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Published: 28 December 2020 28 December 2020

The Silver Consolidated Schools Board virtually met December 14, 2020 after a brief executive session. During the executive session the board discussed possible candidates for superintendent.

Board member Mike McMillan had some comments about the way open public comments are handled, specifically in the November regular meeting. "When we are in our regular face-to-case meetings the public comment papers that are submitted are part of the minutes of the meeting," he said. "I would suggest that we include those emails and letters with our minutes while we are virtual."

McMillan also voiced a concern about the content of a specific letter from the November meeting. "In our last meeting there was a letter from Priscilla Lucero that you did not read in its entirety," he said. "I'm at fault for not bringing it to everybody's attention, I was shocked that the letter was not read in its entirety." McMillan said he considered any censorship by way of omitting what is written as public comments erodes public trust and specifically asked for an apology to Lucero.

"I will save my rebuttal for the comments portion of the meeting because that is something that I do plan to address," Board president Eddie Flores said.

Board member Dr. Michelle Diaz also had a quick comment before the meeting was underway, saying she appreciated the executive session, calling it "productive and effective."

The first presentation to the board was from Shane Coker, principal of Silver High School. "I'm here to present the teachers' feelings about contemplating a grade policy in which the zero would be considered 50%," Coker said. "What I'm about to present is a resounding response from each of the schools, and I do want everyone to understand that the teachers do understand that this has been a trying time for each and every one of our students and their families." That being said, Coker said the consensus was that the grading system would become meaningless if it is altered. "The teachers feel that many of the students have risen to the challenge in the remote learning model. If we are rewarding the students that have done nothing, what will we do for those students that have turned in their work every day?"

Coker said the feedback from the Cliff Schools was similar, saying that teachers do not want to "give" students grades and that they would rather modify and adjust grades as necessary. "Silver High School teachers have also modified and adjusted, including and not limited to keeping grades open for quarter one."

"Many of the comments Mr. Coker made on behalf of the secondary schools are pretty clear," Leslie Ormand, principal of Harrison Schmitt, said. "We all met with our staffs last week and the consensus is that we continue to keep standards high and maintain the current grading criteria," she said. "We need to trust the professional judgment of our teachers." Ormond said teachers have been working hard to make sure students are receiving all of the materials necessary for learning.

"I don't know if everyone understands why we are talking about this," Board member Ashley Montenegro said. "Mr. [Audie] Brown, do you mind sharing what came down from the state so everyone knows why we are discussing this?"

"That is a very good point," Superintendent Audie Brown said. "There have been some concerns that have been brought forward to superintendents across the state about the grading policy, especially as it pertains to seniors." The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) asked school districts to consider implementing the 50% grading policy. Brown said there are pros and cons to such a change, and that he didn't want it to be a central office decision. "I wanted it to be a school decision and then bring it forth here so that you all could hear exactly what it was that the district overall is feeling. I can tell you, based on the feedback we are receiving, it is the administration's suggestion to the board to keep the existing grade system for the remainder of the year."

"I want to commend our district and our staff for continuing to keep the bar high," Montenegro said. She said her main concern is the learning loss. "My initial feeling when I heard about this was, 'all we are doing is trying to fix the metrics to make it look like everything is okay,' when in fact it is not." Montenegro said she was glad the recommendation was not to change the grading system. "Furthermore I think it is very important that we figure out what to do with that 37%; How can we make it feel like it is not a daunting task to get back on track, because what we are doing is not working."

Curtis Clough, Associate Superintendent, thanked Montenegro for her concern. "It's perfect timing because part of my update is addressing is exactly that." He said focus groups are meeting to tackle the issues of grading, attendance, and engagement.

Diaz said she remains concerned about the timeliness of intervention. "I understand this is happening in real time, but we need to address the loss of learning," she said. Diaz said it is important to remember that there is no one to blame. "The accountability goes to the student, the teacher, and the parents, and all of those have to function together for this to work for every single kid. It is unrealistic to think that all of those spokes are on the wheel." Diaz said even the best intentions may not line up and result in academic success, from parents that have to work to children that won't engage. "I'm not saying the 50% is the solution. There's that, and the option of extending deadlines, giving participation credit, and extra credit," Diaz said. "The reason I think it needs addressed at the district level is because there needs to be consistency."

"Each building operates in a different context, with different expectations," Clough said. He said that was why the focus groups are meeting to review the issues. "The goal for the district and the focus group is consistency so we can apply this across the board."

Diaz said a big piece of any efforts should include communication with parents. "Whatever we decide, that needs to be communicated with the parents," she said. "It means nothing if the kids don't know that there is still a chance."

Clough said he knows the teachers are working hard to make sure kids are getting their work in. "We're in uncharted waters and trying to wade our way through. I'm pretty confident that we will come up with a solution."

McMillan agreed that communication is key to getting resources to those that need help. "To get that out to the community on multiple different platforms so parents know and kids know."

Coker said counselors are helping by reaching out as well, with some success.

Clough said the final step in getting through to students is having them participate in the Engage NM program. "We assume this generation has the necessary technology skills. There's a difference between texting and operating in an online learning environment."

Katrina Bustillos of the SCEA said she was happy to hear the discussion. "Working together is one way to come up with a solution. Not everyone is going to be happy but we have to start somewhere," she said. Bustillos said fatigue is affecting students and teachers alike, and teachers feel extra pressure to be available 24 hours a day when in the virtual environment. She also asked if there was any financial support for those educators that were using extra data and internet plans due to the changes in the classroom structure.

"The Government Emergency Relief grant is for families and students only," Clough said. "We are looking for clarification if we can use CARES set funding for this."

Benjamin Potts said teachers should look at their internet provider's plans because very few are limiting data on their hotspots. "It is hard to justify providing additional hotspots for someone that makes more than the families that have also applied," he said. He also said some teachers are able to access the building.

"One of the things Ben is alluding to is that if we provide hotspots or internet access to any of the teachers it would be considered a taxable fringe benefit and would have to be added to their check and offset as an increase to their check so they could be taxed on it," McCain said. She said that has to do with the Department of Labor and the IRS, not the school district.

Brown then gave an update on the construction projects via a memo from Barry Ward. "We are continuing to move forward with the little theater," he said. "We're still on track to finish the end of December or beginning of January." Brown said they still anticipate getting the temporary certificate of occupancy also.

"I saw some pictures on the district website of the construction and those looked good," McMillan said. "Off-topic from the construction, didn't PED decide the earliest districts could come back was January 18? I think they also said that included 5:1 instruction."

"I want to circle back to the construction update," Brown said. "I am tickled pink to see the little theater is being changed because it was the same 40 years ago and so for our kids to have something new to look forward to, I'm just thrilled," he said. "About January 18, you are exactly right, at this point, and that is certainly subject to change. It is the plan for PED to any district that has been in the hybrid model to have the opportunity to come back into it on January 18. For 5:1, whether it is special education or athletics, you are absolutely correct, we are not able to offer those services until after January 18."

"The plan for the district is to allow the teachers planning and collaboration time," Clough said. "We will have time for some limited professional development opportunities." As for returning to school, Clough said Cliff is a little different because of their schedule. "They will go back to remote on January 6 or they will fall short on hours. We will go back on January 11 for Silver Schools."

Montenegro reported that the finance subcommittee met and did not have much to review. "We are very hopeful going into the legislative session that they will do a lookback for our funding going forward." Montenegro is concerned that the decrease in enrollment will affect the budget. "We may need to talk to legislators to really encourage them to do the lookback funding to remain stable and be able to employ teachers."

Flores said the threat assassment committee didn't really have a lot to report either. "We did discuss the new alert system," he said. He asked Potts to explain how it will work.

"The state of New Mexico has provided a panic button for every school district," Potts said. He said it is on the phone to request assistance internally or in an emergency from 911. So it is a system the teachers can use to provide better communication with 911 or in the event of an emergency." He said the system is still being set up and he is still getting trained on it.

Diaz asked if the system was free, and Potts confirmed that it was. She also asked if there were any initiatives for mental health support.

"It may not be from threat assessment, but one of the initiatives from the Grant County task force on COVID response," Clough said. "Hopefully that will be shared with everyone in January, for staff, students, and the community."

During board comments McMillan took a moment to congratulate Harrison Schmitt elementary school on their opportunity to decorate ornaments for the National Christmas tree.

"I think when we sit back and look at the end of 2020 our goals have been to find a little grace and resilience in it all," Diaz said.

Montenegro said she hoped that everyone was giving themselves extra care as they've been giving so much time and attention to others during the trying year.

Flores then commented on McMillan's concerns from the opening of the meeting. He read the requirements for public comments for regular meetings, which include documentation being submitted to the recording secretary before going to the board. Other requirements include limiting the time of comments, refraining from personal attacks, and that the board can terminate remarks at any time. Additionally the board is not required to respond or act on any remarks submitted.

Specifically regarding the limitation of Lucero's letter, Flores said the part he omitted contained a recommendation for the superintendent role.

"I don't want to start a precedent of reading letters of recommendation," Flores said. "I know Priscilla very well and if she would have asked what happened I would give her the same information."

Ormand took a moment during public comments to confirm Harrison Schmitt's ornament project that McMillan mentioned. "Harrison Schmitt elementary school was chosen to represent the state of New Mexico," she said. "They ask one school from each state."

When voting on the grading policy, Diaz asked that the grading policy remained as written, but that the grading periods remain open for additional time. She also asked that they await recommendation from the focus groups for district-wide guidance.

Montenegro and McMillan agreed, and McMillan asked that bullet points be added to specifically say when the grading periods were extended to for consistency.

"I want to reiterate that this is only the beginning and we really are anxious to hear recommendations from the front-liners," Diaz said. "We can't echo the consistency enough. The big part of that is communicating that to students and parents so that it is crystal clear what the expectations and deadlines are, and the opportunities to change the grade you currently have."

The board also agreed to engage Prather Consulting to search for a candidate for superintendent.

The next regular meeting of the Silver Consolidated School Board will take place January 14, 2021 at 6:00 pm.