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Regular Meeting

Dates:

Monday, October 21, 2024 - 6:00pm

The Transylvania County Board of Education will hold a regular meeting on Monday, October 21, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the Morris Education Center, 225 Rosenwald Lane, Brevard. The meeting is open to the public. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be livestreamed and may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/user/tcsnc.

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I. OPENING OF MEETING

Invocation

Pledge of Allegiance

Call to Order

Welcome

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II. BUSINESS ITEMS (including amendments and rescissions):

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01. Approval of Agenda

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action	X
Excellent Educators		Information
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

A motion is in order to approve or revise the agenda for October 21, 2024.

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02. Public Comment

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

The board of education, as an elected representative body of the school system, wishes to provide a forum for citizens to express interests and concerns related to the school system. In order that the board may conduct an orderly meeting while providing an opportunity for input, individuals or groups may be heard by the board in accordance with policy 2310, Public Participation at Board Meetings, or policy 2300, Board Meetings (subsection D.2).

Each month, the first part of at least one regularly scheduled board meeting will be set aside for citizens to address the board through public comment.

A sign-up sheet will be available 30 minutes before the meeting begins for any individual or group to indicate their desire to address the board.

Each speaker will receive 3 minutes to present comments. Time will begin when the speaker reaches the podium. The public comment session will not exceed 30 minutes total except by majority vote of the board.

The board chair will recognize speakers in the order in which they signed in. Substitute speakers will not be permitted and speakers may not donate any portion of their time to another speaker. If a speaker is unable to present all of his or her information within the specified time limit, the speaker may provide the board with additional information in written form. If an unusually large number of people requests to speak, a majority of the board may decide to reduce the time for each individual or to require the designation of a spokesperson for each group of persons supporting or opposing the same positions. At any time, the board may establish additional procedures to ensure that public comment sessions proceed in an efficient and orderly manner.

Board members will not respond to individuals who address the board except to request clarification of points made by the presenter.

Issues involving individual personnel or student matters are confidential and, therefore, are not appropriate for the public comment session. Concerns related to personnel or student matters should be handled as a complaint and reported to the superintendent or designee.

Except in cases of emergency, information received during presentations will not be acted upon at the time it is received. It will take unanimous vote of the board members present to act on a presentation considered to be of an unusual or emergency nature at the time it is presented.

Disruptions by any person or persons of a public meeting will be subject to action in accordance with G.S. 143-318.17.

No solicitations will be allowed during public comment.

The board may choose to offer a second opportunity for public comment at the end of the meeting. Sign-ups will not be required for the second public comment opportunity.

If the board does not hold a regular meeting during a month, the board will not provide a time for public comment at any other meeting held during that month, unless a majority of the board votes to allow public comment at the meeting or unless the purpose of the meeting is a public hearing.

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03. Good News Report

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

Hurricane Recovery

On September 26, Western North Carolina was hit by a powerful hurricane that caused widespread damage to homes, businesses, schools, and infrastructure. Several towns and communities were completely devastated. Lives were lost and many are still missing. As recovery efforts continue, we would like to thank the following for providing rescue, safety and shelter, food and water, resource distribution and delivery, utility restoration, cleanup, and more: Transylvania County Government, Sheriff’s Department, DOT, Duke Electric, Haywood Electric, FEMA, first responders, fire departments, law enforcement, EMS, the health department, churches, nonprofits and a multitude of public servants, donors, and volunteers. Special recognition goes to our School Nutrition staff and Transportation staff, who came in as soon as they could to ensure that students had access to hot meals and that county emergency vehicles had access to diesel fuel. In our school system, athletics and extra-curricular activities were able to resume on October 8 and the schools reopened for students on October 14. We are grateful for the many ways in which our schools and the community pulled together to take care of students, families and each other, and we remain stronger for it.

House Bill 149

On October 11, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a $273 million Hurricane Helene relief bill. The relief package, the first of several to come, addresses several financial and policy needs related to Hurricane Helene and Potential Topical Cyclone #8. It also extends the statewide declaration of emergency issued by Governor Cooper until March 1, 2025. Part 8 of the bill lays out the education-related provisions, including school calendar flexibility, compensation for employees for missed days, and temporarily allowing retired employees to return to work in certain capacities. Schools closed as result of Hurricane Helene may choose to make up any number of the instructional days or hours missed, deem as completed any number of the instructional days or hours missed up to a total of 20 days, or implement a combination of both. Schools impacted by Helene may use additional remote instruction days or hours up to a total of 30 remote days. School employees impacted by Helene will receive compensation for missed workdays that have been deemed completed in September and October. For more information on the bill’s provisions, go to House Bill 149.

For more good news from Transylvania County Schools, please visit us at:

Home Page: www.tcsnc.org ǀ Facebook: facebook.com/transylvania.schools

Twitter: twitter.com/transylvaniasch ǀ Flickr: flickr.com/tcsnc

Instagram: Instagram.com/transylvaniaschools ǀ YouTube: youtube.com/user/tcsnc

Smartphone App: Transylvania County Schools on Play Store and iTunes

SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/transylvaniacountyschools ǀ WSQL Radio: bit.ly/TCSYesRadio!

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04. Update on Reopening of Schools

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

Dr. Lisa Fletcher will give an update on the October 14 school reopening following the two-week closure resulting from Hurricane Helene.

Public Attachments:

Helene Response (1).pdf

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05. Consent Agenda

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action	X
Excellent Educators	X	Information
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

The following items are submitted for consent approval:

Minutes of the July 22, 2024 meeting
Minutes of the July 22, 2024 closed session
Minutes of the August 5, 2024 meeting
Minutes of the August 19, 2024 meeting
Minutes of the August 19, 2024 closed sessions (2)
Personnel report for October 21, 2024

A motion is in order to approve the consent items.

Public Attachments:

Minutes 7-22-24.pdf

Minutes 8-05-24.pdf

Minutes 8-19-24.pdf

Personnel Report 10-21-24.pdf

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06. Academic Performance 2023-2024

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship	X	Action
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

Carrie Norris, Chief Academic Officer, and Tom Sweet, Director of Testing and Accountability, will present an update on school proficiency and growth for the 2023-2024 school year. Mrs. Norris and Mr. Sweet will answer any questions you may have.

Public Attachments:

TCS BOE School Growth_Proficiency Information_10-17-24.pdf

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07. Arts Proficiency Endorsement

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship	X	Action	X
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

Chief Academic Officer Carrie Norris will present an update on the Arts Proficiency Endorsement for the board’s approval (see attached). She will answer any questions you may have.

A motion would be in order to approve the Arts Proficiency Endorsement.

Public Attachments:

Arts Proficiency Endorsement - passed in June 2024_Revised September 2024.pdf

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08. Policy: Spring 2024 PLS Custom Updates & July 2024 Special Custom Update

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship	X	Action	X
Excellent Educators	X	Information
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students	X	Discussion
Operations and Support	X

At the September 16 meeting, Dr. Brian Weaver presented 18 policies from the NCSBA Spring 2024 PLS Custom Updates and one policy from the July 2024 Special Custom Updates as first-read information. The 19 updates contain revisions to 17 existing policies and two new policies. One policy, 3420, has been further revised based on recommendations from the September 16 meeting. The 19 policies are presented for second-read approval. Dr. Weaver will answer any questions you may have.

A motion would be in order to approve the 19 policies listed below as presented:

1310/4002, Parental Involvement. Adds language from SBE policy PRNT-002 in subsection C.2.e. In subsection C.3., adds a reference to the notifications required by law when a school and/or school system is identified as low-performing. Clarifies language in subsection C.4.g. In Section H, references the reporting requirements of SBE policy PRNT-002. Corrects minor errors in Section D. Updates the legal references.

1510/4200/7270, School Safety. Provision added to Section D.3 regarding training on recognizing and reporting threats. New Section E added to address statutorily required threat assessment teams. Legal references, cross references, and other resources were updated.

1760/7280, Prohibition Against Retaliation. Clarifies language.

2127, Board Member Technology Use. Changes Twitter to X. Revises the language in subsection C.3.c to reflect the new legal standard established in a recent U.S. Supreme Court case. Updates legal references.

3220, Technology in the Educational Program. Adds new Section D to address the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Adds information on training on the use of generative AI in Section E. Updates the other resources.

3225/4312/7320, Technology Responsible Use. In Section G, references generative AI guidelines as described in policy 3220. Adds other resources.

3420, Student Promotion and Accountability. Creates new Section K to address students receiving high school credit for courses taken while studying abroad. Adds a reference to three-year high school graduation in Section L. Updates the legal references. (See lines 220-223 for revisions based on recommendations from September 16.)

3460, Graduation Requirements. Adds new student notice requirements in the paragraph preceding Section A. Reorganizes information from the paragraph preceding Section A into other parts of the policy. Adds a reference in Section A to policy 3420 in regard to credit for courses taken abroad. Changes the local graduation “requirements” to local graduation “recommendations.” Adds information in C.4 regarding gradation high school in three years. Updates the diploma endorsements language. Includes various other minor changes. Updates the legal references. Custom language in c.7 has been removed for consistency with G.S.115C-83.31(c).

3620, Extracurricular Activities and Student Organizations. Removes the local attendance standard for interscholastic athletics participation in light of the new SBE attendance standard effective July 1, 2024. Removes language referencing NCHSAA eligibility rules and adds a reference to applicable eligibility standards of law in B.1.a. Adds a new subsection B.1.c to grant students who transfer schools within the school system immediate eligibility to participate in interscholastic athletics. Adds a new subsection B.1.d to address the participation of home school students in interscholastic athletics (The board must select one of the three options. The county athletic director, high school principals, and school athletic directors recommend Option 2 with local modifications). Removes C.3. Includes other minor editorial changes. Updates the legal references.

4040/7310, Staff-Student Relations. Revises language in subsection C.4 to reference policy 7130, which now contains the reporting requirements from new 16 N.C.A.C.6C .0608. Updates legal references and cross references.

4140, Foreign Exchange Students (NEW). Addresses the admission of foreign exchange students with J-1 visa status.

4240/7312, Child Abuse and Related Threats to Child Safety. Revises language in Section D to reference policy 7130, which now contains the reporting requirements from new 16 N.C.A.C.6C .0608. In Section H, adds a new statutory requirement that applies with the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. Updates legal references and cross references.

4270/6145, Concussion and Head Injury. Updates statutory references throughout the policy. Includes other minor changes. Updates legal references and other resources.

5023/6128/7268, Emergency Administration of Naloxone (NEW). Addresses the emergency use of naloxone on school property.

5071/7351, Electronically Stored Information Retention. Updates legal references.

6125, Administering Medicines to Students. Updates the division names of N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Updates the other resources.

7130, Licensure. Adds new Section F regarding mandatory reporting of misconduct. Updates legal references.

8340, Insurance. Amends the language to include not just insurance but also other types of liability coverage.

8510, School Finance Officer. Updates the duties of the school finance officer based on the information in State Board of Education Policy FINO-000. Adds new Section C regarding continuing professional education. Updates legal references and cross references.

Public Attachments:

1310-4002_revised.pdf

1510-4200-7270_revised.pdf

1760-7280_revised.pdf

2127_revised.pdf

3220_revised.pdf

3225-4312-7320_revised.pdf

3420_revised_10-07-24.pdf

3460_revised.pdf

3620_revised.pdf

4040-7310_revised.pdf

4240-7312_revised.pdf

4270-6145_revised.pdf

5023-6128-7268_new.pdf

5071-7351_revised.pdf

6125_revised.pdf

7130_revised.pdf

8340_revised.pdf

8510_revised.pdf

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09. Proposal for Bond Project Manager

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

At the September 3 meeting, the board accepted the superintendent’s proposal to ask the county to hire a bond project manager to oversee the bond-funded capital projects and authorized her to negotiate with the county manager in order to bring the proposal back for approval on September 16. Dr. Fletcher and Mrs. Laughter were not able to meet until September 24. Dr. Fletcher will give an update from that discussion.

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10. Facilities Update

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action	X
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

Facilities Director Kerry Putman will give an update on facilities and present a notice of award to GeoSurfaces Southeast, Inc., for the Rosman High School football field and drainage improvements project in the amount of $1,985,000 for board approval. See the attached bid tabulation and other documents.

A motion is in order to approve the notice of award to GeoSurfaces Southeast in the amount of $1,985,000 for the RHS football field and drainage improvements project.

Public Attachments:

Recommendation of Award 10.14.2024.pdf

24.00104 Certified Bid Tabulation (1).pdf

24.00104 Bidding Documents - Combined - JFH notes (00125061xBC088).pdf

AstroTurf Corporation Bid.pdf

Geo Surfaces Bid.pdf

Patton Construction Group Bid.pdf

EJCDC C-700 SGCs (00125051xBC088).pdf

TCBOE - Rosman Turf - Front- and Back-End Documents (00125045xBC088) (1).pdf

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11. FY25 Budget Resolution

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action	X
Excellent Educators		Information
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

Dr. Brian Weaver will present the Transylvania County Schools Budget Resolution for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2025. He will answer any questions you may have.

A motion is in order to approve the FY25 Budget Resolution.

Public Attachments:

Transylvania County Schools Budget Message 10.18.2024 (2).pdf

FY25 Budget Resolution.pdf

FY 25 Beginning Budget_October 2024.xlsx - 2024-25 Beginning Budget (1).pdf

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12. Voting Delegates for NCSBA 2024 Annual Conference

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

The North Carolina School Boards Association 2024 Annual Conference for Board Member Development is scheduled for November 18-20, 2024 in Greensboro. This year there are new procedures for local boards to select voting delegates for the conference. All boards may now appoint up to 4 primary delegates. Delegates must be submitted by 5pm Friday, November 8 on the attached form. School boards that do not submit their form by the deadline will forfeit voting privileges for the 2024 delegates assembly. This change is the result of delegate action during the 2023 annual meeting. Please see the attached memo and form for more information.

At this time, no members from the Transylvania County board have indicated that they plan to attend the annual conference. If one or more members should want to attend and serve as a voting delegate, board action would be needed to appoint the delegate(s) before November 8.

Note: The November board meeting is scheduled for November 18. This will be the last regularly scheduled meeting for Mr. Jackson, Mrs. McCoy and Mr. O’Neill. New members will be seated in December.

Public Attachments:

Delegate Memo and Form.pdf

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13. Important Dates

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

Oct. 31, Nov. 1*	Teacher workdays *The optional teacher workday on Friday, Nov. 1 will be a Staff Wellness Day
Nov. 5	Election Day
Nov. 11	Veterans’ Day holiday
Nov. 18	REGULAR MEETING	6:00 p.m.	MEC
Nov. 18-20	NCSBA Annual Conference for Board Member Development	3 days	Greensboro
Nov. 27-29	Thanksgiving break
Dec. 16	REGULAR MEETING	6:00 p.m.	MEC
Dec. 20	Noon dismissal - students
Dec. 23 – Jan. 3	Winter break
Jan. 6	Students return from break
Jan. 20	MLK Day (teacher workday)
Jan. 21 (Tues.)*	REGULAR MEETING	6:00 p.m.	MEC

*The January board meeting will be held on Tuesday, 1/21/25 due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, 1/20/25.

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14. Other Items

Strategic Priority		Reason for Consideration
Graduates Prepared for Work, Higher Education and Citizenship		Action
Excellent Educators		Information	X
Healthy, Safe and Responsible Students		Discussion
Operations and Support	X

An opportunity will be provided for comments and/or other items from board members.

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III. ADJOURNMENT

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Source URL: https://aws.nc.transylvania.schoolboard.net/node/6743