BoardNotes: November 2022
Highlights from the Caroline Board of Education Meetings
Caroline County Board of Education meetings are livestreamed and may also be viewed after the meeting has concluded. For information about the Board of Education, including agendas and meeting schedules, please visit the Leadership page of our website.
December 5, 2023, Board of Education Meeting
Pledge of Allegiance
Ridgely Elementary Kindness Club students opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. They were accompanied by Principal Sutton and school counselor Ms. Buffenmyer.
Election of Officers
The Board conducted their annual election of officers which resulted in Mr. Barton being re-elected as president and Mr. Jones being re-elected as vice-president.
Mission Statement
At the start of each meeting, the board of education president reads the Mission Statement, "In partnership with families and community, we prepare all students to achieve college, career, and life readiness through a challenging and progressive educational experience."
Recognitions
MD Foreign Language Association Teacher of the Year
The Board recognized Ms. Mirta Valdes-Bradner, World Language and Spanish teacher at North Caroline High School, for being named 2023 Maryland Foreign Language Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Foreign Language Association.
Global Seal of Biliteracy
The Board recognized students who had earned the Global Seal of Biliteracy.
Holiday Card Winner
The Board recognized CRHS student Summer Smith whose artwork was chosen for the 2023 CCPS Holiday card.
Reports
Board Member Reports
- Ms. DiGiacomo shared her appreciation for the work of the NCHS Leo Club who conducted a very successful Food Drive and made a financial donation so Caroline families could enjoy a holiday meal.
- Mr. Plutschak said he greatly enjoyed seeing lunchtime 'shadowboxing' at CRMS, conducted by Mr. Lambert. He shared that it was an activity he knew nothing about, and he was impressed in the resulting camaraderie among the 6th grade class as they cheered one another on.
- Ms. Wayman spoke about the wonderful Veterans Day programs she attended at PES and NCHS (jointly with LMS). She also appreciated the CCTC spa night and commented on the high number of people taking advantage of the service provided by students.
- Mr. Jones reflected on board service in general and the opportunity to make a difference for students and staff. He commented on the fact that the greatest impact comes not from anything done individually but rather from the board and superintendent working together as a collective body.
- Mr. Barton shared that he serves as a member of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) Legislative Committee. He reported that at their most recent meeting, MABE's new Executive Director Milton Nagel exhibited great transparency by sharing staff salary information with the MABE board, reasoning that salaries were funded indirectly with taxpayer dollars and therefore should be available to members.
Superintendent's Report
Dr. Simmons discussed the Accountability and Implementation Board's (AIB) new grant which enables districts to contract with a strategic facilitator who will support the work of the Blueprint. K12 Systems Change was approved by the AIB as a facilitator and subsequently contracted with by CCPS. Dr. Jennifer Dale, co-founder and chief impact officer of K12 Systems Change, has already been working with CCPS on the Stronger Connections grant. Dr. Simmons explained that it made sense to use the same facilitator who was already familiar with CCPS staff and programs. "This enables us to keep systems aligned and to avoid staff being pulled off point," he said.
Student Representative Reports
North Caroline High School Student Board Representative Leslie Monter Casio highlighted past and upcoming events and information for Denton, Greensboro and Ridgely Elementary Schools, Lockerman Middle School and North Caroline High School.
Colonel Richardson High School Student Board Representative Levi Divjak highlighted past and upcoming events and information for the Federalsburg and Preston Elementary Schools, and the Colonel Richardson campus.
Finance Report
Chief Finance Officer Erin Thornton provided a finance report to the Board for the period ending Nov. 30, 2023. Ms. Thornton explained that CCPS was five months into the fiscal year and has spent approximately 74% of the budget, which is in line with last year's figures. She explained overages in categories which were:
- Special Education - projected employee salary versus the cost of hiring contractors.
- Transportation salaries - reflects a change in how payroll is calculated, and bus drivers on long term leave, resulting in a need for substitute drivers.
- Capital outlay - explained by Mr. Mengel in previous meetings regarding unexpected capital costs.
Consent Agenda
Personnel
Presentations
Rotary Career Fair
Rotary member Sue Simmons provided the Board with a report on the recent 2023 Rotary Career Fair for 10th grade students. She shared that there were almost 100 students in attendance, 28 vendors, four workshops, 11 table mentors and 10 student mentors, and motivational speaker Devon Beck. Ms. Simmons thanked Director of College and Career Readiness (CCR) Lindsey McCormick, Career Coach Rob Gowen, counselors Cia North, Ann Ferkler and Brad Plutschak for their roles in the event.
Ms. McCormick shared that the event was well organized from planning through debriefing, and students were fully engaged and grateful for the opportunity to attend. Dr. Simmons thanked Ms. Simmons and the Rotary for their leadership.
Discussion of Items for Future Board Action
Draft of Superintendent's FY25 Budget Priorities
Dr. Simmons shared the timeline for the traditional budget calendar that has been in place for decades. He explained that according to the traditional timeline, the Superintendent's budget is presented to the Board and voted on in February. Originally this made sense because the amount of State revenue coming to Caroline was known by January; however, this has not been the case for many years and the State revenue number is not known until near the end of the General Assembly session in April.
Dr. Simmons asked that at their next meeting, the Board consider a change to the budget calendar by moving the Board's approval of the Superintendent's budget from February to April. He assured the Board that monthly updates with anticipated costs and increases would continue to be provided; that CCPS and the County Government would continue to regularly share budget information; and that CCPS would provide the Maintenance of Effort amount with the Commissioners as soon as that number is known, regardless of any change in the CCPS budget calendar.
Dr. Simmons reviewed a summary of the FY24 revenue and unrestricted budget, and the FY25 revenue projections. He highlighted the fact that ARP funding and LEADS grant funding are both ending in September of 2024. At the same time, the funding formula for Blueprint shows only a 1.7% increase from the previous year, the current rate of inflation is 3.5%, multi-year contracts that are due for renewal this year will likely increase by more than the rate of inflation, and because of global issues, we do not yet know the impact to fuel and heating costs.
In addition, implementing Blueprint will have an impact over the next several years because of costs such as Dual Enrollment, increasing starting teacher salaries by FY27, and the cost of adding operational salaries.
Dr. Simmons explained that staff are currently looking at which positions and programs were anticipated to continue after ARP/ESSER funding ended, and which would not be carried forward when the grant ends.
Dr. Simmons discussed FY25 system needs include competitive salaries and benefits for all employees; maintaining reasonable staffing levels across the district, maintaining high yield positions/programs that were included in ARP and LEADs; and implementing Blueprint as required.
Ms. Digiacomo suggested the vote could be held immediately rather than waiting for the next meeting. The Board subsequently voted to change that specific piece of the budget timeline from February to April.
Caroline County Public Schools
Email: pio@ccpsstaff.org
Website: carolineschools.org
Location: Caroline County, Maryland
Phone: 410.479.1460
Facebook: facebook.com/carolineschools.org
Twitter: @CarolineCoPS
Instagram: carolineschoolsmd
Caroline County Public Schools serves over 5,600 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. We provide a progressive, academically challenging education that prepares students for higher education, careers, and life.