Board Work Session, June 10, 2021

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47P0XEOGhps

 

Meeting is called to order, all are present, and agenda is adopted.

Board meeting minutes from May 12, 2021, are approved.

Board Member Queen asked for moment of personal privilege. She reads a prepared statement apologizing on behalf of herself and her colleagues to the public for the behavior at the last several meetings. She notes that a unified board achieved much in 2019 and 2020, and there is still a chance in 2021. Queen goes on to thank PGCPS staff for their work and acknowledges the challenges of the last year for families and students due to the pandemic. She urges her colleagues to continue to work collaboratively on behalf of PGCPS and students.

Dr. Miller presents her report. She welcomes board members to visit the board office during this period of transition. The board chair and vice chair have been filling in for the chief of staff role due to the unexpected departure of that recent hire. Miller notes it has given them the opportunity to see the work and duties of the board staff.

Dr. Goldson presents her report congratulating all the recent high school graduates and the PGCPS teacher of the year, Adrin Leak. She notes the recent release of plans for next school year, the free vaccine clinics being hosted at county high schools, and a reminder that the comprehensive school boundary study is currently underway with a survey for families.

Public comment is next.

Michele Clark thanks Board Member Queen for her comments at the start of the meeting. She notes it has been disturbing at best to watch the meetings lately. Some members have stayed above the fray and conducted themselves professionally. She has had many people come up to her and ask why the board can’t get it together. What’s been happening lately is more like an episode of Jerry Springer than a professional meeting. She also speaks in support of the ELL recommendations and urges their passage.

Zena Whitworth speaks for herself, not on behalf of PGCEA or PGCPCS. She would like all teachers to have access to the virtual academies.

Tonya Wingfield believes the School to Prison pipeline work group is needed but suggests some free resources that could be used. She also commends the very good recommendations in the ELL report but notes some are already in the consolidated strategic plan. One thing that would have been helpful to the public would be feasibility studies. She would also like to remind state legislators that a lot of things that matter have been happening on the board. It matters when a board member fraudulently signs a contract, when meetings are held in violation of state law; it matters when an officer of the board hires a friend for $10,000/month and uses a pass-through company to divert the funds; it matters when board policies are being changed but don’t include critical information from the CEO such as legal implications. There is a clique of board members who always vote on items supporting their agenda. We have a chair who is not afraid to expose the corruption on the board. The state legislators have been silent too long, and it’s time for them to stand up.

Teresa Dudley, president of PGCEA, addresses budget reconciliation and states it is important to PGCEA that contracts are honored. It is important to use our American Rescue Plan dollars to address the multiple air conditioning issues at schools. She is very proud of our PGCPS teacher of the year, whom she has known since she was a little girl in Cheverly. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed, including reopening being done safely.

Phyllis Wright presents testimony on the lack of A/C at William Hall Academy, of which she is PTO president. She is also appalled at the board. Dr. Goldson has done an excellent job, but the board has not been working together to make our schools better, help our staff, and better the education for our children. She is very disappointed to watch the board as a parent. It is unacceptable to Prince George’s County. If you can’t do better, than please step down.

Donna Young discusses the continual disregard for procurement and contracting policies. She is disturbed by the actions of the board and the blatant violations that have occurred. The contract with the Pugh Law Group should be null and void and should be investigated. She filed an ethics complaint about this contract. There should not have even been a vote on the legal contract at the last meeting, and the Pugh contract should not have been even up for consideration.

Crystal Carpenter speaks on the ELL and ESOL recommendations. She commends the report of the work group, but her testimony suggests striving for dual language for all students in PGCPS, including those who are native English speakers with no second language. Language classes consist of repeats of material and little acquisition by students. This will be important for economic development and career readiness.

 

Item 4.1 is a presentation on the Fiscal Year 2022 recommended operating budget reconciliation. The slides for this presentation are available on Board Docs. PGCPS faces a significant operating deficit and while they do anticipate significant Federal moneys, those are restricted to COVID-19 relief efforts and do not address the unrestricted budget shortfall. She presents some strategies to address those shortfalls, including indirect cost recovery.

Ahmed asks about the note in slide 12 that $15 million for ACF was not included in the budget because it was assumed to be covered under a separate MOU. She asks if that was due to an expectation the county would cover it but then they decided not to. Goldson replies the MOU was not finalized until after she presented her proposed budget. She also notes they assumed it would come from the capital improvements side, but it comes from the operating side. Ahmed is dismayed this will come from the operating budget in the years to come. She asks for clarification on which of the board initiatives has been cut; Goldson clarifies the K-3 Reading Tutoring and Bridge to Excellence School Supports will be covered through one of the new Federal ESSR grants hopefully. The supports for at-risk students and restorative practices are covered and were part of the CEO’s proposed budget. TranZed Academy, STEAM internship, and Special Education Audit were not included. Finally, Ahmed asks for follow-up for which of the schools in her district are covered by slide 19. Goldson notes she will provide that for all schools.

Williams follows up on the ACF funding for the six new schools. She thought the operating dollars would come from not requiring maintenance for those schools, so the $15 million is offset from the capital side. Goldson affirms that is correct.

Queen reiterates concerns about A/C being out and whether schools that have to be closed due to A/C issues can do virtual learning on those days instead of losing learning. Goldson states that now as a 1:1 district, they can have remote learning occur as needed on a case-by-case basis. She also explains that there have been challenges in getting necessary parts for A/C repairs due to the pandemic.

Jackson speaks in support of the expansion of mental health services and recommends continuing to make sure students and families know this resource is available to them.

Valentine asks about the hiring freeze and what the system is doing to ensure full staffing for next year. Goldson replies the freeze was lifted in April so HR is working to hire staff.

Adams-Stafford is happy to see the inclusion of the Bridge to Excellence schools. She had a question how the funding will be used in those schools, and whether funding would be available for additional teacher trainings or to encourage National Board certified teachers to come to those schools. Goldson replies when provisions are available for ESSR 3, they will know if they have training funds available. However those funds will be available at all schools. The National Board certified teacher question will be in the next presentation on Kirwan funding.

 

The next item is an update on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (Kirwan II). Dr. Libby, who is the chief officer for this initiative makes the presentation on how the funding will be utilized. The slides are available on Board Docs.

Queen asks that the schools open for in-person learning this summer be geographically dispersed.

Ahmed has a follow-up item and would like the budget numbers for each of these different elements.

Adams-Stafford would like to know if there are incentives for board certified teachers to teach at lower performing schools. She is also interested in the 9^th grade tracker and asks if inputs to the tracker could identify needs for groups of students who need additional supports. Goldson responds board certified staff already get a $4,000 stipend. In terms of an incentive, Kirwan is not set up that way because ultimately it wants every teacher to be board certified. Goldson notes the tracker was designed to identify factors that hinder students going from 9^th to 10^th grades; once they have data, they will begin identifying supports.

Williams discusses the CTE programs and whether PGCPS will be able to attain the goal for 2031 in terms of CTE graduations. A list of the numbers of board certified teachers has been compiled. Williams asks for it to be added to each school’s data dashboard.

 

Miller introduces the ’21-’22 school board calendar. Ahmed moves to approve it with amendments. Burroughs seconds. She wants to remove the 6-week board break and add a number of 5 pm executive session/7 pm work sessions. She notes that the board action summary for this item stated the proposed calendar was in line with past calendars but did not appear to be compliant with board policy. Miller notes if it’s a board policy, the policies can be revised. Williams asks to table item so board members can consider proposed dates. Boozer-Strother asks who drafted board action summary that calls out the inconsistency with board policy because it has Dr. Miller’s name on it. Williams states she believes it was drafted by Board Policy Director Brandon Cooper. He replies he met with Vice Chair Williams and brought this inconsistency to her attention, and she suggested it be included in the board action summary.

The substitute motion to table is approved unanimously.

 

The second reader of the English Language Learners focus work group report and recommendations is the next order of business. Jackson and Ahmed present the report.

The item is approved with Williams abstaining.

 

7.1 first reader of the School to Prison Pipeline work group is presented by Burroughs. The only difference is the addition of the work group members. The motion passes unanimously with no discussion.

 

The actions taken in executive session on June 10 are passed unanimously, with Burroughs abstaining as he was not present.

 

Meeting is adjourned.