August 20, 2025 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education August 20, 2025 Regular meeting

Description:  Board of Education Regular meeting minutes for June18, 2025.

Description:  The Board Chair will call for Public participation. 

Description: 

• District Office: 

  • Implemented  a new time keeping system over the summer and to begin the new year, a new substitute scheduling system has been implemented which is tied to the timekeeping system, office procedures are being created in a common format so all processes are standardized and in a common location, additional trainings have been included with all staff and coach beginning of the year requirements: mandatory reporting; Discrimination in the Workplace; and Small Vehicle training,

  • Mr. Matt Roane has inquired about our executive sessions by requesting all our minutes for the past 8 Months - We did not have anything to give him. Just a good reminder to continue conducting board meetings professionally.

• PreK12 administration: The year has started off very good with Mrs. Davis jumping right into the Elementary Dean position and supporting the functions of the elementary school. It has been a great start to the elementary school year as Mrs. Forst is working on building her presence in the HS/MS. In the HS/MS school the days have been busy with student schedules, setting expectation, and staff members stepping up to cover for Mr. Fury as he has been out of the building taking his son to college. Overall, the transition has been really good and we will continue to see small adjustments as everyone settles into their role for the year.

• Enrollment: Elementary School: PreK 20; K5 103, MS 56, HS 80 Total: 239 plus 20PK

• Athletics/Activities: HSFB 14, HSVB 15, MSVB 23-25, MSFB 14-16, MSCH 6-8, HSCH5-6, EDawgs has not started and needs a sponsor, KB has not started - thinking about 6HS & 2MS 

• Building Issues/Concerns: Elementary Landscaping, Rock Building water leak, HVAC MS Science, 

• Leadership Work: The district leadership team met for two days in July and worked on creating priorities for the district. The four priorities for the year are: 

  • 1: Increasing Student Achievement; student academic goals, classroom assessment expectations, MAPS assessment expectations, 

  • 2: Ensuring Operational Efficiency; Technology and Maintenance inventories and preventative maintenance schedules, operational manuals for the district and all departments, 

  • 3: Effective Communication; A common official letterhead (District, Elementary, and HS/MS), Branding the district, communication calendar, standard communication methods, District newsletter 

  • 4: The Bulldog Way; Building the expectations for students and staff by focusing on common character traits, SEL improvements by improving the culture within the buildings for students, parents, and staff, focusing on the positive and recognizing people for what they are doing.

• Transportation: Our new Mini Bus and Suburban purchases are in the fleet for the beginning of the year.

• Shout Outs!

  • Summer Maintenance Crew for all the hard work they did this getting the buildings ready for the school year. The new elementary school took longer as the crew learned what they needed to do and how they wanted to do things. 

  • Jennifer Hatfield for stepping up and adding more to her beginning of the year plate by jumping into registering students and fill in for Mr. Fury.

Description:  The Bulldog Way has been created, so there are common expectations for students and staff across the district. The characters focused on are integrity, dependability, respect, teamwork, positivity, and grit. We have completed ambassador training, all staff training, and began working with the students around the school. A different trait will be focused on each month, with the first trait being teamwork. Expectations have been set for small things such as answering the phone, email responses, and greeting people. The priority areas beginning the school year are: Increasing Student Achievement, Ensuring Operational Efficiency, Effective Communication, and The Bulldog Way!

Description: 

The results of our surveys last year showed that there are some concerns amongst students that tells us that improvements to the building culture continue to be needed. The elementary school implemented Bulldog STRONG last year and the HS/MS introduced Expect Respect to improve building culture. As we move forward with the Bulldog Way, the programs used last year have become part of the Way or have transitioned to the Bulldog Way only. The Bulldog Way traits will be focused on throughout the year and Mrs. Cook-Carnahan will build behavior expectations around the character traits. The first focus area is Teamwork. Moving away from STUDER this summer has created a need for a new survey system for us to get student and staff cultural and satisfaction data.

Description:  New Policy

Description:  * New Policy, our legal counsel has reviewed this policy for us. 

Description:  I recommend the approval of the student handbooks as presented. Superintendent Gray

Description:  I recommend the approval of the Asbestos Notice. Superintendent Gray

Description:  I recommend the approval of the 1st reading for policies:

• AD School District Mission
• ADD Safe Schools
• BE School Board Meetings
• BEAA Electronic Participation in Board Meetings

Superintendent Gray

Description:  Updated wording on District mission

Description:  Mainly legal updates

Description:  Special meeting subject matter update and cross-reference updates. 

Description:   Updates regarding the extenuating circumstances for electronic participation.

Description:  I recommend the approval of the 2nd and final reading of policies:

• GBEBA Staff Dress Code
• GBAB Workplace Health and Safety Protections
• GBB Staff Involvement in Decision Making
• JS-E Student Use of Internet....

Superintendent Gray

Description:  Policy review, unacceptable items added, along with exceptions added. 

Description:  Removal of the Public Health Emergency paragraph. 

Description:  Changing wording "Internet and Electronic Communications" to "district technology". 

Description:  I recommend the approval of the hiring of the personnel as presented for the 2025-2026 school year. 
Superintendent Gray

Description:  There have been some changes in the football coaching staff, specifically regarding paid assistants and volunteers, due to availability and work schedules. 

Description:  Science curriculum review