WEBVTT 00:00:03.889 --> 00:00:08.150 Welcome to Episode 1 of Let's Talk HCS. I'm excited 00:00:08.150 --> 00:00:11.269 to welcome our host of Real Talk, David Carroll. 00:00:11.529 --> 00:00:13.630 Hey, it's good to be here, and this is going 00:00:13.630 --> 00:00:16.570 to be fun. It's an HCS podcast, and we're going 00:00:16.570 --> 00:00:18.370 to kick things off with a Real Talk segment. 00:00:18.510 --> 00:00:21.190 I'll be hosting these every six weeks, and we'll 00:00:21.190 --> 00:00:23.190 dig into some timely questions about the school 00:00:23.190 --> 00:00:25.870 district with Superintendent Dr. Justin Robertson. 00:00:26.289 --> 00:00:28.769 Obviously, for Episode 1, we've got to talk about 00:00:28.769 --> 00:00:31.809 the opening of school, and I have to ask, for 00:00:31.809 --> 00:00:34.869 you, is this like... Like Christmas, the most 00:00:34.869 --> 00:00:37.590 fun day of the year? Or is it like, oh boy, here 00:00:37.590 --> 00:00:40.829 we go again? Yeah, it's a combination. I love 00:00:40.829 --> 00:00:43.509 the first day of school. As a principal, it was 00:00:43.509 --> 00:00:46.229 always my favorite because you got to see kids 00:00:46.229 --> 00:00:49.329 coming back. Kids were excited. As an elementary 00:00:49.329 --> 00:00:51.789 principal, my favorite part, and some of our 00:00:51.789 --> 00:00:53.450 employees would tell you this, is like seeing 00:00:53.450 --> 00:00:56.030 kids in new shoes. They want to show you their 00:00:56.030 --> 00:00:58.189 new shoes. They want to talk about it. And then 00:00:58.189 --> 00:01:00.590 as a high school principal, it's seeing kids 00:01:00.590 --> 00:01:03.149 that you didn't see all summer. You saw some 00:01:03.149 --> 00:01:05.469 of them through activities, but I always loved 00:01:05.469 --> 00:01:08.409 the first day of school. Now as a superintendent 00:01:08.409 --> 00:01:12.609 and as a district, it's super complex. I think 00:01:12.609 --> 00:01:15.810 people misunderstand that the opening of school 00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:18.670 starts in the summer. It actually starts back 00:01:18.670 --> 00:01:21.790 in the spring. And I would say probably the first 00:01:21.790 --> 00:01:25.540 step of opening school. or really two parts. 00:01:25.620 --> 00:01:29.299 It's starting to hire. We start hiring in early 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:33.019 spring, February, March. And then our budget 00:01:33.019 --> 00:01:35.780 season is really the kickoff of the next school 00:01:35.780 --> 00:01:38.400 year. And so that component is something that 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.799 most people don't think about when you're considering 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:43.200 the opening of school or the first day of school. 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:46.859 I always break the summer up into two parts. 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:48.939 The beginning of June is kind of closing out. 00:01:49.209 --> 00:01:51.969 the previous year. And then after the first two 00:01:51.969 --> 00:01:54.569 weeks of June, it's really pushing to open school. 00:01:54.950 --> 00:01:57.269 And then you know there's a lot that goes into 00:01:57.269 --> 00:01:58.810 it in the summer. We've got to make sure that 00:01:58.810 --> 00:02:01.469 bus routes are set. We have to make sure that 00:02:01.469 --> 00:02:04.930 we're fully staffed, that we have our cafeterias 00:02:04.930 --> 00:02:08.270 ready. And then our maintenance crew is doing 00:02:08.270 --> 00:02:11.509 a ton of work around schools. We open in August, 00:02:11.569 --> 00:02:14.689 which you know is one of the hottest times of 00:02:14.689 --> 00:02:17.090 year. And we've got some buildings that struggle 00:02:17.090 --> 00:02:20.270 with And so we've done a lot of work this summer 00:02:20.270 --> 00:02:23.629 to make sure that those schools are ready to 00:02:23.629 --> 00:02:26.129 open and make sure that kids are set up for success. 00:02:26.270 --> 00:02:29.810 And so opening of school. Yes, it is like Christmas. 00:02:29.909 --> 00:02:32.710 I love it. I love the first day. I don't necessarily 00:02:32.710 --> 00:02:36.669 love the six months leading up to that first 00:02:36.669 --> 00:02:39.789 day of school. And you touched on staffing. I've 00:02:39.789 --> 00:02:42.189 been reading some headline stories around Tennessee 00:02:42.189 --> 00:02:45.539 and some counties are having a. situation where 00:02:45.539 --> 00:02:47.479 they have a teacher shortage. I haven't heard 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:50.159 about that here. I have heard Zach Brown, who's 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.139 in charge of your personnel, he's told me that 00:02:52.139 --> 00:02:54.740 you've hired 200 new teachers roughly for this 00:02:54.740 --> 00:02:56.460 coming year. But is there a shortage anywhere? 00:02:56.860 --> 00:03:00.340 Well, I think that's a complex question. There 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:02.560 is a shortage. And what I mean by shortage is 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.599 you're seeing universities that typically may 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:08.080 have been putting out 500 teacher candidates 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:11.400 maybe aren't putting out that number. In Hampton 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:14.240 County, it hasn't hit us as hard. And you mentioned 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.580 Dr. Brown. I would give all the credit to our 00:03:16.580 --> 00:03:19.479 HR department. They have evolved over the last. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.699 Five to seven years, their recruitment has gotten 00:03:23.699 --> 00:03:27.000 better. They've done a better job of onboarding 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:29.780 employees. So when we get a new teacher, we provide 00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:32.800 support for the first three years. And so our 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:36.219 new teacher retention traditionally has been 00:03:36.219 --> 00:03:40.360 somewhere around 83%. The past few years, we've 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:43.900 been over 91%. We're looking forward to going 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:47.060 into this year. 99 % of our student -facing positions 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:50.050 are filled. teachers that are in front of kids, 00:03:50.330 --> 00:03:53.689 counselors, social workers, positions like that 00:03:53.689 --> 00:03:56.949 were about 99 % filled. And the last update I 00:03:56.949 --> 00:04:00.629 got overall, we're just over 96 with when you 00:04:00.629 --> 00:04:02.469 consider everything, maintenance workers, bus 00:04:02.469 --> 00:04:05.750 drivers. And so we're in a really good place. 00:04:07.370 --> 00:04:10.669 I would say that is because of HR. Not only the 00:04:10.669 --> 00:04:13.030 recruitment, not only the retention, but they've 00:04:13.030 --> 00:04:15.590 just adjusted, right? They've adjusted to how 00:04:15.590 --> 00:04:19.089 we get teachers in classrooms, how we are willing 00:04:19.089 --> 00:04:23.069 to go outside and recruit talent. And so it hasn't 00:04:23.069 --> 00:04:25.709 hit us as hard as maybe you would see in other 00:04:25.709 --> 00:04:28.889 large districts across Tennessee. Every year 00:04:28.889 --> 00:04:32.290 I receive from you guys a list of first day enrollment, 00:04:32.709 --> 00:04:36.040 fifth day, tenth day, maybe twentieth day. And 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:38.300 it's interesting to watch those numbers shift 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:41.759 a little bit. As school has started earlier in 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:43.740 the past few years than it did traditionally, 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:47.660 you've got some families who, frankly, don't 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:50.100 get into place until mid -August or Labor Day 00:04:50.100 --> 00:04:52.519 or whatever. And so you see some numbers shift 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:55.399 and grow. You see some schools that suddenly 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:57.759 have 50 more kids than they did last year or 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:01.420 50 fewer than they did last year. Tenth day, 00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:03.680 we start getting complaints in the news media 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:07.139 from parents who are saying, you know, my student 00:05:07.139 --> 00:05:10.879 is in a class with 40 kids or my student was 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:13.319 supposed to have this teacher and now he has 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:15.759 another teacher, things of that nature. So tell 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:19.579 me how that first 20 day period works when it 00:05:19.579 --> 00:05:23.000 comes to just. Putting teachers where they belong. 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:25.899 That's a great question. And it's one that I 00:05:25.899 --> 00:05:29.439 know it causes a lot of angst for our community 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:32.540 and for some of our schools. It's hard to predict. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:35.579 I think we've gotten pretty good at getting close 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:38.680 to an enrollment number. But as you said, in 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.439 some of our schools, that number changes within 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:44.560 the first 10 days. The 20th day for us is kind 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:48.120 of like the last effort to stabilize schools. 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:51.779 And we've. We've held some schools harmless in 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:55.079 the past and have had kind of a one -off, like 00:05:55.079 --> 00:05:57.500 if you're supposed to get a teacher or lose a 00:05:57.500 --> 00:05:59.579 teacher, we've kind of held people harmless there. 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:01.959 We're going to have to be tighter this year, 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.319 to be honest with you, just because of our budget. 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:06.959 And so the way it works is we look at what we 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:09.980 predicted. We look at that first day, the fifth 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:12.379 day, the 10th day, and then the 20th day to see 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:15.660 where enrollment actually came in, right? And 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:18.939 that 20th day is traditionally... The time where 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:21.680 we start to make adjustments to where we may 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.500 have to move a teacher from one school to another. 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:26.620 That's where you get those phone calls right 00:06:26.620 --> 00:06:29.319 of like, you know, especially and this is really 00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:31.620 hard. And we recognize that at elementary when 00:06:31.620 --> 00:06:34.879 you have students have made a bond with the teacher 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:38.339 and then we have to move that teacher. It is 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:40.600 a budgeting issue, though, right? And we've got 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:44.199 to be really conservative this year with our 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:47.139 staffing because of where we are with our budget. 00:06:47.220 --> 00:06:49.279 And so we're already looking at those numbers. 00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:51.620 It's hard to tell right now because kindergarten 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:54.120 enrollment is coming in and we don't have all 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:57.160 those kids in power school. And so it looks like 00:06:57.160 --> 00:06:59.279 we're a little bit lower than where we were. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:02.660 should be. But in two days, on August 6th, we 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:05.399 expect those numbers to come up. And then 20 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:07.779 days later, of course, we'll look at it and make 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:10.610 those adjustments. I mentioned earlier, I said 00:07:10.610 --> 00:07:13.189 75 schools. I may be off a little bit. What's 00:07:13.189 --> 00:07:15.529 the count now? Yeah, it's a good, so how do you 00:07:15.529 --> 00:07:18.790 define a school, right? And so I talk about in 00:07:18.790 --> 00:07:20.810 buildings, we've got just over 80 buildings. 00:07:21.370 --> 00:07:24.790 I think if you talk about school numbers, and 00:07:24.790 --> 00:07:26.949 I'll give you an example, Normal Park is one 00:07:26.949 --> 00:07:30.350 school, but it's two buildings, where CSAS is 00:07:30.350 --> 00:07:33.449 one building, but it's two school numbers. We 00:07:33.449 --> 00:07:36.189 just combined Tyner Middle and Tyner High into 00:07:36.189 --> 00:07:39.720 one school. And so we've got about 80 buildings. 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:43.220 And right now, I think the number off the top 00:07:43.220 --> 00:07:47.000 of my head is 71 actual school numbers. And then 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:48.920 when you add charter schools in there, of course, 00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:51.319 that would go up a little bit. Well, using the 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:54.660 number 75 as a round figure, I try to keep up 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:56.819 with principal changes from year to year. I've 00:07:56.819 --> 00:07:58.759 been doing that for a long time. And I remember 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:01.680 some years in the past, there would be just a 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:04.920 mass shift of principals, whether it be because 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:08.259 of retirements, demotions. people moving out 00:08:08.259 --> 00:08:10.100 or getting a different career. But I remember 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:12.579 one year there was like 17 or 20, and that was 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:14.860 the headline of a story. And whoever the superintendent 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:17.139 was at that time was not happy to see that number, 00:08:17.180 --> 00:08:19.980 but it was factual. This year, I didn't see as 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:22.620 much. It's nowhere near that number. It's more 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:26.800 like 10, give or take. Is that a conscious effort 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:29.720 on your part to try to keep some principles in 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:31.920 place for a while rather than shift people around? 00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:35.559 100 % is. I think that year that there was 20 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:39.799 plus, my name may have been in that list. So 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:42.159 we've tried to really make sure that we place 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:44.700 people in the right bit. And we don't always 00:08:44.700 --> 00:08:47.200 get it right. And I first wanted to recognize 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:50.549 that. have to make some moves. Some of those 00:08:50.549 --> 00:08:52.730 moves are because of fit. Some of them are because 00:08:52.730 --> 00:08:55.029 of retirement. Some of them are because of promotions, 00:08:55.190 --> 00:08:59.610 right? And so we have tried to stabilize leaders 00:08:59.610 --> 00:09:03.590 in schools. We think that the principal is instrumental 00:09:03.590 --> 00:09:06.269 in setting the culture of a building. And so 00:09:06.269 --> 00:09:08.889 by leaving them in place as long as we can, or 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:12.200 as long as it makes sense, is a good thing. I 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:14.120 would also go back to our leadership development. 00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:18.259 About six years ago, we brought leadership development 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:22.200 in -house and created the HCS lead program where 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.379 we're providing training to assistant principals, 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:27.820 to instructional leaders, even to teachers that 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:30.620 just want to be in leadership conversations. 00:09:31.220 --> 00:09:33.820 And part of that is preparing principals. And 00:09:33.820 --> 00:09:36.019 so I think we've done a better job of preparing 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:40.039 principals for that seat. Being a principal is 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:42.820 one of the loneliest positions, in some ways 00:09:42.820 --> 00:09:45.740 even more lonely than superintendent. And so 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:48.759 it is a it's a high stress job where you've got 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:51.480 to make a lot of quick decisions. And so we want 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.320 to set them up in a way that five years down 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.009 the road. they're still wanting to do the job. 00:09:57.110 --> 00:10:00.009 They're still engaged and encouraged. And so 00:10:00.009 --> 00:10:02.490 I think that decisions that we made four and 00:10:02.490 --> 00:10:04.649 five years ago to bring that in -house and then 00:10:04.649 --> 00:10:07.009 intentionally trying to get the right fits has 00:10:07.009 --> 00:10:10.370 created a culture where you're not seeing 20 00:10:10.370 --> 00:10:13.549 -a -year turnover. When you talk about principal 00:10:13.549 --> 00:10:15.850 leadership training and that sort of thing, I 00:10:15.850 --> 00:10:20.509 don't know that anything can be done on a classroom 00:10:20.509 --> 00:10:23.669 kind of basis that really sets up principals 00:10:23.669 --> 00:10:27.200 for what reality is for dealing with parents, 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:30.279 dealing with the community, dealing with the 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:33.299 things they have to deal with. I've noticed in 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:35.480 recent years there seems to be more of a trend 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:42.639 to place some retired principals, former principals, 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:46.700 whatever the term may be, in sometimes even part 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:49.889 -time assistant principal roles. to help a new 00:10:49.889 --> 00:10:53.070 principal. I really like that. Yeah, I love it. 00:10:53.269 --> 00:10:56.690 I think about not only the part -time, but also 00:10:56.690 --> 00:10:59.690 in places where we've had a hard time finding 00:10:59.690 --> 00:11:01.629 the right person. I think about Allison Taylor 00:11:01.629 --> 00:11:04.230 at Thrasher the past two years. Allison is a 00:11:04.230 --> 00:11:07.129 tremendous leader that retired, that came back. 00:11:07.269 --> 00:11:08.870 We thought it would be for a year. We couldn't 00:11:08.870 --> 00:11:11.450 find the right person. She came back for a second 00:11:11.450 --> 00:11:15.379 year. So she is a great example of that. We also 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:17.399 have, you know, a lot of people that we've used, 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:20.440 like you said, is filling AP roles. And what 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:23.340 it creates for a sitting principal is someone 00:11:23.340 --> 00:11:25.419 that's done the job, you know, that you can go 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:28.679 ask, that can be a mentor to you, that can really 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:31.340 help you understand the nuances of different 00:11:31.340 --> 00:11:36.240 aspects of it. And we have leaders here, luckily 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:38.259 in Chattanooga, that when they retire, they stay 00:11:38.259 --> 00:11:41.080 and they want to be engaged and they want to 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:44.500 maybe not work. you know, 260 days a year, but 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:48.100 are willing to work 120. And so that's been something 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:50.820 that has been really successful. We think that 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:54.100 it's good for other leaders, but it's also good 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:56.639 for teachers in the building that they've got 00:11:56.639 --> 00:11:58.799 an experienced administrator that can provide 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:02.159 some guidance and encouragement and just knowledge 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:05.019 of how we do this work. A few days ago, I was 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:07.539 at the New Teacher Academy, and among the new 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:12.139 teachers I interviewed were several who had been 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:15.679 involved in Teach for America or Project Inspire, 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:19.340 these programs that train, obviously, generally 00:12:19.340 --> 00:12:24.259 college students to become teachers. And I want 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:26.779 to ask you this because... So many things are 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:28.700 happening on a national basis that even a news 00:12:28.700 --> 00:12:31.840 guy loses track. It seems like occasionally I've 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.600 read where some of these programs funding could 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:37.340 be in jeopardy for one reason or another. So 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:39.519 I guess my question to you is these very important 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.620 feeder type programs that have allowed you to 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:45.720 hire teachers from near and far. Is that still 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:47.919 still a strong thing or are those programs in 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:51.360 jeopardy? I think it's I think it is one strategy 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:53.860 for us to make sure when we talked earlier about. 00:12:54.750 --> 00:12:58.029 having 99 % of our teaching positions filled. 00:12:58.169 --> 00:13:00.450 Those are a couple of strategies. Teach for America 00:13:00.450 --> 00:13:06.169 is a good example of it, of how are we recruiting 00:13:06.169 --> 00:13:11.190 the best talent? Now, there are some funding 00:13:11.190 --> 00:13:14.690 strategies that are in jeopardy. AmeriCorps is 00:13:14.690 --> 00:13:16.870 an example. We have some of those programs that 00:13:16.870 --> 00:13:20.029 take advantage of the AmeriCorps grant, and they 00:13:20.029 --> 00:13:22.950 are worried about that. We just recently found 00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:25.389 out in the previous week that some of the federal 00:13:25.389 --> 00:13:28.610 dollars at the federal level are being released. 00:13:28.950 --> 00:13:32.070 We still aren't sure exactly what that looks 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:35.750 like. But yes, funding at the federal level, 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:38.769 not only for those programs, but for districts 00:13:38.769 --> 00:13:41.750 across the nation, is something to be concerned 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:44.860 about. I know there's a lot of talk about the 00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:46.519 Department of Education. What does that look 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:49.740 like if it goes away? Some of those programs 00:13:49.740 --> 00:13:52.419 may go to other departments, but there's just 00:13:52.419 --> 00:13:54.659 a lot of uncertainty at the federal level. And 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:59.220 the approach that we've tried to take is to pause 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:02.799 and not try to react too strongly, but make good 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:04.879 decisions. And you saw in our budget this past 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:07.019 spring that we really tried to make conscious 00:14:07.019 --> 00:14:10.980 decisions about pulling positions out of grants. 00:14:11.710 --> 00:14:14.289 And even positions that we ended up cutting, 00:14:14.429 --> 00:14:17.730 a lot of them came from grants preparing for 00:14:17.730 --> 00:14:22.169 these pauses in federal dollars. We talked about 00:14:22.169 --> 00:14:25.750 the new school year, things that are new. 30 00:14:25.750 --> 00:14:27.990 minutes before we opened these microphones, I 00:14:27.990 --> 00:14:30.669 was down the street at Tyner. I make sure I get 00:14:30.669 --> 00:14:35.419 it right. Tyner. Oh, my gosh. Rashad Williams 00:14:35.419 --> 00:14:37.100 told me, I wrote it down somewhere, but it's 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:39.659 Tyner Middle High Academy. I don't know. Anyway, 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:41.200 you got a middle and a high school in the same 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:43.879 building. Huge building. Beautiful, shiny new 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:45.740 building. Let's talk about that. That's got to 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:49.320 be like your prize jewel for right now. I'm excited 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:51.840 about it. I'm excited about it because of the 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.139 community and really the story of what led to 00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:58.259 that building. So if you remember four years 00:14:58.259 --> 00:15:01.679 ago, you probably ran a couple of... stories 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:03.539 about this. We had a wall that was literally 00:15:03.539 --> 00:15:07.600 almost falling over and we had to shut down three 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:09.840 classrooms in one of their buildings. You had 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.220 a student walkout. That's right. And not only 00:15:12.220 --> 00:15:15.220 a walkout, but we had two or three students that 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:18.139 came to the school board meeting and really pressed 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:22.539 for this building to come to fruition. It's been 00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:25.179 something that the district, past administrations, 00:15:25.179 --> 00:15:29.360 past boards have worked on. And finally, we got 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:31.559 some community involvement that I think really 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:33.879 pressed the board, pressed the county commission 00:15:33.879 --> 00:15:36.559 to move forward with it. What's also exciting 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:39.799 is, you know, is that building came in over budget. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:43.539 You know, we had budgeted some monies from ESSER, 00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:46.899 about $34 million out of ESSER to go towards 00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:48.559 it. The county commission had put some money 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:51.019 into it. And this is right around the time that 00:15:51.019 --> 00:15:53.419 the new county commission and Mayor Womp came 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:56.360 on board and found out. I think it was like 17. 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:00.639 numbers may be off there let's say 15 million 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.820 for a even number but it was over budget and 00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:07.139 we had the decision to make do we cut back on 00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:09.740 some of the programming do we cut make some shortcuts 00:16:09.740 --> 00:16:12.440 on the building and i remember uh sitting in 00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:14.179 mayor womp's office and he was like we're not 00:16:14.179 --> 00:16:15.799 going to cut back on this we're we're going to 00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:17.259 do it we're going to get the county commission 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:20.899 to to approve it and so That's another part of 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:22.899 the story that people don't know is the leadership 00:16:22.899 --> 00:16:24.820 from the county commission and from Mayor Womp 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:26.399 to say we're going to do this and the school 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:28.940 board to say we're going to do this. And so this 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:31.840 year, you've got an incredible building that 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:34.240 the middle and high school will be able to start 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.340 school in. The football field, hopefully by the 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:40.139 third week of the year, will be ready to go, 00:16:40.259 --> 00:16:44.360 which we're super excited about that. So it's 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.460 a story of kids. It's a story of political leadership. 00:16:49.820 --> 00:16:53.539 than that is it's a story about a tradition of 00:16:53.539 --> 00:16:55.779 Tyner. Tyner's one of those schools that it's 00:16:55.779 --> 00:16:59.120 like you're three people removed from Tyner. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:02.419 You know, I could probably talk about some of 00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:05.000 the leaders. I think about a Joe Wingate, former 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.640 board chair, that's a graduate of Tyner. I think 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:11.500 about Lee McDade, who was a former. COO of Hamilton 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:13.539 County Schools that's a graduate of Tyner so 00:17:13.539 --> 00:17:16.559 it's it's got a ton of tradition and for that 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:20.940 community to have a crown jewel you know if you 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:25.319 say of the school system is a great thing from 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:28.220 an operation standpoint though is we took two 00:17:28.220 --> 00:17:30.440 of the worst buildings in the district offline 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:32.779 and so from a deferred maintenance standpoint 00:17:32.779 --> 00:17:35.900 we're saving money this year because we're not 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:39.859 losing it on bad HVA systems. We're not losing 00:17:39.859 --> 00:17:45.380 it on lighting that is out of date. And so we've 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:48.079 got to keep a strategy going of trying to reduce 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:51.599 the number of buildings that we have, reduce 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:55.099 the square footage that we have, because deferred 00:17:55.099 --> 00:17:58.099 maintenance is still an ongoing issue for us. 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:01.059 It's been interesting. This probably goes back 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:03.299 a couple of administrations ago here at Hamilton 00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:07.420 County Schools. But a trend started 15 years 00:18:07.420 --> 00:18:12.359 ago, give or take, combining schools, small schools 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:14.180 to make large ones. We've seen that in Middle 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:20.049 Valley. We've seen that in. I'm blanking out 00:18:20.049 --> 00:18:22.130 right now, but Middle Valley is what I'm thinking 00:18:22.130 --> 00:18:24.250 of. What's another one that would be a good example 00:18:24.250 --> 00:18:27.609 of? Well, you've seen it in Middle Valley. You 00:18:27.609 --> 00:18:30.609 see it going on right now. Yeah, East Brainerd 00:18:30.609 --> 00:18:32.150 is a good example. We'll see it going on right 00:18:32.150 --> 00:18:36.490 now with Alpine Crest, DuPont, Rivermont. And, 00:18:36.549 --> 00:18:39.910 yeah, I mean, it's not new. It's what the community 00:18:39.910 --> 00:18:42.130 has been doing, and you've seen it. And East 00:18:42.130 --> 00:18:44.910 Hamilton was built middle and high. Signal Mountain 00:18:44.910 --> 00:18:48.369 was built middle and high. That's obviously been 00:18:48.369 --> 00:18:51.690 a trend. Is that working? And I ask that because 00:18:51.690 --> 00:18:55.049 there are so many parents who, when those schools 00:18:55.049 --> 00:18:58.009 are closed, the Gans Middle Valleys and the Falling 00:18:58.009 --> 00:19:00.329 Waters and so on, they're like, you know, I love 00:19:00.329 --> 00:19:02.789 my little community school. Suddenly my kid's 00:19:02.789 --> 00:19:05.069 going to be going from a 250 -student school 00:19:05.069 --> 00:19:07.390 to a 900 -student school. Udawah Elementary, 00:19:07.650 --> 00:19:11.170 another good example. Is that working? Are you 00:19:11.170 --> 00:19:13.410 happy with that? Yeah, I think that we've learned 00:19:13.410 --> 00:19:17.170 a lot, but I do think that you've got to consider 00:19:17.170 --> 00:19:20.490 people's perception of their school. And we see 00:19:20.490 --> 00:19:22.250 this with the district all the time. People, 00:19:22.329 --> 00:19:24.769 and we've got data to back this up, people love 00:19:24.769 --> 00:19:27.269 their school. Like if you ask someone right now, 00:19:27.329 --> 00:19:29.250 what do you think about Middle Valley Elementary? 00:19:29.690 --> 00:19:31.730 The majority of parents are like, I love Middle 00:19:31.730 --> 00:19:34.410 Valley. When they ask questions about Hamilton 00:19:34.410 --> 00:19:36.869 County schools, that's where you get kind of 00:19:36.869 --> 00:19:41.130 some negative, right? And so when you look at 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:43.730 the history of combining schools and some places 00:19:43.730 --> 00:19:48.130 moving to bigger schools, people see that as 00:19:48.130 --> 00:19:50.809 a district decision and there's a lot of anxiety 00:19:50.809 --> 00:19:54.369 about it. But we've seen those schools work. 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:58.809 Middle Valley, I think, is a great example. Udawah 00:19:58.809 --> 00:20:02.089 Elementary is thriving, doing a great job. I 00:20:02.089 --> 00:20:03.930 forgot about East Ridge Elementary. Yeah, East 00:20:03.930 --> 00:20:08.630 Ridge Elementary is doing really well. We did 00:20:08.630 --> 00:20:12.069 have a tough time opening Harrison. And I think 00:20:12.069 --> 00:20:15.369 that in the media, that's gotten a lot. A couple 00:20:15.369 --> 00:20:17.410 of years ago was getting a lot of negative attention. 00:20:17.630 --> 00:20:20.109 There were a lot of things that went into that 00:20:20.109 --> 00:20:23.569 pandemic. The building wasn't on time. We had 00:20:23.569 --> 00:20:26.109 a sinkhole in the middle of it. We had to split 00:20:26.109 --> 00:20:29.509 kids in between two schools for a semester before 00:20:29.509 --> 00:20:33.730 we moved them in. And it created just a situation 00:20:33.730 --> 00:20:38.029 that got that school off to a rough start. Last 00:20:38.029 --> 00:20:39.930 year, we had a great year at Harrison. We expect 00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:42.589 to have another good year there. But I think 00:20:42.589 --> 00:20:44.910 that that strategy goes back to what we were 00:20:44.910 --> 00:20:47.890 talking about, facilities. Community schools 00:20:47.890 --> 00:20:51.670 are great. Having small schools that are spread 00:20:51.670 --> 00:20:54.329 out across the community is a really good thing. 00:20:54.690 --> 00:20:56.630 Maintaining those buildings is really tough. 00:20:57.230 --> 00:21:00.970 And when you talk about it from just an operational 00:21:00.970 --> 00:21:05.369 standpoint, it is difficult to do that. I also 00:21:05.369 --> 00:21:08.009 look at the high school level and think about 00:21:08.009 --> 00:21:11.609 operating Lookout Valley Middle High School. 00:21:12.470 --> 00:21:15.750 We struggle to offer to those kids everything 00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:19.210 that we should be offering. We're at an East 00:21:19.210 --> 00:21:20.990 Hamilton. When East Hamilton was a middle high 00:21:20.990 --> 00:21:24.329 school and you had 1 ,400 kids there, you had 00:21:24.329 --> 00:21:28.430 AP classes, you had all kinds of related art 00:21:28.430 --> 00:21:33.180 options, and kids had a plethora of... things 00:21:33.180 --> 00:21:36.059 to choose from. And so when I think about the 00:21:36.059 --> 00:21:38.960 experience of a, of a kid, I'm not saying we 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:42.440 need to go to 2 ,500 student schools. You know, 00:21:42.460 --> 00:21:44.420 I taught at Germantown high school when there 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:47.779 were 2 ,100 kids. I loved it. It was a great 00:21:47.779 --> 00:21:49.799 experience. Most kids had a great experience. 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:54.140 We're not going there, but, uh, should we have 00:21:54.140 --> 00:22:00.190 high schools that are 11, 1200, 800, 850? We've 00:22:00.190 --> 00:22:01.970 got to have them big enough that we can provide 00:22:01.970 --> 00:22:04.950 the options for kids that they need to be successful 00:22:04.950 --> 00:22:09.269 and that will engage them. ROTC programs, band 00:22:09.269 --> 00:22:13.230 programs. And so I think that part of it is really 00:22:13.230 --> 00:22:15.329 important to consider, not just the operational, 00:22:15.369 --> 00:22:17.890 but the experience that we're providing with 00:22:17.890 --> 00:22:23.210 kids at those levels. I'll go back to what I 00:22:23.210 --> 00:22:27.119 started, though. Most parents love their schools. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:31.839 Most kids love their schools. What people question 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:36.099 is the big organization. And it's not just with 00:22:36.099 --> 00:22:38.319 school systems. You see it with government, too. 00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:40.380 Everybody loves their congressman, but they hate 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:43.140 Congress. Yeah, exactly. So I think that we've 00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:46.559 got to be very aware of that. And part of, I 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:48.440 think, why we're doing this podcast is that, 00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:51.180 is to really engage the community so they understand. 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:54.460 why we're making decisions, understand how a 00:22:54.460 --> 00:23:00.279 big organization works. But I'm excited for what 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:04.039 we can provide kids in places like Tyner and 00:23:04.039 --> 00:23:07.099 places like Middle Valley Elementary. And on 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:10.380 the topic of construction, Tyner is still a work 00:23:10.380 --> 00:23:12.140 in progress, although it's going to be opening 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:15.420 the main building. What about that project you 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:17.799 mentioned on the DuPont property, which will 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:20.220 eventually include DuPont, Rivermont, Alpine 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:23.509 Crest? getting off the ground or is that still 00:23:23.509 --> 00:23:25.630 a few years away? Well, it's getting off the 00:23:25.630 --> 00:23:29.690 ground. We hopefully in a week or so, we'll have 00:23:29.690 --> 00:23:32.289 some, what I think is really exciting news. We've 00:23:32.289 --> 00:23:36.109 been working very diligently with the mayor's 00:23:36.109 --> 00:23:38.990 office to hopefully do something really special 00:23:38.990 --> 00:23:42.569 at that side. And so it is taking longer than 00:23:42.569 --> 00:23:46.640 we had hoped. And so we haven't even put a shovel 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:49.279 in the ground yet. And so we are behind what 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:51.700 we had hoped, but we're behind because we're 00:23:51.700 --> 00:23:54.579 working towards something that we're really excited 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:57.160 about for that Hickson community. A couple more 00:23:57.160 --> 00:23:58.640 topics and we'll let you get back to running 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:00.599 schools. And these are timely, I think, as far 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:03.359 as the opening of school. Immigration is in the 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:05.640 news. Again, we see a lot of national headlines 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:08.559 about my kids or these kids are afraid to go 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:10.279 to school because they're concerned that ICE 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:13.799 may swoop in. Parents, teachers, principals have 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:15.819 been worried. Some even locally have talked about 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:19.420 this. What's happening here? So we've been very 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:22.079 consistent in this messaging and put out to our 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:26.759 schools last spring some guidance on what you 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:30.019 do if something like that happens. What I want 00:24:30.019 --> 00:24:33.299 to be very clear about, and I talked to Chief 00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:36.099 Chambers about this. I've talked to Sheriff Garrett 00:24:36.099 --> 00:24:39.490 about this. We don't expect anything like that 00:24:39.490 --> 00:24:43.269 to happen. And so I want to be very clear, right, 00:24:43.369 --> 00:24:45.309 that we don't think that that's a possibility. 00:24:45.950 --> 00:24:50.109 But we understand from our Latino community that 00:24:50.109 --> 00:24:54.009 this is a very real threat. And it's a it's a 00:24:54.009 --> 00:24:56.210 something that's very real that's caused a lot 00:24:56.210 --> 00:24:59.579 of anxiety for them. I had the. privileged to 00:24:59.579 --> 00:25:02.579 meet with the small groups, about 50 people from 00:25:02.579 --> 00:25:04.859 the Latino community last spring to really hear 00:25:04.859 --> 00:25:07.799 those concerns. And it had a real impact on me 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:12.240 because, you know, these are hardworking people 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:15.740 that want to do right and they're just concerned. 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:19.900 And so we've tried to encourage our schools to 00:25:19.900 --> 00:25:23.299 create safe spaces, to continue to double down 00:25:23.299 --> 00:25:26.180 on one of. our biggest commitments, which is 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:29.019 every student belongs. I was super proud of our 00:25:29.019 --> 00:25:32.099 board last spring when they passed a resolution 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:35.460 saying that we wouldn't participate in charging 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:37.900 tuition to undocumented students. Number one, 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:40.539 we don't know who's undocumented. That's not 00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:44.680 part of what we do. We get kids and our job is 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:47.940 to provide opportunities for them to thrive. 00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:51.299 And so we've equipped schools with some kind 00:25:51.299 --> 00:25:53.880 of baseline guidance on You know, if someone 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:56.220 comes in and this isn't anything new, this has 00:25:56.220 --> 00:25:59.559 always been the case. Schools often, for numerous 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:03.180 reasons, have law enforcement or, you know, someone 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:05.299 from Department of Children's Services come in. 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:08.200 And the same thing is always true. You know, 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:11.940 do you have your credentials? So ask those questions. 00:26:12.589 --> 00:26:14.369 Who are you here to meet with? Why are you meeting? 00:26:14.450 --> 00:26:17.950 And we can ask those questions and make sure 00:26:17.950 --> 00:26:19.950 that teachers know that. We sent some guidance 00:26:19.950 --> 00:26:21.849 out last spring that we'll probably at the beginning 00:26:21.849 --> 00:26:24.710 of the year send back out to teachers. And so 00:26:24.710 --> 00:26:27.809 we're trying to equip them to make sure families 00:26:27.809 --> 00:26:30.329 understand that schools are safe places, that 00:26:30.329 --> 00:26:33.210 we want their children there. We want them to 00:26:33.210 --> 00:26:36.109 thrive. And again, I'll go back to how I opened 00:26:36.109 --> 00:26:39.690 it. We don't expect this to happen. And have 00:26:39.690 --> 00:26:42.289 had multiple conversations with Sheriff Garrett 00:26:42.289 --> 00:26:46.670 and Chief Chambers about their approach to it. 00:26:46.910 --> 00:26:49.809 And finally, this question is sort of fluid in 00:26:49.809 --> 00:26:52.230 that things change day to day. But the headlines 00:26:52.230 --> 00:26:55.670 that we've been reading and broadcasting, new 00:26:55.670 --> 00:26:59.109 law, no cell phones in the classroom. And then 00:26:59.109 --> 00:27:00.809 you look down a little later and it says it's 00:27:00.809 --> 00:27:02.509 up to the counties. And you look down a little 00:27:02.509 --> 00:27:04.390 later and it says Hamilton County hasn't decided. 00:27:04.670 --> 00:27:07.369 So here we are on the eve of school beginning. 00:27:07.930 --> 00:27:10.109 What's up? Can my kid take their cell phone to 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:12.769 class or not? Yeah, that's an ongoing question. 00:27:12.910 --> 00:27:15.369 We've had so many debates about this in Hamilton 00:27:15.369 --> 00:27:17.849 County and gotten a ton of input from families. 00:27:19.250 --> 00:27:21.730 Right now, the policy is still as it was last 00:27:21.730 --> 00:27:23.990 year, which leaves some discretion to schools. 00:27:24.410 --> 00:27:26.569 If you're asking me where I think it's going 00:27:26.569 --> 00:27:28.529 to go, I think that we're going to go to a place 00:27:28.529 --> 00:27:32.890 where K through 12. Kids can bring their devices 00:27:32.890 --> 00:27:35.690 with them, but they've got to be stowed somewhere 00:27:35.690 --> 00:27:37.829 where they can't be seen and they can't be heard. 00:27:37.950 --> 00:27:40.809 So whether that's a backpack or a locker or a 00:27:40.809 --> 00:27:45.269 car, they won't be able to use. My opinion is 00:27:45.269 --> 00:27:47.210 we're moving to a place where they won't be able 00:27:47.210 --> 00:27:49.829 to use them during the school day, unless it's 00:27:49.829 --> 00:27:54.269 for something like a medical reason or a teacher 00:27:54.269 --> 00:27:58.329 is using it for some reason. But I think that's 00:27:58.329 --> 00:28:01.049 where we're going to end up, I believe, in the 00:28:01.049 --> 00:28:04.470 August board meeting here in a week or so. There's 00:28:04.470 --> 00:28:07.849 going to be a new policy passed. And, you know, 00:28:07.910 --> 00:28:10.250 I can't I'm not speaking for the board, but I 00:28:10.250 --> 00:28:13.009 think that if you've watched previous board members, 00:28:13.089 --> 00:28:16.509 that there's board meetings, that there's probably 00:28:16.509 --> 00:28:19.109 a coalition saying that that's where we want 00:28:19.109 --> 00:28:21.269 to go. And so that's kind of where I expect. 00:28:22.169 --> 00:28:24.329 That will go and we'll have to figure out when 00:28:24.329 --> 00:28:27.150 we pivot to that. It's not as easy as just saying 00:28:27.150 --> 00:28:29.750 the board made this decision. Now, Monday, it's 00:28:29.750 --> 00:28:32.230 going to change. We'll have to work with schools. 00:28:32.509 --> 00:28:34.869 But I've also know that there are a lot of schools 00:28:34.869 --> 00:28:37.710 that have already started making these decisions 00:28:37.710 --> 00:28:41.730 of saying, you know, eight to three. We're not 00:28:41.730 --> 00:28:43.529 going to use cell phones, even in the cafeteria. 00:28:44.410 --> 00:28:46.049 And I think there's a lot of wisdom in that. 00:28:46.950 --> 00:28:49.309 It's created some distractions. It's created 00:28:49.309 --> 00:28:52.809 some issues around bullying and things like that. 00:28:53.509 --> 00:28:56.089 But even two years ago, when we changed the policy 00:28:56.089 --> 00:28:59.930 that took them out, except for at lunch and times 00:28:59.930 --> 00:29:02.589 designated by the principal, I think we've already 00:29:02.589 --> 00:29:04.670 seen some positive things coming out of that. 00:29:04.890 --> 00:29:07.529 And so if you were asking me to predict, I would 00:29:07.529 --> 00:29:09.650 say that at some point in the next month or so, 00:29:09.710 --> 00:29:11.509 we're probably going to be at a place where they've 00:29:11.509 --> 00:29:14.069 got to be stowed away in a backpack. in a locker 00:29:14.069 --> 00:29:16.779 in a car or something like that. It's possible 00:29:16.779 --> 00:29:18.480 that by the time someone hears this podcast, 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:20.779 a decision will have been made, but that's where 00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:23.200 it stands as we get ready to open school. I want 00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:25.940 to say thank you. The very first interview I 00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:29.039 did with a superintendent decades ago, that superintendent 00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:31.400 responded to some questions with no comment. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:33.299 You haven't done that, and I appreciate that. 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:36.119 I appreciate that. David, you may not remember 00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:38.160 this, but the first year I went to Red Bank High 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:40.240 School, you called me up and took me to lunch. 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:42.160 I think I still maybe owe you a lunch. You do, 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:47.549 yes. Why I think it's good to have you on this 00:29:47.549 --> 00:29:50.190 podcast is community trusts you. And what I've 00:29:50.190 --> 00:29:51.869 always appreciated about you, you've done some 00:29:51.869 --> 00:29:53.369 tough stories. There were some tough stories 00:29:53.369 --> 00:29:56.269 about Red Bank that you did, but you've always 00:29:56.269 --> 00:29:58.609 been honest with the community. You've always 00:29:58.609 --> 00:30:01.450 been honest with this district. And so I appreciate 00:30:01.450 --> 00:30:04.109 you taking the time to do this and looking forward 00:30:04.109 --> 00:30:07.789 to every six weeks sitting down. You're throwing 00:30:07.789 --> 00:30:10.170 me some curveballs. Hey, you folks listening, 00:30:10.250 --> 00:30:12.730 if you've got any tough questions for the superintendent, 00:30:12.809 --> 00:30:15.349 you can find me over at Local 3, and we'll be 00:30:15.349 --> 00:30:18.750 here in a few weeks. Send it to Local 3 or our 00:30:18.750 --> 00:30:24.190 HCS communications at hcde .org, and we'll get 00:30:24.190 --> 00:30:27.730 those questions asked and answered. Or if they're 00:30:27.730 --> 00:30:30.329 just topics, even if you've got a good idea about 00:30:30.329 --> 00:30:32.900 what we should do. on the sections in between 00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:35.619 the real talk. If you've got a student athlete 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:37.720 or a teacher that you think we should highlight, 00:30:37.980 --> 00:30:41.940 send those ideas into us as well. Sounds good. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:43.900 Thank you again. I enjoyed it. Thank you, David.