Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 1 of 9 BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CHARLES COUNTY La Plata, Maryland 20646 Meeting No. XVII-14-2019 October 8, 2019

The Board of Education of Charles County held a regular meeting on October 8, 2019, at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, 5980 Radio Station Road, La Plata, Maryland. The meeting convened executive session at 12:02 p.m. recessed at 12:48 p.m.; convened in open session at 1:01 p.m.; recessed at 2:28 p.m.; reconvened 2:43 p.m.; recessed at 3:55 p.m.; reconvened in open session at 4:30 p.m.; recessed at 5:40 p.m.; reconvened at 6 p.m. and adjourned at 6:09 p.m.

1. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT

Virginia McGraw, Chairman; Latina Wilson, Vice Chairman; Jennifer Abell; Tajala Battle- Lockhart; Elizabeth Brown; David Hancock, Jr.; and Michael Lukas; and Faizaan Siddique, alternate student Board member, Westlake High School

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT

DeJuan Woods, Jr., student Board member (arrived at 6 p.m.)

STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT

Kimberly A. Hill, Ed.D., superintendent of schools Amy Hollstein, deputy superintendent of schools Michael Heim, assistant superintendent of supporting services Randy Sotomayor, assistant superintendent of fiscal services Linda Gill, executive director of schools Marvin Jones, executive director of schools Eric Schwartz, staff attorney Katie O’Malley-Simpson, director, communications Kessandra Stubblefield, executive assistant to the elected Board

OTHERS PRESENT

Faizaan Siddique, alternate student Board member, Westlake High School Jake Burgess, student liaison, Maurice J. McDonough High School Ian Herd, student liaison, Jordan Johnson, student liaison, Krisha Marie Melchor, student liaison, St. Charles High School Chelsea Perez, student liaison, Maurice J. McDonough High School Christina Walker, student liaison, Henry E. Lackey High School

Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 2 of 9 2. EXECUTIVE SESSION

Chairman McGraw opened the meeting at 12:02 p.m.

Ms. Wilson moved, seconded by Mrs. Brown, that the Board meet in Executive Session as permitted by the Maryland Open Meetings Act, Sections 3-305 and 3-103 of the General Provisions Article to discuss:

(a) personnel matters, specifically concerning the Superintendent’s recommendations on certificated positions; (b) negotiations, specifically information concerning setting parameters for negotiations with AFSCME; (c) contract negotiations, specifically matters related to the school bus contract; (d) litigation update concerning lawsuits filed against the Board and a complaint filed against the Board with the state; (e) administrative function matters concerning drafting a letter to the editor.

The vote to go into executive session was unanimous.

Present: Chairman Virginia McGraw, Vice Chairman Latina Wilson, Jennifer Abell; Tajala Battle-Lockhart, Elizabeth Brown and Mike Lukas

Absent: David Hancock

Staff Members Present: Superintendent Kimberly Hill; Deputy Superintendent Amy Hollstein; Assistant Superintendent of Fiscal Services Randy Sotomayor; Assistant Superintendent of Supporting Services Michael Heim; Executive Director of Human Resources Nikki Majors; Director of Communications Katie O’Malley-Simpson; Staff Attorney Eric Schwartz

The executive session adjourned at 12:48 p.m.

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – ST. CHARLES HIGH SCHOOL’S JROTC UNIT

Chairman McGraw opened the meeting at 1:01 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Board went out of its regular agenda order.

4. FY2019 INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL AUDIT: CLIFTONLARSENALLEN

Randy Sotomayor, assistant superintendent of fiscal services, William Early, Jr., with CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP, and Deborah Hale, accounting manager, presented the Board with the 2018-19 school year auditor’s report. Mr. Early said Charles County Public Schools has had a clean audit for seven years straight. It is the opinion of CliftonLarsenAllen that the financial statements referred to present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the governmental activities, each major fund, and the aggregate Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 3 of 9 remaining fund information of the Board as of June 30, 2019, and the respective changes in financial position for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

A brief question-and-answer session ensued.

The Board resumed its regular agenda order.

5. SUPERINTENDENT’S UPDATE TO THE BOARD

Superintendent Kimberly Hill greeted the Board shared an update highlighting the name change of the former minority achievement department to the office of diversity and equity. The change mirrors the Maryland State Department of Education’s mandate that all school systems develop and implement an equity policy and plan. Other highlights included the creation of an equity task force; a visit by state superintendent Karen Salmon, Ph.D. to Charles County Public Schools; the rededication of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School and other upcoming events including the Career and Technology Education (CTE) program tour at Robert D. Stethem Education Center on Oct. 16; CTE showcases for middle school students on Oct. 23; the fall chess tournament on Oct. 26; and the Board’s community town hall on Oct. 28.

6. CORRESPONDENCE/BOARD MEMBERS’ UPDATES

Mrs. Battle-Lockhart shared highlights of events she attended including a principals’ meeting; Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) meeting; the Charles County fair; a meeting with Superintendent Hill and Amy Hollstein, deputy superintendent to discuss community partnerships with CCPS; a visit to Matthew Henson Middle School; Equity Taskforce training; New Teachers’ reception; Commissioners’ meeting to restore funding to the Fresh Start Academy; and the Education Association of Charles County’s (EACC) Blueprint event.

Mrs. Abell shared some of the events she attended including the New Teacher reception; Rocktoberfest; EACC’s Kirwan Blueprint event.

Mrs. Brown shared highlights on events she attended including a Special Education Citizens Advisory Council (SECAC) event in September; Mudd open house; a Commissioners’ legislative meeting; New Teachers’ reception; a presentation on Blueprint for America; the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) conference; and an EACC forum.

Mr. Lukas shared highlights of some of the events he attended including the EACC’s Blueprint event; the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between CCPS and the Naval Warfare Center in Indian Head, MD; the MABE conference; New Teachers’ reception; Roctoberfest and the college fair at North Point High School.

Vice Chairman Wilson shared highlights of some of the events she attended including the Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 4 of 9 New Teachers’ reception; AVID classes at Westlake High School; SECAC meetings; Roctoberfest; a presentation on Blueprint for America; and the MABE conference. She congratulated Chairman McGraw for being chosen to server as treasurer of MABE.

Mr. Hancock shared highlights of events he attended including J.C. Parks Elementary School’s Farm-to-School lunch week; Rocktoberfest; the MABE conference and the fair.

Mrs. McGraw shared events she attended including the EACC’s Kirwan Commission Blueprint event; a scholarship committee meeting; a state Board meeting; and an event at Milton M. Somers Middle School. She urged the community to recognize National School Bus Safety Week.

7. EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF CHARLES COUNTY (EACC) UPDATE

Linda McLaughlin, president, greeted the Board and shared highlights on the addition of 22 certified building representatives and what their roles and responsibilities will be; the annual Maryland State Education Association Representative Assembly and Convention on Oct. 18 and 19 in Ocean City, MD; and the success of the Charles County Blueprint Community Forum.

8. AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEEES (AFSCME) UPDATE

Sarah Burch, AFSCME president, updated the Board on the positive progression of salary meetings; the success of the Local 2981 October meeting; and the success of some students who took advantage of AFSCME’s free college for its members. The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 5 at 4:30 p.m. at North Point High School

9. STUDENT BOARD MEMBER’S UPDATE

Alternate student Board member Faizaan Siddique shared highlights from student Board member DeJuan Woods, Jr. Included were his participation in honors chorus; highlights from Mr. Woods’ Student Member of the Board advisory council and his plans to visit all seven high schools.

10. Food Nutrition Services: summer meals; free breakfasts

Randy Sotomayor, assistant superintendent of fiscal services, Crystal Richardson and William Kreuter, food services supervisors, presented a PowerPoint on summer meals, and free breakfast month. Highlights included an overview of food and nutrition; summer program results; free breakfast; farm to school week and other developments within Food Nutrition Services.

A brief question-and-answer ensued.

Chairman McGraw thanked staff for the update. Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 5 of 9 11. RECESS

Chairman McGraw recessed the meeting at 2:28 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 2:43 p.m.

12. TEACHER STAFFING UPDATE

Amy Hollstein, deputy superintendent of schools, Nikial Majors, executive director of human resources, Felicia Rothchild, human resources generalist and David Shimizu, human resources generalist, updated the Board on teacher staffing. Highlights included new hires by the numbers to include content and grade level; school location; demographics, trend data and points for the future. Included were breakdowns of new hires for 2019-2020 by grade level and content for elementary schools ending Sept. 4; new hires for 2019-2020 by grade level and content for middle and high schools ending Sept. 4; new hires for 2019-2020 by school location for elementary schools ending Sept. 4; new hires for 2019-2020 by school location for middle and high schools ending Sept. 4; new hires for 2019-2020 by ethnicity and gender; Tri-county minority teacher comparison (2018). Following the presentation, Mrs. Majors invited Board members to attend the next strategic recruitment meeting.

Mr. Schimizu shared highlights on the efforts of the Strategic Recruitment committee led by Brian Johnson, human resources specialist. The committee’s focus is to identify colleges and universities that produce quality candidates; joint retention initiatives such as the New Teacher Academy and increasing visibility and access to current resources that will support educators.

Mrs. Holstein invited Board members to attend a virtual teacher initiative at Milton M. Somers Middle School.

A detailed question-and-answer session ensued.

Chairman McGraw thanked staff for the update.

13. PROJECT STATUS UPDATES

Mike Heim, assistant superintendent of supporting services and Steve Andritz, referred the Board to the update posted to BoardDocs, which highlights projects underway throughout the school system. Mr. Heim said that construction of the Fresh Start Program at Robert D. Stethem Education Center is complete and the Use and Occupancy permit is granted.

14. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Eric Schwartz, staff attorney, updated the Board on the draft 2020 legislative issues and shared highlights on some of them. He said the document will be an action item at the Nov. 12 Board meeting. Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 6 of 9 15. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Resolution discussion

The Board’s consensus was to table the discussion on the Inclusion and Diversity resolution submitted by Mr. Hancock until the Nov. 12 Board meeting since it was not posted to the Board’s agenda.

Mrs. Abell said the committee completed revisions to the policy 9000 series and will submit the revisions to the Chairman this week. She said committee members would wait to present their revisions at the same time the 8000 policy committee members share their revisions.

Mr. Lukas updated the Board on progress he and Mrs. Battle-Lockhart have made on policy series 2000 and 7000. He said they are working on a committee with the Office of Diversity and Equity to possibly incorporate findings into these series. Superintendent Hill outlined changes to the minority achievement department, now called the Office of Diversity and Equity.

16. NEW BUSINESS

The Board’s consensus was for staff to draft a letter to send to local government officials and companies notifying them that if building burdens school enrollment, redistricting will be necessary. Students and neighborhoods could be split during rezoning since many of these schools are overcrowded and the school system has no control over new construction or a moratorium.

17. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

Mr. Hancock asked for a review of school bus policy and how stops are implemented, including the number of stops one student is allowed. The Board’s consensus was to have a future update on this topic.

Mrs. Battle-Lockhart asked to revisit the topic in an email sent to Board members from Sean Heyl, English teacher at Maurice J. McDonough High School, containing a sample sheet to chronicle in-school suspensions. Chairman McGraw said this request is still on the Future Agenda list.

Mrs. Brown asked for an update in the spring on Fostering Resilient Learners, a book study with principals and teachers.

18. RECESS

Chairman McGraw recessed the meeting at 3:55 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 4:30 p.m.

Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 7 of 9 19. RECOGNITION

Resolutions: American Education Week: Accepting: Linda McLaughlin, president, Education Association of Charles County (EACC) Sarah Burch, president, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

American Freedom Week: Cadet Captain Jalen Hagans, senior, St. Charles High School, Marine Corp Cadet 1st Lt. Immanuel Harvest, senior, Henry E. Lackey High School, Air Force C/CSM Brooke Quade, senior, Thomas Stone High School, Army C/CPT Donnesha Dee, senior, Thomas Stone High School Cadet Chief Petty Officer Devin Selph, sophomore, Westlake High School, Navy

Students: Jasmine Glover, senior Grade 12; Personal Responsibility; North Point High School, Principal: Daniel Kaple Adrian Evans-Jones, Grade eight; Career Readiness; Mattawoman Middle School; Principal: Sonia Blue Matthew Bowling, Grade eight; Academic Achievement; Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School, Principal: Nicholas Adam Gabriella Varela, Grade 5; Academic Achievement; Mary B. Neal Elementary School, Principal: Debbie Brown

Employees: Joseph Burton, math teacher, North Point Anisah Ansari, language arts teacher, Mattawoman Jennifer Elder, instructional resource teacher, Mitchell Cassandra Baugher, special education teacher, Neal

20. RECESS

Chairman McGraw recessed the meeting at 5:40 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 6 p.m. Student Board member DeJuan Woods, Jr. arrived after the break.

21. PUBLIC FORUM

Communications director Katie O’Malley Simpson read aloud the rules for Public Forum.

Derek Terry, parent, read a prepared statement expressing concerns about the school system’s “failure to listen to the black male” and his conversations with black males who are considering leaving the teaching field. He said some school systems are considering hiring teachers from the Philippines and other countries due to teacher shortages.

Dionne Morgan, parent, asked if the school system will pay for students who place third Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 8 of 9 in the Destination Imagination finals or will they be allowed to fundraise in order to attend the award ceremony. She also commended Erica Williams, principal at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, for being supportive of parents.

22. MINUTES

VICE CHAIRMAN WILSON MOVED, SECONDED BY MRS. BROWN, TO APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 10, 2019, EXECUTIVE SESSION AND REGULAR MINUTES.

VOTING YES: CHAIRMAN MCGRAW, VICE CHAIRMAN WILSON, MRS. BATTLE-LOCKHART, MRS. BROWN, MR. HANCOCK AND MR. LUKAS. VOTING NO: NONE. ABSENT: NONE. ABSTAINING: MRS. ABELL

23. PERSONNEL

MRS. ABELL MOVED, SECONDED BY MRS. BROWN, TO APPROVE PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS COVERING 16 CERTIFICATED APPOINTMENTS; SEVEN RELEASES WITH PREJUDICE; TWO RETIREMENTS; AND TWO LEAVES OF ABSENCE.

VOTING YES: CHAIRMAN MCGRAW, VICE CHAIRMAN WILSON, MRS. ABELL, MRS. BATTLE-LOCKHART, MRS. BROWN AND MR. LUKAS. VOTING NO: NONE. ABSTAINING: MR. HANCOCK.

24. FY202O COMPREHENSIVE MAINTEALLNANCE PLAN

MR. LUKAS MOVED, SECONDED BY MR. HANCOCK, TO APPROVE THE FY2020 COMPREHENSIVE MAINTENANCE PLAN.

VOTING YES: CHAIRMAN MCGRAW, VICE CHAIRMAN WILSON, MRS. ABELL, MRS. BATTLE-LOCKHART, MRS. BROWN, MR. HANCOCK AND MR. LUKAS. VOTING NO: NONE. ABSENT: NONE

Student opinion was affirmative.

25. CONTRACT AWARD FOR BENJAMIN STODDERT MIDDLE SCHOOL RENOVATION

MR. LUKAS MOVED, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIRMAN WILSON, TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT AWARD FOR BENJAMIN STODDERT MIDDLE SCHOOL RENOVATION

VOTING YES: CHAIRMAN MCGRAW, VICE CHAIRMAN WILSON, MRS. BROWN, MR. HANCOCK AND MR. LUKAS. VOTING NO: NONE. ABSTAINING: MRS. ABELL AND MRS. BATTLE-LOCKHART.

Student opinion was affirmative.

Board of Education of Charles County Meeting No. XVII-14-2019, October 8, 2019 Page 9 of 9 26. ADJOURNMENT

VICE CHAIRMAN WILSON MOVED, SECONDED BY MRS. BROWN, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.

VOTING YES: CHAIRMAN MCGRAW, VICE CHAIRMAN WILSON, MRS. ABELL, MRS. BATTLE LOCKHART, MRS. BROWN, MR. HANCOCK, AND MR. LUKAS. VOTING NO: NONE. ABSENT: NONE

Student opinion was affirmative.

Chairman McGraw adjourned the meeting at 6:09 p.m.

______CHAIRMAN

______SECRETARY

______DATE APPROVED/DATE SIGNED

Ks/Oct. 8, 2019 supt_shared/bdminits/100819 brdmin GOOD