No system. Yeah. as of three minutes. Good afternoon uh everyone and um welcome to the board administration and education finance committee. Um roll call please. Mr.
Appel >> here. >> Mr. Appel is present. Dr. Armstrong. Dr. Armstrong is present. Mr. Berkin >> here. >> Mr. Berkin is present. Mr. Cal >> here. >> Mr. Cow is present. Mr. Pres Castile >> here. >> Mr. Castile is present. Miss Champagne
>> here. >> Miss Champagne is present. Dr. Clark >> here. >> Dr. Clark is present. Mr. Harris. Mr. Harris is not present. Miss Holloway. Miss Holloway is present. Miss Melerin. Miss Melerin is not present. Mr. Morris.
M. Morris is not present. You have a quorum. >> Thank you. Um, Mr. Sh. >> Mr. Sh Mr. Chair. Thank you. I have a motion to take 7.1 out of order. >> Yeah. Second, Dr. Clark.
We a motion to take item 7.1 so these young folks can come and give their presentation. Is there any objection? Seeing none, motion passes. Um my pleasure to welcome the legislative
youth advisory council who wants to give a presentation regarding school safety design. Uh it's my understanding that there is a bill before the legislature across the street um SB450
uh with regards to this topic. And it is also um my pleasure to you guys to know that Bessie has taken a position of support on that bill. So uh with that, the floor is yours.
>> Good afternoon. My name is Deja Lopes Morgan and I'm the vice president of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council, commonly known as LIYAK. LIAK is made up of 31 high school students from across Louisiana. We serve as the voice for Louisiana's youth and facilitate
communication between the youth and the legislature. Each year, the council votes on an issue we feel passionate about. And for the past 2 years, we have chosen school security. Last year, LIAK worked with Senator Edmonds to create STR 40, which established the K through2 school safety
task force. Through researching school security, though, Lak discovered a critical vulnerability. There are currently no mandatory national building codes or uniform standards specifically for school security. While we have strict
federal regulations for fire safety and accessibility, the physical security of a school building is often decided by districts. Because of this, LIAK believes it is vital for Louisiana to lead the way by adopting our own statewide school design standards. We
are here today to ensure that security is built into the very foundation of our schools. Thank you, Beija. Hey y'all. My name is Ever Ache. I'm the communications officer for the Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council and I go to I'm a student in Vermillion Parish. Like she
mentioned, as a council, we've had the opportunity to engage in conversations with legislators, educators, and we get to bring kind of a student perspective on implementing school security throughout the state. And I've seen what progress looks like firsthand. And in my parish, Vermillion Parish, we've gone from limited safety standards to
implementing systems like Raptor and expanding SRO's to every school. And I'm not saying my parish is perfect, but in two short years with a limited budget, we made real progress. And I'd like to thank my district-wide safety officer, my superintendent, Mr. Tommy Ber, who's sitting in here, cuz they prioritize
school security. Yeah, good job, Mr. Tommy. Yeah. Yeah, he likes that. Um but um to me that proves that improving school safety is doable. Uh but while all my parish is doing it, not every other one is. And that's the
problem. And it's not just me who feels this way. Let's take a look. >> That school safety matters even though it is an inconvenience. >> School safety matters to me even if it's an inconvenience. School safety matters to me even if it's an inconvenience.
School safety matters to me even if it's an inconvenience. >> School safety matters to me. School safety matters to me even if it's inconvenient. >> Hi, my name is Lincoln Trumps. I'm state secretary of LIAK. And as you can see,
school safety is something that matters not just each of us individually, but to many of Louisiana's youth and to us as a council. And we're serious about improving school security. In order to further our objective of making school security a priority, we developed recommendation for Bessie. Our proposal
is that Bessie adopt a standardized set of school security design guidelines. In practice, this means essentially uh that all new schools as well as major renovations would be required to align with and receive approval based on these created guidelines. To implement this, there are two key components. First,
bestie will create and provide guidelines to be distributed to all schools. Architects selected by school systems would be provided with these security guidelines as well, which allows them to reference standards directly and make informed design recommendations or high security from the outset. And second, crucially, we have taken steps to coordinate with
state agencies already about their willingness to assist in implementation. Uh we spoke with the chief architect at the fire marshall's office who indicated their office would be willing to collaborate with state police's school safety initiative to conduct preliminary security reviews of new school plans and major renovations. Schools may also use
certified outside security consultants that they are able to choose. Uh, crucially, this would come at no additional cost to the state or to Bessie as these agencies would assume responsibilities for conducting the reviews at no additional cost to the state. And we also not foresee a cost to the school district when making security design edits to architectural plans.
There's typically a line item already existing in these budgets uh for new school related to safety and security. And by making the improvements during design phase, we actually see it as potential for a cost decrease um to what is done now. Schools are built and they have to be retrofitted, they have to be changed, they have to be renovated. And
essentially this would tackle the problem before it becomes a problem by being proactive in school security and safety design. Our objective is not to impose additional financial burdens on the state or on districts. Instead, it's to actually relieve the burden by working instead of retrofitting to
approach the issue of school security within design from the get-go. And look, it's it's not a competition, but I think it's really good to look at what other states are doing. And we'll just touch on some of the stuff that I found pretty interesting. In Alabama, schools are required to do safety evaluations every 5 years using a standardized rubric
developed by law enforcement. In Virginia, safety is built in both the facility and the design where they have mandated audits. And then in Texas, there's a centralized safety center that has audited emergency operation plans. And in Florida, all schools must complete an annual security risk
assessment using the Florida safe school assessment tools. And now, yeah, each state has different approaches, but they have something in common. They all have requirements for schools and they're holding them accountable. That's the important part. All right. Good morning. My name is Brinkley Bennett. I'm a representative
on the Legislative Youth Advisory Council and I attend school at St. Academy here in Baton Rouge. So, next we're going to talk about what makes a school secure. So, specifically, we're going to be looking at through the lens of school safety. Now, there's not
a one-sizefits-all solution because all schools are different and each campus has its own challenges, but there are several ways to be able to achieve a more safe campus. Now, I had the opportunity to see how these suggested suggestions were implemented uh whenever I had the opportunity to accompany uh state police officer uh Paul Tups when
he had conducted an assessment. The school administrators were excited to learn how they can make their campus safer through this assessment. Now, this partnership is absolutely crucial because we want to ensure that students are safe and specifically through this format that the information is digestible and manageable for a school to make proper uh changes to their
campus. And while not all campuses have originally been designed with school safety at the forefront, there are ways to add or modify grounds that can harden a school. For example, a school can uh modify their uh environmental design to make the environment uh look as if uh it's a
it's safer and to deter criminal activity from occurring and influence the way that humans are able to interact with each other. Now, this is commonly referred to as stepdead or crime prevention through environmental design. For example, one way that it can include making walkways that wind and twist instead of a direct pathway. This
manages access control and reduces opportunities for crimes to take place. Other practices are as simple as trimming bushes to a certain height to discourage hiding and give a cleaner look uh and uh the principle of what's called eyes on the streets. Another practice is uh the partners
alliance for safer schools or commonly known as PASS. Uh this organization provides school administrators, school boards and public safety officers with specific guidelines and these guidelines are specifically built on a tiered structure. Tier one is your basic elements that are easy to achieve. It goes all the way up to tier four, which
are more of the you've done everything else, here's how you can go absolutely above and beyond to make your school safer. This allows uh schools to be able to tailor different security solutions to their own campus. But overall, one of the most important things about PASS is they preach start with the basics, particularly when it comes to uh
existing buildings and also whatever renovations could be costly. Certain methods include uh at the base locking all exterior doors, making sure doors are solid, constructed, uh separating the visitor from the regular student staff population in a vestibule. And then the next standard is the ASUS
standard. Now, this is also built as a minimum standard of requirements for school security. Similar to PAS, it's more than just physical school safety, but it differs in what a new building should do and includes all the things you should should or should not do. and uh it's solid recommendations for things
to consider when the buildings are being constructed. Uh just again the bare minimum requirements. They're also trying to balance the security needs within the reality of budget restraint so it accommodates for all different challenges that you know a building would pose. Uh good afternoon. My name is Mman and
I'm an 11th grader from Desteran High School. So for our current initiative I think what stands out is that our work has been persistent. After the conclusion of the K through2 school safety task force, we continue to work with Senator Edmonds. We filed a bill that would require public schools to
require safety assessment every 3 years. Our bill will be heard in Senate Education this afternoon. And I think this is important because school, every school is unique. Schools change, threats change, and if we want to keep our students protected, I I think it's important we keep reassessing what's
working and what's not working. And we've also been learning from architects, security experts, and educators from all across Louisiana and even outside of Louisiana and kind of incorporating their insights and the conversations we've had with them in our own districts. And as a student, we typically view school safety through one
lens. So being able to talk to all these types of people has really helped us uh come up with solutions and give us a little nuance understanding of the situation. And for me, this is personal because as a student from St. trolls parish. I've seen what it looks like
when a school's parish takes security uh takes security takes security seriously. In all in our parish, all the schools have SRO, secure entry points and they also have bulletproof film on all the windows. And
little things like these might seem little, but they make a real impact. They show that safety is being built into the school day and it's not just something talked about after something goes wrong. And at the same time, I think students offer a unique perspective because we are the stu we are the people who experience these
systems every day. We know what feels organized but feels like it's really there to protect us and we are also known to like follow the rules that they give us. So when I speak about school safety, I'm speaking from both appreciation and urgency. I'm grateful for the measures my parish has already
taken, but I also know that every student in Louisiana deserves that same level of seriousness when it comes to their safety. Students shouldn't just hear about how safe their school is. They should be able to feel it. Good afternoon. My name is Duck and I
attend Morgan City High in St. Mary Parish. At my school, I'd say I generally feel safe. We practice the usual security standards like mandatory metal detection and clear backpacks. There's usually an officer on campus and all visitors are required to sign in. We
definitely don't ignore safety and we deal with it every day. Every once in a while though, some concerns pop up. It's my friend mentioning an easier way to enter the school through an unlocked side door. Or maybe it's the kind-looking stranger that I unknowingly let in the back door, oblivious to any
possible ill intention. School security isn't always about active shooters. It's about being proactive instead of reactive every single day. Every person at the school, from the substitute teacher to the student to the principal, plays a role in making the school secure.
Individually, these are small mistakes, but they show how school safety still depends on a human component. We rely on people remembering, checking, and doing the right things every single time. As we all know, humans are not perfect. And these mistakes are unavoidable even in
the most well-run schools. To compensate for this irreplaceable human element, we must maximize security where it is most malleable through the design of the building itself. If we can reduce the points of vulnerability from the start at the design stage, a baseline
precedent of security is established at every single one of our schools. Hi, my name is Koko Williamson and I'm in the 10th grade at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Landry Parish. When I walk into my school, I like to assume I'm safe. However, with recent events, it's starting to become a question
whether my assumption is even correct. We are starting to assume safety is automatic, but it isn't. It's built and it's supposed to be being built at my school along with other schools. Thankfully, for my school, we've never had any major issues. However, things have happened. The school down the road
has had gun threats, bomb threats, and more. Prisoners have escaped from nearby prisons. Students have had their moments. And surprisingly, rumors about safety issues spread pretty well when you're in high school. So, when I walk into my school and see a door propped open or the SRO not in his usual spot or
even a door being unlocked during a drill, I start to question if my school really is safe. We have a lot of drills and every single time I play out what could go wrong. And I most of those times I can confidently say that we are not prepared for those moments. And when I bring this up to my mom or my teachers
or even my friends, they say that would never happen to us. This is the mindset that is setting us back. Safety and security should be built into our schools, our routines, and most importantly, the minds of students. I personally go to a school that is over
200 years old and I know for a fact that we would need costly renovations to get to the guidelines we want Bessie to implement for new schools. That is why I want to see what we're trying to create become a part of Louisiana schools from the design phase. My school is historic
and it can only do so much to become as secure as possible. So as new schools begin to age like mine, at least we will know that they are designed with a security baseline in mind. For example, the need for a secure vestible will not change over time. I'm sure that every other kid in Louisiana can agree. So,
let's start now and leave a legacy of secure school designs. >> Good afternoon. My name is William Vias and I am a senior from Homoch Christian School in Terabone Parish. So, we've talked today about what school security looks like from policy to design into
real student experiences. If there's one thing that we want you guys to take away, it's this. School security cannot depend on where a student lives, what parish they're in, or whether their district has the resources to figure it out on their own. But right now, that's exactly what's happening. Some schools
are improving, but some are not. And the students there can feel those differences every single day. The reality is there are currently no national building codes or standards specifically focused on school security design. That means states like Louisiana have the responsibility and the
opportunity to lead. By adopting standardized security design guidelines, Bessie can ensure that safety and security is not an afterthought, but something built into every new school and every major renovation from the very beginning. Because at the end of the day, this isn't just about buildings.
It's about whether students can walk into their schools and feel secure without questioning it. It's about whether security is assumed or actually insured. And most importantly, it's about making sure that every student in Louisiana, no matter who they are, no matter where they are, get the level of protection they deserve. After all,
school safety is important to us, even though it's an inconvenience. Thank you. >> Thank you very much all of you. That was uh great. Um questions from the board. >> Yes. Well, I just want to make a comment
and uh thank this uh group of uh talented and charming students uh for making a presentation today. Encourage you to use your powers for good uh moving forward. Uh Mr. Burkin made a comment uh that I think should be really important uh for you. Uh oftent times
this board will weigh in legislatively and request that the legislature um either oppose a particular bill that has been filed or support a particular bill that's been filed. And so they don't do that on every bill obviously, but whenever they do that, that carries some degree of weight. And so I just want you
to hear again uh that the board of elementary and secondary education has taken the position to support your bill uh on the Senate side, which is coming up today with Senator Edmmonds. And when that bill comes up today, there will be a green card from Bessie in support of
your bill. So know that you have the backing uh of of this board as this moves forward. Miss Hawwood, >> thank you. Uh it's such a privilege to have you here today and being a former veteran administrator in evolved with
safety and also on the BTAM um committee. Um you are truly appreciated and for your efforts and speaking up for your your peers and for your school. I do have a question in regard I don't
know who Paul I don't know who can answer this but maybe one of them could try this you mentioned that the schools will be evaluated every three years I they're looking at you they're hoping that you will answer this but I'm hoping one of you will answer this what happens
after three years you're evaluated is there a checklist of approved not approved what the baseline how do you know that the schools will cooperate and fix whatever the discrepancies or
the link with things. Can somebody help with that? Because if you're waiting three years for something to be corrected, what happens in the meantime? So I think um first off when we're talking about the uh working on existing
schools when we look at existing schools when we guide them against a checklist uh I think really what we're intending to do in that capacity is to let schools know in the sense where if you have a school in a rural parish if you have a school um that's not like my home parish Lafayette parish where we have the
capacity uh to have consultants and all kinds of things like that for school safety and school security. I think really the intention of the legislation is primarily to make schools aware of best practices and also expose uh what exists within the school that could be
adapted to best practices. So I think instead of kind of a coercive instrument of saying you know we're going to um very much force you to take any kind of action. I think instead it's primarily geared towards being an asset to districts because I think there is a very organic and a very manifest desire
on the district level and among the population in general uh to advocate for school safety and so I think really this is primarily an asset for districts to examine concerns and know how they should go about fixing those. Very good. Bringing awareness, right? Good. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> I also have a question. So, um, your bill says new schools and also major renovations. What constitutes a major renovation?
uh our definition for what constitutes a major innovation. I mentioned earlier how we had met with the chief architect of the fire marshall's office and so the criterion for a major innovation would be if it has to be reviewed by the fire marshall's office. Okay. Um any other questions for these folks?
We also have u Paul tubes Louisiana State Police uh information only wish to speak to you would you're good >> any other Mr. Okay, Steve, >> I'd just like to follow up on that last question and get a better understanding
of what major renovation mean. Bar Marshall approval may be a little bit different than what most folks might be thinking about in terms of major renovation. So, I I really you may not be able to answer what the fire marshall
considers to be major renovation uh because the fire marshall might be involved in what many might be considered a fairly minor renovation. Uh, but I'd just like to better understand that. >> I think uh Mr. Tops might be able to answer the question more aptly.
>> We're just prepping you for a legislative question. Is it >> Oh, and by the way, you you folks are doing fantastic. This is remarkable to you. >> So, on the uh major renovation side, you you can't make a monetary value to it if you sat there and said if it's something
over 100,000. So more so getting with the fire marshall is if they are doing some type of renovation considered to be a major renovation where they're adding a a a building that is going to be uh changing the spectrum and floor plans to
uh a major overhaul uh in the actual school itself. A lot of them are adding they have space so they're the they're busting at the seams with not enough room for kids. So they'll they'll add a building to it. That would be something to approve to make sure that it >> not to interrupt. I want to clarify
because I think far marshall approval is required even when you're not adding a building. If you're making a renovation and it may not be a $100,000 renovation, it might be a $25,000 renovation that might require >> and if they're going to add a vestibule.
And so you want to make sure that the security measures to that vestibule uh do meet best practices instead of just you know they they'll put a wall up and it's still open but best practices is to secure it kind of like a bank where you have a paper slide security laminate on
the glass. And so we're just looking at those things uh to because we don't want it to be where if they make they consider uh adding 15 or 20 cameras that's not a considered a major overhaul or major renovation. So we wouldn't be
looking at those plans. It would be viewed as as it comes through they would reach out to me and then I would look at the plans and see if that meets the criteria of a major renovation. >> Mr. Castile, I have a a great relationship with the fire marshall and I'd be happy to set up an appointment
with you and he to have this conversation. >> Yeah. Uh I hear you and I I I think it's an important point. Again, I love the idea of the concept is is great. I think the lack of clarity in terms of what the fire marshall does and does not require
um really should be examined a little bit more because I think the dollar amount of of a renovation that might require fire marshall approval may not be what we all consider to be a major renovation. So, but happy to have the conversation. >> Happy to arrange for that
>> and I would like to be a part of that. >> Any other questions or comments? So, um, thank you all very much. Best of luck, uh, in the hearing this afternoon. Um, thank you for being here. Great job and, uh, continue to do good things.
>> Yes, sir. And also, just something that, uh, we want to make sure that we clarify is when we're talking about the fire marshall's office, we're talking about that in the, um, in kind of the idea of future regulatory framework. That's not actually part of the bill that Senator Edmonds is bringing forth right now. And so that's really an idea for future
regulatory framework about inspections of new school designs. Um, and so we just want to make sure that that distinction's made as well. >> Very good. Thank you. >> So um the
time is obviously 12:30. Um we have not had lunch. Uh and there are some items on the agenda that um some folks want to speak on. So um this chair would like for us to break for approximately 30
minutes, come back at 1:00 and resume the meeting. Thank you. Good afternoon everyone and thank you for your patience. We are reconvening the board administration and education finance committee. Um next
item on the agenda please. >> The consent agenda is ready for approval. Adding item 6.1. >> Motion Mr. Castile, Mr. Harris. Any objections? Seeing none, it passes. Next, please.
>> Your next item is on page 11, item 4.1, consideration of LDOE contracts greater than $50,000. >> The recommendation >> Oh, sorry. >> The recommendation is to approve. >> Miss Champine motions and Miss Holloway
seconds. Um, any discussion from the board? We do have um someone who would like to speak in support. Um Mr. Shing Jang
with air reading. That's the item we're on. Yes, sir. Um our board is not working. We're keeping the timer here. There's three minutes. Go ahead. Hang on one quick second. Is it Dr. Breman, would you like to say something?
>> Yeah, as it as it relates to uh item 4.1, there are several items that I want to call to your attention. Uh, one of them you'll hear more about uh shortly from one of our partners in in air education. But I wanted to um draw your attention first to a contract with
what's called Guide House, Inc. Uh you all may recall uh several months ago, there was great media exposure about potential wrongdoing and early childhood in the state of Minnesota. Uh and at that point in time, I shared with you
all uh how Louisiana was not Minnesota uh in so many ways and the way that we in which we approached that work. uh but even so I wanted to spend some additional uh time and review some of the procedures that we have uh internally with early childhood
education relative to contracting and some of our systems. Uh Mr. Appel and I spoke about this uh as well of looking at uh some of these processes. And so in in the same way that I've previously commissioned studies on uh special
education and other items, uh we are commissioning this uh independent review uh with this particular contractor just to make sure that we are being as effective as we possibly can in this space. So wanted to just call that to your attention. That's a proactive
measure that we are taking uh and it's being financed by uh federal dollars looking at that early child care situation. Uh the second item I want to call to your attention um on the over 50,000 is the Odyssey contract. So the
Odyssey contract uh is an amendment. It is I believe our third year uh requesting a contract with Odyssey. Odyssey is the platform that administers the LA Gator program. we cannot possibly administer the marketplace as an agency.
And so that's why we have this contract with Odyssey. Our challenge here just um uh for everyone's information is the the Odyssey contract is a per student amount. So they charge per student to
manage uh the system for us. And so the only number that we have to go by in terms of of making a a contract is the number that is in the governor's executive budget. Now, I appreciate that there has been um considerable discussion legislatively around, you
know, is the governor's executive budget request going to hold or will it not? Um but for our contracting purposes, what we have is a number that is consistent with the amount of kids that would be funded by the governor's executive budget. But the caveat to that is that
it's an up to amount. So um if the governor's executive budget was um cut in half, so to speak, legislatively, this contract would then be cut in half because it's an up to amount. Um also,
just so you know, um this particular contract, like it does every year, and I get to have all the fund, it has to go before JLCB as well. Um and so the the challenge for us here is that we appreciate that JLCB is not meeting in
June and JLB has taken the position most recently that they want to uh review and explore contracts one month in advance before they consider their passage. So, we had to notify the legislature uh so that we could be on the April JLCB
meeting with this particular contract for their review for the ultimate consideration in May JLCB because they won't have a June contract and our Odyssey contract because they previously um not allowed for a multi-year contract as year-to-year and this contract
expires at the end of June. So the short of all of that is you have an amendment for Odyssey to continue to administer the program as the department doesn't have the capacity to do so. It's an up to amount that has to be uh approved
both by this board and JLCB and we have specific timelines that we have to meet and we certainly anticipate um much more discussion and dialogue between now and the end of session on this particular item. But procedurally we had to get it
before you today so that we can meet the deadlines that we have to meet. That's two. >> Um the Okay. Sorry. >> Question. Um so the Odyssey contract is it linked to the value of Gator
program or >> it's it is based on a per so they the contract is essentially $143.50 per student. So, you know, if you if you have, you know, 10 kids or 20, you just multiply times or 12,000, you just
multiply times that number. >> So, whatever the legislature finally approves for funding for Gator translates into the the valuation of the Yes, sir. >> indirectly, but it does. and and the and the re the only reason we would have to come back to you would be if the
legislature appropriated a dollar amount greater than the governor's ask of 88 million which I don't project that to happen um because this amendment amount which covers the contract for the upcoming
year would cover up to the 88 million of students in his request >> and and there's no economy of scale sliding scale for Odyssey. I mean, >> um I I'm sure that some of that was discussed in some of those arrangements, but our our student count has been
consistent both in, you know, the the previous voucher program as well as in Gator. >> And just also just for your information, um you've probably recently seen that uh the state of Texas has launched their applications and have since closed for a
universal ESA program. I think they had 300,000 applications. Um, Odyssey is their vendor uh for their program as well. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Then the um and and you know, again, I I
appreciate that that we'll have plenty of discussion and fund on this item between now and end of session. Um and then the final item I just want to mention is we are approving or recommending that you approve a contract with um uh air education. And this is
based on a federal grant that we uh wrote uh competed for and won. uh and it um is related to some of our our tutoring efforts and and so air education is actually written into that particular grant uh and the way in which
we're going to run that program and they have been a really good partner with school systems across the state of Louisiana. I feel like this guy has a house in Baton Rouge. He's here all the time. Um but they've been a really good good partner and so I just want to uh bring attention to those particular
items and we'll take any questions if you have any around any of the other items. Um and then maybe we can go to any comments uh from the public. Mr. Burke >> questions comments for the board before we um let Mr. Zing.
>> Okay, hearing none. Floor is yours, sir. >> Hello guys. Hi. My name is Shing and I'm the owner for air education or doing business as air reading. Um and to Dr. Broly's point. Um I should got a house at Baton Rouge. Um
um I um first I want to follow up is like great high school students. Um when I was in high school, I didn't speak any English. I moved here when I was high school. Um that I Yes, I was students. Um and what we're doing here now is basically no one should experience what I have experienced in high school where
we're helping kids learn how to read. Um and um u before diving into air reading part I do want to again congrat to the um amazing um uh Louisiana effort in terms of the tremendous growth literacy going from 50th to 16th just historic
growth um second the grants um you know it's a national grant from the um education innovation research side um 250 million Louisiana is one of the only two states in the nation got this this is very highly competitive grant Um and then um I would say Louisiana even uh
have $5 more than the the other state. Um so this overall it's it's the highest among among all the other states. Um but I do want to say that um you know what we're doing here is that we started serving students learn how to read um about about at this point a year and a
half ago. Um overall um collectively we serve about um 20,000 students so far um across about over 300 schools in Louisiana and um over 20 school systems. Um on our end we're over 2,000 teachers
across the nation to support Louisiana on the early literacy side. Um we provide students with uh on Zoom to help them learn how to read every day, you know, hone on their whatever gaps they have. So that's what we're doing in terms of their reading. Um yeah, our
side I do want to say that the reason one of the biggest reason Louisiana won this grant um not because of um obviously a tremendous effort from LDE and not because of us it's a research we've done a year ago. Um the research done at Jefferson Parish led by Dr. Siobhan Gner Price and also with five
schools. This is has been the highest research effective size in the nation in terms of close uh closing early literacy gaps and effective size of 31 and that closed about 3.7 months of learning for students and uh Louisiana being one of the leading state on high school turing
on impact tutoring for the students and closing gaps in the nation. Um this is one of the reasons that ER has chosen Louisiana to be the full uh grant uh grantee on this. Um and then um yeah I I think just one last thing I want to
close us out um is that um the research um the amount of work and then just the effort. This is not just about Louisiana actually. So the research we're going to prove is about this is not only work in Jefferson but working all the rural
districts Concordia Union all the small school districts in the rural and even charter school systems in virtual like UVA. Um so >> um Mr. Burkin if I may um just want to make sure and and point out that the the
process in the award has uh proceeded appropriately through the office of state procurement uh for this award. Um, and also the the specific grant is really looking at Louisiana's work and it has a research arm to explore the
work that we're doing in Louisiana and hopefully that will lead to replication in other states across the country. >> And Jean, I would also add that I have I have not been into a system to date. I may be corrected on this because I'm saying it publicly. I have not been to a
system to date where they have made a negative comment about your company. So if I ever hear that, you're fired. But so far so good. >> Anything to finish up your comments and >> um yeah, just I got just one more thing
just to piggy back what Dr. Brontney said is that this is really beyond Louisiana. You know, the research we're going to be doing replicate in different systems. Um at the end, we're going to produce a structured systematic playbook for other states to follow. Um and then um so going to be collective efforts
from LDE amazing LDU team Jana Shana Holly April and Glenn all the team members and then um all the school systems all the schools principles um you know teachers students all collective effort in the next five years that we're on this um and then show it to the nation. So really proud to be
part of it. Thank you. >> Well let me just say that um high praise coming from Dr. Brumley and we're looking to you and those like you to get us the number one.
We're on our way. Thank you. Um okay. Uh 4.1. There's no one else. There's uh no objections from the board. >> One more one more comment. Mr. Burke, I wanted to point out um you have a you have a contract in uh for CN resource
group uh in the amount of 2.7 million. This is um every what what we have to do is we have to monitor and provide technical assistance for child nutrition nutrition programs. Uh this is this is funded by federal sources. Uh this is um
this goes through an RFP process and so the we publicly uh appropriately and publicly advertised this RFP and CN resource was the only response uh on the RFP. So they were awarded this particular contract uh and they work and
do this monitoring about 20 other states. So I just want to point out that on this particular item for the monitoring and oversight of these food and nutrition programs when we launched the RFP um properly advertised RFP, we only had one response and that was from CN Resource. Uh and so they're being
awarded the contract. We feel good about them. They're doing the work in I think 20 other states. >> Very good. Okay. It's uh next item please. >> Your next item is on page 34, item 4.2, consideration of federal state grants
and allocations to LEAs, type two charters, type five charters, approve nonpublic schools and community based organizations competitive and other. The recommendation is to approve. >> Okay. Motion. Miss Melerin, Miss
Champine, any discussion? Um just a comment. Okay. Actually, I want to invite um Lexi Perchard to the table. Uh our chief of operations. Lexi working with her team uh along with
Dr. Shasson's team have done tremendous work over the last few years to make sure that our allocations through competitive processes are really aligned to the department priorities. Uh we call that our super app model that we have continued to refine over the last few
years uh to make stronger and stronger and um this year uh Lexi if you don't mind elaborate a little bit on um some of the key areas that the board is going to fund to local school systems and also I think you have an important
announcement too relative to um us being able to satisfy the request of systems. >> Yes. Thank you Dr. Brley. Good morning everyone. Surely we are very excited to share with everyone today that for the first time with our supreat process, we were able
to fully fund all allowable requests through the supre. And so all eleas who submitted an application as long as they went through all of the checks and balances and were um within the bucket that was allowable, they were all fully funded. And so this year we were able to
focus on areas within teaching and learning, high school opportunities, attendance, and specialized supports, which is that support for our students with disabilities. >> Lexi, what is the um what is the total amount for the board uh of the super app
allocation that we are directing into school systems? >> Absolutely. It's um 26.5 million that is being funded um to our school systems. 23 million of that is for our redesign funding source that is specific to our labeled sites, our struggling sites. We
have um $2.6 million um that went specific to IDA, our students with disabilities, and we were able to add to students with disabilities in addition to using IDA. We were able to allocate some of our redesign funding there. And so in total, we're over $26.6 million
through the super app this year. And legacy, isn't isn't it accurate too that in trying to provide additional attention to students with disabilities and their families that we are allocating or requesting allocation for over $5 million for students with disability supports this year?
>> That is correct. Out of that $26.6 million, $5.1 million is specific to students with disabilities. >> And then on um the attendance support, because it's been a priority for this board and Dr. park. Uh do you have the the total number uh in terms of dollars
that we're allocating for attendance support and school systems? >> Yes, sir. That's over $6.7 million this year. >> There's been a motion to make sure that Mr. Morris did a telegram about that information. Okay. Thank Thank you. Like I don't know if the board has any
question >> the 26 million and the first year you'll be able to fund all of that. Um and that's federal money. Yes. >> And we were just based on that and that's based on applications
for that money and you asked for it and we got it >> correct. >> Very good. Any other comments, question? Thank you, Lexi. Um, don't see any objection. >> I'd just like to note for this
particular item that I'd like to recuse, please. >> Okay. So, uh, noted that Mr. and Dr. Clark and Mr. Castile are recusing themselves on this. Um, seeing no other objections or recusals, that motion
passes. Next, please. >> Your next item is on page 69, item 4.3, consideration of a report from education finance staff concerning Bessie authorized charter school budgets and expenditures, including irregularities or concerns. The recommendation is to
approve. >> Motion, Mr. Repel, Dr. Armstrong. Okay. Um any discussion from the board? We do have some cards. Uh three cards that uh people that wish
to speak and I will call all three of you up um to the table. Miss um Holly Martin, Miss Mary Jane Pototts, and Miss Molly Thomas.
So when you um speak, please uh state your name and you have three minutes. So when you hear that bell going off, your time is up. Okay. >> So, I push this button. >> So, push that. Pull the mic up real
close. There we go. And speak loud because I can't hear. >> Okay. Good afternoon, honorable board members, Superintendent Brumley and Honorable Chair, Mr. Bergam.
My name is Holly Christine Martin and I am a former parent of Lisa France New Orleans. I'm here to share my concerns regarding the 202526 fiscal year operating budget document being presented today.
The document is labeled as the 202526 operating budget, but all budget analysis information listed for each school is for 2324. So the most current financial data being utilized for this analysis, including
the 2024-25 audit reports, which were due in December. LIS pron is among nine schools that are flagged for not meeting minimum instructional expedentures. Ex LIS exhibits a 17% decrease in
enrollment and is identified in the 2324 audit report as spending only 61% on instruction. Neither the severe decline in enrollment nor the less than 70% on instruction is highlighted for concern in the document.
My daughter's experience at Lay France, which ended due to substantial curriculum changes, prompted me to look into school operations and find financial reporting. I am committed to the success of this school and to holding all schools equally accountable.
I request that as the authorizer of Lysay, you take proactive measures to address LEAS France's enrollment trend and ensure that the budget of LISE prioritizes instruction. Thank you.
>> Good afternoon you all. Um, thank you for taking the time. My name is Molly Thomas and I'm here in my capacity as an Orleans Parish resident. Can you hear me? Okay. Um, as an Orleans Parish resident and also as the mother of a kindergartener at Lisa Frances. Um, my
husband is a proud LSU graduate and current neuropharmacology researcher. I mentioned this because we spent the last year eight years relocated in Maryland and recently returned to the state and so I'm new to the charter system and I've quickly been confronted with what I
see as major concerns. Um I'm here to ask for transparency and support regarding the 202526 operating budget for the school. Um in my short eight months at least say my child has lost his counselor, the parah
in his class who supported a classmate of his and provided important stability to the classroom and his art teacher. Um as a parent I have lost access to the dependability of what I see in the same faces every day. Um the parent liaison who communicated with parents dayto-day.
M and Mr. Roy um the building manager who was instrumental in supporting parents especially those whose children were hesitant to attend the school. Um in total just this academic year 18 staff members have left 11 of them who I
recently mentioned were fired citing budget cuts. With a constant change in staffing, you can imagine how it feels to drop off your 5-year-old at school, not knowing who he's spending his day with or who is looking out for his best interest. Um, I'm here because you're
presenting a document regarding the operating budget of the 2025 26 year. Um, in it in it, our school lease is mentioned. Um in this document LIA is mentioned uh LIS is not meeting the 70%
minimum expenditure on instruction only 61%. So my question is could the 9% difference be between my child having a quality art teacher could the 9% mean that I could trust in the stability of my school um of the schools mentioned on
this list as not meeting the minimum. My main concern is what is being done to ensure that that error is being corrected? Why is Liay not noted as a concern? Um, so I thank you very much for your time.
>> Good afternoon, honorable uh board members. I've got a big mouth, so I'm sure you can hear me. Uh, Superintendent Brumley and Chair Bergen. Um, my name is Mary Jane Pototts. I reside in Uptown New
Orleans. I'm sorry. I uh reside in uptown New Orleans and I'm here as both a former parent ille um as a current parent at indifferent French immersion program school um and
also I'm a 20 a retired 27-year veteran public school teacher. Uh my child is currently a fourth grader at Ottaban Charter and I'm here to request information about the document that's being presented today uh in order to gain some clarity and insight as to the
measuring stick by which the state and Bessie board hold schools um accountable in their fiscal health and responsibilities. Um my daughter was previously Liz Fon but due to major changes in curriculum including the elimination of all French
materials uh and a switch from full immersion model to a language mixing model which is completely different. Um I have felt I had no choice but to pull her. Um and the chronic staff retention problems were also a major factor in my
decision to remove her. Um, I've watched my child struggle to keep up at Ottoan because of these disruptions. This is with despite the fact that my husband and I spent roughly $400 a month in French tutoring to mitigate the damage
that I knew was being was being done uh because of the model switch. You can't put your children in have French every other day and have them not lose French. Um, so I chose um a French program for my
child because I believe in both its merit um and in preserving our unique Louisiana heritage as well as my desire for my daughter to one day be globally employable. Um, I think that's I desperately wanted
her to have a distinction of having both a Louisiana diploma and also a BFI. In order for that dream to be realized, however, she would have to return to Le France um for high school. The consequences and failure of LIS to
adhere to spending at least 70% of their budget on instruction has greatly impacted my child's education. It has forced my family to devote hundreds per month on tutors as well as created a vacuum at our current school who has had to double its interventions
due to the influx of Luzay students. You've heard our concerns about the percentage expenditures on instruction for the 2023 24 school year and have heard our request for understanding and accountability. I'm here to share a few more details. Um did you know that this
year France projected to overspend their budget by 1.2 2 million. They have over spent their budget in seven out of eight available categories. In the 2023 24 uh school year, Lisa spent 11% of their
total revenue on administrative salaries and 11% purchased services for administration, which is at least double what other comparable schools spent um in Orleans Parish. And that examples
would be ISL more chef and um we don't mind as >> non if you can some if you can just wrap up that was the three minute build >> three minutes okay >> but just just just wrap up on >> Sure um but basically my question to
y'all is this um I would like to my daughter to return um so if a school which does not comply with the law regularly conduct finance committee meetings in order to properly analyze impactful
monetary decisions does not adhere to a budget and in my opinion has wasteful spending habits which directly impacts instruction and consequently enrollment can pop it it just can't properly function and eventually the doors are going to close. So we need some
accountability here or else this you know this the school's not going to make it. >> Okay. Well, thank you all three. Um questions, comments, um members, anything you want to add?
>> Yeah, I mean if it's helpful, few few comments. Um uh one, I want to thank you all for your keen interest and engagement. You uh really are are troopers for your cause. Uh for for what that's worth, I appreciate your engagement. uh a few a
few things just uh so that everyone has a clear understanding. The 70% policy is in place to make sure that the appropriate amount of of dollars are directed into the classroom. And I think that that's what we all want. Um we all want that to be true. But the policy
also contemplates the fact that if a system exceeds the performance score of the state average, then they shall receive a waiver from the 70% rule because evidently whatever they're doing is working in terms in terms of the school performance. And so um while they
while the the the speakers are absolutely accurate that lease say is is just above 60%. The reason that they're not um receiving some inappropriate or or negative label rather is because the
system comp contemplates their performance score which is a B. B is in boy. Um so they receive that waiver for that. Uh, another item I just want to raise is that uh, LE obviously as you know is as as uh, authorizing has a has
a governing board uh, for their particular school. And when Bessie makes considerations around this particular school, it's really around the um renewal decision of should the school should the school be renewed um and
receive a new contract or an extended contract or should the school be closed and and primarily uh you will you will look at the academics of the school, you'll look at the finance of the school, you'll look at the organization of the school when you make those decisions. Um but o overwhelmingly the
issues of of their concern are ones for and and I they're they're overwhelmingly issues of concern for the local board of of the school. Um and we have spent time and and engaged our team with uh these parents and I believe I believe others
and certainly uh feel their their concern and we've raised these issues to the school. But I just wanted to I wanted to address the 70% issue because that may not have been known widely that if you um have a a school performance score above the state average that you shall receive a waiver from that because
the the policy does contemplate school performance. Thank you. Anyone else ladies? Um, thank you all for uh coming and um um appreciate that and we'll just I guess
keep up the work and um is there local have y'all addressed the local people on this? >> Uh we have gone through the chain of command to a level of exhaustion. >> Okay. We have written the board over and over and over, gone to board meetings,
asked for meetings with Germaine Gillson. We've I I've done we've done all we can do. >> And Mr. I can affirm that they >> I can affirm that they have spent considerable time at their local board and their local leadership. But I mean
it it is the nature of the way in which the law and the policy is written that what Bessie's obligations are versus what the uh governing board of the charter are supposed to do. Um and and this item is about really the 70% rule. And so that's why I wanted to clarify that. >> Okay.
>> Correct. And there is an actively constructed obstacle between the community that board is supposed to not you the LFil board is supposed to serve the children and their families. >> Yeah. >> And we are not allowed access.
>> We have no control over them. >> No, we know that. But we just want you to know that yes, we have try. >> Understood. >> Can I just ask how long that waiver applies? So school performance scores um are released annually. So you know and we
release the 70% list annually. So th those will be cross referenced annually. >> And is there a point at which for example if the school was spending 40% only on instruction? Is there a point at which you would interfere regardless of whether somebody had a waiver or not? Because obviously we only have the 2023
audit. I mean, this is completely philosophical, but if that number is 40%, but they're an A-rated school and kids are mastering content, I mean, it feels like they would have hypothetically some secret sauce that other people should be looking at around efficiency. Um, so I don't think that
there's anything in the current policy that would uh consider that. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next item, please. Um, seeing no objections, that motion passes. Next item.
Your next item is on page 76, item 5.1, consideration of Bessie property lease renewal for TAR serving people with disabilities and their families. The recommendation is to approve. >> Motion, Mr. Harris
and um Dr. Armstrong. >> Okay. Um this is in regards to contract um that I just asked Mr. uh Tvaris to give us a brief update on. So
um just a brief update on this property but the properties in global uh in late n in the late 1990s uh perhaps 98 or 99 when the vote system was uh transferred to the Louisiana community technical
college system. uh the VOTE property under our jurisdiction was transferred to them, but some of the property remain with Bessie and those properties currently back then and currently are being utilized by uh Parish Arcs, Council on Agents, uh the Department of
Public Safety and Corrections, various entities. This property that's on the board's agenda is one of those properties that is being used by the Tangible Hope Parish Arc. um they originally had a 25-year lease and this lease uh is a 25- year renewal. The way
these properties are set up, and this is uniform across the board, um we essentially maintain the title uh and they assume responsibility for all the maintenance upkeep and their the lease that they pay us is the amount of uh
officer risk management premiums that the state would ordinarily charge. Uh, and so this is uh just a renewal and Daria Martin in my office who's sitting next to Mr. Burkin manages all of these and I think we have seven or eight
>> five that we >> five we have on current lease. Um, you know, but again I brought this to you guys radar back in September. Uh it appears that we have a lot more property that we own that some of is not on the
books and we discover probably every few months a piece of property uh that is belongs to Bessie. Um um and so you will see in the next couple months we will bring some active sales or active transfers uh to get those property back.
you know, um most of those properties uh were either donated or have a revision clause where the school board is using those properties and then they decided that they don't want to use those properties and it reverts back to Bessie. Uh we disposed of one in this legislative session in Nacades where the
Nackadish Parish School Board was using the property as a head start and decided that u they were not using it. U the place uh became um quite a disruption in the neighborhood. that it was in disrepair and so finally we got it on the surplus list and uh a buyer was
identified and it is going through the legislative process as we speak. So we're keenly aware of um find when these properties pop up we want to try to dispose of them really quickly because Bessie have absolutely no use of them but we see the value in the community
service of Head Starts ARCs and council on agents utilizing these buildings. Uh and so the compromise is you pay all the uh fees associated with it including RM uh uh charges that would be charged to Essie.
>> Thank you sir. Um questions. Yes sir. >> Yeah. Um my only concern about all this is the liability aspects of having I'm sorry getting tangled up in wires. Uh having properties in our name um and
having private vendors. I mean, do we have certain insurance requirements or hold harmless clauses? >> Yes. >> And so the the the lease is not a Bessie lease. This is a division of administration lease. We had a signature because it's in our name, but these leases go through all the same
procurement process. >> I didn't know that. That's what I'm curious about. So you're going to give us a list and maybe what we could maybe you could make some recommendations your office >> as to disposition of these if we wanted to keep them. Some are probably very highmaintenance, obsolete properties.
>> Correct. And that's that's the worry that I have as we find these properties. >> Um that um they are high risk. They're in communities. Uh the one particularly in Nacades, we had to find money in our budget uh 18,000 or so to board it up
and fence it up. Um and so we very moving quickly. You know, I you know, I told Daria, we we don't want to be in the the monopoly business. >> Yes. I'm of the opinion. We we do not to be do not need to be property owner. >> Yes. Right.
>> Thank you. >> Anyone else? Uh not seeing any objections. That motion passes. Next. >> That concludes your agenda. >> Thank you all. Um Mr. Harris start by couple minutes. All right. And we