Agenda 10-21-2025; 8-a - Minutes for September 16, 2025 Business Meeting and September 25, 2025 Joint Meeting with Schools

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33 1 Slide #9 CHALLENGE 2 3 Sarah Smylie highlighted the visual representation of declining kindergarten enrollment in 4 the elementary data, showing the progression from 500 third graders to 464 second graders to 5 449 first graders to 423 kindergarteners. 6 Vice-Chair Hamilton said it is important for this information to be shared to ensure accurate 7 projections and funding decisions. She stressed the need to understand various factors causing 8 these changes. She suggested that collaboration with planning departments to track building 9 permits and understanding price points would help predict future enrollment. 10 Chair Bedford emphasized that despite enrollment challenges, the facilities remain old 11 and educationally inadequate, requiring new construction. 12 Bonnie Hauser noted that enrollment declines weren't uniform across demographics. She 13 noted that the White student population was declining while the Hispanic student population was 14 increasing, with implications for operating budgets given different educational needs and costs. 15 16 4. Issues for Future Collaboration 17 Will Atherton presented the challenge of the current one-nurse-per-school allocation 18 model, which creates disparities between elementary schools with 400 students and high schools 19 with 1,200 students. He suggested exploring alternative models that could better accommodate 20 varying population sizes and specific school needs. He questioned whether new approaches were 21 needed beyond individual school efforts for mental health needs. He proposed examining shared 22 county resources or new funding allocations specifically targeting mental health support in 23 schools, given the current challenging environment for students. He also mentioned that many 24 prospective teachers are unable to afford living in Orange County, which is an issue for teacher 25 recruitment and retention. He said this is compounded by surrounding districts offering higher 26 salary supplements closer to where teachers can afford to live. He mentioned the need for safe 27 routes to schools, specifically highlighting the dangerous conditions near Cedar Ridge High 28 School. He said students from Cedar Ridge participated in a teaching pathway program at Grady 29 Brown Elementary School, which involved students walking across the street to volunteer, read 30 books, and spend time with elementary students. He said a safer pathway between the schools 31 is needed to ensure the safety of students. On a related note, he shared that the district is 32 participating in a new grant-funded initiative designed to spark interest in teaching careers among 33 current students. He said the initiative aims to enhance Career and Technical Education (CTE) 34 programs and early education opportunities, encouraging students to consider teaching as a 35 career path. 36 Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked about national absenteeism trends about and would 37 like more information about that.