Agenda 12-04-23; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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16 1 PUBLIC COMMENTS: 2 Riza Jenkins, CHCCS Board of Education member, spoke about her own personal 3 experience in support of the request to increase compensation for Board of Education members. 4 She said the reality is that the work of the school board takes effort and time, as the 5 commissioners are well aware from their service as well. She said it may seem that she does well 6 for herself now, but that was not the case a few short years ago or thirteen years ago when her 7 family first moved here. She said she declined to run for school board for years due to the time 8 commitment she couldn't manage while also raising three children. She said the child care it would 9 have required was a cost her family couldn't support, and getting to meetings on time and staying 10 late just wasn't possible. She said even now that her children are older, she still has to take time 11 off of work, ask friends or pay for transporation for her children, just to attend meetings. She said 12 sometimes her son walks home after an evening practice, her daughters wait for thirty minutes or 13 more outside of their dance class, and sometimes her kids are just unable to do some of the 14 activities they want because they do not always have someone to take them and pick them up. 15 She said the current stipend offsets some financial barriers, but it isn't enough compensation for 16 the 800-1,000 hours spent per year doing the work of the school board. She said school board 17 members must also take on the cost of ensuring their own personal safety. She said when she 18 first attended an information session on becoming a school board member, the members at the 19 time were two-parent households, high wage earner households, or retired or semi-retired 20 individuals. She said she appreciates the contributions of all school board members past and 21 present, but representation from the communities whose needs they are trying to meet matters. 22 She said as the only solo parent on the board and a woman of color, she knows that 23 representation matters and while she has the privilege of a college and advanced degrees to help 24 her overcome many of her own personal struggles, many of the voices that should be at the table 25 may or do not. She said she wants to see more diversity on the board of education and increasing 26 the stipend isn't the only way, but it will help decrease the barriers for some community members. 27 28 Following public comments, Vice-Chair McKee said he would like to discuss this topic at 29 a joint meeting with the CHCCS Board of Education and then have the request come to the Board 30 as part of the budget. He said he would also rather have any increase apply to both Boards of 31 Education. 32 Chair Bedford said there are two decision points if the Board chooses to act tonight. The 33 first is to determine an amount for the increase and the second is to determine whether or not to 34 use new funds. 35 Commissioner Richards asked if the alternative to new funding is for the Board of 36 Education use money already allocated for the increase, and in that case there would not be a 37 requirement to give funds to OCS. She said she is concerned about the timing because once 38 money is given, the next year this amount is in the continuation budget for CHCCS. She said this 39 creates a false baseline since it's mid-year. 40 Commissioner Fowler said she tried to find school board rates online. She said the time 41 commitment may be less than as a Commissioner, but school board members probably receive 42 even more emails and sometimes meet even later. She said she is willing to increase the stipend, 43 and suggested increasing to $10,000 a year for board members, $11,250 for the Vice-Chair and 44 $12,500 for the Chair. She said she is open to providing new funds, or having the school board 45 find the money in their current fund balance. 46 Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she thinks that representation does matter and 47 acknowledges that it is a lot of work to serve the community and wants people to be fairly 48 compensated. She said she is in support of the school board using their fund balance for the 49 increase now and to revisit this request as part of the budget cycle. 50 Commissioner Hamilton said, having served on the CHCCS school board, she 51 understands the work required and supports a raise. She said she is concerned about the timing