WEBVTT 00:00:07.202 --> 00:00:10.078 - Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Annalise Poorman. 00:00:10.690 --> 00:00:16.695 - The Monroe County Council met for over seven hours on October 28th. The council considered whether or 00:00:16.695 --> 00:00:22.582 - not to appropriate about $8 million for the purchase of the North Park property for construction of 00:00:22.582 --> 00:00:28.999 - a new jail. The Monroe County Board of Commissioners had urged the county council to pass two appropriations 00:00:28.999 --> 00:00:35.004 - of funds for both the acquisition of land at North Park and money for design work on the jail. County 00:00:35.004 --> 00:00:40.656 - Commissioner Julie Thomas spoke in favor of appropriating the money, saying that the county has 00:00:40.656 --> 00:00:48.238 - has already invested years into planning the jail project. Even if we have somebody throwing out numbers 00:00:48.238 --> 00:00:55.458 - for what it would cost to add the space that we know we needed, in addition to what we have now, it 00:00:55.458 --> 00:01:03.328 - didn't mean that we could actually build it. And so that's, we did that subsequent study and it demonstrates 00:01:03.328 --> 00:01:08.094 - that. So in essence, this council and this board of commissioners 00:01:09.346 --> 00:01:19.772 - approved the purchase last year. The question is, are you ready to pay the bill? It's an appropriation. 00:01:19.772 --> 00:01:30.398 - This is an appropriation request. The purchase request has already been heard and voted on. So with that, 00:01:31.714 --> 00:01:39.112 - Council President Jennifer Crossley said that the county cannot afford to foot the bill for the jail 00:01:39.112 --> 00:01:46.583 - right now, especially in the aftermath of recently passing a tight budget. She also expressed concern 00:01:46.583 --> 00:01:54.200 - about new state laws capping the amount of money local governments can spend on projects like this one. 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:58.302 - And in light of SB1 and not having a fix and not having 00:01:58.594 --> 00:02:06.194 - a word from our state legislators to say, we hear you. Because again, they talk a good game, and then 00:02:06.194 --> 00:02:13.794 - all of a sudden they can turn around and say something completely different. So in my mind, I want to 00:02:13.794 --> 00:02:21.319 - have a fix first. We pause, and then we can move forward. So that's kind of what I'm thinking. And I 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:25.790 - understand y'all can agree to disagree, but that's just me. 00:02:25.922 --> 00:02:32.183 - Council member David Henry said that he had concerns about how transparent this process has been and 00:02:32.183 --> 00:02:38.692 - questioned how much work has taken place outside the purview of the public. He said as a sitting council 00:02:38.692 --> 00:02:45.263 - member he has not even seen the most recent plans for the jail. And I gotta say I appreciate the friction 00:02:45.263 --> 00:02:49.726 - and the frustration up here to get something in place but some of those 00:02:49.858 --> 00:02:54.893 - codicils in the agreement need to be discussed and teased out today as to why I think we are where we 00:02:54.893 --> 00:02:59.978 - are. And most importantly is the idea that if, yes, the design phase has continued, it hasn't happened 00:02:59.978 --> 00:03:04.964 - in public view. There's been two presentations of the DLC design, one in the early winter and one in 00:03:04.964 --> 00:03:10.000 - August, and everything else has been outside of the view of this room and outside of the council, and 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:15.035 - I have not seen it myself as a sitting member of council. So whatever decisions have been made behind 00:03:15.035 --> 00:03:19.824 - closed doors that remove stakeholder items and requirements and add requirements have been done. 00:03:19.824 --> 00:03:25.672 - behind closed doors and presented twice to the public. And I think that's probably why there's interest 00:03:25.672 --> 00:03:31.296 - this evening in how we got to where we are. During public comment, Reverend Susan Frederick Gray of 00:03:31.296 --> 00:03:37.200 - the Unitarian Universalist Church advocated against the new jail project, saying that she does not think 00:03:37.200 --> 00:03:42.880 - that the scope of the proposal reflects the community's values. Three things. Number one, it doesn't 00:03:42.880 --> 00:03:46.366 - make financial sense to spend money building a brand new jail 00:03:46.498 --> 00:03:53.026 - especially as the state and budgets are changing and our county and city are facing increasing pressures 00:03:53.026 --> 00:03:59.616 - around budget. Doesn't make financial sense. Number two, it doesn't reflect the values of this community. 00:03:59.616 --> 00:04:05.957 - We need to work on reducing incarceration, not creating beds for more incarceration, which could lead 00:04:05.957 --> 00:04:11.615 - to ice beds being rented here. We need to invest our resources in the kinds of things that 00:04:11.615 --> 00:04:16.464 - reduce incarceration because that helps our whole community, so values should 00:04:16.464 --> 00:04:22.271 - come first in this decision. And number three, I'm thinking very much of Charlotte Zietlow as she nears 00:04:22.271 --> 00:04:28.133 - the end of her life. I think that we need to restore that building anyway. We should invest in restoring 00:04:28.133 --> 00:04:33.828 - the Zietlow Justice Center as a reflection of our community and as honoring Charlotte Zietlow and her 00:04:33.828 --> 00:04:35.838 - work for this community. Thank you. 00:04:36.290 --> 00:04:43.406 - Local resident Kathleen Paquette criticized the unwalkable location of the North Park property and the 00:04:43.406 --> 00:04:50.454 - distance away from social services. In her view, the county should prioritize funding nonprofits that 00:04:50.454 --> 00:04:57.916 - prevent people from going to jail in the first place. I would like to name and make very clear the conflict 00:04:57.916 --> 00:05:04.894 - between a community desire to keep our services accessible and our downtown functional and thriving. 00:05:05.602 --> 00:05:11.581 - with jail builder recommendations that modern jails must be built on a sprawling suburban footprint. 00:05:11.581 --> 00:05:17.857 - I believe that until this tension is taken seriously and addressed, we will continue to play whack-a-mole 00:05:17.857 --> 00:05:24.606 - with location after location. There are so many very good reasons to keep our jail and justice services downtown. 00:05:24.706 --> 00:05:31.511 - I am continually frustrated as someone who moved here over two decades ago specifically because I wanted 00:05:31.511 --> 00:05:38.315 - to live car free in a place with a functional downtown to see these services consistently moving farther 00:05:38.315 --> 00:05:44.990 - and farther away. In this case, with the North Park site for a jail, people will die walking along 46. 00:05:45.250 --> 00:05:51.230 - It would also be a bizarre and unhelpful move to make courts inaccessible except by car when, according 00:05:51.230 --> 00:05:57.038 - to our most recent data, the number one reason for jail booking is failure to appear in court. If we 00:05:57.038 --> 00:06:02.903 - care about justice, safety, accessibility, equity, and sustainability and climate resistance, we need 00:06:02.903 --> 00:06:05.950 - to make an effort to maintain a functional downtown. 00:06:06.658 --> 00:06:11.888 - I believe that a good step forward would be to consult with local architects who are invested in the 00:06:11.888 --> 00:06:17.376 - well-being of our community and firms which have experience in urban jail design. Cities have multi-story 00:06:17.376 --> 00:06:22.761 - jails, and Bloomington is a city. I understand that we have numerous government-owned properties within 00:06:22.761 --> 00:06:28.146 - a block or two of the Charlotte Zetlo building, and I encourage creativity in considering what it could 00:06:28.146 --> 00:06:33.479 - look like to keep these services where they currently are. Not to mention, it seems much easier to act 00:06:33.479 --> 00:06:36.638 - faster and phase renovations on buildings that already exist 00:06:37.442 --> 00:06:43.898 - downtown. Conversely, we could keep entertaining far-flung properties at a massive social and economic 00:06:43.898 --> 00:06:50.229 - cost and keep butting up against opposition. I also can't help but notice the striking difference in 00:06:50.229 --> 00:06:56.748 - the amounts of money we're discussing tonight with this that's on the table right now versus the Sophia 00:06:56.748 --> 00:07:03.141 - Travis grant money that went to so many deserving organizations working to make our community better. 00:07:03.141 --> 00:07:06.526 - The difference in that amount of money is staggering. 00:07:07.170 --> 00:07:14.111 - I believe it is in our community's best interest to honor what we want and need or what the prison industrial 00:07:14.111 --> 00:07:20.483 - complex tells us we need. On the other hand, jail commander Kyle Gibbons gave a passionate testimony 00:07:20.483 --> 00:07:27.234 - asking for immediate relief for current inmates and staff. He outlined the poor conditions of the existing 00:07:27.234 --> 00:07:34.238 - jail and made a plea to the council that the jail needs support. As we get lost in having a true conversation, 00:07:35.810 --> 00:07:42.427 - and talk about what we think should happen. I'm here. I was brought here specifically by the sheriff 00:07:42.427 --> 00:07:49.044 - to do this job. I'm the best jail commander, I think, in the state. I work my ass off. And I'm here. 00:07:49.044 --> 00:07:55.792 - I've been here for 15 hours today already because I care, just like you guys. And it's so hard to hear 00:07:55.792 --> 00:08:02.409 - everyone talk about what's going to happen down the road. I can't wait for that. And I know you guys 00:08:02.409 --> 00:08:03.326 - can't either. 00:08:04.258 --> 00:08:10.445 - I'm back here pacing like a caged lion because it's so upsetting. And we just have, we line people up 00:08:10.445 --> 00:08:16.572 - to talk about all these different things and say the same thing. Here we are, three years now. We've 00:08:16.572 --> 00:08:22.699 - talked about the same thing. And I have the walls literally caving in inside the facility right now. 00:08:22.699 --> 00:08:28.765 - I'm not saying we need a super jail. I'm not saying we need to spend millions on a property. What I 00:08:28.765 --> 00:08:31.070 - am saying is this is not sustainable. 00:08:33.026 --> 00:08:39.401 - I have 90 personnel working for me, and every day is a battle. We talked earlier. She said, 00:08:39.401 --> 00:08:46.331 - how are you doing? I said, I'm not really sure how I'm doing right now. How are you? Because it's a 00:08:46.331 --> 00:08:53.261 - war. And I'm the person that everyone in here wanted to see in this position. I'm the person my mom 00:08:53.261 --> 00:09:00.468 - hoped would work in this job to fix the issue she saw. And I'm handcuffed. And what's it going to take? 00:09:00.468 --> 00:09:02.270 - Does someone have to die? 00:09:03.362 --> 00:09:09.951 - And we could talk about this all the time in law enforcement. Something's going to happen and we're 00:09:09.951 --> 00:09:16.738 - screaming for the rooftops that we need help and we're all just talking and not talking to each other. 00:09:16.738 --> 00:09:23.657 - Thank you. After nearly two hours of public comment, the council voted down both appropriation requests, 00:09:23.657 --> 00:09:26.622 - effectively stopping the North Park project. 00:09:27.618 --> 00:09:35.663 - The Ellisville Town Council met on October 27th. They discussed a resolution to adopt a Monroe County's 00:09:35.663 --> 00:09:43.863 - multi-hazard mitigation plan. Fire Chief Kevin Patton explained the plan for the council. This is through 00:09:43.863 --> 00:09:51.676 - the EMA director's office through FEMA. It's, it's loud tonight. It's updated every five years. It's 00:09:51.676 --> 00:09:57.246 - basically a roadmap that tells the local government how to proceed with 00:09:57.570 --> 00:10:07.525 - disasters so we can get reimbursed should FEMA need to come in. Okay. I'm sorry. As a side note, I think 00:10:07.525 --> 00:10:17.007 - you have attached to your materials an edit sheet. There are a couple of minor mistakes in the plan 00:10:17.007 --> 00:10:26.014 - that you have provided, and those will be changed or those mistakes will be corrected, but the 00:10:26.242 --> 00:10:33.346 - plan is in substantially final form, but not final form. But Jamie Nibel sent your clerk treasurer a 00:10:33.346 --> 00:10:40.379 - reminder email a couple weeks back and reminded us that we needed to, or the town council needed to 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:47.624 - approve a resolution agreeing to participate in this plan in order to get reimbursement from FEMA. The 00:10:47.624 --> 00:10:51.422 - council voted in favor of the resolution unanimously. 00:10:52.194 --> 00:10:59.998 - Town attorney Darla Brown discussed a proposed interlocal agreement with Animal Control. This is the 00:10:59.998 --> 00:11:08.265 - proposed annual agreement between the city, the county, and the town of Ellitsville for the animal shelter 00:11:08.265 --> 00:11:16.146 - and management interlocal agreement. And so what you have attached to your materials is the projected 00:11:16.146 --> 00:11:20.318 - costs, which shows the animals picked up from various 00:11:20.802 --> 00:11:28.137 - county sources, as they say, and then you also have a spreadsheet that shows where the animals are coming 00:11:28.137 --> 00:11:35.126 - from in terms of their surrender. Councilmember William Ellis moved to approve the agreement and the 00:11:35.126 --> 00:11:42.185 - motion passed unanimously. The Monroe County Commissioners met on Thursday, October 30th. The meeting 00:11:42.185 --> 00:11:49.174 - began with the Health Department Medical Director, Dr. Sarah Ryderband, giving important information 00:11:49.174 --> 00:11:50.558 - regarding vaccines. 00:11:51.330 --> 00:12:02.865 - Do not know that you are fully vaccinated for measles. Please do that. MMR vaccines are available and 00:12:02.865 --> 00:12:14.852 - we know that there are multiple outbreaks across the country. We've had a couple here in Indiana already, 00:12:14.852 --> 00:12:19.262 - again, and we are surrounded by states 00:12:19.522 --> 00:12:29.791 - in Illinois and Ohio with larger outbreaks. So we're not sure exactly why we have not seen the outbreaks 00:12:29.791 --> 00:12:39.962 - here that we have in our adjacent states, but it is coming. Until there is really a 95% compliance rate 00:12:39.962 --> 00:12:48.862 - with vaccines, then we are going to continue to see outbreaks of diseases that are readily 00:12:49.026 --> 00:13:03.146 - avoided and lives saved if people will simply vaccinate. I'm wondering, also RSV, which is Respiratory 00:13:03.146 --> 00:13:18.910 - Sensational Virus, also has a vaccine. This is a disease, a virus that indeed tends to attack very young children, 00:13:19.010 --> 00:13:28.515 - and has caused multiple deaths. So it's, while most of us who are older can manage it, certainly any 00:13:28.515 --> 00:13:38.113 - child who has any kind of disability, any kind of lung issue, if they have not been vaccinated really 00:13:38.113 --> 00:13:47.806 - should be. And again, it's another one of those vaccines that is certainly suggested for those who are 00:13:48.514 --> 00:13:58.286 - older and have any kind of lung problem. Next County Commissioner Julie Thomas discussed the written 00:13:58.286 --> 00:14:08.541 - plan to use food and beverage tax funds in accordance with Indiana code. This will add a $905,000 project 00:14:08.541 --> 00:14:16.958 - to food and beverage funding to ensure that the Monroe County Nature Preserve is ready 00:14:17.442 --> 00:14:28.136 - for receiving residents and visitors and obviously we do believe that this is a tourist attraction and 00:14:28.136 --> 00:14:39.037 - in that way it fulfills the requirements for the food and beverage fund. So there is a food and beverage 00:14:39.037 --> 00:14:43.294 - tax advisory commission meeting tomorrow 00:14:43.394 --> 00:14:50.750 - And if we approve this, I will be presenting it there. Lastly, Highway Director Lisa Ridge presented 00:14:50.750 --> 00:14:58.324 - an amendment to various traffic ordinances. These items did go before the Traffic Commission on October 00:14:58.324 --> 00:15:05.607 - 16th and they were all approved and they are all warranted within the Indiana MUTCD. It is amending 00:15:05.607 --> 00:15:11.870 - Ordinance 86-09 to add a 20 mile per hour speed limit on Salt Creek Drive, Salt Creek 00:15:11.970 --> 00:15:18.801 - Creek Court, Winfried Lane, Nomp Creek Road. Amend ordinance 86-06 to delete the following stop locations. 00:15:18.801 --> 00:15:25.376 - Falcon Drive for Gordon Pike, Wiccan Street for Gordon Pike, Clearview Drive for Gordon Pike, Rockport 00:15:25.376 --> 00:15:31.824 - for Fullerton Pike, Fullerton Pike for Rockport Road, Sunrise Greetings Court for Vernal Pike. Amend 00:15:31.824 --> 00:15:38.846 - 86-06 to add the following stop locations, Falcon Drive for Fullerton Pike, Wiccan Street for Fullerton Pike. 00:15:39.682 --> 00:15:46.450 - amend ordinance 86-12 to add the following yield locations. Fullerton Pike for Fullerton Pike Roundabout, 00:15:46.450 --> 00:15:53.155 - Clearview Drive for Fullerton Pike Roundabout, Gordon Pike for Fullerton Pike Roundabout, Bachelor Drive 00:15:53.155 --> 00:15:55.134 - for Fullerton Pike Roundabout. 00:15:55.234 --> 00:16:01.863 - Amend ordinance 00-32 to add the following traffic signal location. That would be at the intersection 00:16:01.863 --> 00:16:08.428 - of Fullerton Pike and Rockport Road and the intersection of Vernal Pike and Sunrise Greetings Court. 00:16:08.428 --> 00:16:14.927 - And amend 00-31 to add the following no turn on red location, eastbound Fullerton Pike for Rockport 00:16:14.927 --> 00:16:22.206 - Road. Most of these are in coordinates with the new installation of a roundabout on the Fullerton Pike project. 00:16:22.658 --> 00:16:32.458 - Before concluding, Julie Thomas made some announcements regarding food shortages and the recent change 00:16:32.458 --> 00:16:42.067 - in SNAP benefits. We do know that SNAP benefits, Supported Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are 00:16:42.067 --> 00:16:51.486 - going to end Saturday. And we are going to be posting something on our website, both for those who 00:16:51.650 --> 00:17:03.060 - need food assistance and those who are able to donate and help. One of the things I know is that there 00:17:03.060 --> 00:17:14.358 - are a lot of really generous people in this community and we've got our friends and neighbors who are 00:17:14.358 --> 00:17:19.454 - hurting across the U.S. I believe the average 00:17:19.682 --> 00:17:28.318 - is one in eight people receive some sort of nutrition assistance benefits. That's across the country. 00:17:28.318 --> 00:17:37.124 - We do know that there are a number of people in this county who receive it, a number of households that 00:17:37.124 --> 00:17:45.676 - receive it. And one of the things that may help and does always help is going through the pantry and 00:17:45.676 --> 00:17:47.454 - sharing with others. 00:17:47.714 --> 00:17:56.811 - in our community and there are so many food pantries and almost every township trustee has a food pantry 00:17:56.811 --> 00:18:06.341 - of some sort. Of course there's Mother Hubbard's Cupboard Pantry 279, Grace Food Pantry down in Harrettsburg. 00:18:06.341 --> 00:18:12.926 - There are too many to name actually but we will put that up on our website. 00:18:13.218 --> 00:18:20.429 - The next Monroe County Commissioners' Meeting will take place on Thursday, November 6. The MCCSC School 00:18:20.429 --> 00:18:27.363 - Board met on October 28. Joseph Xing, a senior at the Academy School, spoke on his experience being 00:18:27.363 --> 00:18:33.811 - an immigrant within the MCCSC school system and how the school failed to acknowledge his and 00:18:33.811 --> 00:18:36.030 - other immigrants' capabilities. 00:18:37.090 --> 00:18:43.268 - When I first enrolled at Bloomington High School South as a sophomore, I was automatically placed into 00:18:43.268 --> 00:18:49.446 - English New Learners ENL class for months despite being fully proficient in English. I was also placed 00:18:49.446 --> 00:18:55.445 - in Algebra 1 despite having a much stronger math background. It took months of self, it took months 00:18:55.445 --> 00:19:01.803 - of persistence of advocacy to be moved into courses that reflected my true academic level and the process 00:19:01.803 --> 00:19:04.382 - was unnecessarily difficult. Through this, 00:19:04.834 --> 00:19:11.159 - Through this experience and through conversations with students like myself across Indiana school districts, 00:19:11.159 --> 00:19:17.193 - I learned that my story was not unique. Many students like myself are being misplaced into classes that 00:19:17.193 --> 00:19:23.402 - don't reflect their true academic capability because a school admin decided that they are not academically 00:19:23.402 --> 00:19:29.320 - capable. I believe that assuming someone's academic capability and level based on where they're from, 00:19:29.320 --> 00:19:34.078 - their accent, their background, or country of origin is a form of discrimination. 00:19:34.306 --> 00:19:40.473 - There are current MCCSE policies such as policy 5410 and policy 5463, which basically mandates that 00:19:40.473 --> 00:19:46.702 - schools, that students be placed in classes that fit them. In practice, this was not implemented for 00:19:46.702 --> 00:19:53.054 - my case. We can make all the rules we want, but they are meaningless if they're not being implemented. 00:19:53.378 --> 00:19:59.578 - Darcy Fawcett, a parent of two children at Bloomington High School North, spoke about the job opening 00:19:59.578 --> 00:20:05.839 - for gymnastics coach at Bloomington High School South and Bloomington High School North. Fawcett asked 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:11.917 - for permission for the previous coach at North, Andrea Smith, to continue coaching at least until a 00:20:11.917 --> 00:20:18.117 - replacement was found so that students could have a chance to compete this year. Smith, North's coach 00:20:18.117 --> 00:20:23.344 - for over 20 years, was unable to continue coaching after being promoted to a position 00:20:23.344 --> 00:20:29.553 - at Hoosier Hills. Even though it's getting close to a year, we are still without a coach. Bloomington 00:20:29.553 --> 00:20:35.822 - North has placed as high as fifth in the state. They have gone to state competition every year for the 00:20:35.822 --> 00:20:41.970 - last four years. My understanding is that there's a policy that administrators cannot be coaches and 00:20:41.970 --> 00:20:48.544 - I understand at times the need for that policy and that it could give that administrator a lot of authority 00:20:48.544 --> 00:20:52.318 - and control over the teachers that they ultimately supervise. 00:20:52.482 --> 00:20:58.341 - that if a student wasn't perhaps able to participate in sports due to grades, that they could say you 00:20:58.341 --> 00:21:04.143 - need to fix these grades so my player can coach. I understand that. I am asking that whoever has the 00:21:04.143 --> 00:21:09.944 - authority to do so, be it this board, the superintendent, or even the administrators at North, grant 00:21:09.944 --> 00:21:15.803 - an exception that would allow Andrea Smith to continue coaching until we do find a replacement coach. 00:21:15.803 --> 00:21:17.182 - I have spoken with her. 00:21:18.146 --> 00:21:24.308 - Maybe probably too much to her chagrin. She had indicated that she would consider doing so, but wasn't 00:21:24.308 --> 00:21:30.469 - sure if that was even a possibility. Many of these athletes that have been gymnasts have been gymnasts 00:21:30.469 --> 00:21:36.571 - as they were three years old. We've got three seniors who started in a private club at two years, the 00:21:36.571 --> 00:21:42.732 - other is three years, and the other is four years. And they're absolutely devastated that they may not 00:21:42.732 --> 00:21:46.142 - have a senior season here at North. So again, if there's 00:21:46.402 --> 00:21:52.167 - Anybody who can grant that exception, allowing Coach Smith to resume coaching capabilities, I would 00:21:52.167 --> 00:21:58.048 - greatly appreciate it. And if there's any direction as to who myself and other gymnastics parents who 00:21:58.048 --> 00:22:03.928 - are here today as well could reach out to, you all have my contact information and I would appreciate 00:22:03.928 --> 00:22:10.270 - any direction. Thank you. Dr. Henderson responded with an update on the interviewing process for a new coach. 00:22:10.530 --> 00:22:17.079 - Absolutely. What I can report to you and the board is that the positions have been posted at both buildings 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:23.143 - since very, very early in September. The candidate pool for gymnastics coaches is very, very small. 00:22:23.143 --> 00:22:29.328 - The candidates that have applied have been interviewed. But unfortunately, at this time, we have been 00:22:29.328 --> 00:22:33.694 - unable to secure a qualified and well-trained coach to assume the role. 00:22:34.114 --> 00:22:41.074 - Next, Dr. Henderson introduced Marty Colglazer and Hattie Johnson. Colglazer will be the interim principal 00:22:41.074 --> 00:22:47.968 - for the Academy School and Johnson is to serve as interim director of the Childhood Nutrition Department. 00:22:47.968 --> 00:22:54.668 - Both were previously retired. Dr. Winston expressed her appreciation for their willingness to come out 00:22:54.668 --> 00:22:59.806 - of retirement to work again. I would like to just echo that we are so grateful 00:23:00.130 --> 00:23:06.675 - and indebted to both of you for just your tireless years of service. And the fact that you're really 00:23:06.675 --> 00:23:13.286 - ready to step out of retirement and come back and serve, we appreciate that and our children are only 00:23:13.286 --> 00:23:17.822 - going to benefit. So thank you both for your immediate yes responses. 00:23:18.146 --> 00:23:24.925 - Next, Dr. Henderson provided an update for the Human Resources Department, which included a list of 00:23:24.925 --> 00:23:31.500 - job openings at MCCSC. The openings are for guest teachers, operations staff, special education, 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:38.279 - instructional support, and everyday staff. Dr. Henderson clarified the necessity of these positions 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:45.125 - as he recognized some confusion for new staff during budget constraints. Some folks may be asking in 00:23:45.125 --> 00:23:46.142 - the community, 00:23:46.306 --> 00:23:52.477 - How in the midst of budgetary constraints can MCCSE still be hiring? So the positions that are being 00:23:52.477 --> 00:23:58.769 - hired are as a result of new openings that result when employees leave MCCSE for a variety of reasons. 00:23:58.769 --> 00:24:05.062 - Staff members don't just leave this organization during the summer months. It's important to know that 00:24:05.062 --> 00:24:11.477 - that turnover happens all year long. These positions are student-facing or operationally essential roles 00:24:11.477 --> 00:24:15.326 - that must be replaced when a staff member has left a position. 00:24:16.098 --> 00:24:22.905 - So as previously mentioned, these positions have all gone through a rigorous analysis process where 00:24:22.905 --> 00:24:29.712 - HR curriculum and the business office leadership positions members review these positions weekly to 00:24:29.712 --> 00:24:36.996 - determine which vacancies meet the criteria for being refilled and to ensure that we're remaining fiscally 00:24:36.996 --> 00:24:39.038 - responsible to the community. 00:24:39.394 --> 00:24:46.493 - The meeting adjourned with Dr. Winston stating that there will be no school on November 4th on account 00:24:46.493 --> 00:24:53.524 - of a professional learning day for teachers. And that is all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. 00:24:53.524 --> 00:24:56.350 - For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.