Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the March 18th, 2025 Board of Education business meeting. I'm going to we are going to welcome the wait wait wait wait wait wait wait. Let me
go. Like this. Let's begin by standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it
stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. I will now ask board members to introduce themselves to
establish a quorum. I'm going to start from my left hand side. Good afternoon everyone. O'Neill Suvarna student member of the board. Hoping everyone had a very happy Saint Patrick's Day. Good afternoon. Lovely to see everyone. My name is Natalie Zimmerman. I'm representing district two. Good afternoon.
Buenas tardes. Carla Silvestre, school board member at large. Buenas tardes. Bienvenidos. Good afternoon and welcome, Grace Rivera oven representing district one. Good afternoon, Brenda Wolff. District five.
Good afternoon, Rita montoya, board member at large. I am here and hungry because I am participating in the Snap challenge today. Thank you to mana and its new CEO, Craig Rice. I am like many of our families who operate on a fixed income. Snap recipients receive
about $6 a day for my two children and I. That would be about $18. And so, like many parents who are on a fixed income, I have allocated that money to my children so that they can eat well and healthy today as they go to school. And so I have not eaten yet today,
so I appreciate your patience. Good afternoon. My name is Laura Stewart and I am representing district four. Thank you. Good afternoon, Julie Yang, district three. And now we will now begin the meeting with approval of the
revised agenda. Move! Approval. Second. All in favor, please raise your hand. That's unanimous. Thank you very much. Our first item is expressions of condolence, Doctor Taylor. Thank you, Madam President. I'm sad to
report that we have four team members who have passed, and for resolutions of expressions of condolence. And I'll read them at this time for the board's consent and approval. Whereas the death on January 7th, 2025,
of Mrs. Miriam S Stewart School, administrative secretary at Highland Elementary School, deeply saddened the staff, students and members of the Board of Education. And Whereas, during the 39 years that Mrs. Stewart worked for Montgomery County Public Schools, she exhibited outstanding human
relations skills. Her helpful and pleasant interactions with others, and who and her superior office skills were invaluable to the school community. And whereas Miss Stewart was kind, personable and understood the importance of her job and the
way it contributed to the success of all students. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools express their sorrow at the death of Mrs. Stewart and extend sympathy to her family, and may it further be resolved that a copy of this resolution
be forwarded to the family of Miss Stewart. Can I have a motion? So moved. Second. All in favor, please raise your hand. That's unanimous. Whereas the death on January 10th, 2025 of
Mrs. Barbara, a goolrick school secretary at Luxe Manor Elementary School, has saddened the staff, students and members of the Board of Education. And Whereas, during the 24 years Mrs. Goolrick worked for Montgomery County Public Schools, she was a highly
dedicated employee in her role as school secretary, Miss Goolrick consistently demonstrated her genuine concern for the students, their families and staff members. She maintained a professional, friendly and supportive demeanor in the front office, whereas Mrs. Goolrick consistently
demonstrated professionalism and exceptional interpersonal skills, she continuously worked to expand her knowledge in a wide range of critical areas to her role in the support of the school. Mrs. Goolrick always was eager to help and provide support in a variety of ways.
She was a valued colleague and a team member who got along well with everyone. And now, therefore, be it resolved, that the members of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools express their sorrow at the death of Mrs. Goolrick and extend sympathy to her family, and may it further be resolved that a copy of this
resolution be forwarded to the family of Mrs. Goolrick. Move. Approval second. All in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. Whereas the death on January 21st, 2025 of Mr. Tadeo
Kintu, call center assistant at the Employee and Retirement Service Center, has saddened the staff, students and members of the Board of Education. And Whereas, during the 12 years Mr. Kintu worked for Montgomery County Public Schools, he was a
dedicated. He was dedicated to consistently meeting expectations while prioritizing staff needs. He was committed to fully to fully assisting staff with their questions and requests. He consistently demonstrated his professionalism
and was available and ready to help when needed. And Whereas Mr. Kintu handled difficult situations tactfully, his ability to navigate challenges with efficiency has left a lasting impact on those he worked with and the community he
served. Mr. Kintu was known for his hard work and attention to detail. Due to his passion for helping others, he made a difference in the lives of the people around him and their. And now, therefore, be it resolved, that the members of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools express their sorrow
at the death of Mr. Kintu and extend a deepest sympathy to his family, and may it further be resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the family of Mr. Kintu. Move approval second. All in favor, raise your hand. Unanimous.
Thank you. Whereas the death on February 3rd, 2025 of Mrs. Charmaine M Francis, bus route supervisor at the Shady Grove South bus Depot, has saddened the staff, students and members of the Board of Education. And
Whereas, during the 20 years Mrs. Francis worked for Montgomery County Public Schools, she was dedicated to meeting the expectations of schools and the community while prioritizing student safety. She was committed fully to student safety on their journey to and
from school, and consistently demonstrated professionalism, and was always available and ready to help when needed. And whereas Mrs. Francis handled difficult situations successfully, she was perceptive in her recognition of problems
and their implications, and implemented efficient and quick solutions. Mrs. Francis regularly met with her staff to garner support and to resolve bus related issues. Due to her professionalism, operations ran smoothly and students were transported to and from school
on time and safely. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools express their sorrow at the death of Mrs. Francis and extend deepest sympathy to her family, and may it further be resolved that a copy of this
resolution be forwarded to the family of Mrs. Francis. Move. Approval second. All in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. Thank you, Doctor Taylor. Next item is recommendation recommended appointments. Thank you, Madam
President. I'm very excited to bring forward six individuals who are familiar faces to M.C.P.S. To rejoin the team in new roles. For your consideration today. Up first for consideration, and I'll ask you to please stand when I say
your name. Doctor Tabitha F Campbell, for the position of Associate Superintendent in the Division of School Leadership and Improvement. Joining her today is Sterling Grace, her mentor, Doctor Myra Smith, and family and friends. Doctor
Campbell has been employed with Montgomery County Public Schools for 33 years as a teacher, assistant principal, staff development teacher, principal, consulting principal, acting director, director and most recently as an Associate Superintendent in the Office of School Improvement. Doctor
Campbell also looks forward to her continued service in the support of school staff, students and parents. Shout outs to her father, doctor Ray Neil Fisher, and her children Jordan and Sydney. Excited to move this
forward for approval. Second, all in favor, please raise your hand. Congratulations. Shifting
gears a little bit to my office and the operations side of the shop. Mr. Christopher C cram for the position of Deputy Chief of staff for the Division of Communications. Joining him today is his wife, Lisa Swan.
Mr. Cram has been employed with M.C.P.S. For 24 years as a multimedia producer, director, operations manager, business operations supervisor and most recently as a director in the Department of Communications. Mr. Cram is committed to
fostering strong connections and meaningful engagement throughout the school system, ensuring that every student, staff member and family feel informed, heard and supported. He believes that enhancing the information shared will cultivate an even greater
sense of pride in M.c.p.s. Move approval. Second, all in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. Congratulations. Next
up, Miss Elba, M Garcia, Fiallo deputy for the position of deputy chief of staff in the Division of Family and Community Engagement. She is joined by her mother, Alba Fiallo, and her
husband, Ricardo Lazo. Liso Loaiza. Sorry. I'm glad I got that right. All right. Loayza and sons Lorenzo and Leonardo. Miss Garcia Fiallo has been employed with M.C.P.S. For three
years as a senior community advisor in the office of the Chief of Staff. Prior to joining M.C.P.S, Miss Garcia Fiallo her career included working as an educator and administrator in Latino and immigrant
communities. She is most excited to embark on this new chapter, where she will lead the efforts of M.C.P.S. To create a more transparent and communicative environment, fostering strong partnerships that directly benefit student and academic achievement. Shout outs to her
son Ricardo, who is joining virtually from the University of Singapore. 1 a.m. Staying up all night for this. Move. Approval
second. All in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. Congratulations. Continuing with the school leadership team,
doctor Donna R Jones, associate for the position of associate superintendent in the Division of School Leadership and Improvement. Doctor Jones has been employed with M.C.P.S. For 22 years as a staff development teacher, assistant principal, principal, intern, principal director, acting Associate
Superintendent, and most recently as an Associate Superintendent in the Office of School Support and Improvement. She looks forward to implementing teams and structures that support school leaders to advance excellence in teaching and learning, so that all students can achieve
academically and have a sense of belonging in in their school. Shout outs to her husband Randall, daughter Kiara and mother Marilyn Redman, all of whom are watching online today.
Move approval. Second, all in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. Congratulations. Rounding out the last member of
the school leadership team is Mr. Sean P McGee for the position of Associate Superintendent in the Division of School Leadership and Improvement. Joining Mr. McGee today is his son, Sheamus and daughter, Katie. Mr. McGee has been employed with M.C.P.S. For
23 years as a teacher, assistant principal, principal intern, acting principal, principal director, Acting Associate Superintendent and most recently as an Associate Superintendent in the Office of School Support and Improvement. He is grateful to have the opportunity to
continue to support students, staff, and schools in the M.C.P.S. Community. Excited to move this for approval. As my former elementary school principal, second. All in favor, raise your hand. That's
unanimous. Congratulations. To Mr. Suvarna. You could have told us that a little earlier in the HR process. Maybe we would have gone in a different direction. Certainly. Okay. Moving on. Our
last person up for consideration this evening is Miss Jessica Boone for the position of director in the Department of Compliance and Investigations and the Division of Human Resources and Talent Management. Joining her today is her mother, Darcel Boone. Her significant
other, Jakari Drayton, and the best team in M.C.P.S. DCI. And actually, if the DCI team and the HR team could stand up, they're all decked out in orange, which is Jessica's favorite color. Oh. Sign of
support and solidarity. Thank you all for being here. Miss Boone has been employed with M.C.P.S. For one year, and has served as a director in the Ada compliance in the Department of Compliance and Investigations and the Office of Human
Resources and Human Development. Prior to joining M.C.P.S, Miss Boone worked in the investigative and legal fields in various roles, and she looks forward to continuing to contribute to moving M.C.P.S. Forward move approval. Second,
all in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. Congratulations. Once again, congratulations to all the appointees of today's board meeting, and we look forward to
your great work for this great school system. Doctor Taylor, while we are in transition, why don't we move on to the next item? Recognitions. Thank you so much, Madam President. We have three resolutions recognizing
three elements of this very special month. And I will read a truncated resolution for each. The superintendent recommends that the Board of Education approve the recognition of celebrating Arts Month, whereas
national arts education organizations collaborated on writing, the arts education and is essential statement in 2020. And Whereas, the Council for Arts Education administers Youth Arts Month at the national
level, which emphasizes the value of visual arts education for all children, encourages support for quality arts programs, and promotes a forum for recognizing skills development through visual arts and experiences that are not
possible in other curriculum subjects, and therefore, be it resolved that the Montgomery County Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools hereby declare March 2025 to be celebrating the Arts Month in Montgomery County Public Schools
to support arts education, the social and emotional well-being of students, and the maturing and the nurturing of creating a welcoming a school environment to provide a well-rounded education for all students. As
someone deeply involved in the arts, excited to move this forward for approval, I second. All in favor, please raise your hand. That's unanimous. Thank you everyone. Well, even though we cleared out a very enthusiastic crowd in the board
room, if there are any arts teachers that are here today, if you wanted to stand to be recognized, I'm not sure if there are, but thank you so much for being here today. Thank you,
Madam President. Our our next resolution is in recognition, and the superintendent recommends that the board adopt Arab American Heritage Month in Montgomery County Public Schools, whereas approximately 3.7 million Arab Americans live
in the United States and are descendants of 22 countries in North Africa and Southwest Asia, and represent religious diversity, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism and many other faiths. And Whereas, Montgomery County Public Schools
has recognized April as Arab American Heritage Month since 1999. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Montgomery County Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools hereby declare the month of April as Arab American Heritage
Month and encourage staff, students, parents, guardians and the community to celebrate the contributions of Arab Americans in Montgomery County, the State of Maryland, and the nation. Move for approval. Second, all in favor? Raise your hand.
That's unanimous. Are there any members that's here for here for this recognition? Please stand up. Thank you for being here. Thank you, Madam President, for
our last recognition and resolution on recognitions. I'm delighted to recommend that the Board of Education approve the recognition of National Autism Acceptance Month. Whereas the month of April has been designated as National Autism
Acceptance Month by autism advocacy organizations. And the United Nations declared April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day. And Whereas autism spectrum disorder is a highly individualized, lifelong neurological condition with a
range of characteristics, including challenges with social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. And whereas autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the world. Therefore, be it
resolved that the Montgomery County Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools declare the month of April 2025 to be National Autism Acceptance Month and continue to pledge their support to staff members, families and community partners
who collectively work alongside one another to enhance the lives of all students with autism. Move approval. Second, all in favor? Raise your hand. That's unanimous. I want to ask, are there any members of the
audience are here for this recognition? Please stand. Okay. Thank you everyone. Let's move on. Doctor Taylor. Next one actually is public comment. While the board of encouraged public input on policy, program
and practices and will consider the comments received is not the board's practice during its business meetings to respond to questions, provide comments, or take action on the issue raised. This is a public meeting, and
the board expects the conduct of all speakers and members of the audience to be within the bounds of proper etiquette. Inappropriate personal remarks, rude retorts, or other such behavior is out of order and will not be tolerated. Those who
demonstrate disruptive or disrespectful behavior during public comments may be asked to leave the room. In addition, public comment is not the proper avenue to address specific student or employee matters. Such matters should be directed
through the complaint or appeal process. Each speaker has two minutes to deliver comments. When your name is called, press the flat button and speak clearly into the microphone. A yellow light and a single beep
indicate you have 30s remaining. A red light and repeating beats signal that time has expired. Once you have finished speaking, press the same button to turn off the microphone. Following the live testimony, audio and
video testimony will be played. Copies of the testimony are posted with the other materials for this meeting. On board docs. Today we have 17 people signed up for the testimony. I'm going
to call the first six to come to the table. David Stein. Denan. Diana Cooney, Bridget Howell, Jordi Diaz. Diaz, Leah Sager.
Nathan Dominguez. Here's an updated list because we have more people. Nichelle. Okay, Mr. Stein, you may proceed. Hello, president Yang, Superintendent
Taylor and members of the Board of Education today, M.C.P.S. And the association's leadership are coming together in our shared commitment to creating and maintaining a culture of respect that we believe will contribute to improving the learning and working conditions of students, educators and administrators
across the district. All of us here know that making the commitment is the easy part. It's the next part the fulfilling and maintaining the commitment on a daily basis that is difficult. We also know this commitment matters less if it is not reflected in the regular
interactions that occur at the workplace. In the work sites of thousands of MCA members across the district, between those members and their supervisors, every person deserves to be treated with respect. Every student, every educator, every support professional, every
administrator, in every work site, every day. So what does this look like? It looks like having a dialog with one another. Even when we disagree. It looks like respecting and accommodating viewpoint diversity, even when we disagree. And it looks like keeping channels of
communication open even when we disagree. And in our daily work life, it means treating each other like professionals in our contract reopener, which we will also sign today. We jointly enhance the autonomy that teachers have over their planning, over their own planning time. It is truly a big
step, but a contract isn't worth much if it isn't honored in every building. And that is the challenge that lies before us. A culture shift to treat educators, all educators, as professionals. I want to note that creating a culture of respect isn't about committing to agreeing on everything or
anything. Although I believe we can find common ground on a variety of issues, it doesn't mean that we won't disagree in private or in public if necessary. And that's okay. But if we succeed in our practice and create this culture of respect at work sites across the
district, I believe that we can fundamentally transform our schools in Montgomery County. And I know that MCA members are ready and willing to do so. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Cooney, please. Thank you. My name is Dina Cooney, and I'm a
proud supporting services staff member with SEIU. For the past nine years, I've served as one of two equity training specialists, grade 23 in the equity unit, and I serve along with our peers who are instructional specialists. Despite our different titles, we all share the same roles and
responsibilities in supporting schools and offices. However, as of June 30th, our SEIU positions are being eliminated not to reduce staffing, but to replace us with additional instructional specialist roles that require teacher certification. This
decision is a significant loss to SEIU, mainly because these two positions were intentionally created to ensure equity and voice of all those marginalized in our system. As we do our equity work. Secondly, approximately only 7% of SEIU
staff members are grade 20 or above. Removing these positions decreases our opportunity to be placed in level alike positions. Meanwhile, throughout the system the district most MCA instructional specialists are being placed in level alike positions with no financial
loss. In contrast, Edvin and I, as supporting services staff members, are not receiving the same treatment. Even more troubling, eliminating these positions sends a clear message that SEIU staff are not valued, trusted or seen as qualified to lead equity work in M.C.P.S.
That's not just an oversight, it's an equity in action. Our demographics and experiences best reflect the student staff and family members, and our expertise must continue to be included in our professional development and equity efforts. And let's be clear, equity is
not about certification. It is a if it were. Our schools and offices are already filled with certified teachers would be leading the way in dismantling inequities. The truth is, equity work is about understanding different perspectives, recognizing, interrupting, and addressing inequities in practices, policies, and
behaviors for which you do not need teacher certification. Therefore, behalf of SEIU, we ask that these positions be included. Back in the 2025 budget, 2526 budget. Thank you, thank you. Miss out. Good afternoon. I'm Bridget Howell,
president of MCPs, PTA, speaking today about the boundary study and program analysis, which is on your agenda. These have been key items of interest for member PTAs. In fact, two of our formally adopted advocacy priorities relate directly to programs and boundaries. First, we appreciate the commitment to
community engagement in both the boundary study and program analysis projects. More information is better than less information, and we encourage sharing opportunities for engagement early and often. Where we request additional clarity is around the program analysis scope and how the boundary study and program
analysis will intersect and impact decisions for fall 2027. Currently, interested community members don't have a sense of what is on the table. What is the desired outcome of the program analysis. We know the why of the boundary study. We have two new high schools to
fill with lots of seats to fill, but the same clarity isn't there for the program analysis. We do have some specific questions regarding that. What programs will be analyzed? Will this be limited to specific programs and magnets like magnets or academies, or also include consortia? What factors will be
considered when looking at programs? Will program evaluations be one of those factors? If so, how are we ensuring that the system has capacity to evaluate programs that haven't been recently scrutinized? How will the community be engaged in the program analysis? Could this analysis result in closing
existing programs, moving program locations, adding new sites? All of the above. We know program decisions are going to have a large impact on school assignments and boundaries. For example, is Woodward going to be in the DCC? Could a magnet move from a current location to a
building with more capacity? Each of these decision points may affect the eventual placement of hundreds of students. Without an explicit understanding of what is going into the program analysis, it's really hard to visualize fall of 2027, which sounded like it was really far away when we started
these conversations, and it's not so far away now. So we do ask that information and opportunities for engagement be shared publicly as soon as possible. Thank you. We know this is a huge undertaking. Thank you, Mr. Diaz. Good afternoon, president Yang, Superintendent Taylor and
members of the board. My name is Jordi Diaz and I am a former M.C.P.S. Student and an organizer with Young People for progress. M.C.P.S. Is failing Black and Latino students and the data proves it. Last year, student arrests in M.c.p.s skyrocketed from 56 to 191.
Black students are 8.5 times more likely to be arrested than white students, making M.c.p.s. One of the worst in the state for racial disparities. While other Maryland counties have reduced student arrests, MCPs has done the opposite. Suspension data tells the same story. Black students make up
only 21.6% of M.c.p.s. Enrollment, but account for 49.5% of suspensions. Bethesda-chevy Chase High School has the highest suspension rate, disproportionately impacting Black and Latino students at Wooton High School. Repeat incidents of anti-Black racism went unchecked due to a lack of
preventative measures for students. Teachers and parents report that conflicts could have been prevented if administrators had stepped in earlier. Instead of feeling supported. Black and Latino students feel alienated, criminalized, and unwelcome. The numbers reflect this reality. Hispanic and Latino students
have the highest chronic absenteeism rate at 31.5%, followed by black students. M.c.p.s. Already has a solution restorative approaches, or RA. When properly used, RA cut black student suspensions by 41% and focus RA middle schools reduce repeat offenses by 79% for
students involved in fights last year. Yet RA remains underfunded and inconsistency inconsistently applied. To fix this before the next school year, we urge that M.c.p.s. Require RA training for all administrators before the start of the school year. Integrate RA into school improvement plans and summer
Instructional Learning Teams meetings. Train all staff on RA and the Code of Conduct during pre-service week. Establish accountability measures to ensure administrators, principals, and schools follow through with RA. Equitable implementation. M.c.p.s. Cannot afford another year of inaction.
Every day, more Black and Latino students are unfairly disciplined, arrested and pushed out of the school. Our full written testimony includes additional demands for your reference. M.c.p.s. Must invest in prevention, not punishment. The future of our students depends on it. Thank you. Thank
you, Miss Sanger. Hi. Thank you. My name is Lee Sanger, and my son William and I are the daughter and grandson of a public school music educator who taught in multiple counties in Maryland for over 30 years. March is music in our schools month, and it's a time for
reflection and celebration, both in our family and in the music community. William began studying piano at age seven, and thanks to the programs at Bradley Hills Elementary, Pyle Middle School, and Whitman High School with Daniella Cron, Allison Jacobs, and Brendan Kelly, he has found and fallen
in love with the saxophone school. Instrumental and choral music programs give our M.C.P.S. Students the opportunity to play and learn in an ensemble of other children at similar ages in school levels, and in these ensembles, the children learn teamwork, camaraderie, artistry, discipline, tenacity,
confidence, trust, and empathy. To play and perform music together, they must use their whole brains and their whole hearts. William has had the opportunity to branch out and play tenor sax in addition to his primary instrument, alto sax, and in Pyle's jazz band,
having an inventory of high quality, functional instruments makes opportunities for children to learn larger instrumentation. The tenor sax William would have learned on At Pyle would have cost our our family about $3,500 to purchase. That's a very steep
cost. In addition to that, that Whitman High School Whitman Music Boosters is currently working on a $20,000 funding gap between what repairs need to be made and what has been funded.
For that, I'll wrap up and leave it the rest of my testimony written, and let William play for you for just a quick moment. Hi, I'm William, I'm a sophomore at Whitman High School. I'm playing an excerpt from an F
minor etude by Hassler. Will. This is the first since
the time I have been on the board that you use music to make a point. Kudos to you, right? Next one is Miss Dominguez. Yeah. Go ahead. Hi, everyone.
Good afternoon. My name is Natalie Dominguez Perez, and I'm an eighth grader at Argyle Middle School. For the past three years, this school has become like a second home to me. It's where I've made amazing friends, shared so many laughs and created memories I'll never forget. But there is something that really worries me. Our school is falling apart
throughout the three years I've been here. Each new year there's a new issue with our school building, and we have been told there's no money to rebuild it. It's heartbreaking to see brand new schools being built while we're left behind, even though my friends and I might not get to walk through the new halls or
sit in fresh, modern classrooms, we still dream of a better future for the students coming after us. They deserve a safe, clean and inspiring place to learn. Just like every other kid in Montgomery County. Every day we deal with crowded parking lots, broken ceiling tiles, and classrooms that are either too
hot or freezing cold. The air feels heavy and sometimes it's hard to focus. All these problems come from the fact that our school is over 50 years old. Our 54 year old school building has bad air quality that affects us, no matter how many times we try to fix it. All the small fixes we do on the ventilation
system don't change the problem that our school needs to be rebuilt. We hope that Montgomery County can help us fix this issue, so that this county can prove that it has equity for all schools. Show us that Montgomery County cares for its students. This isn't just a speech, it's a plea. We need people to listen.
We need change. Our school. Our future matters. So please help us make our school better. Thank you, thank you. I'm going to call for the next six speakers to come to the front. It's Rhea
Arnone. Ephrata Owen Wilson. Edwin. Hernandez, Melissa Reagan, Theo Hart and Nellie
Chick. Okay. Mr. Malik, go ahead. Good afternoon. I am Rey Angelic, a fourth grader at Jones Lane. I and other students have concerns about the CCS
program at our school, Jones Lane Elementary. Three examples of concerns that are that they distract students from learning. They attack students. And the teachers, even with training, still can't maintain the man, maintain the control of the students. For example, an Sdcs student was running around the
school disturbing classes and we cannot hear what our teachers said. So they had to repeat themselves. And they don't like to repeat themselves as themselves, if you know what I mean. Another example is a student that is part of the program recently started to look up to a girl, but the CCS student attacked that girl they
looked upo last year. This girl had been attacked multiple times and the student had tried to attack her, had tried to attack her many other times. Sometimes he tries to get to the girl's classroom, which stalls us and can distract us from learning. Also, they run around the school making loud noises
and barging into classrooms, which doesn't help learning. One time, another boy in the SS pushed two of our friends who slammed their heads into each other and had to go to the nurse. Last but not least, a student who was part of the program used to hurt people by pulling them off of the monkey
bars and punch people. And the teachers did nothing. This takes me to my final reason for not feeling safe at school. The teachers that are with the SCS kids do nothing. For example, the student the other day was acting up and while they were acting up, the teacher, the teachers were on their phone not watching them. Another time, a
student was running and screaming around the school while the teachers were not running but walking, telling them to slow down and come back. Lastly, a student that is part of the program was mad and was trying to hurt others while the teachers were far away from the kid from the situation and a student had to comment down. Not
an adult, a kid. I and other students want to bring these concerns to your attention so someone can please do something about this. People have been working on this, but it's still not enough to stop the students, parents and my concerns. Thank
you. Thank you, Miss Wilson. Good afternoon, Doctor Taylor, president Yang and board members of the board. My name is Ephrata Wilson and I am a senior at Montgomery Blair High School, as well as the co-president of the
American Sign Language Honor Society at my school. I'm here today on behalf of both myself and my fellow ASL Honor Society members, to advocate for the inclusion of American Sign Language ASL as a world language option in middle schools. ASL is not just a language, it is a
bridge to inclusivity, accessibility, and a deeper understanding of the deaf community. Yet despite its cultural and linguistic significance, ESL remains largely unavailable as a world language option in our middle schools. As a student who has dedicated years to learning ASL, I have firsthand seen how it
fosters communication and inclusion. It has allowed me to connect with the deaf community in ways I never imagined, and has given me the a deeper appreciation for the diversity of human expression. Learning ASL has not only strengthened my ability to communicate, but has also taught me the importance of
accessibility and advocacy values that should be instilled in students as early as possible. By incorporating ASL into middle into the middle school curricula, we opened doors to countless benefits. Studies show that learning sign language enhances cognitive
skills, improves spatial reasoning, and even strengthens verbal communication. More importantly, it fosters empathy and cultural awareness from an early age, ensuring that students grow up valuing diversity in all of its forms. The demand is already present, and many M.C.P.S. High schools,
including Montgomery Blair IT offer ASL for world language credit. However, students are often introduced to it too late to explore it fully. By making ASL available in middle schools, we empower students to with more choices while actively promoting
accessibility and inclusion. Our school system prides itself on preparing students for a diverse and interconnected world. Let's make that vision a reality by ensuring ASL is recognized and offered as a world language in middle schools, representation matters, and this step would be
a powerful, powerful testament to our commitment to equity in education. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Mr. Hernandez. Thank you, Miss Yang. Doctor Taylor, members of the board, members in the audience. Doctor
Troy Boddy, thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify before you today on the restructuring. We're currently undergoing in M.C.P.S. And its alignment to the Anti-Racist system audit. In my testimony, I would like to include the workforce diversity domain in
the Anti-Racist system Audit Observation 2.4, where it says some students and families report that the lack of staff diversity leads to being less responsive to the diverse needs of students, especially students of color. I want to speak to you from the heart. I do have a
speech, but I think it would probably be more impactful if I share with you my real experiences as an SEIU employee. As an equity training specialist, I also do the work of other equity instructional specialists in the system, whether it's supervisory visits
to the different clusters, whether I've been before you, testifying before the policies on family and community engagement policy, ABA policy, ABC when we had to go to the community and get input from students, families, from those voices, most marginalized. I've
been there putting all those focus groups together. I've been doing the work. Now that we're doing this restructuring, it almost seems that I am not. I don't have the qualifications to do the work anymore. It almost seems out of the blue. I also
wanted bring to elevate that when I took this job, Doctor Troy Boddy, who is in the audience, asked me a question in my interview and he said, what qualifies me for this position? And it was all the experiences. What I said was it was all the experiences that I've lived not only as a student, as someone
that was born in Guatemala, came to the US when I was eight years old, someone who had to learn English in elementary schools as a parent in M.C.P.S. Those experiences that I carry with me are what gives me that awareness and the things that I do. As an
equity training specialist, I hope that you would reconsider and put back those equity training specialist positions in next year's budget. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Regan. Good afternoon. Board of Education and Superintendent Taylor. I am
Melissa Regan, alumni band and visual arts magnet parent. I'm happy to be here during Music and Schools Month. I continue to advocate for fine arts, focusing today on instrumental music. M.C.P.S. Has just under 24,000 students enrolled in Im classes,
but sadly, annual funding is currently at about 25% of what's needed. I'm happy to hear about using an equity lens when crafting the next budget. If principals at high farm schools receive extra dollars since they don't typically have the parent funding that occurs in wealthy
communities, it would be nice to consider instrumental needs as they determine how to address gaps. The systems instrument stock has run dry. I work in Rockville schools. A middle schooler there needed a violin. His parents were not able to purchase or rent one, and the
school did not have a spare violin even for him to share. Did you know that students in multiple class periods all share the same one instrument throughout the day? Well, let's pop over to the high school around the corner and get one.
Nope. They also did not have one spare violin. Your central office music supervisor did not give up and was able to find one, but this is indicative of needing a few more on hand. We have a backlog of near $100,000 in repairs needed. Picture that
mountain of broken instruments. Please consider a chunk of funding to get this pile fixed, and then we might have the instruments that we need, but an ongoing plan is needed. Since instruments are not a one time buy or fix. As we head into spring musical season, I hope
all of you enjoy the amazing productions and think about those students that are in the pit that are playing that music. We need to support students that require a school instrument in order to play. Thank you. Thank
you, Mr. Holt. Greetings, members of the board. My name is Theo Holt and I am the parent of a first and third grader at Doctor Ronald McNair Elementary School. And I am here today to express my deep concern
regarding the upcoming upcoming rebuild process for before and after care programs, and I strongly advocate for the continuation of the BRT program at our school. The BRT program has been a critical part of my children's experience since they
started attending the school. Through this program, they have not only developed a strong sense of belonging, but they built meaningful relationships with their peers and the staff there. As an active working parent, I have peace of mind knowing that my children are
safe, supported, and engaged in activities that foster their social and emotional growth. The staff there are incredibly caring, responsible and dedicated to creating a positive environment for all the student involved. Like the director,
Miss Joyce is amazing. Like she has an established milieu there. When you walk in the building, you can just feel like the warmth of it, right? It's that kind of feeling she has in that program and we really appreciate his parents, you know? So I am concerned that the recent parent
survey did not ask about our our satisfaction with the current provider, which is essential in understanding how valuable this BRT program is to families like mine. This program plays a vital role in supporting families like mine and contributes to the
well-being of our school community. I respectfully urge the board to keep the BRT program and Doctor Ronald McNair Elementary School so that my children and many others can continue to thrive in this supportive and enriching environment. Thank you for your
time and consideration. Thank you, Miss Cheek. Good afternoon. My name is Nelly Chick. I am the mother of two M.C.P.S. Students, one middle schooler at Eastern Middle School, and a second grader at New Hampshire Estates Elementary in Silver Spring. For the past two years, our
elementary PTA has been asking the M.C.P.S. Board of Education to reevaluate the way that you measure poverty data, which impacts funding for M.C.P.S. Schools. We understand that title one status evolves with schools qualifying or not year to year. However, in a school
like Oakview Elementary, where students enter third grade from the highest poverty school in M.C.P.S, New Hampshire estates and are joined in fourth grade by kids entering the center for Enriched Studies, often from higher income households. The loss of funding to bridge the gap between these populations
will continue to have long term impacts, relying solely on direct certification from federal data to determine how needy schools are, especially in the current political climate, is flawed. Many of our families, due to undocumented or unstable immigration status, will not or
cannot participate in these federal programs, which have an uncertain future themselves. Now, this results in an undercount of the true needs in our community. The main reason my son has been able to manage at school with various academic and social challenges, is the
additional funding he receives to enable him to have the reading and special education support he needs, including dedicated reading support during title one funded summer school. I am worried about what progress he may lose when he moves to third grade. If Oak View does
not have the funding it needs for specialists and paraeducators on behalf of the Oak View community and other schools where the needs of their most vulnerable students are not getting sufficient funding to enable their success, we are again asking M.C.P.S. To revise the way that poverty data is
captured to ensure that all of our community members are represented. Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm going to ask the next six. We have one more in person and then we'll have full audio and video testimony.
Samira Hussain, can you come to the table, please?
Okay, okay. Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My name is Samira Hussain. And on behalf of the Arab American community in Montgomery County, we thank the board, the superintendent, for this great recognition. Arab Americans in
Montgomery County are the proud founders of the Arab American Heritage Month, which is the first in the nation since 1998. More importantly, for continued ways to promote respect and acceptance among our diverse community, efforts to be
inclusive and acknowledgment of the value of the community as overall, we all are forced, we are faced with challenges daily. They are threats to the long
fought efforts that many people in this room have done to make Montgomery County the best, welcoming and safe place to live in. We need to ensure residents self confidence are not eroded with Islamophobia and Arab bigotry that is happening around the country, we need to ensure
the environment we live in. The environment we live in is a safe and supportive. We need to ensure that our representatives, you are our representatives here, are well informed, and our community members are involved.
We would like to see Arab Americans advocate for to serve in key positions in the cabinet and appointed to boards and committees. We would like to see more cultural sensitivity training for M.C.P.S. Staff at the Arab American, poet Kahlil
Gibran said. A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that i, idle ignorance is our worst enemy, as we know that social media does not always portray the truth. Take the time,
please, to understand history and the truth and. Excuse me, I would like to see the Arab American community, the fuel and the positive behind the force. One person, one individual.
Don't underestimate the individual. That makes a difference. I also would like to end with the poet. It takes two of us to discover the truth, one to utter it and one to understand it. Thank you. Thank you so much M.C.P.S. TV. Can you
play the next for audio and video testimonies? Good afternoon, Doctor Taylor. Members of the board. Last June, MBA families and educators came here hopeful that our voices, our stories and our children's needs would matter. But before we could even testify, we were
told nothing is going to change our minds. Still, we had no choice but to try. We showed the MBA kids performed as well as in-person peers. The demand was steady that MBA served more students than two thirds of M.C.P.S. Schools, that it could be funded efficiently like any other school, at a fraction of
the cost, and that it disproportionately served vulnerable and at risk populations, including kids who, without it, had nowhere else to go. Yet even with an extra $330 million in the budget request, there was no virtual school. But we haven't been told why, even as families learned they may
soon pay higher taxes for schools their children can't even attend. Why wasn't every child once again having access to a full education a priority this year, the BLP offers complex students less education than their peers. Why do this when we've proven we can access
and educate them as equals with a virtual academy? If we had a population of students too far from existing schools to attend in person, we wouldn't tell them, well, tutor you for a few hours, but you can't have a school. We would build them a school. There's a population of students across this county who
cannot access the schools we have and others who need MBAs environment to thrive just like any other students. They deserve a full education. All else they need to get there in this budget is a dean, a school ID, some specialist, and your commitment. If we would never deny a school to students in a remote area,
why are we doing it? For students whose barrier isn't distance but disability, medical need, or other circumstances beyond their control? For years, M.C.P.S. Touted MVA as a vital equity measure, reconsidering the decision to close it isn't reversing course. It's
reaffirming M.C.P.S. Commitment to educate every child and insisting that nothing is going to change our minds about that. Thank you for your time. Please play the next one. Good afternoon. Doctor Taylor is a
member of the Board of Education. My name is Max Meehan, and I'm here today as a student whose life has been transformed by MCPs music program, I am urging you to increase funding, attention and innovation for these programs which have the power to change lives. Just as they changed mine. Throughout middle school, I struggled with learning the
guitar. I tried everything from online tutorials, school courses, and even private tutoring, but nothing seems to work. I was frustrated that these exercises didn't get me closer to playing the songs I love. Over time, I became convinced that because of my disability, cerebral palsy, it was impossible for me to play
guitar. I almost gave up until I moved to Montgomery County. There I met Doctor Christopher Mercado, whose innovative Guitar One curriculum transformed my life. He didn't just teach music, he created a personalized learning experience tailored to my abilities and goal. His approach highlighted the
importance of differentiation in music education, ensuring that students receive individualized paths to success. Music has helped me in so many ways. Physically is a wonderful hand therapy exercise mentally as a way to relieve stress, and socially as a wonderful way to connect to other people. In 10th
grade, I transferred to Wooton High School and there I meet Mr. Keith Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz has shown me how music fosters collaboration and build relationship in his class. There's no desk or paper, just students connecting, receiving real time feedback and creating
music that reflects their unique passion and talents. Both Doctor Mercado and Mr. Schwartz has demonstrated how a differentiated, student centered instruction can transform life. However, despite the incredible talents of students and dedication of teachers like them, music programs and
M.C.P.S. Are often overlooked and overshadowed by athletic and feeder programs. This disparity prevents music students from having the same level of professional learning and resources enjoyed by athlete and performers in theater, music deserves to be prioritized equally, and M.C.P.S. Should help teachers create
environments where students could thrive in their crafts. Thank you. Next one please. Hello, my name is Nancy McInerney. I'm the PTA president for New Hampshire Estates. It's one of the highest need schools in the district. So it sits on
the top of the list of title one schools. My testimony today is about the school building conditions and the ramifications of its disrepair on the teachers and our already disadvantaged student population. Heating and cooling HVAC of this building has not worked properly in
years. Please take a look at these photos that our teachers have shared a bulletin board with black mold growing on it, a table with mold underneath, a chair with mold growing on it, carpets growing mold, and white ceiling tiles covered in mold.
Because of the humidity and no airflow which fall to the ground and show us all the mold, even a power cord has mold on it. A teacher's doctor recommendations on our poor health because of the mold. Now it is time to fix this huge problem. Mold in
classrooms and spores circulating in the buildings is inhaled by all people who enter the school. Every single staff member and student is breathing in mold and has been for years. The art and music rooms haven't had heat or AC this entire year.
In January and February, the students had to wear coats to these classes because it was 50 degrees. The teachers union is aware its members are working in unsafe conditions. Our beloved principal, Mr. Bob Geiger, has raised these issues with the
administration for years. Now. It's time for you to act. I want you, the Board of Education, to visit New Hampshire Estates to see our amazing staff and students and stay to experience the mold and building disrepair.
I wish it was as easy as buying a humidifier or a fan, or even a new HVAC system, but the fact is that this building is not safe. Montgomery County Public Schools has to make New Hampshire State's elementary school a safe
place to learn. Thank you. Please play the next one. Oh, hi. It's me, Miles. A fourth grader from Bannockburn Elementary School. When I'm not reading up on Jensen Huang, I like to draw Triceratops and
play violin. Today I want to share why celebrating the arts is so important to me and all the students in Montgomery County. I love the arts because they let me express myself in ways words cannot. Here's my drawing that was shown at the
Montgomery County Elementary Art Show mall. I later got to celebrate at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I'm also a beginner violin at school. I love going to orchestra at school, and it helps me refresh my brain during the day. Fun
fact did you know that baa baa baa Black Sheep, The Alphabet Song, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars all have the same melody? They all kind of sound like this. Whether I'm drawing,
painting or playing the violin. The arts help me share my ideas, feelings and creativity with others. It makes me feel proud and confident, and I know my classmates feel the same way. My older brother Jasper helped me make this video. He's a sports
guy who only cares about tennis, but he found something in the arts he likes. Thank you for recognizing March as Celebrating the Arts Month. It shows that you believe in the power of the arts to make a difference in our education and our lives. I hope
you will continue to support the arts by funding arts programs and providing free instruments to students who need them, so that all students can have the opportunity to learn, grow, and explore the arts. Wow, very
professional and thank you for miles. We finished this portion in smiles. I'm going to turn to my colleagues for their questions and comments. I'm going to go for one question or comment. Each colleague first
and let's be additive, not repetitive. I'm going to start from my left hand side. I really just want to thank all the students for coming out, thank the students for their performances. You know, from the from the ones in person to the ones online. And for their words
here today I've been listening closely, taking notes, and will follow up with the administration on certain items. Thank you. I also want to thank all of our students that came and testified. The arts are also really important to me. I used to be in a folk band for five
years and travel the country playing music, so this is something that I'm also really passionate about. And there are also some, some students that I would love to follow up with after this. Thank you. Miss Rivera-Oven. Wow, that was what an amazing group of kids. I want to thank William for that short
play, but to remind us of why some of us are where we are and to ensure that your voices are represented. William. So I just did not know saxophone could sound that way because when my son took it, it did not count
near what you played. But needless to say, I thank all. Our students were amazing. I want to recruit my brother for my next campaign and but all jokes aside, I, you know, the
arts more than ever and I think everybody would agree with me. It's needed more than ever. It's really something that brings all of us together. Music really has no boundaries, has, you know, it
just no frontiers, right? And we are so lucky in Montgomery County to live in a community that is so incredibly diverse, with so many sounds all over the world. That is what makes Montgomery County and what makes it stand out from other places
where we can raise children that can have those experiences. So with that being said, it saddens me that there are there are children in our community that who want to take band, who might not be able to have that
opportunity. And these are tough economic times, but I'm wondering, Doctor Taylor, if maybe, you know, we can do an assessment and an audit of our instruments to see how many need repair. And you know what? This is a county of also really great, amazing, good people.
We're wonderful. Things can happen if we come together as a community to ensure there's nothing, I think, greater of a gift to give a child an instrument for them to express themselves and to play and to grow with it. And, you know, you saw what that makes and how that
affects them. Also in school, their brains, they think better. They're very team players, right? They have something to look forward to. So if we can do that, that would be great. And then I just cannot say quiet when I hear the wonderful work
of Mr. Hernandez and his colleagues in that department, I have seen Edwin, your work to trabajo. Gracias. Gracias por todo lo hiciste. And I just, you
know, sometimes I wonder if we are making the right choices when it comes to equity and to making sure that in the, in the, you know, in the voice of equity, we're not doing the opposite. So I would like to be brief on those two positions if
possible. Not now. But I just want to, you know, make sure that we are doing the best we can for our workforce and to elevate those folks who do the
hard lifting in our in our county and to support them along the way so they can grow. So to our students, to our staff, thank you. Happy music month, art month. Thank you, Miss Regan, for bringing that to our attention. Truly appreciate it.
Miss Wolff. I too want to thank everybody that came to testify, particularly our students and Miles, could you have Jasper call me? I have to do a video. I have did miss Wilson, can you hear me? I have dibs, but there
is one thing that I do want to say. I think that we really need to get someone over to New Hampshire Estates to take a look at the mold situation. That was very distressing, very distressing. None of our students should have to learn in that kind of environment. So
whatever we have to do, we need to work on clearing that up as soon as possible. Thank you. Thank you so much to everyone for being here, including the staff, parents and caregivers who also help the students to get here or help them prepare. As a mother of children who love
music, we've picked up enough secondhand instruments to start multiple bands in my home. So I definitely hear you and I too have gasped when these instruments have seemed like maybe they might need a repair because it is very expensive. Whether you're renting, purchasing, or fixing. And I know that our elementary schools
have a significant need for support to fix instruments. So to the community, if you are a person who can help out in this way, whether it's you, your organization, your company or some other entity, we would love to connect with you. Our students absolutely deserve to have these instruments and not
to have to share one instrument in a class. You can't learn that way. So again, thank you so much to everyone for being here, Mr. Holt. We're also looking into connecting with you so that we can see what's going on there. Thank you miss. What a great
month. I grew up with music in my family, playing music. Pretty much all my extracurricular activities were music related. I tried playing the tenor sax. I was not as successful. I switched to bass quickly so I
could play in the jazz band. I want to highlight that we do have a program through our educational foundation called Help Me Make Music, and what this campaign does is collect old instruments so they will
have a new home right here in Montgomery County and kids into kids hands. This is great. I think maybe we should elevate this out there. I'm sure there's lots of folks that have instruments in their house that maybe they could hand over to
the foundation. Also, I would like to make a request that we work with the foundation and expand the campaign, not just so you can give old instruments so we can actually give money as part of the campaign to really shore up our instrument buying
program, and also our repair program. Because, face it, all of this takes money. People probably don't even know that this is a need. So we know because we hear from you. But there's lots of people out there that also benefited from music
when they were young or they benefit today. And so let's go ahead and pull together as a community, and then I'll double that. I will come back to New Hampshire. States just had to write a plug in. Thank you.
Absolutely, Miss Savannah. Yes. Thank you again. Kind of. On my second turn, I just want to say, going back to the idea of arts and the importance, right. As someone who is involved in the theater and the choral programs at my school, who saw, you know, how much our boosters had to
raise for our orchestra funding and for our choral funding and knowing what a big stretch that is, and then knowing how much we have in our budget for it, I can understand the pain like and I empathize with it a lot. I think in the past we've seen students and other community members come to the board and ask for some
solutions. So I ask the administration to do is one of the solutions that we've heard in the past is potentially like a pass for theater and choral productions or like a centralized website. I don't think that's something that would end up costing us too much money, but it goes a long way to showing our support of the arts.
So maybe looking into the possibility of that being something that we can sort of publicize or work on as a way to again show our support for the arts and show that we're uplifting some of these voices and potentially get them more funding in the future. Thank you, Miss Sylvester. Yes, I
think she is gone now. I think her name was Raya. I didn't catch what school she was from, but just thank you. Just if we could touch base with her school, I think she was advocating for support services for her peers and sharing her experiences. How that's
affecting her. So if we could just follow up with her school to investigate further. Thank you. Yes, I have a follow up. In the past during our budget. Discussion, the issue of
instrumental music instrument repair was discussed at a time that I ask the system do a financial understanding for us to see. Can we create? What is the cost of sending music
instrument out for repair and having our own in-house person? Because we have some large groups of different category that has large groups like the string instrument, or so I'm, I'm waiting for that. I know we have been swamped, but if we can
have that, it can help us drive future decisions. Thank you so much, Miss Montoya. And just one quick. It's kind of related, and I think I might have mentioned it previously. You know, I've seen where we have perhaps students helping to repair, I
think maybe laptops or something else. And I'm just wondering if we might be able to establish some sort of program like that for music repairs. These always come up. They're not going to go away. Sounds like there's a need. Maybe our students can learn a new skill and make a living also in the future. So if
we can find a way or maybe look into that, maybe there's organizations that might be willing to help or music companies, Chuck Levin's or whatnot, to teach our students how to do this. And then I know they get SSL hours or we have internships and things. Again, I know there's a lot going on, but if that's something that we can
kind of just have, you know, a conversation or look into, I think that would be a really helpful tool. Right? So I wanted to quickly say that I'm sure that that exists. Miss Montoya, I'm trying to think of the school. They actually came and testified a few months ago, and it was with repairing
instruments. It was an engineering. Was it the engineering program? Exactly. So if we could if we could, you know, duplicate that clone that, that'd be great. And just to remind everyone that as we speak this weekend and next weekend, there's going to be a lot of musicals. I'm a theater mom, and
they are incredible musicals going on in our high schools. I invite all of you to check it out to take your kids. It is another way that you can support our youth and the arts in Montgomery County. Thank you,
thank you. Now, this concludes our public comment on the board's next business meeting is Thursday, April 10th. Online sign up for public comment will open on Thursday, April the 3rd at 6 p.m. In addition to online sign ups, same day in-person
sign ups are permitted when space allows, with unallocated slots filled on a first come, first served basis. To sign up in person, please check in at least 20 minutes before the start of the open session. In person, sign ups will close 15
minutes before public comment begins or when all slots are filled. Additional information regarding upcoming meetings can be found on board's website. Okay, next, you will be consent
items. Colleagues, are there any consent items or would you like to pull for clarification? 6.3 please okay. Any other ones? Okay. May I have the rest? Moving block so moved second.
All in favor, please raise your hand. That's unanimous. Mr. What's your question? Yes, I noticed this contract is up to work on the theater, theatrical rigging and architectural
lighting, inspections and maintenance and repair services. It's a contract for one of them is Magruder High School, who had to move their performance out of the school because of issues there. And I just wanted to
know, is this how does this help their issue? Yes. Good afternoon. Adnan Mahmoud, Deputy Chief of Facilities, thanks for the question. So actually these are two separate issues. The
ceiling failure that happened at Magruder was on the audience side of the house. This inspection and repair services is for the for the stage area. So they will not actually conflict each other so they can move forward. We are currently
having multiple contractors look at the ceiling failure. And we should have a, you know, a solution for that fairly quickly. So two things happening at once. So the contract for this is just a renewal to get
them on board for the inspection for the rigging services. These are, these are either annual or you know, these inspections happen over a certain period of time just to make sure that the because these rigging systems are extremely complex, with a lot of structural integrity to
make sure that they are, you know, still in good shape. So even if we move the contract forward now, you know, we can definitely coordinate the work. So they're not running into each other. A great, great information. I just wanted to make sure that we're moving
forward so they can continue their programs in the auditorium. So I appreciate it. Thank you. Can I have a motion to approve this item. So moved. Second, all in favor please raise your hand. That's
unanimous with those present. Thank you so much. We're going to going to move into item number 7.1. So this agenda item is on Culture of Respect Compact. I'm going to give a little bit background
information. If you're not familiar with the Culture of Respect Compact. So this compact was first approved by the Board of Education in 22,005. In order to ensure that we could codify of share principles of
collaboration, share commitments around creating and nurturing environments of respect and share interests about the organizational culture that is necessary for student success. Now, as a board, we recognize the importance of fostering an
inclusive culture that reflects our community's values and actions, and we are proud that we are going to do this renewal ceremony today. Now, I want this to be a moment for us, to remind us every day that in our
buildings that we have a commitment to build trust, strengthen collaboration efforts and maintain a respectful and inclusive environment for all our employees. So with that, I will turn it over to Doctor Taylor. Thank you, Madam
President. I am so excited for today's agenda items. Plural. We have several that we get to add a little bit of ceremony to, which is a little bit of a switch for us up here today. We are bringing forward first the Culture of Respect Compact,
which was revised actually last in 2011. Although originally signed in 2005, this compact speaks to our commitment to working together on behalf of students. At its core, it is about who we are, what we believe in for the system and how we work together and treat
each other, and how we get along with our work. The Culture of Respect Compact is a shared commitment between the Board of Education, Boa, MCE, and SEIU, and me as the Superintendent of schools, along with the cabinet
officers. It is about our working respectfully together in relationship to create a top notch working environment for children. I want to thank the Board of Education and our association leaders, who are all here today, and our staff who provided feedback to create the
revised Culture of Respect mpact. The updated Culture of Respect Compact reaffirms our shared commitments to creating that culture of respect, which is one of our values that promotes anti-racism, equity and inclusion at every level of our
organization. It reflects our belief in the strength of our diverse workforce and emphasizes the importance of collaboration, transparency and mutual respect in achieving our mission and providing a high quality education for every student. It
is the culture that we believe should exist throughout M.c.p.s, and reflects the values and behaviors that are expected of all individuals in their interactions with students, staff, parents, and others involved in the school system. We are committed to making this
a reality by building strong relationships and working together collaboratively. I want to take a minute to divert from my printed script and to say what an absolute pleasure it has been as a new superintendent, to build relationships with our association leaders at every
turn, I have had the opportunity to turn to you for advice, to work with you collaboratively, to work with your boards, to get to know the leaders within our organizations, and also the people that have their boots on the ground. You are making a significant difference in our
school system, your heart and your passion are clear and evident in the work that we're doing together, and it's been a refreshing joy to know that we can both fuss at each other and laugh with each other, and still get a lot accomplished in and
move forward together, because it really is us that move M.C.P.S. Forward. Today we codify that relationship in our renewed commitment. I'm happy to sign this compact to solidify how we will continue to work
together in the years to come, and to create and sustain a positive work environment through our work together. Thank you. I'm going to turn to my colleagues to see if anyone has any comments. I'm going to start
from my right hand side, seeing no light. I just want to say this is a joyful moment, and this is a moment to signal that we'll continue to do the important work and continue on the. Relationship forward. So
with that, can I ask the staff to read the resolve in the resolution? Absolutely. Be it resolved that the Board of Education is committed to fostering an organizational culture of respect and to ensuring that this culture is promoted throughout the school system. And may it further be
resolved that the Board of Education adopt and support the Compact on Creating an Organizational Culture of Respect in Montgomery County Public Schools to ensure the success for every student. Can I have excited to move this forward? Second. Okay, all in
favor, please raise your hand. That's unanimous with those present. All right. Thank you. Everyone who has been a part of this effort to revise and renew this important commitment. We would like to invite you to stay
and remain in the board room to join us in assigning or following the board's action on all of the three association contracts. All right. So let's move on to the next item is association agreement. First up
is with our SEIU association. Doctor Taylor. Thank you, Madam President. And I'm going to present these as a as a group. And I was about to say I'm glad we got more work to do. And I'm glad that our association leaders are sticking with us for this. There are so many things
that I enjoy about being superintendent, and one that will always be in my top five is our work and our collaboration together, and the time that we spend together is fruitful. And I'm glad to commemorate that today, because I think we're
moving forward in some pretty big areas, and I'm proud to associate myself with not just changes that we're making in compensation, but the hard work that our associations put into great agreements about benefits and even things like our working
conditions and stipends and planning time, there's a whole host of things that are improving the landscape for our educators, our leaders, and our support teammates. Today, I'm proud to bring forward collaborative agreements developed by the Board of Education and our employee
associations. SEIU local 500, MCE, and Mcba. These agreements focus on making Montgomery County Public Schools a workplace where people want to be and can be, and remain for a long time. Joining M.C.P.S, I was appreciative of the
partnership that our employee associations had with the Board of Education in the past, and former superintendents that have kind of set the stage for where we are today. I knew I wanted to make this a true working relationship. Our work together is important and is essential in
our next steps as an organization. Needless to say, I appreciate the work that has been done with our associations this year. In particular, I'd like to give some huge shout outs to two teammates that have been working on the M.C.P.S. Side Doctor Dana Edwards and a
new teammate, Michael Stein. No relationship to David Stein, who is also on our team. The talent and commitment on both the M.C.P.S. And the association side has just been absolutely commendable, and I want to give
a special thank you to Pia, David and Christine, who have who have been mentors and collaborators throughout this process and have provided tremendous support in my transition into leadership, your vision and advocacy for your
members is noted and clear and apparent. And I think this these these commitments are memorialized today. I look forward to our continued partnership, in addition to having a great place to work, our phenomenal staff must be
compensated well not only to live, but to thrive in Montgomery County. This is critically important to us, and it is a critical, important to our strategy moving forward. Every classroom that is considered a safe classroom is
one that is fully staffed. Every school that is a safe school is one that is fully staffed. So these agreements are more than just the words that are written in paper. It's really about our strategy to keep our schools safe and moving forward. We want the very best for our staff, a
competitive salary and excellent working conditions to help attract and keep a diverse and talented workforce. I now ask that Doctor Dana Edwards and Mr. Michael Stein provide just a couple of highlights to these amended agreements, so that the
public can be made aware of some of the successes that we're bringing forward. Come on up, Mr. Stein. This is welcoming you to the family. This is right,
right in it. Good afternoon, board members. Doctor Taylor, just a few and thank you for sharing. And again, the collaboration with the associations on behalf of our employees. A couple of highlights. Just to bring
forward in our agreements, we have the culture of respect, which is recommit how we will work together and build just the community that we want to live in. Here in Montgomery County, Public Schools, within our SEIU agreement. What you will find, what you will find, is that we
have taken the opportunity to really solidify the amount of time that our bus drivers and our bus assistants will work to a minimum of 55 hours every two weeks, which is significant in terms of retention as well as a good recruitment tool, as well
as in Montgomery County public schools. We will have no employee who will make less than $20 an hour. So when we. And that's significant as we talk about people thriving as well as living and our teacher contract
and our teacher amendment, which you'll find are some increases in terms of increased autonomy with that individual planning time. We've been discussing this for several years, and to be able to bring that forward this year is significant, as well as being attentive to some of the
stipends that many of our coaches, as well as extracurricular activities, the employees that do those activities within our Macapp contract, they were very thoughtful in our conversations, really focused on the retention of our employees, the recognition of our employees,
and being able to really think about when we have employees that have been with us for five, ten years, how do we recognize that in a compensatory way, as well as being very thoughtful around people who are our
editor, Shirley, winners, and making sure that they do have a level of compensation for that. So I do want to thank the associations. Welcome, Michael Stein to the team and look forward to signing today. If I can just give a shout out to Don
Cobb, who is sitting in the back because I'm new, I kind of came in very late for this particular negotiations, and Don was carrying the bulk of the negotiations for M.C.P.S. Thank you. I'm going to turn to my
colleagues to see if they have any comments in regard to, since we're doing it as a block for all three different associations. Yes. Miss Zimmerman, as a former elementary classroom teacher,
I'm really excited about this planning time for my colleagues and how wonderful that's going to be for our classrooms. I'm just really excited about that for them. Thank you, Mr. Savannah. I'm very grateful to be on the board during this time where we can, you know, really
start to open up a new chapter of our relationships and work really closely with these associations with, with you all to further the student experience in our schools. And I'm so grateful to be here. Thank you, Miss Silvestre. Yeah, echoing my colleagues comments.
Very happy to see all of us here today making progress on these negotiated agreements. I enjoyed reading all of the amendments to the contract. I did read it very carefully and I see some progress as things, things that we've been working on for several years. So happy to do
that. And there's more work to do. So continuing to work with you all to make the changes that our staff and our students need in our system. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Rivera. Evans. You know, we're responsible for
almost 160,000 young people's education, and that is not lost in this document. I really want to thank you. And the people that do that every day in our classrooms where directly or indirectly or support staff. So this really just tells, you
know, the whole issue of how important it is to appreciate those who work for us, how important it is to have trust with those who we work with. And, and just just to respect each other. We can have
differences, but we can do it in a respectful way where we where we know our young people and our children are watching. And we are the Board of Education, after all. So that is those are important qualities to have. So thank you all for doing the work. And it's a it's a joyous,
happy occasion. Miss Wolff, I too want to want to say something about the culture of respect. We've been talking about it for a few years now, so I'm really glad to see it brought back. I also want to
acknowledge what I consider improvement in the agreements, but some of them are still baby steps. We still have a ways to go on some things, and I'm glad to see that we're now at a point where we're actually listening and communicating with each
other. So look forward to working with you and hearing from you directly about the success of these changes. Thank you. Mr. I just want to say go team. We're all in it together
and I think this moves us towards that direction that we're working together, listening. And I really think it's a team effort to get better and that's what we're doing. So thanks. I have a question for
staff. If the public or your members are interested to see this culture of respect compact, where can they find it? It will be on a website. We do need to build out a larger website, but we'll make a link to it. We'll send information out today and
everyone will be able to see it. Thank you, Miss Zimmerman. I just wanted to say that I think it's serendipitous that we're looking at the culture of respect and that now all of our staff in M.c.p.s will be making
at least $20 an hour, that that is a way that we show that we respect our workers and we respect our staff, is paying them well and showing that we value them. Thank you for that comment. Now, seeing no lights, we're going to go through each
result in each with each association. So may I have the staff read the result for our agreement with the SEIU please. Sure. Resolved, that the Board of Education approved the
amendments to the Service Employees International Union Local 500 for the school year 2023 to 2026 contract, and may it further be resolved that the president of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools be authorized to sign
the amended agreement according to said agreement and the law. Move approval. Second. All in favor, please raise your hand. Unanimous. With those present. Let's move on to MCE, please.
Resolved, that the Board of Education approved the amendments to the Montgomery County Education Association Agreement for the school year 2023 to 2027 contract, and may it further be resolved that the president of the Board of Education and the Superintendent
of Schools be authorized to sign the amended agreement according to the agreement to set agreement and the law. Move approval second. All in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. Thank you. Everyone.
Can we move to McCabe and Mboa? Resolved, that the Board of Education approved the amendment to the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals, Montgomery County Business and Operations Administrators agreement for the
school years 2023 to 2025 contract. And may it further be resolved that the president of the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools be authorized to sign the amended agreement according to said agreement and the law. Move
approval second. All in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. With those present now. Thank you everyone. Thank you for our negotiators, our association partners, of school at a school system admin and the
board member for this collective effort, I would like to invite all association to join us in the front here, all the board members and the superintendent for a signing ceremony of the culture of Respect and the
amendments to the Association agreements.
This district is. Susskind anybody? Oh, yeah.
Okay. Over here, I don't, I don't. Not today. Let's get Christina. Yeah. She's right. Christina. Okay. Miss Stewart.
Mr. Lorraine. I want to be able to see everybody's face. Here.
Okay, great. Looks good. Everybody here. Okay. Looks good. It looks great. Yep. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Thank you,
thank you. Okay. That's right. Just make sure. That's right. Yes I'm sure. Okay okay okay.
Okay. Okay. That's the guys here. Oh come on. David, get in
there. Okay. Okay. Let's go. Sorry. Let's take a picture.
Yes. Thank you. Once signed, can we hold them up like Miss Yang is? Sure. Yeah. Sorry. We're going to hold it up. Yeah? Yeah.
Yes. No. That's right. I don't. The biggest story of
the day. Everybo Great faces. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes. One more. I'll take those
for you. Okay. Thank you. Gotcha. On this last one we have five. Everybody I know. Sorry. Oops sorry I missed that. No
worries. No I had. Yes. Right. That's all right.
I'll bring it. Up. You know what I should say first. Okay. Yeah. What do you say? You want your members? Yes, please. Oh, yes.
Yes, yes. Oh, okay. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Good. Sorry. You're the last one. Okay. So this is everybody. You sorry. There's no
more. Okay. Okay. Yes, Mike. Mike, slide in this side. Slide over. Slide right in. Good friend. Good friendly on your side. Slide over. Yeah. Guys.
Come on. Yes! Hold on. Wait one second. Hold it up for a second. We've got a couple of. Things. Come on. Because there's an actual contract to be signed. Yes, yes. Really? Yes. Everybody
look here. Thank you. Good. Okay. All right. Thank you SEIU. All right. Okay. And CEA is next. And then McCann. Right. Good to see you. Thank you,
thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I think he's going to do it. But guess what you see. A
taste in your mouth. Smiles smiles. This one. Over here.
Yeah. This. Guy. This big one. Come here. David, can you hold it up? Yeah. Everybody look this way for the camera over here,
please. Okay. Okay. Right here. Please. Okay. That is the last
one I have that. No. Reopener. We're here. Yeah, okay. You said it was more work to do. Okay.
Doctor handy, come on over. To. Make room for Doctor Handy here. We got to get. All right, I want. You sign you on the wrong
one. Okay? We got spares. First. Hold it up. Yeah, hold it up. Yeah. Nice. Right there.
Showing proof of life. Looking good. All right. Got it. Okay, everyone okay? That is the last one. Yes, that is the last one. Yes. And then what? Five. Oh,
yeah, I know. What you. And then I will. Read the rest
again. Yeah. Just cover it. I mean, just like that. So only the only place you put a red fish and. Okay, okay, I don't know. That's the best idea you had today. Not today. First time. Okay. We are ahead of
schedule. Yeah, the day went ahead, you know, because the recess is built in here. Why don't you just do it now? Because it's going of hard to say it. Announce it. Okay. We are going to have five minutes
strictly five minutes recess. Then we'll come back for the rest of the agenda. Excellent.
Okay. That's great. That's good.
Good afternoon everyone. Welcome back from the recess. We are moving to item 9.1. Legislative positions at the table is our board's legislative affairs coordinator, miss Patty Armstrong. Miss Brown, please go
ahead. Good afternoon. I am Patty Ursprung, the coordinator of legislative affairs for the board. And I'm here today to ask the board to take a couple positions on some pieces of legislation that are being discussed in Annapolis, just as a kind of update of where we are in the session. Yesterday was
what we call crossover day, and that is the day that any bill that either chamber is going to pass must be passed and sent to the other chamber in order to guarantee a hearing. And hopefully, hopefully, the Bill will then continue forward to be
passed. If the Bill has not crossed over by yesterday, it doesn't mean the bill is dead, but the path forward is a little more challenging. So we are definitely in the homestretch. Sine die, which is the final day of the session, is on April 7th.
So we have a few weeks and then we see where we stand. So with that I will start to I'll turn to the report with the bills that we want to discuss. The first bill is HB 1245 and the cross file is SB 852, the
blueprint for Maryland's future alterations. This is a blueprint alteration bill. This is the Public School Superintendents Association of Maryland. The recommendations in this bill were developed by Casm and focused largely on creating and providing some flexibility among
the blueprint requirements. The in broad strokes, kind of the major provisions of the bill are that it would permit LEAs, which are local education agencies. It would give them the ability to end the career counseling relationship with local workforce development boards. But it does not require that
that happen. It would allow school boards to request a waiver of minimal school funding requirements for individual schools within the system that have less than 350 students, it would remove principals and assistant principals from the career ladder, and would reduce the salary increases that are
associated with earning national board certification, and that is to free up some funding in the in the blueprint, it updates the definition of a tier one child and allows local boards to apply income eligibility requirements for payment of AP and IB test
fees. And then finally, it contains two studies. One would be aimed at determining if national board certification improves student outcomes, and then another is on special education funding adequacy. This bill, like I said, is aimed at
kind of creating a little bit of flexibility within the blueprint. I don't know, and I don't believe that we would utilize everything that is in the bill. But as a whole package, it is something that we would recommend that this board support. Okay, I'm going to turn to our board colleagues to see if there's any comments or
questions. Please limit your limit your comment to one and your question to one. Mr. Savona. So we're supporting the whole bill instead of supporting in part because as a whole, the bill is something like there's nothing in the bill that we, you know, for lack of better words
like that we can't live with. Correct? Correct. And because it provides flexibility, it's a statewide bill. So we know that some of our sister systems, like some of the provisions of the bill that we might not utilize. So like I said, as a whole, because of the flexibility it
provides to boards to be able to utilize funds and implement the program in a way that that the board see fit, it kind of aligns with our local autonomy goal. So that's why we support the board, the bill as a whole, even though there are some provisions we likely wouldn't utilize. So not
utilized versus don't want. That's correct okay. Perfect. Thank you. See no other lights. May I have a motion move to support this bill? Second. All in favor please raise your hand.
That's unanimous. With those present. Next one please. Great. So the next bill is House Bill 1512 or the cross file is Senate Bill 887. And this deals with the reappointment of an incumbent county superintendent.
I will note that Senate Bill 887 has crossed over. It made the deadline yesterday. So what this bill does is it alters the process by which the contract of a sitting superintendent can be renewed. Under current law, the board must wait until the final year of the superintendent's
contract to offer a renewal. And this bill in its amended form, it does take a slightly different form than how it was originally presented. The amended form would allow a board to offer a renewal at any point after the second full year of service for a superintendent, so the goal of the bill is to improve continuity and longevity
of effective superintendents by permitting the renewal of a contract sooner, to kind of show that vote of confidence and allow the superintendent to know that we want to extend that contract and keep them on board. So for those reasons, we would recommend that the board support
this piece of legislation. So I'm going to turn to my colleague to see if there's lights for questions. The bill is to make superintendent contract extension allow two years at the end to do so. Right. Seeing no lights. May I
have a motion, please? Hopefully to the pleasure of Superintendent Taylor moved to support this bill. Second. All in favor, please raise your hand. And that's unanimous with those present. Thank. Yeah. So
board member Montoya just joined us online. Okay, great. And then the final bill is HB 1207, which is the Montgomery County Board of Education Compensation bill that the delegation proposed. This bill also has been amended
pretty significantly from its current from its original form. Originally, it dealt with board member compensation as a whole and increasing the compensation of the board. It got amended to deal solely with the student member compensation. And while the compensation for the student
member does not, the level does not increase. In current law, the student member can only receive the compensation as in the form of a scholarship for post-secondary education, and this bill would allow the student member to receive their compensation either as a
scholarship, a stipend, or a combination of the two. This might result in expanding access to the student member role. We know that not every student will pursue post-secondary education that requires a scholarship. We and we as a system, and the blueprint requires that we focus
on being college and career ready. So students who might want to choose a path that takes them directly into a career would not necessarily need a scholarship. There are also students who have to work a part time job to help with family finances, and can't afford to
not have some sort of employment where they are compensated in order to do this work. So switching the compensation model from only a scholarship to a scholarship or a stipend makes the position of student member of the board available to a larger group of students. So we
see this as kind of a matter of equity. And for that reason, we would recommend that the board support this piece of legislation. Okay. I'm gonna check to see if there's any light, Mr. Savona. Yes. So having having followed, you know, the House delegation meetings closely, I'm glad to,
you know, in a moment motion to support this bill. I also did want to say, you know, when it comes to, to equity in our school district, right? When we think about the student member of the board role and just the board of education role in general, we want to be as representative as possible, right? The opportunity cost for
a student to hold this position, to be quite frank, is a lot more than $25,000, right? In terms of the scholarship, if I was working the hours that I work at the board at a minimum wage job, I'd be making more than I than I do per hour here. Right? And I have to give up a lot in terms
of extracurriculars, as have my 46 other predecessors. So, you know, a lot of the conversation around the bill that got to this point, you know, had some sort of had a lot of debate over those things, but, you know, glad to be in a, in a moment again, motioning to support this bill just to increase the equity
for, for our future student members of the board. And I'm glad, glad to hopefully get this passed across the Senate and see if we can, you know, get this done for our students. Thank you for that comment. Seeing no other light checking one more time. I don't see any other
light or raise hand. So may I have a motion move to support this bill? Second, all in favor, please raise your hand. Thank you everyone. That's unanimous. With those. With all of us. All right, so, Miss Osbourne, with
that, is that all of the bills we are voting taking action today? Those are all the bills I have for you. Yes. Thank you so much. Let's move on to the next agenda item. Agenda item 11,
which is final action policy GA Workforce excellence. So for this agenda item I'm going to go to boundary. When we go to the boundary boundary are we going
to. So I'm just being I just now I'm informed that we're going to do a minor switch of our agenda is going. We are going to talk about boundary study first before we go into policy. So we
are going to go into our next item boundary study program and program analysis update. May I have the presenters come to the front table and make sure you introduce yourself. This is a
topic of great interest to the board and to the community. We are building in incremental updates so that we can keep everyone informed. Ms. Yang to the meeting. Yeah. Miss Yang,
just procedural point of order. If we could request the board make a motion to revise the agenda to reflect the reordering of the items, move to revise the agenda to reflect the reordering of the items. Second, all in favor, please raise your hand.
Thank you everyone. That's unanimous. Thank you. Thank you, President Yang. And I will say that this is likely to be a very hot topic in regular fixture at meetings to come, and even beginning with today, we heard
testimony from the community about the boundary study. We will continue to hear more testimony from the community about the boundary study and the associated projects, in particular, the program analysis. Today, you will hear an update on the current boundary study progress, and we
have entered into a contractual agreement on February 6th, 2025, with Flow Analytics to conduct and facilitate our boundary study for the reopening of Charles W Woodward High School, the new Crown High School, and the expansion of Damascus High School. In the fall of 2027. The
scope of services in the contractual agreement with Flow Analytics includes project consultation and data validation, development of the community engagement process, impartial analysis of the boundary study options, facilitation of the community
engagement, coordination of my recommendations and the Board of Education study process. Today we will focus on our initial onboarding and project planning with flow analytics and the initial community engagement process aligned to the board's
policies, including policy for the Educational Facilities Planning and ABA, the Community Engagement Policy. The team will return for another update on April 10th, 2025, during the board business meeting to
provide an update on the process and to present a draft community engagement plan. We'll also talk very briefly about the program analysis plan as well. I will now ask Mr. Adnan Mahmoud, our Deputy Chief of Facilities
Management and our Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Niki Hazel, to present. Good afternoon. So can we get the slide deck up, please? Thank you. Yeah. So good afternoon. We are here to
provide an update as Doctor Taylor already said, to talk about what we have done so far and what is currently happening. There is a lot to update on that front. And as well as give you an update and preview of what's
to come over the next few few months. So before we start our discussion today, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge some of the feedback as we have started engaging with our
community partners and to in our effort to have a culturally responsive community engagement. There's an overarching theme that we have heard from the community members about their experiences that they have had in the past, boundary studies.
So we're you know, we are utilizing that feedback as we move forward with our study. Many of the community members have shared their frustrations about a lack of communication and the trust in the process. So we're this is why we're going to be, you know, using this opportunity to try to do this in
a much more comprehensive way. We are community committed to ensuring these studies are conducted in alignment with our board policy, FAA as well as the board policy, ABA, which is our community engagement guidelines. So what has happened so far? We
have contracted with Flow Analytics. We have had multiple meetings with them to start talking about our data. For that is going to be analyzed for the boundary study. We have also put together a cross-functional project team from across M.C.P.S. Different divisions,
including facilities, transportation, food and nutrition, academics. And we're meeting with flow on a regular basis to start discussing about the all the data. And then we have also put together a
community advisory group that is from the different organizations within the community. And we're, you know, engaging them to prepare the community engagement plan that we will bring to the board on April the 10th. And then in the next few months,
we're going to start going out to the community and start informing. The first set of meetings is going to start happening in April. We'll talk a little bit more about that as we go further down the presentation. And then in May, we're going to start presenting the boundary options to the
community. Next slide please. So there are, you know, in parallel to the boundary study there's miss Hazel is going to talk a little bit about the analysis of the program programs that we have in our secondary schools.
We have kind of divided the, the efforts into several phases. So we've already finished the first phase, which was to for the boundary study, which was to, you know, finalize our contract. We're currently in the data collection phase, as well as initial community engagement
meetings. And then between May and July, we're going to have developed boundary scenarios and present the options to the community and provide the community opportunities to provide us feedback about about these options. And then over the
summer, those are going to be the feedback is going to be analyzed. And back in August and September when the schools open back up, we will go back to the community for any updated options to and provide, you know, opportunity for the community to provide more
feedback. And then October through February is going to be when the final analysis analysis is going to happen. And we're going to sit down with Doctor Taylor and creating the superintendent's recommendation. And that's going to be taken to the board in February. And the vote is due in March. This is
for the boundary study. I'm going to hand it over to miss Hazel to talk about the program analysis. Thank you. So as was stated, we are doing a program analysis, all of our academic programs across the district. And our goal ultimately is to
ensure that we have equitable programing for all of our students across the district. And so this program analysis includes all of our programs. And so it's all schools. So it goes actually beyond our boundary schools that that we're
focusing on. Our first phase was to collect data to ensure that we were very clear about all of the programs, who's in the programs, where they're located, demographics, and the implications on operations as well. So that piece is finished
and we are putting that together and packaging it for you all and for the community to better understand where we are. And now we are in the second phase, as we are working to ensure that we have an advisory group, our goal is to have some of the members
from the Boundary Advisory Group join our group so that there is some consistency and understanding the process and what is taking place. But we want to make sure that we have a nice group of members on our
committee from all parts of the community in our district, our students and our staff who can really give us some good input on our programs. And we will develop a framework for programs, hopefully by the end of next month. It's a tight
timeline, but that is our goal, to be able to develop a framework so that we're very clear about what we want for all of our students in the district as it relates to equitable programing. And then as we move into our our later phases, we want to work alongside of flow
analytics and our our facilities team to ensure that when they are presenting boundary options, that there are also programing options that go along with it. And then ultimately, as you can see there, as we begin implementation phase, we will ultimately get to our elementary
schools as well. But it is very important for us to have a clear understanding of what our high school programing will look like, where programs will be located in the district over time, and then be able to kind of have that vertical articulation for our elementary
as we move forward. So that is the high level plan. If you could go to the next slide. So our. Policy FAA, our educational facilities planning and Board
regulation, FAA Ras, which is the educational facilities planning, also relates to education facilities planning, identified four main factors one we are creating a recommendation for the board to consider any boundary studies. These factors
include demographic characteristics of student population, geography, stability of school assignments over time, meaning making sure that you know students are not getting moved multiple times during their, you know, experience in one school. And then obviously one of the other factors is
facility utilization. The this policy guides the educational facility planning process and leads to the equitable and fiscally responsible and educationally sound decisions while promoting public understanding for these processes. When developing recommendations for the board,
the superintendent of the school will provide a rationale for each recommendation that demonstrates the extent to which any recommendation advances any of these factors listed here. While each of the factors will be considered, it may not be feasible for an individual
option to be able to adequately address all the factors listed here. So that would be, you know, the decision point for the board at that time. Go to the next slide, please. So these are some of the initial engagement that we have already started
talking about. We put together the M.C.P.S. Project team. That's a cross-functional team that has all the members from transportation food and nutrition, academics and logistics as well as facilities. And these are the team members that are, you know, already
started, you know, having discussions with flow about the existing data. Then we also have the community project team, which includes the team members from the different community organizations that are coming along with us. They're going to be helping us shape the
community engagement plan that we plan to bring back to the board on April the 10th. They're going to help us, you know, provide the feedback from the and the diverse voices that we would like to hear as we move forward through this boundary
study process. And then we also will be working with the board Education Advisory Committee when that when that committee is formed and when they start having their meetings, we will make sure to engage with them and keeping them informed, as
well as having them review the community engagement plan and getting their feedback. And obviously the largest component is this the community at large. As we start engaging the community, we're going to make sure that we're taking every opportunity to reach out to as
many community members as we can. And in that regard, we have already started getting some really good feedback from our community project team as to how we should, you know, think about and be thoughtful and be deliberate in our approach to the reaching out to the
community instead of just targeting, say, the high school auditoriums. You know, some of the feedback that we have received is to also have these meetings in the middle schools and the elementary schools, because by the time this
boundary study actually goes into implementation, these are the students and the families that are going to be coming into those high schools. Next slide please. So as far as the community engagement, our
commitments. Is, is to adhere to the board policy, ABA and to develop and promotion of inclusivity, cultural cultural responsiveness and anti-racist engagement. And these are the
things that we're going to put together and present to the board on April the 10th. And then, you know, our commitment is to engage the stakeholders who reflect the community's diversity and experiences. And to that regard, we have reached
out and in in our community project team, we do have a diverse group of community members, and we're still, you know, working with other groups. And we also are, you know, going to be working with Mr. Sivana to engage some of the student
members that, you know, we could get the student voices as we move forward with the with the study. We also are planning to meet with the Faith Council and end of this month to talk to them about, you know, providing some additional members. So from different portions of our
community to help us, you know, give feedback throughout this process. So as I started talking about our community engagement, the first set of engagement is going to start first week of
April. We're going to have two sets of meetings for each one of the two boundary studies. There's going to be two meetings for the Woodward boundary study, and there's going to be two meetings for the Crown and
Damascus High School expansion project, community engagement. And one of these meetings are going to be virtual. So the first meeting on April 2nd will be virtual for Woodward. It would be, you know, hosted in zoom. And we will make sure all
the closed captioning is available for anybody who participates. We do plan to record these meetings so that it is available for any community members that you know are unable to participate. On the second, they will have an opportunity to go back and review these
meetings, and then we're going to have an in-person meeting for Woodward on the eighth. And then for the Crown. We're, you know, having a meeting on the seventh in virtually, as well as an in-person meeting in
Gaithersburg High School, high school on the ninth. So the first set of meetings, a lot of folks have already started asking what the purpose of these meetings are, and are we presenting any options at these meetings? And the answer to that is no, we have not started, you know, developing any options for
the study yet. The purpose of the first four meetings is just to bring the community along and getting them oriented to the boundary study, just talking to them about the process, talking to them about how they are able to give us feedback as the study
progresses and the survey, you know, the links to the surveys as well as we will also provide them with the calendar dates for the future meetings, so they know when you know when they can expect us back in their communities to start actually talking about options. So the first set of meetings are going
to be just to orient the communities so that they know what's happening and what they can expect throughout the process. In round two, we will go back in May, late May and early June, and this is when we do plan to start presenting the initial options to the
community. What it will do is allow them to look at the look at the options, the initial thoughts and how it affects each one of the four factors. And then you know they will have the entire summer to be able to give us feedback on those options, which we can collect over the
summer for future phases of this project. Sorry. There. Okay, so
yes, the engagement timeline. So April is going to be the initial sessions, as I discussed, both virtual and in person. And in May and June, we're going to have community meeting sessions, which will, you know, we will present the initial options at that time, and then we will also
give them the survey that will allow them, the community to provide feedback. And then between July and August, we're going to collect all the surveys and look at all the feedback that we are getting from the community and use that feedback
to refine those options and go back to the community in September for a second round of discussion and presenting presentation of options to the community. And then October November time frame, we will be collecting more feedback from the community in order for us to present the superintendent's
recommendation in December of 2025. Okay. So. I think that is the. Yep. So essentially that was an update on what, you know,
what has been happening with the boundary study, what has happened, what we are doing currently and what we plan to do in the next few months. As I, you know, Doctor Taylor has already mentioned that we will be back on April 10th with our community engagement plan for a discussion with the board at
that time. And now we will open it up for board member questions. Thank you for the presentation. Now, I know the boundary study are not just about adjusting the school zones. It's also about our
planning for the future. And that's why we have both the boundary study and the program analysis happen at the same time now. So I'm going to open up for my colleagues for questions and comments. I'm going to start
from my right hand side, and then I'll go online. So Mr. One question and one comment first, Ron. Well, first of all, thank you. I'm so happy that we're getting started and the message
has gone out to the community that these meetings are coming up. I did get some feedback that the first meeting is at Walter Johnson, the DCC, which is five
high schools, huge community. They're feeling nervous about this whole process just because the discussion of Woodward really started to tell you the truth in the WJ cluster. And so to get buy in from the
community, knowing that we have Einstein, which is hugely overcrowded, and Blair, which is the biggest school, I think, in Maryland. So and crowded, and also Wheaton, which is bursting at the seams. They want to know
that they will have. Input that will be seriously listened to. And so I know the meetings have been scheduled, but whatever we can do to get the DCC to show up and if that means possibly after
the first meeting, if you see a low attendance rate to schedule something to kick this off in the down county, it would go far. So we have a level playing field from the very beginning. And some of this is perception,
but that is it is it is a perception. So thank you, Miss Wolff. Thank you for the work you've done so far. My big concern, of course, is program
evaluation because as you know, East County is not in the boundary study. At least the Northeast Consortium is not. So, you know, we heard Bridget Howell ask several very good questions about the program
evaluation. And when I started thinking about I think I know the answer. Maybe I don't I think it would be a good idea. And you could tell me how much. I don't know how much work would be involved in this, to put up a Q&A about it on our website or whatever website that that you
think it appropriate to go on. But I think it would help people understand in the Q&A needs to include why now? Why are why now? When you're doing a boundary study, they don't seem to be related. So how is this
going to be integrated into that? Now, I know that you said one question, but these questions won't make any sense if I have to wait to go all the way around. So I'm just going to go on with my other one. I, I
don't I think that you're doing a lot of community outreach for the boundary study. I'm wondering, don't we need community outreach so people understand program evaluation so that they understand how this is going to impact them, even though they're not a part of the
boundary study, and they get buy in and feel like they're a part of whatever is being decided, because right now, there's no feeling that anybody cares about what's going on over there. It's sort of like starting to feel like an island unto itself. And
so I think it would be really important while you're having these initial community meetings, that you have a few initial community meetings over in the East County, so that we don't feel left out of everything. Plus, I think
program evaluation could have an impact on a lot of things if you do this right. And the fact that East County is left out kind of raises the question. And I'm going to keep saying that, by the way, so you could get used to it kind of raises the
question of the case program over at Sherwood by Sherwood not being a part of the Northeast Consortium. I think it misses out on students who might think about going there because there's no bus transportation over to Sherwood from where we
are. So that's just something that I wanted you to think about, because we're really starting to feel like an island unto ourselves. And I don't really like that feeling. Thank you, Miss Wolff. Okay, so I'm going to go to Miss Rivera-Oven.
Thank you. Did you want to answer or no? Okay. Yes you did. Okay. I was going to talk to. Can you turn on your mic, please? Yeah. You want to respond to that? But I didn't know whether we were waiting to for everybody to make their
comments or should we respond? Mr. Mamoon, I appreciate that. If you would like to answer a board members comment, turn on your light and then we will have you answer the question. Yes. Thank you. Okay. Sorry. So going back to your comment about the engant. So that is an
excellent point, something that we also talked about as far as you know, how do we reach out to the broader community? The idea behind the first two meetings were that, yes, these are extremely important meetings. These are again, mostly talking
about the process, but not necessarily actually talking about any of the of the boundary options. And so these are very important meetings. So we try to do those in locations where there public transportation are available, which is why we, you know, picked a pick. The high
schools that we did as well as, you know, Gaithersburg High School being one of them for the first round for Crown allows us to, you know, allow more, you know, more people to join. And then we're going to obviously have those meetings recorded as well, the online versions of it. So people are able to able to,
you know, view them. And as we move forward with the with the future phases of the boundary study, we're going to be scheduling these at different high schools for, for, for, you know, for different rounds. And again, you know, as we see the
attendance, we do have, you know, flexibility built into our contract to add more meetings. So the comment that you made about, you know, if we're not seeing proper, you know, amount of participation, then we will obviously will have the ability to add more meetings. And, you know, in certain locations to
make sure that we're reaching as many of the community members as we can. Just as a quick follow up, being that you're not that this is it for the rollout, we want to make sure that at least it is going out to directly to
parents through communication systems, through the remind, through email and different languages. So we don't we won't get the message back like, oh, we didn't know this was happening. So the full on push
to let people know that it will have there will be a virtual option and accessible in-person option, but sooner than later so that the messaging really gets out to just about everyone. So
thank you. Yeah. Thank you for that. Thank you, Miss Rivera. Yes, thank you so much for the presentation. I'm just trying to when you say, you know, there's
already the community meetings, I thought you meant Woodward and crowned in April, but it sounds like there's other meetings going on. I'm just wondering if we can make sure that we have that on the website. All the meetings that in a calendar and
schedule, of all the meetings that are happening, if there's a meeting coming up, if we can highlight that for that week so people know. And on Mrs. Wolff point about the Q and A, I think it's a great idea. I think we
even should be explaining what a program evaluation is, what goes into a program evaluation, what are the ingredients of a program evaluation, right. Not just assume that our community members already have, right, that they're all like great evaluators, but just, you know, to give to give our community
the tools and knowledge to be able to be engaged in this and to keep in mind that we have a lot of first generation. We are a very, you know, multicultural, diverse community that we have a lot of people that have not been engaged because sometimes they don't have the tools, so they
feel out of place. So I would like us to figure out how we can do like a toolkit on how to go through a boundary. And you can share it with me to boundary evaluation. And when you have all these committees, right,
these advisory committees, the project team, the MCC project, the community at large, I know there's going to be communication, but I think it's important when the communication is being taken, because if we want some of these committees or like the board of the Education
Advisory Committee to really be able to make an impact, because these are people that are taking time off of their time to be able to come, you know, and give of their of their time that we actually, you know, things have now already happened where they're not going to be able to have a say, you'll be able to
have an input. So I, I'm hoping that there's going to be a way of communication that is going to be just very clear and coherent to be able, you know, and synchronize. Right. So I'm hoping that everybody's calendars and times are, you know, you're all going to share
all that good stuff and then be able then to have cohesiveness into the process. Thank you, Miss Silvestri. Yes, very much looking forward to the larger comprehensive community engagement plan that you will
present to us April 10th, I think you said, and these two kick off meetings, we got to get them right because it sets the tone for the whole process going forward. So no pressure. But.
You know, just wanted to emphasize that point and just a point of clarification. The program evaluation. Miss Hazel, you I heard you say it will include elementary school programs. Could you clarify tha?
We will begin with analyzing high school and middle school first. And as we make recommendations for how we ensure that we've looked at all the programs and recommendations for where we may replicate programs across the district for
equitable access and things of that nature, then the next phase will be elementary, because we want to make sure high school, high school and middle school programs are set. And those elementary programs align to what the middle and high school programs are. So we want to get
that down first, and then the next phase will be elementary. I just want to add one sentence to that. Thank you, Madam President. And Miss Silvestri, a good way to think about this, and also why it's good to look at the secondary just in general, when you're doing any kind of boundary adjustment or
any kind of program adjustment is you you really need to conceptualize this of where you want the students to end and then backward map how to get there in the most effective and efficient way that you can. So it is smart for us. Perfect
world. We do all of this all at one time. But even if we were to do all of this at one time, as impractical as that would be, we would still scope and sequence it in this order, because we would want to start with what the aspiration is for an end point. What would what what are
we expecting of a graduate to attain, and then what programmatic decisions need to inform how we get to that point. So what miss Hazel is talking about is as we're ramping up, it's really about as we're
mapping backwards. Thank you. Miss Zimmerman. Thank you. I also, you know, I appreciate all the work that has been done on this update. I appreciate that also that a lot of this work is being done in-house and M.C.P.S.
Thank you for that. I also have a question about our program study and it it sounds like it sounds like there's some confusion about what what are kind of our expected outcomes of
this. Like can the community expect that they're going to see more programs open, or are they expected to see programs closed? Are they expecting to see programs move? I think clarifying that would help kind of ease a lot of a lot of the questions. And that is perfect
for what we are doing in phase two. We are taking a look at the data we have in some areas, very low enrollment and low interest, but we havegrams running. We have in some areas high
interest, long waiting lists, one program. And so we are in a place where we need to make decisions about how do we ensure that those programs that have high interest and there's high industry demand are placed equitably in our district? It
may be we replicate programs, maybe we sunset a program. We need a long term and a short term plan for how we roll that out. So that will be phase two with our stakeholder group to really make some decisions about, again, what do we want
for our students? What's mandatory from the state and where are we? Where do we want to be 510 years from now with, with our programing and looking at it across the district, making sure that all of our areas, East County, everywhere,
that there are programs for our students to be able to access. So phase two is really outlining that. And then the third phase would be how do we implement it? So what does the actual phase a phase in plan look like. So that's what we will be doing. And we'll continue to update the
community. We do plan to do a survey. And I think the website, the Q&A, all of that is a really great idea to keep the community updated. Okay, so it sounds like the community can expect that there will be change, but it's going to be based on where we see our student interest and our
growth. Great. Speaking of that notification, I know environmentally we try to focus on reducing the amount of paper that we use. But I also can speak that there are many families that check folders. And, you know, that's part of the routine. It might be
something that we consider in notification across that that's that's something that is easily accessed by everyone. And that's something that we could consider doing. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr. Savona. Yes. Thank you. I want to say I appreciate the dedication to
really receiving student input across all aspects, you know, from the board side to the M.C.P.S. Side of both of the sort of community engagement partners. Really having that focus on student input is, is important to me. Moreover, even the potential of going into schools during the day and starting to speak to students
during that, you know, we don't have to take an entire community engagement session just to listen to the students. And, you know, it really frees up some more time for us to listen to, to all sides of our constituents, right from our students during like potential, like lunch or even during for our community members after school. During some of those
engagement sessions, I want to say in regards to the program evaluation, like true and comprehensive program evaluation really does mean across the county, right? As someone who, you know, who is bussed over an hour right to get to a program,
right. And it it is a very difficult thing to take up. And it was one of the reasons why I left my program. Right. Because it would have meant an hour to be busted cross. But also understanding that if we're looking at program evaluation, a big part of that means that
programs can be located accessibly, but they also must be implemented with fidelity to ensure effectiveness. So whenever we're looking at whatever the program evaluation may be, how are we ensuring the effectiveness of these programs to the state that they that they are currently being seen at, or
how are we improving them beyond what we're seeing them in? It's not enough to just put a program somewhere and say, well, we gave you accessibility. If we're not going to give the resources to support it. And I believe in M.C.P.S. To give the resources to these programs have really helped them and make them thrive. And then my final thing
is really about the access to information. So like I think the an update on dedicated like can, can we get an update on the dedicated redistricting page that we were talking about a while ago? And then also any materials that we're talking
about with regards to redistricting and the program evaluation should really be easily accessible. And every single piece of material that we're putting out to the community should be available in one space, one one page on the website. And I would really even go as far to say as including a
tab at the top of our website for this, because it's such a big part of what our community is going to see over the next couple of years, that I think it's that important that we would really do that much. I understand if that's not possible, but I do believe that we need to make the communication as accessible as possible, and access to
information should not be a barrier to entry. Thank you. I'm going to go check online to see if Miss Montoya has any comments or questions. Go ahead. Miss Montoya, thank you so much, and I apologize for having to step out and take the remainder of
the meeting from home. I just wanted to say thank you to both of you and all of your staff and all of the other M.C.P.S. Staff. I know that these are two very large lifts, and it takes a lot to organize, and it takes a lot to gather all of this information and put it into a
coherent approach. So I appreciate that. I appreciate these slides. They're very clear. It gives me a snapshot of all of the important information. I'm going to carry this around in my bag so that when people ask me, I can provide them with these times
and dates and timelines. So I just want to say thank you, both of you, for providing some clear slides for us today. Thank you. I have a few I have a comment, so tag along with Miss Montoya's comment. So we need to cut
through the noise. So having a clear chart is very helpful of the timeline. And I also say throughout our community engagement make it make sense. It's very overwhelming for our families. These are their children. We are talking where
to attend school. We are talking about. So avoid the jargons. For example, when you talk about proximity, right? Actually just be simple. Say, hey, this might change this, this bus route. This might means this neighborhood might need to take
the bus, or this means this neighborhood can walk. Cut through some jargons when we do that. And also and every meeting clearly with what's next. I think when we have a community gathering and afterwards people
are in a waiting pattern. So to be able to make it clear, say our next engagement or today we are doing this, our next step will be this. And the timeline for that is probably during this time. That will be very helpful
for our families. And one more thing is set the expectation. What are the chances in the school system with 160,000 students, everyone is happy any single day, right? And the same with boundary studies that this
these are difficult conversations that we know that the end result, not every family will be happy with the end result. However, in our effort, we need to be clear. We need to gather all the feedback and make
clear rationale what the final recommendation is and why we are making those recommendations. So in the whole process of boundary study, I think that setting expectations and making an effort to meet our expectations,
lack of clear communication, robust community engagement is important. My final question is when you are going out to do when you do the zoom session and
that page, would that be posted? And how would that be communicated beyond our regular email to, to our communities? Yeah. So we are working on different many different ways of
getting out, not just the email. We're also considering getting it out through our partners to the county offices, their outreach. We're also, you know, as you know, one already was mentioned about, you know, maybe having a piece of paper with a QR code or a link to the meeting
that goes out to the in the backpacks, to the, to the students. So we're, you know, we're looking at, you know, the broadest way possible for us to be able to get that information out. And as far as Mr. Suvarna's question about there is a dedicated website, but I love your suggestion about, you know,
making sure that there is a link to it on the on our main page. So when people are visiting our main website that there's, you know, one of the things like a banner maybe that says, you know, boundary study and then you know, if it but we do have a page so folks are able to get the information about the
meetings, previous recordings, any of the information will be available on our website. So I appreciate that using other organizations, trusted community organization or community
connectors, it has proven to be very effective in the past in the county. So I hope we can continue to do that. All right. Are there any other lights? Mr. So not to throw a monkey wrench
in the I'm going to say the wrong thing. So I'm just going to stay away from sayings, the transportation study that was also supposed to be happening soon. There was a community
members and other people set up to talk about the transportation study. The reason I'm bringing that up is that when we do our program study, transportation has a lot to do with that. And so I don't want to miss an
opportunity to fix some of the complications that happened today with our programs and transportation. And also knowing that there's other modes of transportation that can be used
now, because some of that changed at the state level about what's allowed. And this could open up flexibility. And also looking forward maybe even to work on healthier start times.
So will what's happening with the transportation study, along with the this other huge study that's happening? So I can't speak to the study. However, we are working very closely with
transportation, with the program analysis and plan. So they are working alongside us as we are mapping out any programs for the future. Transportation and facilities are working with us,
and they're so they're very much included in that plan. And I don't know about the study. Yeah. For the boundary study as well. I mean, we do have, as we mentioned, our cross-functional team that is working with flow very closely includes, you know,
our transportation team. And, you know, because, you know, obviously when we're talking about boundaries, one of the first things we start with is the work zones. And then kind of work our way out. And transportation has been involved in those communications and those discussions as we start. So they will be part of this
entire study process as we as we move forward, is the transportation study still happening or is that on hold, or do we know I believe that we do have that in the works. And there is a component here. And
if Cat, if you want to come forward to talk a little bit about Perfect World, all of these things dovetail into a new reality for M.C.P.S. That's a lot more efficient than the one that we're working with right now, and transportation is a big
part of that. I know that we've we've entertained some thoughts from a few constituents about elements of the transportation study that could even be potentially expanded to conceptualize some other frameworks with start times and a few other things, too. So those are some things I know
that we're, we're, we're looking at as well. But Cat, thank you for being here. And please share some thoughts. Yes, absolutely. So we have a steering committee that was formed after the consultant report was created and shared. And we are working
through the part of the study that dealt with the routing solution. And so we just completed an RFP for the routing solution. The members of our committee were invited in to give feedback on the RFI submissions. And all of that is
being used to form the basis for an RFP for the transportation routing solution. And we're very excited about that because it hasn't been updated since I started in 1999. So I'm fairly certain before that when the new Blair opened. And so that is a
huge part of this, because the efficiency that comes with using an updated system allows us to make better decisions and support programs in a better way, which is amazing for our students. So I'm very excited about that work and the sort of
the connections that it brings to the boundary studies, as well as any kind of program analysis, because like Nikki said, we all work very closely together and we want students to be able to access, you know, programs and
also, you know, not do it where they're sitting, possibly in transportation for over an hour. So, yeah, we're very excited about it. There's a lot of overlap and connections and more to come. I have to say I'm
excited about this too. It's almost like we're looking at this in a holistic way, which will only help us move forward in our goals. And also because I know there's a lot of waiting
lists. And so if we could have. That, we could alleviate our waiting list by having programs in different areas and then have kids be able to get there efficiently. So anyway, thank you. Thank you for that. Miss Rivera-Oven. Thank you. Just
very quickly, you have mentioned the Faith Council and the Faith Council is under the Community Partnerships group for the for the county. So I was just going to also highlight the fact that
they have the other groups where many folks are very, very involved and they have a tap into a larger community that they represent. So my hope would be that you would share that information or even do a small
little presentation to them to make sure you know that engagement happens. But as to Miss Sylvester's point, no, right. No pressure, but you really those two first meetings are very crucial to setting the
tone. I have a question. I hear the word transportation study. Can someone remind me? Didn't we just had a transportation transportation study a year or two years ago that there is a result? And so how is this what
we are talking about transportation study now relate to that transportation study. Please illuminate. They are one and the same. And so we have the
res from that study that was done. And we are using them in collaboration with the work that's being done for the boundary studies and the program analysis, to make sure that all of the pieces are connected. So it's a continuation. That's an
overview. Now when we are looking at specific things, then we'll continue to. Absolutely. And as Mr. Mamoon said, we have a lot of members of our transportation groups, internal as well as external stakeholders from our community partners
involved in this as well, which is really exciting. And how long will this transportation study take? Is it the whole duration of boundary study or what are we looking at timeline wise? I think it will be a part of the process for as long as this
process takes and then beyond, because, you know, the program analysis will continue. So and so it will. The initial phases will sort of dictate what comes next and how we can support, you
know, sort of the next phases of program analysis. So it seems to me the scope of work is getting bigger and bigger. Okay. So I would really appreciate. Some
deliverable that you can share with the whole board. In terms of I'm clear about the boundary study, what the outcome is, but what are the deliverables for the program evaluation and the transportation. And I know that
improving the school system is an ongoing journey in all aspects. But in terms of what we are talking now, what deliverables are we talking about? I would like us to have a very clear idea. Thank you. Miss, miss Silvestre, maybe
Doctor Taylor wants to clarify first. So I'm going to make this even muddier and say that there is a whole lot that will be influenced by the boundary study, that will create other deliverables that that we need to review, because this will
influence our nutrition program and the size, space and utilization of our cafeterias. This will impact our staffing plan dramatically and shift human capital in a lot of different places throughout the
district. So I think I think you're right to ask about the multi-faceted deliverables that will be a part of this. We can absolutely see a concrete map on a piece of paper that shows
where the general attendance zones are of a home school deliverable check. We can see a program of study that articulates pathways at our secondary schools and eventually our elementary schools, that shows what course offerings are
at what schools and what the processes might be for elective programs or elective academic opportunities. Check. We might see bus configurations and transportation plans that align
to a specific school, just like we would see a nutrition plan and a staffing plan that would align to a specific school, and what staffing exceptions might be created because there's a programmatic change at one place versus another place. And what schools are we anticipating
growth versus we're anticipating retrenchment. So I think some of the deliverables, fortunately, are are a part of things that we already create. And they are they just need to be presented and articulated in the way that
that the team is, is making them as a part of this process. I think it is really important that the board pointed out that there is not a whole lot of enthusiasm behind the boundary study, maybe right at this moment, because it doesn't feel
like there's a lot of impact, and that there are geographic parts of the county that need to be brought into the conversation. But the reality is, is that the boundary study and its ripple effect will literally affect everyone in some way, shape or form. And so
being sensitive to that and making sure that the board sees deliverables and that we can tie those changes to the changes that are really happening as a part of these attendance boundary changes is really important for the community to
see. Both in a practical way of impacting everyday life in the school district and also from the board's point of view, for any project, the oversight. So without a clear understanding of
our. And deliverable and the milestone to hit that, we will appreciate having that to stay on top of all of this. Yes, miss Silvestre, just back to the
transportation issue. Just making sure I'm clear there was a transportation study that has concluded you used the consultant. The board got a report. What you're referring to as the transportation study. It's like analysis, right? It's like as we're going through this
boundary study process, there is a transportation analysis that has to happen for all of this to work. Am I understanding that correctly? Yes, that is correct. Because any changes in the programs as well as boundaries are going to have impact, which is why we do have transportation
is one of the biggest partners in this in this whole conversation. So they're they're part of the core group. Just wanted to clarify for our audience that the study is one thing, and this is an analysis which is part of the boundary process. Thank you. Seeing no other lights, I want to thank
you for your work and your presentation. We anxiously await for the April 10th update. Next, we are going to move to our policy discussion. I'm going to ask the team from General
Counsel to proceed to the table. We'll first to talk about the final action for policy. CAA Workforce Excellence. The. So in
on January 9th, 2025, the Board of Education tentatively adopted a new draft policy GA Workforce Excellence. The tentative adopted policy was distributed for public comment from January
10th to February 3rd, 2025. Now, on the February 27th, 2025, the board's Policy Management Committee reviewed the public comments received and is now recommending the final action by the board today to adopt policy
GA. In considering the public comments received and the Policy Management Committee's review, policy GA is being recommended for final action to ensure that all employee in all positions
share and contribute to the Board of Education's core mission preparing for all students to thrive. The updated and amended policy emphasizes the importance of robust
professional growth options for employees, and establish the three key functions of a professional growth system for M.C.P.S. Employees. I would like the staff to walk us through the
revisions that we received after the public comment. Good afternoon and thank you, Mrs. Yang. Good afternoon. Members of the board and Doctor Taylor. So I was asked to just give you a high level summary. Correct?
Yes. Okay. So I just want to pull out a few things. So you remember when we discussed this at Tentative Action? We were we were directed to substantially revamp this. And as Miss Yang said about putting students at
the core. And we wanted to discuss the importance for GA for putting into action your board values that you expect all employees to experience in the context of an M.C.P.S. Professional growth system. So
there's three interconnected functions of a professional growth system onboarding, which is role specific skills learning focused evaluation to keep our employees skills sharp for the jobs they have now. The second component is looking ahead to
the ways our employees can move ahead and move into greater areas of responsibility and leadership. With professional learning and opportunities for career advancement. This is how we draw out personal interests and retain our talent. And then the third component is that
should it become necessary, we have a structure for addressing fairly and effectively any employee performance that falls short, and for supporting students or employees who are struggling. So one component that came out of the comment
period was the interrelationship of the PGS, the progressive professional growth system with the Employee Assistance Program. So we want to highlight the close connection of the two and draw attention to how the EAP or
the Employee Assistance Program nurtures employee well-being, mediates concerns that might manifest in the workspace, and provide supervisors with the professional learning they need to foster leadership skills. So
about onboarding, I just want to highlight a few things. There were a number of comments about onboarding new employees, for which we've recommended some expanded language about the need for all employees to be welcomed with a role, specific knowledge,
and training on system wide compliance requirements. We do not recommend drawing out any one category of position at this level of policy for onboarding, specifically about professional learning, we have added language
about a balance for role specific learning, and also the system wide compliance training, such as the annual training that we require of all employees, but also the employee. The importance of incorporating employee feedback into the
content, design and relevance of the professional learning they are provided. So we've responded with some updates there. We talked with you previously about how supervisors are the day to day face of the professional growth system, because it's
their job to provide routine support, supervision and learning focused evaluation essential to workforce excellence. So and this is my last comment, Mrs. Yang. So we added language about a clearer statement that there shall be a
shared responsibility between M.C.P.S. Leadership and supervisors in all M.C.P.S. Schools and offices for timely and effective professional learning support and evaluation. And I will return the discussion to you, Mrs. Yang. Yeah. Before I turn to my colleagues for
questions, can you both introduce yourself? Just jumped right in. My name is Sally Davis, and I'm the supervisor of policy and regulations in the office of the General Counsel. Good afternoon. James Koutsos,
acting director within the Department of Compliance and Investigations. Thank you for being here. I'm going to go around the table and online. I see no lights. So can you please see no lights? You can go ahead
and read the reserve portion of the resolution. I can do it. I got you guys jumping ahead to
ours. We were a little bit on a chase to get down here. Resolved that the Board of Education adopts the Board of Education Policy. GA Workforce Excellence as updated in the attached
response to the public comments. Okay, I want to move on behalf of the policy committee. I move that the board approve. Policy. GA. Second, it doesn't need a second. Okay. And then we need
to vote yes. Let's all in favor raise your hand. That's unanimous. Thank you everyone. All right. We're going to our next policy. Final action for policy GCB investigation of
allegations of employee misconduct. So the Board of Education on December 5th, 2024 tentatively adopted a new draft policy. GCB investigations of
allegation of employee misconduct. The tentative adopt policy was distributed for public comment from December 10th, 2024 to February 3rd, 2025. On February 27th, 2025,
the board's Policy Management Committee reviewed the public comments received and is now recommending the final action by the board today to adopt policy GCB, in considering the public comments received and the Policy
Management Committee's review policy, GCB is being recommended for final action to ensure that all investigations into the alleged misconduct be thorough and objective, and to require that all allegations, regardless
of it, if the complaint is known or anonymous, be treated similarly. The new policy establishes the procedures that investigators will follow when conducting investigations into allegations of employee
misconduct, including processes that require investigators to establish key facts, address gaps in evidence and resolve omissions or inconsistencies in evidence with fidelity to reach
a fair and accurate resolution to complaints. And this is one of the items on the OIG report. So I would like to turn to the staff to first to give us some background information and the action the system has taken, and
then to walk through, walk us through some change that we have done. After receiving public comments. Miss Mariah, please go ahead. Thank you and I appreciate the opportunity to take this moment to situate the development and approval of this
board policy within a very comprehensive effort that has been undertaken over the course of the last year to address the issues that were identified in the office of the Inspector General's report on the M.C.P.S. Complaint process. Again, many within our organization have
worked very hard over the last year to develop and implement new processes, new accountability measures, and to really improve the effectiveness and the structure of our complaint resolution process in the school system. The IG's report had findings in five
areas. These related to formalizing procedures and criteria for evaluating complaints within the Department of Compliance and Investigation. Evaluating the role and structure of the Department of Compliance, and an investigation
within our organization. Reviewing outstanding recommendations for efficiencies and complaint processing and development of formal policies that are related to this work. In the work over the past year, the office of the Inspector General has already agreed with
the work that we have done, that it completely I'm sorry, fully addresses three of the five findings in the report, and those three of the five findings have been addressed and identified as closed and addressed approval of this Board of Education Policy today will
conclude action on the two outstanding areas in the report, and it would include. It would conclude also M.C.P.S. Official response to the issues in this report. I would note, though, that while we would conclude work on this response, we would
of course not conclude our work to continue continuous improvement in this area, in these processes and in our work to again ensure that our workplaces and all of our employees have have a safe recourse to pursue complaints
through appropriate processes. We know that that monitoring and continuous improvement will be needed, and we will carry that forward as well. Thank you for that background information and why we are doing this policy. Okay. Okay. Now I would like to
draw your attention to three documents in your packet related to policy. GCB. You have the draft policy, you have the stakeholder engagement, which we have reviewed with the committe. And solely as an item of information. You have a copy of the Maryland Whistleblower Law,
and that is simply because it came up during committee discussion. So you have that in case you have questions about the wording. So I will point to, again the committee reviewed the
discussions and they are recommending GCB for your final action today. And I'm going to turn it over to Mrs. Mr. Koutsos. Thank you very much, Miss Davis. Good afternoon, Miss Yang. Members of the Board of Education. Doctor Taylor, it's an honor and a pleasure to be
before you today to talk about the policy. I did want to ask a procedural question. Ms. Yang would you prefer that I reference the line citations within the board policy as I provide information on it? I
think we asked for high level summary of what how public comment has affected the draft policy. Appreciate that. So the charge that we were given were to establish the core principles guiding investigations. And as we review the changes we're
recommending, you'll notice that we recommend that the purpose of the policy remain the same. And the key to that is we recommend that the policy remain focused on the purpose of investigations, to establish key facts, to address gaps in the evidence, and to resolve
omissions or inconsistencies in such evidence. We've added language to require the superintendent to establish regulations and thorough administrative procedures for consistent implementation of this policy, and for the superintendent to review and
update the procedures annually. So there are timelines that we need to be conscious of, and new language requires that the superintendent establish these timelines with the understanding that an external agency has taken the lead in an investigation, and M.C.P.S. May
not begin any internal investigations until those external one have concluded. In reference to external investigations, we need to be conscious of timelines. Once M.C.P.S. Has the opportunity to
investigate, but we cannot risk interfering or jeopardizing an external investigation. So new language requires that M.c.p.s establish and regularly update as needed memoranda of understanding with law enforcement and other agencies to set forth the categories of
allegations for which law enforcement is responsible. For example, Child Protective Services or adult protective services for vulnerable adults. We need to make sure we're in compliance with mandatory reporting law there. Further, we've added the statement that
M.c.p.s fully cooperates with these agencies and that those internal investigations don't create any kind of conflict. We'd also like to address the comments we received about data security, and we recommend
additional language about data security that requires a secured case tracking system with appropriate access and use of disclosure protocols that we preserve internal work products of the investigation and adhere with all legal obligations
regarding confidentiality in accordance with federal and state law. The Guardian system that we put in place in June is fulfilling much of what's asked here. So at this time, I'll turn it back over to Sally to continue with the presentation. All right. I'm just going to
make two more additional highlight points. One was about appeals. The committee rsted that we directly reference the same section of Maryland law as described in policy. The board's
policy, BLB Rules of Procedure and Appeals and hearings. And so that is what you'll see reflected in the changes. And then the second is in response to prior board members comments. And as directed by the
committee, we have summarized the Maryland Whistleblower Act as updated in the draft. As you are aware, the Maryland whistleblower law states that a public school may not take refuse to take any personnel action as reprisal for reporting
misconduct, providing information, or testifying about misconduct, or refusing to participate in misconduct. And we hope Mrs. Yang and members of the committee, that our summary simplifies that language. There's a bouncing between
reprisal, retaliation, retaliation, reprisal. So we've tried to clear that up and make that a little more clear. So with that, our presentation concludes and we're ready for your discussion. Yes, I'm going to look check online and check at the table. I don't see any lights. So you may go ahead and
read the reserve portion of the resolution. Okay. Resolved that the Board of Education adopts Board of Education Policy. GCB investigation of allegations of employee misconduct as updated in the attached response to
public comments. So, on behalf of the Policy Committee, I move to approve policy GCB. All in favor, please raise your hand. And that's you. That's unanimous with those present. Thank you very much. That concludes our
policy discussion. And we are going to move to item number 13 is items of information, the legal Fees Report and the Construction Progress report are items of information. No action is required of the board at that
time. And then we are going to move to the item. 14th May I have a motion to approve item 14.1 and 14.2 in block. So moved. Second. All in favor,
please raise your hand. That is unanimous. With those present. Then we have 14.3. Item 14.3. Is advisory committee approval. Now
I would like to ask. So in December, we announced that the Board of Education is establishing a advisory committee on communication and community Engagement. And we are very happy to report that work
is progressing. I would like to ask Vice President Rivera-Oven to introduce the resolution on the board's new Engagement Advisory Committee, and thank you, President Yang. Happy to do so. So at the December 5th
meeting, that's President Yang said the location adopted this resolution in creating this advisory board. So the board has charged this advisory committee with working to improve communication and engagement with the community on critical topics, and has determined that
the advisory committee's initial work will be focused on upcoming boundary studies related to the reopening of Woodward High School, the opening of Crown High School, and the expansion of Damascus High School. The
board posted an open application for membership on the advisory committee seeking interested individuals skilled in communication and engagement, especially in and with diverse communities. More than 50 applications were received for
membership to the Advisory Committee from highly qualified individuals from across Montgomery County. The board sincerely appreciates the interest and enthusiasm shown for enhancing the board's communication and community engagement initiatives. I move
that the board approve the resolution to appoint the initial members to the Advisory Committee to serve until June 30th, 2026, and to confirm that the board will also select a current M.C.P.S. Student for
membership on the advisory committee for the 2025 2026 school year, no later than June 30th, 2025. Right. So I have a motion on the table. May I have a second to approve the motion?
Second. Okay. And all in favor, raise your hand high. Congratulations to the board. That was unanimous. And we have advisory committee. And then community member can find out the member of the community in
board docs. All right. We are going to move to item 14.4. Are there any additional new business item for the board to consider this afternoon? Yes, I have one. Madam president, as a board, you know, we're committed
to a safe learning environment for our students and our teachers. We want everybody in our buildings to feel safe and secure. Now, we've had I believe this is maybe the third year with the Community Engagement Officer program, and we feel it's a good time to consider how
how stakeholders are finding it. So we are looking to meet with students, staff, parents and the community to hear their experiences and perspectives about the effectiveness of the current CEO program. And we hope
that this will continue to help us in how we're looking at it as the landscape evolves, having the school system conduct structured conversations with our stakeholders around how this is, how this program is going and what we should be thinking
about will inform our work as we continue to think about safety for our students, for which I will read the resolve and move that it sit on the table until our next meeting. So resolved that the superintendent. Well,
it's three resolved that the Superintendent of schools will solicit student staff, parent and community input on the current CEO program within the context of school safety. And be it further resolved that the Superintendent of Schools will
solicit students, staff, parent, and community input from each of the regions of the county on the following questions. How well is the current program working? What, if any, are the challenges with the CEO program? What are the opportunities for
improvement? And be it further resolved, the Superintendent of Schools provides an update to the board on the matters delineated above. By November 2025. Thank you, miss, for bringing forward that resolution
for the board's consideration. This is going to sit on the board table, and we're going to go around point of order. Ask my colleagues to see if there's any questions and comments for Miss Wolff. So I just I just wanted to say I think this is great in
terms of making sure that we have, you know, knowing how important security is to our students. And then I'll also put a second up on the table for at which time we do not need a second, because this is going to sit on the table. You still do. You would require a second to
sit on the table. Thank you for clarifying the procedures. All right. Any other comments? Miss Silvestre? Yes. So just to make sure that I'm understanding
correctly. And so this is we will survey. The community to see how they are, how well the CEO program is working, the challenges and the opportunities. I just I think
that the staff, I'm very interested in hearing what the staff have to say. Not everyone has contact with the CEO. So I think the staff, administrators, principals have the greatest interactions with with the CEO.
So I'm very interested in hearing their perspective. Of course, we want to hear from everyone, but just knowing the way the program works, not everyone interacts with the CEO. So I just feel like the staff will have lots to tell us about this topic. Thank you. Thank you
for that comment, Miss Rivera. Ovens. I'm sorry. No. Okay. No comment, Miss Montoya. Thank you so much. I just want to thank Miss Wolff for this resolution.
Safety in our schools is a top concern of mine for all of our students and staff. So I just want to say that I'm glad that we're addressing this matter at this time. Thank you. Thank you for that comment. So we will bring this back on during our
April 10th business meeting. And are there any additional new business item for the board to consider this afternoon? Okay. Seeing none, we are going to move to item 15.1, which is
information summary for the February 2025 meeting. No action is required at this time. Now item number 16 is a German. May I have a motion to adjourn? Move
for adjournment second. Okay. All in favor, raise your hand. That's unanimous. Thank you so much, everyone. Meeting
adjourned.