Aiken County Board of Education Meeting on March 23, 2021 at the District Office at 6:00 p.m.

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Submitted by Kim_Chriswell on Fri, 03/19/2021 - 2:16pm

Dates:

Tuesday, March 23, 2021 - 6:00pm

THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT OF AIKEN COUNTY

BOARD OF EDUCATION

AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA

OFFICIAL AGENDA REGULAR SESSION 6:00 P.M. MARCH 23, 2021

Location: 1000 Brookhaven Drive Aiken, SC

Tuesday’s meeting will be live streamed on our website, acpsd.net

REGULAR SESSION: 6:00 P.M.

MOMENT OF SILENCE & PLEDGE: Dr. John Bradley

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Regular Meeting – March 9, 2021

SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS:

Public Participation
- Mr. Keith Liner – Budget Considerations

Palmetto State Counselor Association – School Counselor of the Year

Office of Board Chairman

A.INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: The following items are for information only and do not require Board Action.

Assessment Information and ESSER II Proposal (Mrs. Glover & Ms. Olin)

Financial Report, as of October 31, 2020 (Mr. Traxler)

The financial report of October 31, 2020 is submitted in the approved format.

Financial Report, as of November 30, 2020 (Mr. Traxler)

The financial report of November 30, 2020 is submitted in the approved format

Financial Report, as of December 31, 2020 (Mr. Traxler)

The financial report of December 31, 2020 is submitted in the approved format

B.CONSENT ITEMS: The following items will be voted on as a group, individual items may be discussed prior to a vote being taken.

Ratification of Expulsions (Mr. Laurence)

The School Board, according to the Code of Laws for South Carolina Section 59-63-240, is authorized to expel students from school.Although the Board may receive recommendations for expulsion from others, it solely is empowered to take the final expulsion action.

Out-of-District Transfer Requests (Dr. Minolfo)

Board Policy JFABC allows the Aiken County Board of Education to arrange with other school districts for the interchange of students.The Policy stipulates that when students transfer out of the District, “the School District of Aiken County shall assume no responsibility for tuition to the receiving district.”

Out-of-District Transfer Requests (Dr. Minolfo)

Board Policy JFAB allows the Aiken County Board of Education to arrange with other school districts for the interchange of students.The policy stipulates that non-resident students transfer into the District “the parent/legal guardian must assume responsibility for transportation.The Board will hold nonresident students to the behavioral and academic requirements set out in policy JFAA, admission of resident students.The district may change tuition to nonresident students seeking to enroll in district schools.”

Change Order Number 1 for the 2020 Scrubbing, Sanding, Striping & Coating of Gymnasium Floors District Wide for Aiken County Public Schools. (Dr. Murphy)

Change Order Number 1 for the 2020 Scrubbing, Sanding, Striping & Coating of Gymnasium Floors District Wide for Aiken County Public Schools.

Change Order Number One:

Unused allowances for this project……………………<$23,784.13>

Credit in the amount of………………………..<$23,784.13>

Total Change Order Amount……………………………………. <$23,784.13>

Aiken County Public School District Head Start/Early Head Start Program Cost of Living Supplement – FY21 (Mrs. Glover)

The school district was approved for a five-year Head Start/Early Head Start grant in May of 2020, which began on July 1, 2020.Employees hired as part of this grant are considered Aiken County Public School District employees, and are paid according to the approved Salary Schedule.

All Head Start grantees, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, contains an increase of approximately $123 million for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for all Head Start grantees, inclusive of all Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships, with the exception of new awards made in fiscal year (FY) 2021.The COLA supports a 1.22 percent increase above FY 2020 funding levels to increase staff salaries and fringe benefits, and offset higher operating costs.The funds are effective with the start of the FY2021 budget period and are retroactive if this period has already commenced.The following reflects the increase(s) available for FY 2021 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA):Head Start: $32,588; Early Head Start $10,666; Total Funding: $43,254.

C.INDIVIDUAL ITEMS

Personnel Appointments (Mrs. Hart)

The certified and classified personnel have been screened by the Human Resources Department and interviewed, and/or approved by the Principal or supervisor for each location.

Revision of Administrative Rules GCC-R(2) (Professional Staff) and GDC-R(2) (Support Staff), COVID-19 Related Leave (Mrs. Hart)

Administrative Rules GCC-R(2) (Professional Staff) and GDC-R(2) (Support Staff), COVID-19 Related Leave, approved May 5, 2020 established guidelines for implementation of temporary leave requirements under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).FFCRA has concluded.The revision of Administrative Rules GCC-R(2) (Professional Staff) and GDC-R(2) (Support Staff), COVID-19 Related Leave, to establish guidelines for implementation of temporary leave requirements is required by the South Carolina Department of Education if emergency paid sick leave will be funded by the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) II program funds.

Closure of Lloyd-Kennedy Charter School and Aiken Performing Arts Academy Charter School (Dr. Minolfo)

The South Carolina Department of Education requires board action when the determination of a school closure is made.The Superintendent received school closure notification for Lloyd-Kennedy Charter School (June 30, 2021) and Aiken Performing Arts Academy Charter School (June 30, 2019).Notification of the closure of Aiken Performing Arts Academy Charter School was received on April 14, 2019, but school board action was not taken.

Annual Review of the Five-Year Facility Improvement Plan (Dr. Murphy)

In accordance with Policy FB, Facilities Planning, each year the Board of Education will review the Five-Year Facility Improvement Plan.

Board Room audio-visual upgrade through the purchase and installation of live-streaming equipment and a technical support contract through Swagit (Mr. Rosier)

The Board of Education Communications Committee achieved one of its primary goals in July when board meetings began to be streamed live on the Internet.This has increased the outreach of board meetings and information exponentially, with livestreamed meetings having already accumulated over 106,000 views.Meetings are being livestreamed currently with a cell phone and microphone.The committee wishes to enhance the audio-visual quality of our livestreamed meetings through a significant upgrade of our current equipment.This action would significantly increase the quality of our broadcasts and provide a much better online experience for stakeholders by allowing them more interactive options that will improve community relations and expand the level of transparency we offer.

Proposed Utilization of ESSER II Funds (Mr. Traxler)

The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II) resulted from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) that was signed into law on December 27, 2020.The SC Department of Education is allocated $940.4 million in ESSER II funds.From that our District is projected to receive $28,203,447.Funds must be spent by September 30, 2023.

Allowable use include the 12 activities allowed under ESSER I, plus three new ones.

Consideration of Mid-Year 2020-2021 Step Increase (Mr. Traxler)

As a result of the frozen teacher scale and by State directive, the District was unable to build employee step increases into the original version of the 2020-2021 budget.The expectation was that the step would be reinstated when legislators returned to Columbia in September 2020.Reinstatement did not occur at that time.

Legislators revisited the teacher step upon returning for the new session in January 2021.After weeks of discussion and deliberation, the mid-year teacher step legislation had Senate and House approval by March 10, 2021.The Governor signed the joint resolution into law on March 11, 2021.The step increase is retroactive to the start of the school year and must be paid by June 15, 2021.