Orange County NC Website
18 <br /> plan to fix it, but he still wants them to spend time getting the information rather than doing the <br /> work. She said they are in the midst of a pandemic trying to get kids back to school, hire <br /> teachers, develop curriculum, and she can't get her questions answered as a school board <br /> member and he is asking for ten years of organizational charts that they do not have access to. <br /> She said that their systems are not built that way. She said that their technology is underfunded <br /> and has been consistently. She said if they are to focus on the things that work for students, <br /> then they have to do the core work. She said that is where a bit of their frustration came from <br /> because the work should be the priority. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he does not question the commitment from the school board, <br /> teachers, or administration and that he did not put a timeline on that request. He said that he <br /> can assure everyone in the room that if he had asked the manager for information then he <br /> expects it to be provided. He said that he has heard from both school boards that they can't get <br /> the information and he does not understand why. <br /> Will Dudenhausen said this sounds important and conversations need to be had, but his <br /> role is to keep on track with the agenda. He said this was not on the agenda and he does not <br /> have a background on it and can't facilitate the topic. <br /> Chair Price asked what the plan is for the summer for feeding children and how the <br /> county can support that given the need. <br /> Sarah Smylie said that the federal government is also eliminating many of the waivers <br /> for feeding students. She said those allowed them to feed the children and provided flexibility in <br /> that process. <br /> Patrick Abele said many sites are open this summer for summer programs. He said all <br /> those students will be covered either through USDA funds or local dollars so that no family has <br /> to pay for a meal. He said they are not sure about community summer feeding sites. He said <br /> they are working with PORCH and other groups to expand offerings. <br /> Rani Dasi said CHCCS has funding for a summer food program. She said there will be <br /> camps and activities that also include food for the students. <br /> Bonnie Hauser said schools are losing emergency authorization for hotspots. She said <br /> they have been operating under special arrangements with Verizon for hotspots for $15/month <br /> and they have asked them to return those because of the end of that program at the end of the <br /> school year. She asked if there is a way to work with the county to provide access. <br /> Patrick Abele said staff will be giving an update to OCS BOE about next steps for <br /> hotspots. He said that all summer students will have access to technology. He said they are <br /> asking for people to bring them in so they can reevaluate and redeploy technologies as they are <br /> needed. He said there are options with different providers to make sure they have hotspots <br /> available but there is a funding need for capital and technology. He said they are collecting their <br /> hotspots, but they will be reissuing those to people that need them. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked when they will need them back. <br /> Patrick Abele said at the end of the school year but that any family that needs one can <br /> contact the school and they will reissue them one. <br /> Will Dudenhausen invited board chairs to make closing comments. <br /> Rani Dasi thanked the boards for coming together. She said they are celebrating what is <br /> going well, while recognizing more work and progress is needed. She said the CHCCS are <br /> experiencing a crisis of teacher retention and recruitment, facility needs, and mental health <br /> needs spanning across teachers, students, and staff. She said that they look forward to <br /> continuing those discussions during the budget planning cycle. She also thanked Dr. Hamlett <br /> for her leadership since she came to CHCCS in January 2021. <br /> Dr. Hamlett said it is clear that county commissioners, staff, and school boards prioritize <br /> safety. She said that there were a number of responses from their social-emotional learning <br /> engagement analysis that they can share. She said they are thankful for the resources provided <br />