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May 14, 2021

On Monday, I visited East Cary Middle and Adams Elementary. It was great to see students learning about vertical angles, utilizing a graphic organizer to write a paper, and working hard on element projects and more. On Tuesday, I attended the Hometown to Hometown Virtual Event in support of the Save the Music Foundation a 501(c)(3) that helps students, schools, and communities reach their full potential through the power of music. Millbrook High School received a Save the Music/Song Farm Grant. On Thursday, I hosted the final Board Advisory Council meeting for District 9 this school year.

This week as a Board, we had one meeting: Facilities Committee.

At the Wednesday, May 12th Facilities Committee:

  • Elizabeth Wakeford, Senior Administrator, Planning & Construction; provided a detail presentation about building to core capacity versus adding mobile units following construction at Fuquay-Varina Middle. Building to core capacity is a more efficient and cost-effective way to accommodate core capacity. To access the presentation, click here.

  • Elizabeth Sharpe, Director, Facility Planning & Design; presented an update on Learning Commons, Locker Use, and Variable Size Learning Spaces. To view the presentation, use this link.

  • Betty Parker, Senior Director, Real Estate Services; provided staff's recommendation for possible names for middle school (M-19), which is adjacent to Parkside Elementary. The following names were offered for consideration: (1) Little Drive Middle, (2) Parkside Middle, and (3) Research Triangle Park (RTP) Middle. The Board gave a thumbs up to Parkside Middle to be brought to an upcoming Board meeting for approval. To access documents showing the school's location, click here.

  • Betty Parker presented an update regarding Knightdale Elementary School (KES). The Town of Knightdale has agreed to enter into a Joint Use Agreement (JUA) with the Board regarding shared use of and maintenance responsibilities for the shared facilities upon the KES site as described therein for a twenty-five year term.  Per the terms of the Agreement, upon execution of the JUA, the County will be relieved of all of its School/Park responsibilities. As a result of the collaboration, the KES campus has benefitted, or soon will benefit, from facility improvements including modification of the outdoor classroom space and related site drainage improvements, restoration of the multipurpose field formerly used for trailer classroom locations, field and fencing improvements, and improvements to the restrooms/concession stand building, its systems and walkway decking. The JUA will be presented to the Board for approval at a future meeting. To view the JUA, use this link. To access the KES/multipurpose field utilization evolution, click here.

  • Marcella Rorie, Senior Director of Long Range Planning, presented a detailed overview of the Facility Utilization Report (FUR) capacity. To view the presentation, use this link.

  • Douglas Congdon, Program Executive, Facilities Design & Construction; shared the facilities three month forecast. To access the document, click here.
To watch the recording of the facilities committee, use this link.

At the Thursday, May 13th Board Advisory Council (BAC) Meeting:
  • I provided a Board update: Budget was approved by the Board with two adjustments to the Superintendent's Proposed Budget and reviewed Summer Learning Program information. I also encouraged attendance at my next D9 Connection meeting (Monday at noon). 

  • Minutes from April's BAC meeting were approved.

  • Kathy Cawley (Green Hope High BAC Rep) was elected as Chair for 2021-22. Ms. Cawley announced that Meghan Arndts (West Cary Middle BAC Rep) will be the Secretary for 2021-22.

  • Drew Cook, Assistant Superintendent for Academics, and Lauren Acome, Director of Online Learning; provided a detailed presentation about what the Virtual Academy will look like in 2021-22 and answered questions. To access their presentation, click here.

  • Many thanks to Marlo Gaddis, Chief Technology Officer; for all her assistance with registration, technical support, calling in a BAC rep, and much more.

  • I also appreciate Tom Huffstetler, Director of Translation and Interpretation; and Angela Mills, Administrator, Translation and Interpretation; for translating the BAC slideshow and for providing interpretation so the BAC can be more inclusive.
Next week as a Board, we have the following meetings (Please remember the meetings will be live on the WCPSS YouTube Channel.):
  • Tuesday, May 18th at 2 pm: Finance Committee. The agenda can be viewed at this link. The agenda includes the recommended compensation for noncertified staff and a recap of the certified staff compensation recommendation in support of school extension learning recovery and extension programs.

  • Tuesday, May 18th at 3:00 pm: Work Session. The agenda can be accessed here. The following items are on the agenda: DRIVE Task Force Report, Summer Extended Learning, initial planning for the 2022-23 School Enrollment Plan, and possible options to shift bell tiers and start times Please note, the bell schedules are already approved for 2021-22.

  • Tuesday, May 18th at 5:30 pm: Board Meeting. To view the agenda, visit this link. Some items on the agenda are the SRO MOU, compensation incentives for staff in support of school extension learning recovery and extension programs, and the first reading of two policies.

  • Wednesday, May 19th at 2 pm: Policy Committee. At the time of this blog entry, the agenda was not posted. When the agenda is posted, you can access it by clicking here.
If you would like to attend any of the above meetings in person, please visit this link and select the meeting you want to attend. The Google Form should go live 48 hours prior to the meeting and close at 5 pm on the day before the meeting.

If you would like to provide public comments, you can provide written comments here or video comments at this link. You can also sign up to speak in person here.

I will be hosting the next D9 Connection Meeting on Monday, May 17th at noon. If you live in District 9, have a student in a D9 school, or work in a D9 school, please join us by using this Google Meet link.

Please mark your calendars for another D9 Connection Meeting on Sunday, May 23th at 4:00 pm.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me at kcarter3@wcpss.net.



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