Board Meeting - Regular Meeting

The regular scheduled board meeting for September 10th, 2026 is now being called to order. I am your president, Pamela Portis. We will now have invocation by Pastor Cameron R. Thomas, Senior Pastor at Hutchinson Street Missionary Baptist Church. Welcome, Pastor.

Thank you so much, President Portis, and to our Board of Education. Thank you so much for this opportunity.

May we compose our hearts for prayer.

Gracious and sovereign God, we thank you for the opportunity to gather together in service to the children, families, educators, and communities of Montgomery. We recognize that the work before us is more than budgets and policies and programs and transitions, but it's the work of shaping the future of our children and our city. As this semester is already underway, we pray for stability, wisdom, and unity Give these leaders discernment as they navigate budget planning and decision-making that will have lasting implications for students and families. We pray especially for those carrying the responsibility of leadership. Grant them humility to listen, courage to make difficult decisions, patience to work through disagreement, and wisdom to recognize opportunities even in moments of uncertainty. God, we pray that you would provide the resources that our school needs. Give teachers strength for the classroom, administrators wisdom for their responsibilities, counselors compassion for their students, support staff endurance for their work, and parents encouragement as they walk alongside their scholars. God, protect our children. Let our schools be places where children are safe, feel safe, are known, feel known, are challenged, encouraged, and prepared for our community. And as a community, remind us that the responsibility for our children's future does not rest with one person, one office, or one institution. Help us to move from criticism to collaboration. to partnership and from concern to action. May our conversations today be marked by respect. May decisions be guided by wisdom and may our leadership be characterized by integrity. And may every effort ultimately point towards the flourishing of Montgomery's children and the strengthening of our community. We trust these things to you, and it's in your name we pray. Amen.

Thank you, Reverend Thomas. We value your partnership and continue praying over us. That was wonderful. Now it will stand for our Pledge of Allegiance. We have established a quorum tonight. May I see, may I hear a motion to approve the agenda as printed?

Madam President, I move that we approve the agenda as printed.

Thank you. A motion has been made. May I hear a second? I second. Okay. Has been moved and seconded to accept the agenda as printed. May I see a show of hands of all of those in favor? It is unanimous. Thank you. Board President Remarks. We'll be short and sweet tonight. I just want to take an opportunity to thank all of our students, parents, grandparents, partners, and all who have continued to support Montgomery Public Schools. As we started school, it was a smooth start, and we are anticipating each one of these nine weeks being a smooth finish for our students. My focus this month and the coming months will be on family engagement and bridging schools, families, and communities. Parents and community members, please plan to attend our budget hearing. I stated that to you. There will be other family engagement activities coming. We want to thank those who attended our resource roundup. We had the opportunity of speaking at the leadership conference just the other day, and so many young, excited leaders are ready to partner with us. We're excited about it. We cannot wait to put them to work and for them to put us to work. So keep on doing what we're doing every day. We're praying that the wrong, like the old song says, the round goes higher and higher. We are expecting more of our children and our parents. So that is the president's remarks for this evening. Dr. Byrd?

Thank you. Good evening, President Portis, Vice President Watkins-Smith, members of the board, employees, families, students, and members of our Montgomery community. As we continue moving forward in the 2026-2027 school year, I simply want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who continues working each day to make this a great year for our students. Over the past several weeks, I've had the opportunity to visit our schools, talk with our students and employees, and see firsthand the excitement happening throughout Montgomery Public Schools. I've also enjoyed watching our students participate in extracurricular activities and seeing mentoring programs and other opportunities begin across our great district. These experiences remind us that education is about so much more than what's happening inside the classroom. Yesterday, we also had a wonderful kickoff to our attendance awareness campaign at Carver High School. Attendance is essential to student success, and I want to thank Mrs. Jones, our student support services and communications teams, our board members, attendance ambassadors, student staff, and everyone who helped to make the event special. As we look ahead, our focus remains on improved instruction, student achievement, expanding opportunities for students, and continuing to improve the overall experience for our students, employees, and families. There's a lot of great things happening across Montgomery Public Schools, and I'm excited about where we're headed. Thank you to our employees, families, board, community partners, and especially our students for continuing to make MPS a great place to learn, work, and grow. Together, we are continuing to move MPS forward into a new era of excellence.

And again, I thank you. Thank you, Dr. Byrd. As we talk about excellence, we will now have Ms. Rosanna Brewton with our board recognition.

Good evening, Madam President, Dr. Byrd, and board members. We are here tonight to celebrate the dedication, achievements, and contributions of our Montgomery Public Schools community. As each honoree's name is called, we ask the recipient to, along with their principal if present, or program administrator, to please come to the front to be recognized and take a photo with our board and superintendent. I welcome you all to come to the front.

Would our scholar, Anna Thurmond, please come to the front.

Tonight, we honor Ana, a scholar at Baldwin Arts and Academics Magnet for completing space camp and receiving special recognition from our state superintendent. Ana explored her passion for STEAM and challenged herself to reach new heights, representing the curiosity and determination we strive to instill in every MPS scholar. Help us in congratulating Ana.

Next we have Mrs. Katrina McGee.

We recognize Mrs. Katrina McGee for being selected as a WSFA 12 News Class Act winner. Now in her 26th year with MPS, Mrs. McGee serves as a K-5 math coach. As an ASU graduate lifelong learner and mentor to her peers, she fosters a growth mindset and builds math confidence in both students and teachers. Please help us in congratulating her. Montgomery Public Schools is on the move because we have yet another WSFA 12 News Class Act Award winner to celebrate, Mr. Tavares Marlowe. He is the band director at Brubaker Middle School, who was also named a WSFA 12 News Class Act Award winner. And this award highlights educators who go above and beyond. Mr. Marlow's dedication to music education and his passion for inspiring young musicians makes him a shining example of excellence in our district. Help us in congratulating him. And I don't think I mentioned this, our previous winner, Mrs. Katrina McGee, is from Brubaker Intermediate School. Last but not least, this particular recipient wasn't able to join us, but I do want to make sure she is recognized, Coach Freya Smith. Park Crossing High School, we recognize Coach Smith for her selection as the NFHS Section 3 Alabama Coach of the Year. And you may remember Coach Smith led the Lady Thunderbirds to the AHSAA Class of 6A state championship in 2025 and a state runner-up finish in 2026. So this honor reflects her commitment to excellence, character building, and leadership both on and off the court. So again, if we can congratulate tonight's honorees and thank you for representing Montgomery Public Schools with excellence. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much, Ms. Brewton.

There is no scheduled public comments tonight, no citizen comments, and I see Mr. Anderson ready for receiving his information about Flowers Elementary School HVAC bid.

Good evening, Dr. Byrd, Ms. Portis, Mrs. Watkins-Smith, and members of the board. The bid before you tonight is the low bid for the Flowers HVAC renovation, similar to what we've done with our other HVAC projects, and I've been keeping you posted as far as bids and design and so on and so forth the rest of the way. But I wanted to also kind of go through with you what all is included in that. HVAC is much more than HVAC, and I wrote it down in my update so that I wouldn't forget all the pieces of it. Of course, new central HVAC, new drop ceilings and lighting that you see, like you see above us. New IT infrastructure, so that's IDF and MDF rooms to be able to put the IT infrastructure out for different things, cameras, door access, of course, computers and access points. New fire alarm system, new external doors, new door access. updating the restrooms to meet ADA code, hallway and cafeteria epoxy floors and painting, and a new canopy in the front of the school for arrival and dismissal. So it's much more than just an HVAC bid, but something that we've been continuing on with these older schools that were built in the 50s and 60s and still had the original windows, and of course where there were little window units cut in many, many years ago. Again, when I came into the district, we had approximately 20 schools with that situation. With this bid tonight, that takes us down to four that are remaining with Bear, UCS is in design, Highland Gardens, and Floyd Middle. We have four of those left, and we have a couple of partial HVAC renovations that we need to do at a few schools. But we're in much better shape thanks to, of course, you had Ms. Watkins present her plan tonight and her predecessor as well working with us to work on these capital needs and the things that are in the district. So we're in a lot better shape than we were just seven, eight years ago. That's the flowers bid.

Comments on flowers? Mr. Anderson?

Yes, ma'am. The next one is the JAG Fieldhouse bid. That is to continue on with what we've completed, of course, already at Park Crossing and Carver and what is under construction at Percy Julian. This will complete the traditional schools, fieldhouse, and field improvements that we've started in athletics. With that, as you see, we were able to come in approximately $500,000 under the projected budget So we're seeing better numbers than what we saw just when we did Carver and Park Crossings as well.

Very good. Any questions or comments on the JAG project? Hearing none, we'll move to Agri.

Yes, ma'am. The ATBE is our liability insurance. I'm working in conjunction with Mr. Rudolph. He kind of handles that area of finance with those pieces, but we handle most of the white fleet and yellow fleet within operations, and that's what this mainly covers is our white fleet and yellow fleet. Yellow fleet, of course, being the buses, white fleet being anything from maintenance vehicles to, you know, a logistics box truck, so any of those type of vehicles, and that's what this covers. That also covers some trailers. We have some For example, like an athletic trailer that was just purchased at Percy Julian, we cover those costs for those liability insurances underneath those things as well.

Okay, any questions or comments? Hearing none, thank you, Ms. Anderson. Ms. Watkins, our July 26th, 2026 financial statement. Okay.

You should have in front of you your financials for the month of July. July represents the beginning of the very last quarter of the fiscal year. In your packet, you have explanation of financial data, snapshot analysis, which is what we'll focus on, and the general fund balance recap. Our monthly and annual comparative statement of revenues and expenditures, which is a comparison of the revenues and expenditures at the same point in time last fiscal year, our statement of cash flow, which represents the revenues and expenditures for the current month, and then a visual of that information as well. I'm going to go on over to the snapshot analysis. As you can see, our current fund balance is $96.4 million as of July. You also recognize or may recognize that the payroll expenditures July 2025 compared to July 2026 That's usually a timing difference into when we pay supplements. Summer school payroll was actually processed in July of 2026 this year, as well as some additional supplements that came out in July that may have hit in June of last year. So that's the variance there because those amounts have been trending pretty close. You also can see our local revenue comparisons. for fiscal year 2026 compared to fiscal year 2025. Again, a lot of the variances with those will have to do with timing differences as well. And you will notice that our fund balance is down by about $11 million compared to July of 2025. That is reflective of expenditures that were being paid out of general fund for the Percy Julian build that we just closed on last week. Here's a breakdown of our general fund balance as we usually do. The general fund balance, $96.4 million, as you will see, a good portion of that is tied to funding sources that can only be expended as such. All of these are funding sources that have to be, the grand majority of these will have to be spent by September 30, and we're tracking straight on to that. You'll notice that our general fund balance, which is our discretionary, is at about $57.3 million. Again, like I just mentioned, that's reflective of some of the capital expenditures that we've been supporting out of general fund until we issued the bond, which closed on last week. And that is our financials for the month of July.

Very well. Thank you so much. Any questions or comments on those? Thank you. All minds and hearts are clear on that. Consent agenda. Dr. Byrd.

Madam President, board members, superintendent requests your approval of the consent agenda action items 10A through 10H.

Madam President, I move that we approve consent agenda items 10A through 10H.

I second it. It has been moved and seconded to accept the superintendent's recommendation for consent agenda items 10A Rule 10H, is there any, may I hear a motion? Any discussion on any of those items? Hearing or seeing no discussion or comments, may I see a show of hands of all of those in favor?

It is unanimous.

Consider for approval.

Dr. Burke. Thank you. Superintendent requests your approval of action item 11A, personnel report, certified personnel.

Madam President, I move that we approve item 11A, personnel report. I second it.

It has been moved and seconded to accept the superintendent's recommendation for item 11A, Any discussion on this item? Hearing or seeing no discussion, may I see a show of hands of all of those in favor? Okay, it is unanimous. Dr. Burke.

Thank you. I would pretend to request your approval of action item 11B, Personnel Report Certified Addendum.

I move that we accept Superintendent Byrd's 11B personnel report certified addendum to be approved.

Thank you. Is there a second? Oh, I'm sorry. It has been moved and second to accept the superintendent's recommendation for item 11B personnel report certified addendum. Any discussion on this item? Hearing or seeing no discussion, may I see a show of hands of all of those in favor? It is unanimous. Dr. Burke?

Thank you. Superintendent requests your approval of action item 11C, Personnel Report, Classified Personnel.

Madam Chair, I move that we accept the superintendent's recommendation for 11C, Personnel Report, Classified Personnel.

I second it.

It has been moved and seconded to accept the superintendent's recommendation for item 11C, personnel report, classified personnel. Is there any discussion on this item? Hearing or seeing no discussion, may I see a show of hands of all of those in favor? It is unanimous. Thank you, Dr. Burke.

Thank you. Superintendent requests your approval of action item 11D, supplemental personnel minutes.

Madam Chair, I move that we accept the superintendent's recommendation for 11D, supplemental personnel minutes. I second it.

It has been moved and seconded to accept the superintendent's recommendation for item 11D, supplemental personnel minutes. Any discussion on this item? Hearing or seeing no discussion, may I see a show of hands of all of those in favor? It is unanimous. Thank you, Dr. Byrd.

Thank you. Superintendent requests your approval of action item 11E, Personnel Report Teams.

Madam President, I move that we accept, approve item 11E, Personnel Report Teams. Thank you.

I second it. It has been moved and seconded to accept the superintendent's recommendation for item 11E, Personnel Report Teams. Any discussion on this item? Hearing or seeing no discussion, may I see a show of hands of all of those in favor? It is unanimous. Thank you, Dr. Byrd. Our next meeting date will be September 14th, 2026 at 4 o'clock for our budget hearing two. Immediately following will be our, oh, we'll go home. Okay, this meeting is adjourned.

Okay. Our work session is now in order.

All right, we still have a quorum present for our meeting. I have a motion to approve the work session agenda as printed.

Madam Chair, I move that we accept the agenda as printed.

I second. Has it been second? Second. It has been moved and second to approve the agenda as printed. I receive this information. We have a daddy that needs to take care of some family business, so we're going to have Mr. Anderson first.

Yes, ma'am. Have a football game.

Oh, I'm sorry. Wait a minute, Chair. May I have a vote for those all in favor of the agenda being accepted as printed, Ms. Brown? Now, I need a motion to amend the agenda to change the order of the agenda.

Madam Chair, I move that we accept that we amend the agenda to move Chad to A, Volcker to B. Second that.

It has been moved and second to change the order, that makes perfect sense, to move the order for Mr. Anderson to A and Volcker to B. Any discussion on that item? If not, may I see a show of hands of all of those in favor? It's a wonderful thing to sit with all these ladies that know what to do. Thank you, Chad. Thank you, ladies.

And thank you for working with me on that. I really appreciate it. So if you'll go through the capital project spreadsheet with me, we'll start with the Davis Elementary project there with HVAC. We have an above ceiling inspection scheduled for 9-14 next week for the six classrooms in phase three. If you see the front of the building, that's what they've been working on there. What they do above the ceiling, for example, if you see the ceiling above us, there's duct work, there's different things that are wiring and different things that are going on up there, before they can close this ceiling up and put ceiling tiles in it, the state has to come in and inspect it to make sure that that ductwork and different things that are above that ceiling are done correctly. The state's big emphasis is life safety. So the reason for that there is if there were a fire or something in the building and the fire department had to come in and they suspected something above the ceiling, if they go to pull the ceiling down, it's supposed to be done in a way that when they pull it down that they're not pulling down duct work or any kind of wiring or anything like that. Everything should be separated in that. So you have to complete that above ceiling so that they can be allowed to then close it up and continue on with finishing up. Once it's closed up, it usually takes the contractor about two weeks to complete that portion and then the state inspector comes back for a final inspection in that area or a partial final inspection for that area. Like we talked about in the previous thing with flowers, we are upgrading the fire alarm in that situation. When you upgrade the fire alarm, you cannot fully bring the new fire alarm on board until the total project is complete. So we stay on the original fire alarm until the new fire alarm is fully complete with the rest of the project, and they do a final test of that for life safety. The Forest Avenue roof replacement, we're about 95% complete with that, just very little bit of that left over to button up, and we're in the same position at South Lawn. They've already requested a final inspection for South Lawn, so we're very close to wrapping those two up. The JAG athletic improvements, we had a little bit of a delay because they found some soft soils out there on the field, and we had to have engineers come in and inspect. So we're doing some soil stabilization there with lime to harden that area so that they can complete the work. We've given them that approval to move ahead. It's within the allowances that we have, so it's nothing new added to the contract with that. So it's all within the budget that we have, and they're going to be continuing that here shortly and We should wrap up the field portion within the next few weeks. If you've been behind the school, you see that the light poles are up around the property. We haven't completed the final part with the actual fixtures on those yet, but those are coming. But they've got the wiring mostly complete in the area, and they'll start the baseball field here within the next two weeks to complete that. We'll leave the softball field undone until we finish the – are unfinished until we finish the track and the turf out there because we would be going back and forth over the field there. So we'll leave that softball field until we finish the track and turf. Once we finish the turf, the asphalt will have to cure for 30 days and then they'll put the rubber surface on it and then we'll finish the softball field and fencing with that. Danley HVAC renovations phase three is wrapping up. They, again, have called for above-ceiling inspection the same day that we had the Davis. That is the four classrooms on the bottom of the back annex, and then what we have left at Danley is the top ten classrooms and the two restrooms that are up in that area. We're working on a plan with the executive director and the school to be able to move those classes so that we complete that in one phase. To give you kind of a time frame with that, we were able to do the four classrooms downstairs where we are to now in about three weeks. So they anticipate a little bit longer with this because we have the restroom renovations with it, but we're not having to make ADA upgrades there. We're just tiling and flooring and putting new fixtures and partitions in. So it'll move quickly. That's going to be probably somewhere between a five to six week process for that upstairs that we'll have to shift those classrooms to complete that. And then we'll be able to do the final inspection over the whole project and wrap that one up. The JAG elevator renovation, they have mobilized and are on site and electricians are working. This will be a longer process because they will have to go in through the hallways, make penetrations into the classrooms to put the strobes and the smoke detectors and the different things in those areas. So working while the school's in play, we'll have to take it slowly to try to minimize disruption. We've got one of the assistant principals there is working with the contractor on a daily basis to make sure they know where they're going to be and what it's going to be that they'll be working with on that. And then we're working to schedule the elevator portion towards the end of the school year so that we minimize that. We're taking those two elevators down, and we'll finish that the first of June, the elevator portion of the project, to get that one wrapped up as well. The Jag Fieldhouse was before you earlier and moving along, and so is the Flowers HVAC renovation, the Bear HVAC renovation. is InDesign. We've completed most of the preliminary items with that. It'll be very similar to what we're doing at Flowers, what we're currently doing at Flowers and Danley and Davis. And then also we're working on a plan there. That is a school that is pretty full. So we're actually looking at the church across from us that we're utilizing the parking lot now. They have classroom spaces over there, so we're looking to try to do some kind of agreement with them to see if we can utilize those areas for swing spaces. We'll provide security in that building, a permanent guard there while we're completing any kind of renovations to help with that monitoring and securing that piece of it, but just to give us a plan to be able to shift those students so that we can get the work completed as quickly as we can and efficiently as we can. The Baldwin roof replacement is underway and moving well. We're currently working on the low roof in the area that has some HVAC equipment that we're replacing in that area that will bring up new HVAC for like the upper area, like the dance room that we've had some issues with one of the units there. So that'll be new HVAC units in that area. And also some new refrigeration items for C&P and their freezer and cooler for that, so it'll be replaced with this, but it's moving well also. The transportation renovation, we're looking at a bid next week for this project. This will be a renovation of the existing space with foam insulation in the mechanics area, new roof, on the mechanics area, a new roof on the office and administrative area and some cosmetics there, an auditorium to replace the portable that's there that we do trainings in, which the state is very excited about that. They utilize our spaces, especially with transportation for training, so that'll be something that can be used in conjunction with that. We'll also be making improvements to the parking area and also the drive area, and putting in infrastructure for EV vehicles on the back for charging stations on the back of the property as well. The Children's Center roof replacement, we're currently in design on the Children's Center roof replacement. We had that portion in there. This is probably one of our more critical roofs at this time. It's not a major issue, but it is something that it is time to replace that. So we have our architects in design on replacing that for this year. So glad to see the roofs business slowing down. We've been able to do a lot more with the cosmetic stuff, the painting and different things within the schools, and we'll continue on with that. So roofs are in much better shape. I think this is our 44th roof since I've been here, so we've done a lot of roofs. Good to get those done.

Mr. Anderson, any questions or comments for Mr. Anderson? All right, sir, run.

You're free to go. Thank you.

You are certainly welcome. Now we'll hear from Ms. Penn with Volker.

Good evening.

There we go. There we go. Good evening, Dr. Byrd, President Portis, board members. I'm bringing tonight our CIP presentation for September. Rolling into the new Percy Julian High School. We are currently halfway to the end of that project. We are tracking at 52 percent, and I wanted to just notate that our crew count is pretty significant at this point. We're right at 230. Crew count with all major subs engaged and on site. So it's really a sight to see whenever you go out. I don't think that I commented for last month that we had one weather day added to the overall anticipated substantial completion date, but we are still tracking January of 2028 for the project to be turned over. I've just placed back up our aerial kind of floor plan of the existing, I mean, of the new campus, just again, going into these pictures to make sure when I really notate areas that this is where the areas that we're honing in on. A and C, almost complete with the exterior brick. We're seeing the window installation going on around the perimeter of the building, starting on the A, C, and wrapping around towards B, we've got sheetrock being installed also in that section A and area A and C of the building. Since pictures taken from last week, we've got our data wire that's being pulled and installed also within area A and C. We've got structural steel going overhead in area G and F, which is your fine arts auditorium. a band coral spot, as well as F, which is your practice and competition gym. Another big thing that is to be notated from last month is we've got the first binder of asphalt laid for the parking lot.

So it looks really nice.

And that's going to help kind of cut down on any dirt and really just dirt going in and out of the building. So we were really pleased to see that the contractor went ahead and jumped on that. Again, this picture was taken prior to the asphalt actually going down, but that, you can see the concrete curb has been placed, and asphalt has actually been placed. It's just an aerial view of the roof, and really what I wanted to capture is we've been working on between areas A and B, kind of that middle, lower middle section of that, what they call the cupola, Entry point, we finally have that kind of dried in, and the masonry work is being ran vertically. Again, we've just got HVAC air handling units. That was another big thing that's been set on Area C of the roof. And then, again, overhead MENP ongoing on the inside. There's a view facing towards Todd Road extension there at the north. Again, just progress. It's being ramped up. Main thing to notate is just structural steel has started down on that bottom left-hand area. Asphalt being placed. This is our back side of the campus in that mid right-hand side that you see the gray footprint, that's the field house. It was actually slab on gray was poured this week. So we're excited to bring that information to the board. Again, this is just a really nice picture of where the contractor has gone in, and they've started cleaning the brick, the exterior brick. We've got downspouts installed, and then also the window installation going in. So just a really nice – it's going to be beautiful. I'm excited. I'm excited for MPS. I'm excited for the – yeah, I really am. And then, again, interior views. I will have a little bit better interior views going into next month just because of the drywall that's going up and the damp roofing that's going on the walls. You can really start to see those spaces come alive with the walls coming together. So we're excited. And then rolling into Capitol Heights Middle School, we're 7% overall project complete. We're still looking at that phase one, which is the main academic classroom. structure coming online summer of 2028. Phase two, which is your demolition and abatement demolition of the existing Percy Julian High School, as well as those athletic fields, will start once we get the students at Percy Julian moved into the new school, and then that abatement demolition is done. The athletic fields can be built out at that point. Still just a lot of site work going on, utility work. We have been presented with, probably for the last six weeks, getting approval from Montgomery Water Works on those plans, and I'm happy to announce that we have finally gotten approval on those plans, and we're moving forward with getting the existing water line that was down Cary Drive actually demoed. So that was the point where we were just having to work through that with our civil engineer as well as Montgomery Water Works. Again, just another aerial view of site work going on behind Percy Julian. And then you can kind of see that drive in which future drive that will connect to Ann Street over on the left-hand side of the existing campus. And then nothing new to report on our minority participation. Any questions? Yes, ma'am.

It's simple, and I probably should have asked or just called you on it. I want to know, because I do occasionally get on social media, I try to stay off because I stay in trouble on it. But the pond, y'all built one. Wasn't one already there, the one in the back?

So there's actually two that were part of the site package. You've got a pond, an existing pond that's on the backside, and I may be able to go back. That's what I said. I thought one was existing.

And what I'm being told is that we built both of them. One was really there.

Yes, that's correct. One was already existing in there. And it is to remain just to help with runoff sites. runoff. Yes. This is the one that's got the great fishing that we've been told.

And the alligator.

And the alligator. Any other questions or comments? The building is amazing. And it seems like each week that you go out there, there's just more and more of it pulling together. Yeah, we are really blessed to have a strong contractor on that project, both of them, but really strong contractor on Percy Julian to where they are just getting after that schedule, and rightly so, because we cannot afford to slip.

We're opening. It's not January anymore, right?

It is. So we have, well, let's back up. That's when the building will be, is scheduled to be turned over to the Now what we will need to do, Dr. Keith, is work internally with Mr. Anderson's team, logistics, Dr. Bird, to make sure that there's a plan in place for relocating students and teachers and when the district would actually like to go ahead and move those students over into the new facility and start using it. We'll have a plan. There will be a plan. many months prior to make sure that everybody is aware of it. We've got, you know, foul from not only internal department heads, but also from the principal as well.

That was just another argument, because I said January, and they were, no, it's not. So I was left feeling like this idiot, and now I'm glad that you have, it's when we turn it over. Yes, ma'am.

Yes, substantial completion means it is the contractor has completed their scope of work. We can occupy the building for its intended purpose. And if the district would like to go ahead, I mean, you could go the following week and access the building and start using it for its intended purpose. That is the district's right.

And, Dr. Keith, they can't know more than you. You're the board member. You get the information first.

That's right. We always, very first slide, we make sure that you guys know when the contractor is tracking on substantially completing the project, meaning they're turning it over. All life safety inspections have been done and signed off on our storm shelter, which that was another big thing that I did not

remember in my presentation, but the storm shelter lid was actually poured this week, so your storm shelter is completely enclosed and complete.

Very good. Thank you. Well, it's the entire student body.

Thank you so much.

Yes, ma'am.

All right, next we will have our board policy regarding video cameras in self-contained classrooms. Ms. Jackson?

Good evening.

Good evening.

Dr. Byrd, Madam President, Board members, you have a copy of the proposed policy for cameras in resource classrooms, and this policy is pursuant to the Alabama Code 16-39-13, video cameras in certain self-contained classrooms. NPS will install cameras in our self-contained resource classrooms to ensure the safety and security of students with disabilities who are unable to self-advocate. It would be both video and audio cameras. And we also have in the policy that they will only be utilized during the school day when students are present, and it will not be used near restroom areas. And we also included in the policy who is able to view and for what reasons. The last thing is there is a parent letter that will go out to all of the parents if you were to approve this policy before the cameras would be installed and turned on. Do you have any questions?

I guess I do. Does that not violate FERPA to any degree? I mean, because I know we couldn't film students.

No, no, it doesn't. It's not monitored. like in real time or live feed, it is just on. So if there's any incident that occurs during the investigation, they will be able to pull the camera. Thank you so much. Any other questions or comments? It is Alabama Code 16-39-13.

Thank you so much, Ms. Jackson.

Next, we will have Ms. Brewton, if she would come, for Apogee Room Subscription Renewal.

Yes. So, I'm presenting informational An informational item tonight regarding the subscription renewal for rooms, our district-wide two-way communication platform powered by AptoG. Just to clarify, AptoG is the same vendor behind our district website, which I brought before you recently. While our website handles public information, this specific renewal for rooms, the secure interactive parent communication platform, accesses directly inside the MPS mobile app. And also, I believe they can access it through the website if needed, but mainly through the MPS app. Rooms allows families to receive real-time messages and updates directly from their child's teachers and school staff all in one place. So they do not have to go through multiple third-party apps to access that communication with their teachers. right so you've got a single inbox with this rooms you have flexible notifications automatic translations for those families that have a preferred language so that removes any communication barriers and also group connects so we have spaces that sports teams can access and clubs can access in rooms as well so to get started the family simply has to download the mps app and then they click on the icon for rooms it's directly connected to power schools so it pulls that information and we're able to make sure that they're set up and ready to go for that two-way communication with their teachers any questions yes miss clown Correct. So this is making, utilizing rooms as our primary tool. So it also allows us access for anything that's flagged. It allows us to be able to view and make sure that gets to the proper places. It is K through 12. Yes.

We have, I mentioned a campaign is coming to

Let parents know that this is... We have already been on that. We have pushed out communication. It actually is on a rotating schedule, so the parents that continue not to sign up, they continue to get notifications to sign up. If I am not mistaken, we are already at above 47%, and we are continuing to work with schools to ensure that every parent is signed up for a room so they can stay connected to

uh their child's teachers that's great good to hear i'll take that suggestion thank you yes ma'am well i'm a parent yes who actually downloaded it i appreciate you i appreciate you too thank you that is all thank you thank you any other questions no hearing that thank you so much thank you

All right, next we'll have Dr. Williams' revised magnet testing proposal. Welcome, Dr. Williams.

Dr.

I'll start again. Good evening, Madam President, Dr. Byrd, and board members. Tonight I would like to propose a revised magnet testing proposal for the 27-28 school year. So the purpose of this proposal is to strengthen our academic excellence here in Montgomery Public Schools with our magnet program specifically, and to ensure that when we admit students that they are prepared for the rigor, the pace, and academic expectations of the magnet level instruction. Using multiple measures, including GPA and diagnostic assessments, such as I-Ready, to elevate demonstrated academic performance and support fair and consistent improved admissions decisions. also to identify significant academic skill gaps before placement so students have a stronger opportunity for success. What is our current process? Currently, students complete the district magnet school application. Applicants must meet established grade point average requirements. Students entering grades K-3 participate in reading assessment using i-Ready as a part of the admission process. For students Entering grades 4 through 12th grade, eligibility is primary determined by the use of GPAs only, not testing. Students entering grades 4-12 do not currently complete an additional district academic readiness assessment. How does the data support this revision? NPS has seen students enter magnet programs with qualifying grades, but significant skill gaps on district diagnostic assessments. In some cases, prior classroom grades do not align with demonstrated reading and mathematics performance. For example, a recently, this is 26-27 school year, admitted fourth grader student met the GPA requirement to enter magnet school, but the beginning of the year I-ready assessment indicated that the child's reading performance is on a kindergarten level, which will result in a possible performance gap, probationary letter at the end of the year, and intense MTSS documentation. A standardized readiness measure provides an additional objective data point and reduces reliance on GPA alone. Triangulating diagnostic data can better determine readiness for rigorous magnet instruction. So the proposed change is simple. Currently, we test K-3 already reading already. The proposal is just to test K-8 students. We are getting an influx of students, which is good for our enrollment, from different charter schools outside of the district tri-county areas that have high GPAs, 4.0s. But when you test them assessment-wise, once they enter magnet school, they have a significant grade level gap of some three or four grade levels. The expected impact is more consistent readiness expectations, earlier identification of gaps, and better informed placement decisions.

Questions?

I just have a comment. I remember us signing my baby up for a magnet. She was a kindergartner. And we brought her over here and she couldn't read the directions, so of course she wasn't prepared. And of course, we told her, she said, who can't read? We said, you. So, you know, she reads really, really well now because that was a challenge. But I've always said we need to let parents know what it is we expect for their children to get in these programs. If I'm a kindergarten mama and I'm interested in magnet, how so? How do I navigate that? Our military families that come in, how do they know what we expect if it's not public knowledge? I may be a 10th grader at Carver and say, you know what? I have good grades. I do well. Maybe I want to go to LAMP and try that out. So I think putting it out, what our expectations are, gives us a different opportunity and even a financial opportunity that we have not seen yet with the influx of people that would come.

I'm so glad you said that. It needs, it certainly does. So if this proposal is approved, our next step is to update our magnet handbook and the expectations and meet with communication so that communication will go out and parents will know. The goal is to have it out by October 1st, so they'll know before the magnet season starts.

Okay.

I knew you had thought of that.

I just want to say this, and I'm on the fence on this. I am. Because I look at the repercussions. You know, some kids are not test takers. They have test anxiety. And you're going to, when we just turned Dalreda into a magnet school, you're looking at entire schools. You're looking at Park Crossing. You're looking at massive students that have, you know, they don't eat right that day. You think about it. Seriously, I'm telling you, I was the, test person, test prep person at South University. And sometimes a kid just doesn't eat right or they have a headache that day. And I'm not trying to make excuses, but I don't think we're talking about a minute group of students. I think when you have a parent with a, I agree, we have teachers that are giving grades and they, you know, push the grades up, you know, fluctuate the grades up. But when you take one test These parents were going to go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. I know as a, I don't, my children are grown now, but if they had earned their, if they got into magnet school, and then all of a sudden they don't do good on a test, but have a, you know, a 4.0, I'm just looking at the repercussions of what we're going to get.

In response to that, so as I stated, currently the students in grades K-3 test anyway. So it's not just one test. They take into account the beginning of the year test as well as the middle of the year test. So by the time the magnet application opens, they would have had two tests. So if I'm an MPS student that would like to apply for magnet K-12, they're taking our assessments anyway. And so what we're seeing is that outside schools, could be military schools, could be some of our local charter schools, out-of-state students, they're coming here. And I want to ensure that NPS has a standard of excellence and not the inflated grades. And so since our own students have to test for magnet school to enter, so should outside schools.

Excellent answer. And because they're not lining up to go to magnet anyway. So whatever we can do to even the playing field works on our behalf. Yes, Ms. Clare.

I think a good bridge that we test them for gifted, because that's part of the spectrum, test them for gifted. A lot of students that are gifted don't want to go to the magnet. They want to be in their school, but we can give them a pathway, an enrichment pathway. They're happy. They're getting accelerated education. interest, and they can be in their regular school with their friends, and maybe not transition, but be in the gifted program or a gifted class to be pulled out for something, because we're, I think we're looking at going tier one, tier two, tier three, helping MTSS strengthen, and then during that time, those gifted children could go into that area.

Okay. Thank you. We're going to stay on magnet. I promise you we are. Ms. Smith has a comment, and we'll

Well, several questions, actually. Because it wasn't in the presentation, will behavior still be a part of that process as well?

No, so we can't. Our application is not discriminatory where it asks about the behavior or if special education and certain things like that. So behavior is not included in that. So currently, our standard is on our application. We don't ask about behavior or demographics or those things like that. Like I said, the only change is expanding the testing grade levels to fourth through eighth grade.

And I thank you for answering it just that way, because back in 2015, MPS was cited for some discriminatory practices when it came to behavior. So I know it would be a shock to some teachers. But when you're talking about equity, You know, you can't, I don't want to say you take what you get, but there are just some bright kids who do struggle with behavior issues, but having a rigorous curriculum, having that rigor would possibly reduce some of that, hopefully. And I know there are processes. And they all still follow the same process if it gets beyond what the school can handle. So I appreciate you answering.

Like I said, the only change is just extending the testing grade levels. But no, we won't look at the demographics of behavior.

Two things can be true at the same time. Two things can be true at the same time.

I have another question. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Let me look at it.

Oh, there was confusion. And I got phone calls where parents were a little confused in the past about the type of assessments that you all were looking at and when. So let's say my child is in a regular traditional classroom, a school. I apply for Magnet. The question was, well, are they looking at last year grades and assessments? This year is the first two nine weeks. So if that can be brought in a little bit more and clarified better so that they can understand exactly what you're looking for and when you're looking for it, whether it's last year, this year, or a combination of both.

So when we update the handbook and we lay out those parent expectations and giving them the information through the help of our communication department, we'll make sure that we have that. And we'll also have a committee for the handbook. Thank you so much.

Did you have another comment?

Thank you. Two things can be true at the same time. They can be in a MAC school, but they can have some behavior issues, so we've got to address those.

Dr. Ford is going to cover background checks and pending hires for us. Yes.

Good evening, Dr. Byrd, Ms. Portis, and all of our esteemed board members. Yes, I have some information to cover regarding the employee background checks and to provide an update. This information is, of course, being shared for information only.

of course, our mission and vision statement.

And so looking at our employee background checks, you've seen pending hires throughout our personnel minutes, basically from April until this month, September 10th, and looking at the number of hires, we've had 619 hires, certified and classified employees of the background checks based on the clearance that we have, the clearance status. We've had 553 employees whose background checks are clear. We have 15 employees whose background checks are pending and or in progress, and we have 50 employees whose background checks are needed. Based on the number of employees whose background checks are pending and or in progress, What that means, field prints, of course, field print appointments and or submissions have been completed, but the background check results have not yet been finalized or received by Montgomery Public Schools. Tending background checks require employees to provide additional information to correct information previously submitted or that the submitted information is being processed by the ALSDE. And, of course, with Field Print and the ALSDE background session, we all know that we're at the mercy of their completion processes, and they're currently working on completing the process. I spoke with an employee today who had submitted her information on August 6th, and it's still showing as pending. So, of course, working with Field Print, of course, working with all the districts around the state, as well as the State Department, providing that same service to all of the districts around the state. Of course, we understand that there may be some lag times. For the background checks that are needed, and there are a couple of reasons why those background checks are needed. Remember that I stated that we had 50 employees whose background checks are still needed. It could be that the employee has not started the fingerprinting process. And remember, I stated that this information is through today. So we have employees who are been recommended for hire today so their information is included as one of those employees who have not submitted their background checks or we don't have the results as of yet. It could be that the appointment has been scheduled but has not been, that employee has not been fingerprinted and we do have employees as such. and drilling down the data that we're looking at pertaining to background checks, I can tell you that majority of the employees who are in this category were either hired in August or in September. So we have majority of our employees I'm certain have provided or had their fingerprints completed. But we're still waiting on the results to be processed. And most of the employees who have their certifications, if they're on emergency certification or getting another certification in another certification pathway, the state isn't going to publish their results until those certification applications are received as well. Looking at another reason why our background checks could be still needed, sometimes the State Department requests additional information or that they complete a reprint And so, of course, that takes time. And one of the last things that we have to take into consideration is that if the process has been completed, maybe the results have not appeared on and we even look at so that we can match back the information that's there. But the background checks, as you can see, is a required component of our onboarding. To have 553 employees having completed the background check, well, having 553 employees whose background checks are cleared, you can see that there's a definite effort that all background checks are cleared. And just in case we have employees who, what do we do with those employees whose background checks are not cleared and or pending? Of course, we work directly with those employees, notifying the employees and their supervisors to make certain that they are aware of the incomplete status. Like for instance, I received an email today from an employee who showed me that as of August 6, her background check was completed. She's still showing an incomplete status. She saved the evidence from when she had the background check completed. I have another. And of course, our security staff, they are just magnificent. I called about two of the security officers who haven't completed their background checks. And of course, Chief Forte, he was like, no, they've completed that, completed the background checks. And right here, I have one from June 10th that had been completed, and they're still waiting to receive the results, and another one from August 21st. So the efforts are being made to ensure that all employees have a clear background check. And like I said, we're working to resolve the discrepancies that are listed with those that are still pending and or we have received the results. And we do have a great relationship with the State Department. If we do have an employee who have a discrepancy, we're able to pick up the phone and call and ask, you know, what's going on? Can you send us some more information? And they'll work with us to get that information. The ultimate goal is that all employees have a cleared background check if they work within the Montgomery Public School District. And we're documenting our efforts until we have to make a final decision regarding their employment if that background check comes back unsatisfactory.

Thank you. Are there any questions? Any questions for Dr. Ford? Let me give the board just a little background in this. I mean, Ms. Brown is our... H.R. liaison on the committee. So she, I know, I made that up. It was nice. But she did. She's my go-to person or our go-to person. And as we vote on things, we want to make sure that your votes are protected by what we say we're going to have knowledge of. And so the questions she had, they're very good questions, as what are our processes as we approve things going forward. And so that's where this information came from. Dr. Ford and her department, we asked Dr. Byrd to ask them to pull this together so you all would have some information as to what you have been approving. Ms. Brown, turn it over to you.

Yes. I need clarification. So when you say that a person's employment has been approved, exactly what does that mean? Because if you're saying you still have background checks that are still pending, does that mean that that employee is in the building? Does that mean that the employee is sitting waiting to receive the word that they cleared their background check because I don't know what that means if they're if they have completed their background check yes they're in the building and we're awaiting their information and my question is if they are in the build I mean if they they have not cleared the background check

The only way that we know that they haven't cleared it is that when we receive the report, the official reports from the State Department. So if their background check is pending and or we haven't received the results, it could be a teacher whose certification has to be submitted and we're waiting on the certification application to be submitted. And the State Department is going to hold that information until they receive that certification.

No, I'm not talking about a certification. I'm talking about the clearance of a background check. So are you saying that people are working in the building without satisfying the requirement for a background check?

What I'm saying is that we could have a teacher in a building whose background check information we have not received because the state is awaiting their certification application.

Okay, so in the case, let's just say somebody is in the building, background check is pending, and their background check comes back with something on their record.

Then we, of course, take the next steps to make certain that if there's information that's requested by the State Department, because if it comes back with something, the State Department is going to issue a letter that states specifically what's needed, and they're going to also give them 30 days to submit that information to them, and once they submit the information to the State Department, then a final determination is made as well.

And is that process, I'm assuming, this is my assumption, that that process is satisfactory in its common processes throughout the state?

Yes, ma'am.

Dr. Colvin?

had some similar concerns about that and what I'm understanding generally if an applicant's background has not been cleared that person is not working with students unsupervised like and I keep going back to like our teachers for instance we could have a

teacher whose application that has been submitted or an emergency application that has been submitted. The State Department isn't going to release any information regarding their background check until they get that completed application. So that teacher, yes, may be working with students. And that is a state process. That is the state law. And we're told to ensure that we write pending board approval so that our school board and all entities understand that this is what the state requires.

What I'm hearing, though, is that no liability falls back on us.

Correct.

But see, what I hear both of them saying is, I mean, this is state law. It's across the state. But when we approve these personnel lists, no one tells us that that individual is waiting for that background check. So we're approved. Do you see what I'm saying? What we're doing is we're approving that person. I'm not going to let, I mean, could have something on their background check and we just approved them because nobody goes through and says, you know, number 8, 10, and 12. They haven't been approved. Do you understand what I'm saying?

We're approving them pending background clearance.

Pending background clearance.

You know, I had a greater conversation with one of the state board members about this very thing because this is a state. This is how we all got hired because you don't go get a background check until you have a job. So once you're offered the job, you go get the background check and pay for it. Then it goes to the state. Well, you're looking to go to work. So the board approves you as pending. You go to work. Now, from my understanding, I don't know, I don't say it to be true or relevant, that if there is a ding on a person that has something against a child, it comes back immediately. I don't know, but... And so the rest of the clearance you're waiting on does not have anything that we would probably deem...

If it does, if they've done something to a child, we would know that immediately.

They're going to pick up the phone and call us immediately to say, you know, look out for this. And Dr. Bird, they sent, the State Department sent him a memo to say, You know, this, this, and this has happened, and we take immediate actions to remove them.

And it's not just a child. It is most important, the child, but it could be monetarily a situation like that, that they get their credentials blacked. So it's different things, different areas. It's not just having to do with children. It can be a multitude of things.

And let me say this to Cassandra. I totally see what you and Brenda brought up, and I totally have the same concerns. However, knowing that what we just said, that if it's flagged, if it has something to do with a child, and what Ms. Cloud said is it can be a number of things, I've witnessed it. I mean, I'm going to say it just like it is. I've not used names promised, but I remember... bring an employee to Dr. Bird's attention when he first came on. And I was just pleased because the employee had come up here. I asked Dr. Bird to speak to him right after the board meeting. He did because he was really concerned as to why he was not hired. And if you'll remember that. It was awesome because, you know, he didn't say Lisa Waite. He met that, he impressed that employee, and then immediately before the end of that week and that we meet on Tuesday, we did have the background information on that guy, and we didn't hire that person. So I'm just, I do know for a fact, I've seen it myself. I'm not denying or disputing that, but I do have...

What you were just told, they are working unsupervised. That's my concern. I don't know what this is a legal concern because apparently the state have approved it and that's concerning to me that the state department would even approve that.

So Dr. Ford also wanted just for clarity as well. So when we think about the onboarding process, have an applicant that wants to work for Montgomery Public Schools they actually log on to our onboarding process and as a part of that application after they finish the application there's also a section for fingerprint clearance they have to go through field print yes as a part of this onboarding process or application process they complete the field print appointment that appointment is usually scheduled within a week they go and actually and they are fingerprinted that information is sent to the State Department and typically if I'm not mistaken or from what the information you shared with me that fingerprint process is usually completed Within those five to ten days, again, that employee is still going through that application process, but the fingerprinting process has been initiated. So within five or ten days, we should already have some information back stating that that employee has been cleared. So it is possible that within that five to ten days, again, because, for example, if somebody was just hired on today, if someone went through the application process today, a teacher, I mean, a principal grabbed this person and said, okay, complete the application. All right, you have your certification, you have your degree. you're coming here from another state, go through the application process. We hired them tonight pending a background check. It's quite possible whether that person may be in the building tomorrow or next week, and they may not have received that clearance from the State Department, but it should be forthcoming. Yes.

And remember, on that application, it specifically asks, have you ever been convicted, have you ever? So when that happens, they could not tell the truth, but that's automatic release because they've not told the truth.

And I think, too, that as districts become concerned, they didn't do this a long time ago because teachers were plentiful and employees were plentiful. They're not plentiful anymore. So in order for them to do what they need to do for the districts, they've changed. But we can't be careless in the change. And as a State Department, I mean, who better to ask than Montgomery Public School Board to ask the state, what are we doing? What are the precautions? What are the layers that we're going to utilize to ensure that what we're doing is a safe thing? I was on a conference once, and one of the things the man said was, we check backgrounds once when people are hired. People commit crimes every day. So when do we go back? When are we going back? So, again, there are many layers that will help us along the way. And y'all are trends that doesn't have the right questions. So, set a trend. Change it. Thank you.

And then also, with our school district, we do have another form of background test that we perform because if there are red flags and we're waiting to receive a background check, our security department, we have a statement also in our onboarding paperwork that allows our security department to also run background checks independently.

Thank you so much, Dr. Ford. And this will continue to be a conversation, I'm sure, and we'll... Because we want to work together to get to make sure we are, there's no such thing as over safe. So we'll continue to do that. So thank you so much for that. All right. Any unfinished business? No unfinished business. New business. We are in the contract and evaluation season. Board members, I have sent you an email and you have a confidential packet that contains the superintendent's contract that I would like you to look for. There are instructions on your email. If you pay attention to that, you have it electronically as well as physically. And a reminder that these, since they are negotiations, it is confidential. in every form or fashion. Also, I will be sending you something for the attorney and CSFO's evaluations. So if you will give your feedback, I have put some time slots that I'm available one-on-one. If you would like to discuss, give us any feedback you have so we can get these things satisfied and fulfill our obligation. All right. Any other questions or concerns? Our next board meeting, you heard about the hearing, and it is October, and October, you all, is not the second Tuesday. Remember, we approved the calendar, and October is the 20th. October 20th. Tuesday, October 20th is the next board meeting. Okay. All right. All right. We are adjourned. Thank you.