Agenda - 06-21-2022; 8-a - Minutes

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13 1 have become critical and detrimental to fulfilling the school's mission. She said that as a 2 pediatrician, it is a struggle to juggle work and be present at home to support her daughter, 3 especially when there was remote learning during the pandemic. She said her daughter has had 4 four classroom teachers in three years because of the high turnover, and no classroom teacher 5 since November 2021. She said there have been no applicants for the vacancy. She said her 6 daughter's IEP goals are not being addressed due to the absence of a certified EC teacher. She 7 said the second TA in the classroom resigned at the beginning of April, and her daughter's skills 8 are regressing. She said the school speech therapist and occupational therapist also resigned. 9 She expressed concern for EC students whose families cannot afford these services privately. 10 She said CHCCS is touted as one of the best districts in the state but are falling short. She said 11 EC resource teachers at East have 30 students instead of 17 due to vacancies. She said EC 12 students have been disproportionately impacted by teacher vacancies. She urged the Board to 13 support the CHCCS budget request and said it would allow CHCCS to recruit and retain high 14 quality EC teachers for the most vulnerable students in the county. 15 Mella Diaz said the most disadvantaged in society are always left behind. She said those 16 who choose to teach EC students are exceptional. She said being able to instill the concept of 17 what is safe and what is dangerous keeps children like her own son alive, and understanding 18 how to teach communication to EC students is paramount to their existence. She said many 19 students in the adapted curriculum classes have behavioral complexities that need to be 20 baselined, mapped, and have support built into their daily lives that enable them to access the 21 academic environment. She said the school district must have the ability to hire EC teachers at 22 competitive rates and must provide the training and support EC students need including 23 undervalued occupational and physical therapists. She said the lack of availability of teachers 24 who can facilitate much needed care for the disabled is astounding, and the few who do are 25 underpaid. She said the average salary for teachers in North Carolina is a disgrace, and the 26 workload for EC teachers is beyond the norm which is reflected in the number of vacancies. She 27 said it is regrettable that EC administration must spend countless hours searching all over the 28 country for teaching staff. She requested the Board fully fund the CHCCS Budget request to 29 support EC teachers, EC administrative staff, and resources needed to fully staff schools with 30 qualified teachers for students with disabilities. She said this is an equity and safety issue, and 31 lack of adequate support for EC students puts them at risk physically and academically. 32 Linda Gilchrist said her family moved to CHCCS district 11 years ago from the Chicago 33 suburbs. She said she and her family are passionate about public education and dedicate time 34 and resources to schools. She said she is disappointed the Commissioners will not fully fund 35 the budget requests. She said many students haven't had a Spanish teacher or CTE teachers 36 for most of the year at East Chapel Hill High School, and there is a lack of staff and assistant 37 principals. She said education is the key to the success of society and the county needs to 38 adequately fund good public education. She said she lives in a nice area of Chapel Hill, but 39 many families in her neighborhood are planning to send their children to private schools. She 40 said Chapel Hill is the cornerstone of education in North Carolina, and the community and 41 county need to support students, teachers, and staff. 42 Christina Clark said she is the president of the Orange County Association of Educators 43 and is an English teacher at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough. She said the past two 44 years have been difficult for everyone in school systems, but issues have been festering for 45 years. She said after the state legislature has failed for many years to fund education and pay 46 school staff fairly, the pandemic was the last straw for many. She said those who considered 47 leaving education before the pandemic are gone, and those who never did are considering it 48 now. She said long-term substitutes have become ubiquitous in classrooms and administrative 49 roles. She said substitutes are appreciated, but students are frustrated and demoralized with 50 the disruptions and lack of relationship building. She said data shows that the most important 51 factor in student success is the relationship between students and teachers. She said a survey