On Monday, I visited Ms. Wilcox's class at Leesville Road Middle School. I had a wonderful time answering the students' questions. On Thursday, I attended the Summer Writing Institute Book Release Party at So & So Books in Raleigh. Congratulations to the writers and artists! On Friday, I will be attending Cary High School's Musical: Little Shop of Horrors. On Saturday, I will be attending the Cary Classic hosted by Cary High's NJROTC. Saturday night, I will be attending Salem Middle School's Spring Musical: Beauty and the Beast Jr.
This week as a Board, we had two meetings: Facilities Committee and Special Called Board Meeting.
At the Wednesday, March 9th Facilities Committee Meeting:
- Marcella Rorie, Senior Director, Long Range Planning; presented the 2022-23 Facility Utilization Report (FUR). To view the presentation, click here.
- Douglas Congdon, Program Executive; Facilities Design and Construction; provided an update on the 2022 Existing School Renovation/Replacement Prioritization Rubric. An executive summary is expected to be presented to the Board at our April 5th Work Session. I did voice my concern about schools having part of their renovation completed and then being moved down the list. I expressed the concerns about Cary High School and how there were plans and after some of the work was completed, the rest was put on hold.
- Douglas Congdon shared a brief overview of the Facilities Three Month Forecast. Use this link to review the forecast.
To watch the recording of the March 9th Facilities Committee Meeting, click here.
At the Wednesday, March 9th Special Called Board Meeting:
- Adam Mitchell, Tharrington Smith, LLP / Redistricting Consultant; and Blake Esselstyn, Mapfigure Consulting / Redistricting Consultant; presented three options to Plan B (B1, B2, B3) based on some specific Board members' requests. Additionally, Roxie Cash requested precinct 0143 be moved from D6 to D3. The consultants will be moving forward with creating a new option which moves forward with B2 and adds Roxie Cash's specific precinct request. At our March 15th Board Meeting, this new option (B4) will be presented as a resolution with the method of electing Board Members information shared at our March 1st Board Meeting. I did voice my concern about the impact of B2 on District 4. I expressed my support for the original Plan B. With B2, District 4 will lose over 4,000 people and put them below the ideal population instead. According to the consultants, they reviewed multiple sources (such as software used for reassignment, building permits from 2020 to 2021, watershed limitations, spoke with folks at Wake County Planning Department, zoning restrictions) to determine the possible growth expected. Use this link to access the presentation.
Click here to watch the March 9th Special Called Board Meeting.
Next week as a Board, we have the following meetings (Please note these meetings will be streamed live on the WCPSS YouTube Channel.):
- Tuesday, March 15th at 1:30- Finance Committee. The item on the agenda is an update on the District's use of Federal Pandemic Funds. Use this link to view the agenda.
- Tuesday, March 15th at 2:30- Work Session. The items on the agenda are work in the support of the strategic plan, WCPSS Virtual Academy Update, 2022-23 Draft Instructional Calendars-Early Colleges, and utilization of ESSER II funds allocated by the State Board of Education for recruitment/retention bonuses for School Nutrition Personnel. Click here to view the agenda.
- Tuesday, March 15th at 5:00 pm - Swearing In Ceremony for District 4 Board Representative, Tara Waters.
- Tuesday, March 15th at 5:30 pm- Board Meeting*. Some items on the agenda are the recognition of the 2021-22 Teacher of the Year Semifinalists, five policies presented for first reading, Mask Policy, 2023-24 Instructional Calendars-Traditional, Modified, and Year Round, and required redistricting of the Board election districts and method of electing Board members. Use this link to access the agenda.
*Full audio via phone is available for the Board Meeting. The phone number will be posted at this link the day of the Board Meeting.
Please note that the capacity of the Board Room has been revised to accommodate up to 100 people. There is no longer a signup form to attend the Work Session or Board Meeting. Seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. This also applies to the Finance Committee and all other committee meetings.
If you are interested in making in-person public comments, please visit this page and scroll down to click on the appropriate form. The form will go live 48 hours prior to the start of the meeting (on Sunday) and close at 5 pm on Monday.
I will be hosting another D9 Connection Meeting on Sunday, March 13th at 4 pm. This is an informal meeting for me to listen to you. If you live in D9, have a student in a D9 school, or work in a D9 school, please join us using this Google Meet link.
If you have any questions or comments, please email me at kcarter3@wcpss.net.