CCBoE 06.10.2025 Regular Meeting Notes

Karin’s Notes: These conversations are not transcripted. I will update with presentation slides after they are uploaded to the district website.

Present: David Dekle, Philip Kent, Judy Teasley, Katie Allen

Missing: Kristi Baker

Call to Order: 5:30PM

Invocation - BAPS Mandir Senior Priest Dharmesh Patel

Pledge of Allegiance - Grovetown High School JROTC

Approval of Agenda: Yay 4, No 0

Special Recommendations:

• Principal, N Harlem ES: Melissa Culpepper. Approve: Yay 4, No 0

• Asst Principal, N Harlem ES: Amanda Anderson. Approve: Yay 4, No 0

• Asst Principal, Columbia MS: Shannon Cohen. Approve: Yay 4, No 0

• Asst Principal, Grovetown ES: Lashanta Dotson. Approve: Yay 4, No 0

Special Recognitions

1. Georgia Association of Educators Spelling Bee Winner

   1. Sarah Daoud, Greenbrier MS, 2nd Place in the State

2. Georgia High School Association (will add names after slides are posted)

   1. Track and Field Championships

   2. Girls Tennis 5A Championships

Approval of Consent Items: Yay 4, No 0

1. Minutes of 5/13/2025, Regular Session Meeting and Minutes of 6/5/2025 Special Called Meeting

2. April Financials

3. Budget Amendment

4. Fundraisers

5. Employee Travel

6. Program/Camp/Employee Participation Request

7. Lease/Use of Facilities

Electronic Devices and HB340 Compliance (Penny Jackson)

• The network will be inaccessible for student-owned devices next year

• Motion to Approve updates to electronics policy. Approve: Yay 4, No 0

  • Changes to the policy to include tablets.

  • Expanded the requirements of the law to include High School so K-12 CCSD.

    • All devices must be kept in a bookbag or locker. All alarms, notifications, etc must be silenced

    • Devices not allowed out on the bus either

Estimated Rollback Rate Required by HB581 and HB92: Motion to set 16.50 estimated rate. Approve: Yay 4, No 0

• Estimated Roll-back rate is completely separate and distinct from the actual rate.

• It’s hard to estimate/determine without info from the tax assessor but able to get info.

• If they set an estimate at one level, but then the actual comes back later at a higher rate, then there is verbiage in the tax bill that will say that the board increased taxes.

• Can still set the rate at whatever it needs to be, but need to be cautious about setting the estimate.

• Recommending a rollback rate of 16.50. This will reduce revenue by $1.6 million which can be absorbed by reducing the fund balance.

Dekle: Do you think the estimate will be close?

Casado: Yes, it should be.

Kent: We should try to avoid the message and confusion to the public

Teasley: We don’t actually lose flexibility

Flynt: Tax assessor was able to get the info to us in time. Not all school districts were this fortunate.

Allen: Will this be calculated every year?

Casado: Yes

Allen: What kind of fluctuation will there be from year-year?

Casado: Hard to say. It’s based on aggregate average assessments for the whole year.

Allen: CFO Calculates?

Casado: Actual rollback rate is calculated by the tax office, then given to us. No real penalty other than the message if the actual rate is higher than the estimated rate.

Allen: For the budget, we have a $3.6million deficit. So, this will be a $5.2million deficit. From an operations standpoint, lowering expenses to meet revenues. We don’t want to use the fund balance every year.

Building Program

1. Project Updates

   1. Paving projects - Brookwood and one other school - rain may delay slightly but will be done before the start of school year

   2. N Columbia ES: Exterior site work. Furniture deliver 7/7. Schedule completion on 7/15

   3. Lakeside HS: Walked through PAC/Band rooms. Classroom renovations in the back. Right side: science labs and classrooms - ready, this year. Only 4 portables left- site of new gym. Performing Arts Center should open in the next couple months.

   4. Evans HS: Right side: Gym coming in. PAC/Band on left. Media will be taken out in front. Locker Rooms behind the homeplate.

      1. Front Office Staff moved to MS

      2. Football/softball continue - some games at LHS

      3. Fall:

         1. football - normal schedule on turf

         2. Parking lot -available student/side/front

         3. Entrance from student parking lot

         4. Lighting before school when dark

         5. PAC - open at end of calendar year

         6. gym/cafeteria - summer 2026

         7. Tennis Courts - maybe across the street to free up the practice field

         8. Bleacher upgrade, baseball field grading, locker rooms, practice field will need work after construction

Allen: Will moving the tennis courts across the street cost more?

Flynt: Yes. We’ll have to price it out. The district didn’t have the land originally, so wasn’t added into original contract. For Harlem, we already have the land.

Allen: Would that come from the EHS Renovation budget?

Casado: It would need to be added to the budget

Allen: Is it currently in the SPLOST budget?

Casado: There is room in the current SPLOST and next renewed SPLOST.

Allen: Are there cushions in the SPLOST budget for other things?

Casado: Yes. Somethings like batting cages, etc are under the current SPLOST

Flynt: Some things were identified years ago but we didn’t have the land.

Kent: Will there be problems crossing the road? Will we have to build a walking bridge?

Jackson: No, we’ll work with law enforcement and probably have a crosswalk with flashing lights. We won’t have a walking bridge.

2. Bid Results

   1. EHS Locker Room. Approve: Yay 4, No 0

      1. Summers $605,000

   2. Management Services: Approve: Yay 3, No 1 (Katie Allen opposed)

      1. Turner & Townsend Heery .6294%

Casado: CMR Contract is a % for each project. We don’t have bids for some projects. Every $10m is $63K

Allen: How much do we budget?

Casado: Part of the fees in the budget. It’s budgeted with the project.

Allen: Why pay for this service when you already have a CMR? It’s another level.

Flynt: Maintains composition and estimates changes.

Allen: If we didn’t have this, would the builders come to us?

Flynt: Negotiations could cost us millions more.

Kent: This would eliminate the conflicts of interest?

Flynt: It’s the best practice. You need it to get the best quality and the design

Kent: So, is this a cost-saving measure?

Flynt: We’ve seen where it saves us money.

Casado: A 3rd party adds oversight, protection and cost-savings?

Allen: How many years?

Flynty: No CMR before these but these are complicated so it helps us to be good stewards of tax-payer money

Jackson: It keeps us on-time. They see the big picture and make sure the builder is held accountable.

Kent: I would like to see how that equates to dollars.

3. Amendment to the Mandatory Addendum, Approve: Yay 4, no 0

   1. Euchee Creek ES

   2. Evans HS

   3. Lakeside HS

   4. Harlem HS

Superintendent Reports

1. Rookie of the Year

2. 2025 Graduations

3. Summer School

   1. Grovetown HS 5/29 - 6/26

   2. Graduation, CC PAC 6/26

4. Existing Student Registration, 6/16-8/4

5. Independence Day, 7/4

6. United Way of the CSRA Stuff the Bus, 7/18

7. Leadership Conference, 7/21-7/22

8. New Teacher Induction, 7/23-7/25

9. School’s Open Drive Safely AAA Press Conference, 7/23

10. Rising 6th and 9th Grade Camp, 7/24 or 7/26

11. Open House Dates for 2025-2026 School Year

    1. High School, 7/29 3-5pm

    2. Middle School, 7/29 5-7pm

    3. Elementary School, 7/31 5-7pm

12. Teacher Pre-Planning, 7/28-8/1

13. Employee Back to School Kickoff, 8/1

14. First Day of School, 8/4

Public Participation

1. Jessica Fisher

2. Janet Duggan

Executive Session

1. Personnel: Approve: Yay 4, No 0

2. Legal

3. Real Estate: Approve: Yay 4, No 0

Board Items

1. Judy Teasley: Board has completed all of the required training, and then some, at conference

Adjourn: Yay 4, No 0

Next Regular Session Board Meeting 7/8/2025