Minutes 04-28-2022 School Boards

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8 meeting is in May they can mention that. She asked for a map of the issue at Orange Middle and High School so they can better present. Commissioner Hamilton said she petitioned the Board to look at ordinances related to safety and procedures for large gatherings and demonstrations on school campuses. She said she is not sure when that will come back, but that is something the Board heard and is open to addressing. Chair Price said that issue was discussed at a School Collaboration meeting and discussion is slated to happen by the end of this school year so that there will be a plan for the next school year. Bonnie Hammersley said the petition Commissioner Hamilton brought forward about large gatherings will be discussed at the Board's work session on May 10, 2022. Chair Price said it would be good to know from both school systems the amount of funding it would take to address the issue of outside access to classrooms. She said it would be helpful to know how many schools need issues addressed. She said that the exterior doors concern her because of the incidents that could occur with people walking into the classrooms. She said that it is about making sure campuses are safe for children. Riza Jenkins said CHCCS is looking at both short term and long-term solutions to this issue. She said some of the structural changes are long term, but in the short term, staff has been working on adding and closing in fences around schools for outside classrooms and mobile classrooms. She said that the perimeter is being looked at first and once that is secured then the buildings can. She said the buildings will take more money and time. Chair Price asked if Carrboro High School was supposed to be enclosed. Rani Dasi said the schools in CHCCS that come to mind with classrooms that have immediate access to the outside are Frank Porter Graham, Estes Elementary, Sewall Elementary, and Carrboro Elementary. She said administration is working on the long-term plan for Capital and it should be available to share in the summer. Chair Price said she thought that Carrboro High School also had issues with securing the perimeter around the cafeteria. Commissioner Bedford said that Carrboro High's cafeteria is designed to expand when they have a need to fit more students and that may be what she is thinking of. Commissioner Hamilton said the Capital Needs Work Group hopes to work between the county and school systems to have a long-range plan that will address all the capital needs of schools and the financing needed. She said it is important to keep in mind all the capital needs that need to be addressed. George Griffin said the operations department has done a thorough analysis of safety needs in the buildings. He said he does not want to share details in public, but classrooms are kept locked, staff wears badges, and there has been a lot of attention to what can be done immediately. He said that while they are not discussing the issues in detail in public, the safety needs have been addressed and reviewed. Will Dudenhausen invited CHCCS to discuss school mental health. Riza Jenkins said that prior to COVID-19, 1 in 5 children had mental health disorders, but only 20% received care. She said the pandemic exacerbated existing disparities in mental health services. She said that access to mental health support is a strategy and that CHCCS has implemented some to address these challenges. She said that in January 2022, CHCCS made a commitment to prioritize social-emotional well-being of every staff and student in the district. She said the commitment entailed creating an intentional timeline of the school day to set a tone for both self-care for students and staff through increasing the school capacity for compassion and wisdom. She said the school support system developed a website, CHCCS Cares, which serves as one stop shop for everything social-emotional and mental health. She said it also served to spotlight successes and create advocate relationships in emotional safety.