The Fulton County Board of Education held their monthly board meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2021.

• The board meeting begins with the pledge of the allegiance. The livestream then closes for public comment.

• The livestream then returns with a presentation by Superintendent Mike Looney. He addresses the disruptions caused by recent Tiktok trends, reiterating that police force and dogs will be used without announcement. He asks for the continued cooperation of parents and students.

• The next board meeting matter is the presentation of the FCS Bridge Plan. A powerpoint is presented (shown below) as the board members listen.

•  Funds have been set aside to help school nurses.  

• Updates from the American Rescue Plan include making plans for additional funds within the state.

• District 6 Board Member Kimberly Dove presents questions from parents in her district regarding the distribution of PPE, particularly its logistics within schools.

• Looney answers, that each administration in every school has been charged with creating a distribution system, given that each school’s size and density is different. He encourages those parents to reach out to the school. 

• District 2 Board MemberKatie Reeves also presents some question from her community. She asks if there was a way to know how X amount of money was spent on X schools. 

• The funding is not a situation of how much money is simply given to schools. If you don’t use the funding, the you lose it. More funding was allotted to those schools based on the number of students that needed additional support.

• Georgia’s dashboard went live yesterday, but it is currently lagging. 

• Each school is managing the students they are serving for programs, each school has an extended learning coordinator that gathers data for students who need to be served.

• This money is to be spent over multiple years - not a few months or summer. Looney explains that the recent learning disruption that students have experienced will not be easily recovered, and certainly not within the timespan on one year, but rather a multi-year effort.

• The financial resources are used to support financial and emotional needs of students. The only way see it properly used is if parents give engagement and partnerships.

• The board meeting shifts to the next matter - updates on COVID-19 numbers. The following slides were presented.

• The data is heading in the correct direction - for COVID. Fulton County has 107,000 cases, and trends show that cases are beginning to go down. This news is met with cheers from the audience.

• Cases are down per 100,000 peoples, about 218 in Johns Creek.

• Fulton County Schools partnered with Fulton Health to distribute vaccines for students. A total of 287 students were able to get vaccinated through this system, Employees, students, and other individuals within in the county are encouraged to get vaccinated as well.

• The baord also partnered with Board of Health to pilot an at-home test kit distribution program. 5,000 kits are scheduled to be distributed to multiple families across the county. This rapid test can tell them whether or not it is still safe for individuals to go to school in the case that they feel unwell.

• The distribution of these kits will be tracked.

• Events to get the COVID-19 booster shot are not being created by Fulton County Schools. However, the Fulton County Board of Health is taking appointments for boosters via their website.

  • It is highly recommended that those over 65 and underlying medical conditions (anyone at risk) get their booster shot as soon as possible. Teachers and staff are also eligible to receive this booster.

• District 3 Board Member Gail Dean questions if there is a certain amount of at-home test kits being distributed to each school .

• It is confirmed that although the board expects at least a bundle to be shipped to each school, they will require a weekly report on how many will be distributed.

• Fulton County BOE will not require testing. It will facilitating getting test access to a families, but it will not record tests or results themselves.

• Testing and getting at-home testing kits is mainly a self service. The choice to get one is up to families but there is a limited supply.

• Reeves questions if the kits are given by request. The board clarifies that they won’t be handed to a student, only to the parent. 

• The kits are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.

• Reeves also mentions Auburn and the level of partnership with the out-of-state school. 

  • Looney announces that those who qualify for free or reduced lunch may go to certain colleges for free. 

• CFO Marvin Dereef is then introduced to the podium. He begins by discussing Capital Plan 2022.

• The plan approved the replacement of Conley Hills Elementary School in East Point Georgia. The board is currently working with the staff on the logistics of replacing the school.

• Dereef provided background on the school. It opened in 1953 and received renovations in 1987, 1999, 2008.

• Today, Conley Hills Elementary School’s facilities are scheduled to be completely rebuilt soon.

• Conley Hills is in poor condition, with an index score of 44.04.

• The board goes over repair costs and replacement values, discussing the logistics of replacing the entire site.

  • There is a minimum of 13.5 useable acres in size, based on the number of students being built for. The original infrastructure did not previously meet this criteria, so the school could not function the way it was.

• It is costly and difficult to design for the prototype elementary for Fulton County Schools.

• Large acreages are highly desirable for the size of the facility and the possibility of expansion

• Searched for an alternate site with no success; within the East Point Area, an appropriate traffic flow and number of people needed for a proper site.

• The Ben Hill Site is the only one that meets the requirements for a complete rebuild of the elementary school.

  • It has a 23.8 acre tract, offering $6.8 million for the property, and was last purchased for $3.9 million. it equates to approximately $285,000 an acre.

  • It also meets current DOE and FCS acreage requirements for an elementary site 

• A solution proposed was to combining both Paul D West Middle School and Conley Hills Elementary School to create combined K-8 school. This would save taxpayer dollars.

•  Cliff Jones, Chief Academic Officer, is introduced to the podium, and addresses the Conley Hills situation as well. He highlights that the benefits of K-8 is good for students and community.

• The transition from elementary to middle can be socially and educationally difficult for some students.

  • Combining both schools into one may result in less disciplinary infractions, less absence, better self esteem, positive self perception. In addition, student and adult relationships are stronger and more productive. This feeling of connections translates to higher academic performance.

  • The longer grade spans create more positive learning environments over extended periods of time.

• Looney recommends using funds to transform Paul D. West Middle School into a K-8 school.

• Kimberly Dove moves that the property located at Ben Hill Road be purposed for rebuilding the current K-5 Conley Hills Elementary into a replacement school, Mrs. Dean seconds the motion.

• An amendment is offered to the motion statement, recommending that the motion accepts the third option that Paul D West and Conley Hills join together to become a K-8. Linda McCain seconds this motion.

• McCain explains that she believes that if we continue to do the same thing, it will be hard to expect different results. She says that the K-8 school model should be embraced.

• Dove raises that the Conley Hills Community has waited for a new building, and she believes that the current resolution is to build an elementary school, not a K-8. The residents of the East Point community was promised a K-5 and that, Dove believes, is what should be delivered. There is no other model for another K-8 so the timeline would be expanded for a resolution.

• Stewart is also in favor of the K-8 model. However she believed the community wants only a replacement K-5 school for Conley Hills, which was K-5m because they have already waited too long. The K-8 model should be implemented in another location.

• North Fulton and South Fulton don’t have the same needs, some want K-8 very badly. However, in District 3, there are many that don’t.

• Warren says this isn't an indictment on the K-8 model of education. K-8 does have its benefits, but when a community has spoken out and said that they don’t want it, then we should not build it.

• The board votes on the amended motion in favor of constructing a K-8 school replacement for Conley Hills. The motion fails, 2-5.

• The original motion - to simply build a K-5 replacement school for Conley Hills Elementary school - passes.

• The board extends their appreciation to those present, and confirms the date for the next board meeting.

• The meeting is adjourned.