Board Meeting, August 12, 2021

 

Part I, August 12, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja4xI5pQXN0&t=23s

Note the meeting starts at least 30 minutes late due to executive session.

 

Mickens-Murray leads the board in the prayer and pledge of allegiance.

Roll call: everyone is present except David Murray.

Miller asks all board members to turn their cameras on.

 

Queen makes the motion to adopt the agenda; Valentine seconds it. The motion passes unanimously.

 

Miller notes there were some corrections to the board meeting minutes. The board administrative assistant confirms they were made and posted. William makes the motion to approve, Valentine seconds. The motion passes unanimously.

 

The report of the chair is next on the agenda. Miller states she is “kind of full right now” and apologizes to the public for their tardiness in starting the regular meeting, noting they had a “hearty” discussion in executive session. There were clarifications made regarding vote to accept executive session vote at the last meeting. She asked the parliamentarian to clarify that vote.

Bill Shelton, the parliamentarian, points out the bylaws state the board votes on the actions but that is a misnomer in his opinion. That is just administrative in nature. Robert’s Rules require that if something happens in closed session, a summary be placed on the record for the public. This is also required by the Open Meetings Act. Miller clarifies that taking the vote, as required by the board’s by laws, to confirm certain items in executive session does not change the vote taken in executive session. Shelton agrees.

Miller continues she sees board member hands going up but she is not going to take comments at this time. She notes there were several discussions in executive session, one relating to the services for legal counsel, which is still pending. She hopes the board members will be able to collaborate to bring resolution to that issue. That concludes her remarks.

Queen points out we vote on the agenda and that vote is on the agenda. Shelton states he still thinks it is a poor word choice to vote on executive session. Queen responds that until we change the agenda, we have to vote. Let’s just move on.

Ahmed asks the parliamentarian if he checked the law to see what the law says?

Shelton responds that the Open Meetings Act is the statutory authority. He says he does have a law degree but is not able to provide legal advice to the board. But this is what his research has indicated.

Ahmed agrees with the summary but reiterates she “feels” there is something in state law that says actions taken in executive session must be voted on.

Burroughs thinks there is a misunderstanding in the conversation. The board did not vote to confirm actions taken in executive session because the law was intended to be violated. He has the law in front of him and reads it verbatim; it is HB1107, p. 17. He reads an excerpt that states the votes required. This has very little to do with parliamentary procedure debate about the need to confirm votes or not. The law is clear, Mr. Parliamentarian.

 

Next is the moment of silence.

Miller announces the upcoming board meetings: Thursday, September 2 is board work session; Thursday, September 9 is the CIP public hearing; Thursday, September 23 is a regular board meeting.

 

Dr. Goldson presents the report of the CEO. She notes the waitlist for virtual learning has been reopened. Additional seats being available will depend upon the ability to hire additional teachers. There will be three drive and dash events at high schools. Today is the last day to do the survey on how PGCPS should use the Federal relief funds. And finally it is National Immunization Awareness month, and PGCPS has partnered with the Health Department to do vaccine clinics. A video about vaccination requirements and locations of clinics is shown.

 

Public comments:

Magalie Salas, president of the Adelphi Hills Community Association, remembers that despite the contention over where to locate the Adelphi-area middle school, the board and community worked together to get ACF passed and funded. The ethics problems and cyber bullying detract from the progress, and the dysfunctional behavior is reminiscent of previous administrations and is bad for the school system’s reputation. She asks the board to stop, reflect, and do the next right thing.

Amity Pope shares there was a “protest of sorts” that members of the “Divine 9” were invited to attend. The request was to show her support for students, but the reasons people were there did not start with the students. At the rally, she learned the ethics review had been concluded but the report was not available to the public. A vote to remove elected board members is not democratic and disenfranchises voters.

Janna Parker encourages the board to focus on students. The ethics allegations are just that, allegations. She is disheartened and disturbed that some appointed and some elected officials are calling for the removal of elected board members. Parker also pushes back on earlier comments about the school system’s reputation, stating that the reputation of the school system is not related to the behavior of the Board of Education members.

Krystal Oriadah is also disheartened by what she has observed. Progressives have lost many times but they just organized more and got people elected. She asks the board to lose with dignity and grace. The disagreements are causing people to lose sight of their character and morals, and she asks members to hold on to their integrity.

Donna Christy, the new PGCEA president, presents some of the key priorities from educators. Some of these include safety, health, and wellness; increasing workloads without adequate compensation; and administrator bullying, harassment, and intimidation. She concludes by encouraging the BOE to resume in-person meetings since educators are working in person.

Anthony Tilghman is disappointed in the BOE. We are less than 30 days away from school opening, and the board can’t act professionally. He suggests they need a retreat or vacation together so they can get to know one another. He commends the work of Dr. Goldson.

Aaron Lavallee is a parent of children in elementary school and is appalled by the games that are happening. He moved here in 2010 and notes if Jack Johnson ran a boot camp on how to hold a county seat, some of the board members would be at the top of the class. This is completely unacceptable. Someone earlier mentioned members with five or more years of experience. There has been one common denominator on the board for the last several years, and that individual just needs to look in the mirror.

David Cahn is with Citizens for an Elected Board and notes he is tired of being lied to by politicians promising to stay out of school board politics or promising to return to an all-elected board. He finds the recent situation with the ethics report to reveal how county politicians are trying to maintain control and concludes that it is simply an end-run runaround against democracy.

Michele Clarke speaks about the special education staffing plan. Some of the numbers are not as great as they would like; they have been working on staffing for a number of years. Many of the specialists still have too high of a case load to meet the needs of students.

Martin Diggs with ASME 2250 is concerned that the board is not focused on the business that makes it great. His union has two appeals before the board that have still not been addressed: one dealing with the removal of SROs and the other regarding the dissolution of the before/after care program. He notes the system is 270 bus drivers short. What will that look like when school starts? Finally, he states he has sent an email to all board members with a project idea but has only heard back from four. He looks forward to working with the entire board.

Teresa Martin states that despite her long history with PGCPS, her family has made the incredibly difficult decision to move out of the Hyattsville community they love because their family could not take the uncertainty of the swing space plan for Hyattsville Middle. She cannot imagine the school system considered the financial toll as it requires additional bus routes and teachers to have a school in three locations, let alone the mental and emotional toll on families and students. What you are asking of this school is too much. She is glad to see CIP on the budget and long-term facility planning should be a priority for this board. But working on the current needs of students does not seem to be on the board’s agenda. Every teacher and student deserves better and she urges the board to put equity and betterment back on the agenda.

Since two speakers were not in the meeting, Miller states they can take two more.

Susanne Johnson commends the CEO and staff for their focus on students during the pandemic. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the focus of the board. Johnson says rather than focusing on usurping the voters of the county, the board should focus on students. She is pleased to see the Academic Achievement Committee will be focusing on literacy and speaks on the literacy gap in PGCPS students.

Donna Goodman presents her testimony via a phone due to technical difficulties. She focuses on the procurement process and asks why so many board contracts are having problems? Why is there still no attorney? If the first selection was eliminated, why was the second not chosen?

 

Next on the agenda is the standing committee work plans (Policy and Governance, Academic Achievement, and Operations and Budget), presented by the chair of each committee. These are available on BoardDocs.

 

The consent agenda includes proclamations for National Day of Service and Remembrance, National Arts in Education Week, National Hispanic Heritage Month, Constitution Day and Week, and Library Card Sign-Up Month, and a resolution to adopt Science 6/7/8 techbooks.

Ahmed makes the motion, Queen seconds. The motion passes unanimously.

 

The budget consent agenda is approval of the Special Education Staffing Plan for State Fiscal Year SY 22 and an award of 2022-21 Oracle ERP and SIS IT support consulting services contract.

Williams moves, and Monteiro seconds.

Valentine asks for clarification on who contributed to the staffing plan.

Trinell Bowman explains there was a committee, listed on p. 18 of the plan.

Burroughs abstains; Ceron-Ruiz cannot vote as the student member. All other present members vote to approve.

 

 

First reader is the FY2023-28 Capital Improvement Program.

Williams moves, and Boozer-Strother seconds.

Ahmed explains she will not be voting for this because, like last year, the document on BoardDocs is just an overview and not the full document. She is not comfortable voting for something without the full document.

Goldson states she will be happy to provide it, just like last year.

Adams-Stafford asks if the money noted as being allocated for stadium upgrades also includes outdoor recreation like tennis courts or basketball courts. Goldson states it is only for stadiums, although those are multi-use.

Yes: Adams-Stafford, Boozer-Strother, Ceron-Ruiz, Mickens-Murray, Monteiro, Queen, Thomas, Valentine, Williams, Miller

No: Ahmed, Burroughs, Murray

Abstain: Harris

 

The final item is to confirm actions taken in executive session. Williams clarifies the board is returning to executive session. Queen makes the motion to adjourn back to executive session; Harris seconds. The board unanimously votes to go back to executive session. Miller ends that she has been asked to state why they are doing so and explains it is due to unfinished business relating to legal counsel.

 

Board Meeting Part 2, Motion to Confirm Actions Taken in Executive Session, August 12, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n4WrqmqkJ0

Ahmed, Harris, and Murray are not present at the roll call. Harris appears on camera later.

Vote is taken to confirm actions taken in executive session, which include legal services contract, receive a report from internal audit, and to discuss parliamentarian services.

Williams moves and Valentine seconds.

Thomas clarifies they are voting to confirm actions taken in today’s executive session. Miller clarifies yes, the two executive sessions taken today.

Roll call is taken

Yes: Adams-Stafford, Boozer-Strother, Burroughs, Ceron-Ruiz, Harris, Mickens-Murray, Monteiro, Thomas, Valentine, Williams, Miller

Absent: Ahmed, Murray

Meeting adjourns.