Dyers decision.

Discussion (Visible on Public Minutes):  -Mrs. Robinson reminds everyone they have a leadership meeting at 9:00 am on November 20 to go over the TSBA modules.  Also, the TSBA awards ceremony is November 12 online.  She also enjoys the school highlights and appreciates the time and effort put toward them.  
-Mrs. Robinson adjourned the meeting by general consent.