Public Meeting Minutes: March 30, 2023 at 6:00 PM - GMSD Board Business Meeting

1. Call to Order

Speaker(s): Chairman

Discussion: Chairman Ryan Strain called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm.

2. Moment of Silence

Speaker(s): Chairman

Discussion: Chairman Ryan Strain called for a moment of silence.

3. Pledge of Allegiance

Speaker(s): Chairman

Discussion: Board member Brian Curry led the Pledge of Allegiance.

4. Approval of Agenda

Speaker(s): Chairman

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to approve the agenda as amended, passed with a motion by Mr. Brian Curry and a second by Mrs. Angela Griffith.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

5. Recognition and Awards

Speaker(s): Chairman

6. REPORTS

Speaker(s): Chairman

6.A. TN Legislative Update

Speaker(s): Brian Curry

Attachments: (1)

March 2023 Legislative Report

6.B. Chairman's Report

Speaker(s): Chairman

Discussion: Chairman Ryan Strain presented as follows,
Germantown Board of Education
Chairman’s Report (March 30, 2023)

Board Members’ District-related activities since our last business meeting included the following:

All Board Members:

Met with Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission member Daniel French

Additionally, Board Members Chatham, Curry, Griffith, and Eoff:

Attended Raider Theatre’s production of Little Mermaid, Jr.;
Toured Riverdale; and
Toured Houston Middle

Board Members Curry, Griffith, Eoff, and Strain:

Read to classes at Farmington Elementary and Riverdale for Read Across America Week; and
Had lunch and spoke with Leadership Germantown regarding legislative advocacy

Board Members Griffith and Eoff:

Served as judges for the Houston High Talent Show

Board Members Griffith and Strain:

Attended the Forest Hill Elementary Snapshots teacher recruitment event

Board Members Eoff and Strain:

Attended the Houston High Snapshots teacher recruitment event

Board Member Curry:

Attended the White Station vs. Houston JV lacrosse game;
Attended the March GMSD OPEB Trust meeting;
Attended the March Forest Hill Elementary PTO meeting;
Led a discussion about legislative advocacy for Leadership Germantown;
Attended the Houston Choir Season Finale Concert; and
Had numerous conversations with local elected officials regarding pending legislation

Board Member Griffith:

Served as a group leader at the Tennessee School Board Association’s annual Student Congress on Policies in Education, in which our Student Board Member, Joseph Opferman, was a participant;
Visited the Tennessee Association of Student Councils annual convention, hosted by the Houston High SGA, and met students and advisors from across the state. Mrs. Griffith would like to commend our SGA and its sponsor, Ms. Spain, for their amazing hospitality and organization in planning this event.
And Mrs. Griffith also served as a chaperone for GMSD’s Day on the Hill trip to Nashville, which is planned and organized by the GMC PTO.

Board Member Eoff:

Attended Mustang Theatre’s production of Chicago;

And, finally, Board Member Strain also:

Attended the Memphis Business Journal’s Building Memphis Awards Ceremony, at which the Houston Middle addition had been nominated for an award; and
Attended Dogwood Elementary’s DolphinFest

Report:

March Madness has always been one of my favorite sporting events. From the fun of filling out brackets, to the upsets during the first weekend, to the Cinderella team that you cheer for after your own team has lost - it’s just hard to beat. So this weekend, as I was thinking over what to report on tonight, I was looking forward to comparing the District to March Madness in some way. I don’t know, talking about Coach Manuel - that’s what I called him in high school, anyways - leading "Team GMSD" to victory. Maybe a humorous reference to Mr. Cathey knocking down a game-winning three after receiving a no-look pass from Mrs. Subramani. Or maybe an alley-oop that Mr. Jones finishes with a monstrous, backboard-breaking dunk. Who knows. I think it would have been fun, and surely there would have been a Dad joke or two for everyone to enjoy or cringe from hearing.

But then, on Monday, we received word about The Covenant School in Nashville, and my planned report suddenly seemed so trivial. The tragedy at Covenant is unfortunately all too familiar, yet the searing loss experienced by families living only a few hundred miles away and our anxiety for our own children - indeed, for every student and GMSD employee - is fresh and profound.

No child should fear for his or her safety at school. No parent should be concerned about whether their child will come home at the end of the school day. No teacher or other school employee should feel as though they are putting their life on the line in coming to work. Yet this is the world in which many of us live.

To our GMSD families, we share your concerns and your anger in the face of senseless violence. I hope that you can find some comfort in knowing the extensive resources and preparation the District devotes to preparing for the unthinkable, and I encourage you to review the School Safety portion of the District’s website, which you can reach by scrolling to the bottom of the main page of the website, clicking on "Student Resources," and then clicking on "School Safety."

To our students and GMSD employees, please know your safety is of utmost importance to us.

To our School Resource Officers, the Germantown Police Department, and the City of Germantown, know how thankful we are to have such a strong partnership with you in matters of school safety.

And to the Dieckhaus, Hill, Kinney, Koonce, Peak, and Scruggs families, and to the entire Covenant School community, we mourn with you.

To finish, I come back to March Madness. It’s not a perfect analogy by any means. But it presents us with a visual of options available to us. We can sit back in the stands, cheer on competing teams, and vilify the opponent. Or we can check into the game, see each other as teammates working toward a common goal, and do our best to effect real change. I hope we choose the latter.

6.C. Financial Report

Speaker(s): Kevin Jones

Attachments: (2)

Discussion: Chief Financial Officer Kevin Jones reported the Total Assets, Liabilities, and Fund Balances on the Balance Sheet for period ending 2.28.23

SCHOOL OPERATING FUND
Sales tax revenues are trending at $10 million v. $9.2 million dollars budgeted.

CAFETERIA FUND
Y-T-D net income for the cafeteria fund is $250K, with SFE reporting a net income of $74K for the month.

OPEB TRUST FUND
Year-to-date net realized gains and unrealized gains on investments totaled $76K.

6.D. Superintendent's Report

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Discussion: Superintendent Jason Manuel presented the 3.30.23 Superintendent’s Report with the following Highlights in his PowerPoint presentation,

How GMSD is INCREASING AWARENESS of the excellent education and innovative programs offered at GMSD

Click Here > Watch Meetings Livestream on > YouTube
Strengthening the District’s ONLINE PRESENCE - Evaluate your tools
MEET MARVIN - Our Virtual Assistant
Social Media Analytics 21-22 / 22-23
ANALYZING THE IMPACT - Audit Results tracked by District, School, Administrators and Social Media Managers
DEFINE ROLES - School Webmaster Professional Development and Expectations
PD FOR SOCIAL MEDIA TEAMS
EXPANDED GMSD STUDENT AMBASSADORS
- Increased Internships
- New Partnerships with Leadership Germantown
EXPANDED GMSD COMMUNICATIONS INTERNS
- Created campaigns for students by students
- Presented to a national group of school districts to share their experiences
Introducing the GMSD MAGAZINE
DIGITAL SPACE FOR ATHLETES
- Houston Athletics Official Sports Network
Coming Soon - the New GMSD APP for Parents
- Student Information
- School Specific Quick Links
- One Touch School Directories
As outlined in the GMSD Strategic Plan

The above presentation can be found at our GMSD website link https://www.gmsdk12.org/apps/pages/superintendent

7. Citizens to be heard

Speaker(s): Chairman

Discussion: The following Citizen voiced their opinion with a request for a change in eligibility criteria for Graduation Speakers,
Adam Saleh, Collierville, TN 38017

8. CONSENT AGENDA

Speaker(s): Chairman

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to approve all the items in the Consent Agenda, passed with a motion by Dr. Daniel Chatham and a second by Mrs. Amy Eoff.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

8.A. Approval of the Minutes

Speaker(s): Chairman

8.B. Revision of Policies - First Reading

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Attachments: (3)

8.C. Miscellaneous FY 22-23 Budget Amendments # 21 & 22

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Attachments: (2)

9. BOARD ACTION ITEMS

Speaker(s): Chairman

9.A. Math Textbook Adoption 2022-2023

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to adopt the Math Textbook Adoption 2022-2023, passed with a motion by Mr. Brian Curry and a second by Mrs. Angela Griffith.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Attachments: (2)

9.B. Miscellaneous FY 22-23 Budget Amendment # 23

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Action(s):

Motion passed (With Subsidiary Motion):

Motion passed: I move to approve the Miscellaneous FY 22-23 Budget Amendment # 23, passed with a motion by Mrs. Amy Eoff and a second by Mr. Brian Curry.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

Subsidiary Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to amend the Miscellaneous FY 22-23 Budget Amendment to state the reason for amendment as HHS football, baseball and soccer fields lighting project, passed with a motion by Mrs. Amy Eoff and a second by Mr. Brian Curry.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Attachments: (2)

9.C. Houston High School Football Field Lighting Project

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to approve the proposal from Cooper Lighting for LED stadium lighting upgrades at the Houston High School Football Field in the amount of $224,095 and authorize the executive committee to execute the contract., passed with a motion by Mr. Brian Curry and a second by Mrs. Angela Griffith.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Attachments: (1)

HHS Football and Baseball Quotes

9.D. Houston High School Baseball Field Lighting Project

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to approve the proposal from Cooper Lighting for LED stadium lighting upgrades at the Houston High School Baseball Field in the amount of $193,670 and authorize the executive committee to execute the contract, passed with a motion by Mrs. Angela Griffith and a second by Dr. Daniel Chatham.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Attachments: (1)

HHS Football and Baseball Quotes

9.E. Houston Middle / High School Soccer Field Lighting Project

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to approve the proposal from Cooper Lighting for LED stadium lighting upgrades at the Houston Middle School Soccer Field in the amount of $109,645 and authorize the executive committee to execute the contract, passed with a motion by Mrs. Amy Eoff and a second by Dr. Daniel Chatham.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Attachments: (1)

HMS Soccer Field

9.F. Durham Contract

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to award RFP#FY23003 alternate response number 2 to Durham School Services and approve the executive committee to execute the contract, passed with a motion by Mrs. Amy Eoff and a second by Mrs. Angela Griffith.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Attachments: (1)

Durham Municipality Consortium Agreement - 2023

9.G. Approval of Board Chair & Legal Counsel to Start Superintendent Contract Negotiation

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I nominate Board Chair Mr. Strain and Board Attorney Ms. Estes to start the Superintendent Contract Negotiation, passed with a motion by Mr. Brian Curry and a second by Mrs. Amy Eoff.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

9.H. Revision of Policy 6.305 Student Suicide Prevention - First Reading

Speaker(s): Jason Manuel

Action(s):

Motion passed:

Motion passed: I move to approve the Revision of Policy 6.305 Student Suicide Prevention after first reading, passed with a motion by Mrs. Amy Eoff and a second by Mr. Brian Curry.

Dr. Daniel Chatham: Yea
Mr. Brian Curry: Yea
Mrs. Amy Eoff: Yea
Mrs. Angela Griffith: Yea
Mr. Ryan Strain: Yea

No Action(s) have been added to this Agenda Item.

Attachments: (1)

Revision Policy 6.305 Student Suicide Prevention - Mar Apr 2023

10. Announcements

Speaker(s): Chairman

Discussion: Chairman Ryan Strain made the following announcements,

Prom is this Saturday, April 1.
The Houston High International Club Extravaganza is April 6.
April 7 and 10 are school holidays.
Riverdale’s 6^th Grade Preview Night is April 11.
The ACT exam is April 15.
TCAP testing begins April 17.
The GMC PTO Star Awards Ceremony is April 20.
The Germantown Education Foundation Run for Education 5K is April 23.
Battle of the Brains, presented by the Germantown Education Commission, has been rescheduled for November 4 at Houston High. Please visit the City’s website for more information.
Student School Board Member Joseph Opferman celebrated his 18^th birthday this week.
The Board’s June work session and business meetings have been rescheduled for June 6 / time TBD.
And, finally, the Board is holding its Budget and Regular Work Session on April 19 at 1:00 p.m., and the next Board Business Meeting is April 25 at 6:00 p.m.

11. Adjournment

Speaker(s): Chairman

Discussion: The meeting was adjourned with consensus at 7:49 pm.

March 30, 2023 at 6:00 PM - GMSD Board Business Meeting

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