WEBVTT 00:00:04.259 --> 00:00:07.280 Welcome back to Let's Talk HCS. I'm here with 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:10.320 a couple of people. One, a board member, Gary 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:14.240 Kuehn, who's been a longtime employee in Hamilton 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.980 County, now serves on the school board. Gary, 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:19.620 tell us a little bit about roles you had here, 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:22.600 what buildings you were in in your time in Hamilton 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:28.239 County. All right. Well, I started in 1982. My 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:34.100 first year was at Eastridge Junior High. That 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:39.359 was a unique opportunity before there were middle 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:44.979 schools. So I left there to teach at Birchwood 00:00:44.979 --> 00:00:48.280 Middle School and stayed there for a few years. 00:00:48.500 --> 00:00:51.820 And there was a, at that time, a budget crunch. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.880 So they were talking about closing Birchwood 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.780 along with a few other schools. So I left there 00:00:58.780 --> 00:01:03.600 to go to Central High School. finished out my 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:06.140 teaching part of things at Central High School 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:08.439 as a chemistry and physical science teacher. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:14.319 I got into the administrative pipeline through 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:18.840 public ed and ended up as the assistant principal 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:21.799 at Central High School for a couple of years 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:25.439 and then moved to Red Bank Middle School for 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:29.480 one of those years. And if we're talking about. 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:34.620 Great improvements. Getting rid of Red Bank Middle 00:01:34.620 --> 00:01:37.859 School was such a needed thing, even at the time 00:01:37.859 --> 00:01:40.760 I was there. And that was 20 some odd years ago. 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:44.640 From there, I became principal of Hunter Middle 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:48.640 School. And talk about a contrast. Red Bank Middle 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:51.500 was falling apart and Hunter Middle had just 00:01:51.500 --> 00:01:55.280 been built. It was really at a... a time that 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:57.859 we were having some good growth, and there were 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:00.280 a few different schools, Hunter Middle, Loftus 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:03.200 Middle, and a couple elementaries that came in 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:06.519 at that time. And then I was fortunate enough 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.580 to take over Hamlet County Adult High School, 00:02:09.740 --> 00:02:14.319 and that was at the old Harrison Bay Vocational, 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:16.919 now known as Harrison Bay Future Ready Center. 00:02:17.379 --> 00:02:21.939 And that school also was quite old, and part 00:02:21.939 --> 00:02:26.229 of it was renovated. to take classes. And the 00:02:26.229 --> 00:02:29.030 other part for a long time was just a storage 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:32.889 facility for Hamilton County Schools. So you've 00:02:32.889 --> 00:02:35.569 been in a lot of different scenarios. I should 00:02:35.569 --> 00:02:37.629 have done a better job of introing this. Of course, 00:02:37.650 --> 00:02:40.430 we're talking about facilities and where we've 00:02:40.430 --> 00:02:42.409 been, kind of where we're going. Justin Witt, 00:02:42.509 --> 00:02:45.110 our director of facilities, been with us almost 00:02:45.110 --> 00:02:48.719 two decades, right? Almost two decades. I've 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:51.219 been here 17 years. But first of all, thank you 00:02:51.219 --> 00:02:53.800 for having the maintenance department shedding 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:56.199 some light on some of the good work that we've 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:59.800 done lately. And since I've been here, I think 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:02.439 since I've been here, this is probably the most 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:07.099 funding that we've ever received. So really a 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:10.560 shout out to our guys and all the work we've 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:13.860 accomplished. I don't think people realize how 00:03:13.860 --> 00:03:17.080 complicated. keeping our system running from 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:20.500 a facility standpoint. We've got just over 80 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:24.879 buildings, 7 .9 million square feet. So we've 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:29.080 got HDAC systems. You've got to know codes for 00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:32.120 wastewater and all that stuff. Talk a little 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:35.259 bit about like. how complicated your job is so 00:03:35.259 --> 00:03:38.039 um actually just discussed this with my boss 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:40.939 robert shark we had a meeting with a developer 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:43.379 and then we had a meeting to talk about new construction 00:03:43.379 --> 00:03:46.379 and then we had a meeting to talk about um insurance 00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:49.060 claims so it's you have to wear it's it's a fun 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:53.319 job you have to wear a lot of hats um the hvac 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.539 mentioned the other complexity piece of that 00:03:56.539 --> 00:03:59.409 is just the number of systems that we have We 00:03:59.409 --> 00:04:01.710 have everything from window air conditioners 00:04:01.710 --> 00:04:06.090 to geothermal systems. So having the people on 00:04:06.090 --> 00:04:08.330 staff be able to maintain those is just amazing. 00:04:09.310 --> 00:04:12.949 So we get calls. And this year, I think your 00:04:12.949 --> 00:04:15.909 team did an amazing job getting ready for the 00:04:15.909 --> 00:04:18.709 starter school. We had less calls. We always 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:21.850 get that call that the air conditioner is out 00:04:21.850 --> 00:04:25.990 or there's something wrong with one of the toilets. 00:04:26.470 --> 00:04:30.050 What is it? Why does it take so long to address 00:04:30.050 --> 00:04:32.649 some of those things? Like, how many plumbers 00:04:32.649 --> 00:04:34.589 do we have? How many electricians do we have? 00:04:34.769 --> 00:04:36.930 Yeah, I mean, for roofers, we have 8 million 00:04:36.930 --> 00:04:40.889 square feet and two roofers. So if anybody wants 00:04:40.889 --> 00:04:43.269 to apply for a roofing job, we have an open position 00:04:43.269 --> 00:04:46.750 right now. So, yeah, that's a great example. 00:04:46.810 --> 00:04:51.449 It's all historic flooding, and we have two roofers 00:04:51.449 --> 00:04:55.110 to address that problem. I think we have six 00:04:55.110 --> 00:04:59.740 plumbers. Um, so yeah, just the, just the, not 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:02.779 only the square footage, but just the square 00:05:02.779 --> 00:05:06.319 miles, the massive, uh, geography of Hamilton 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.980 County, we're 500 square miles. So if you have 00:05:08.980 --> 00:05:11.300 a work order in cell Creek and a work order in 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:14.660 East Hamilton, um, the logistics there makes 00:05:14.660 --> 00:05:17.899 it pretty tough. Yeah. I think I saw, uh, we 00:05:17.899 --> 00:05:20.560 were, we were either sending back a truck or 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:23.279 whatever, but it was only like six or seven years 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:27.430 old. And I think I saw had. almost 300 ,000 miles 00:05:27.430 --> 00:05:30.110 on it the other day when it came across my desk. 00:05:30.269 --> 00:05:33.910 It shows you how big the district is. Exactly. 00:05:34.790 --> 00:05:39.170 Gary, so you mentioned at the beginning the old 00:05:39.170 --> 00:05:40.990 Red Bank Middle, and I don't think people realize 00:05:40.990 --> 00:05:44.509 how bad that building was. And then you went 00:05:44.509 --> 00:05:46.670 right to Hunter Middle, which at the time would 00:05:46.670 --> 00:05:50.550 have been less than 10 years old. Talk a little 00:05:50.550 --> 00:05:53.519 bit about the differences of being in. you know, 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:56.139 with middle school kids in a, in an old building 00:05:56.139 --> 00:06:00.779 versus a new building. Yeah. There's a difference 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:04.800 in really the pride you take in your school when 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:08.839 you're in a situation like that. I, you know, 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:13.339 I, I don't want to say things bad about different 00:06:13.339 --> 00:06:19.040 groups. It was, but you definitely saw how kids 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:24.730 treated their facility. between the two uh especially 00:06:24.730 --> 00:06:29.209 uh you know the standard image of a high school 00:06:29.209 --> 00:06:31.970 kid leaning back against the wall with his foot 00:06:31.970 --> 00:06:36.149 up on the wall you know that that just wasn't 00:06:36.149 --> 00:06:39.009 something that you saw at hunter middle school 00:06:39.009 --> 00:06:42.149 uh kids would not think about doing something 00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:47.730 like that uh that i remember uh also seeing teachers 00:06:47.730 --> 00:06:52.089 uh as they went down the hall one One thing different 00:06:52.089 --> 00:06:57.329 about the school, you know, and we've got, first, 00:06:57.470 --> 00:06:59.649 I want to mention about the maintenance group. 00:06:59.790 --> 00:07:02.829 They're magic, all they do. So congratulations, 00:07:03.430 --> 00:07:07.410 Justin Witt, on having such a great group. We 00:07:07.410 --> 00:07:09.569 had teachers going down the hall, and if you 00:07:09.569 --> 00:07:11.990 didn't realize what they were doing, they'd stop 00:07:11.990 --> 00:07:17.149 and scoot their foot. And they were stopping 00:07:17.149 --> 00:07:21.019 to actually rub off. tennis shoe scuffs that 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:24.279 were on the floor and certain rubber shoes would 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:27.879 leave streaks. And so they were helping the custodian 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:31.100 out. We used to call it the Sturkey Shuffle. 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:35.259 And LeBron Sturkey was the principal that opened 00:07:35.259 --> 00:07:37.920 that building. And that was his pet peeve, seeing 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:42.879 those black rubber shoes. But everything from 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:48.019 projects, students created stained glass windows 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:52.660 that still hang. in the auditorium cafeteria 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:56.620 area of Hunter Middle School. They just had a 00:07:56.620 --> 00:08:00.100 different level of belonging to the building. 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:03.180 Well, sorry, I'd like to hit on that as well. 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.920 Just not only the programs that you're able to 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:10.980 offer. I mean, Totter is the newest building 00:08:10.980 --> 00:08:13.860 we've opened, so it's on the top of my list there. 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:18.139 But not only the programming, but the environment. 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:22.600 how the, I think, you know, it's always a discussion 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:25.259 is, is maintenance and facilities. How is it 00:08:25.259 --> 00:08:29.180 tying to education? And I think it's, it's definitely, 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:32.299 you see kids improve in education with the environment 00:08:32.299 --> 00:08:35.279 that you're in and then, and seeing Connor from 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:41.080 the old hallways, the dark colors go to a bright 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:44.980 open daylight, um, on, on top of the programs 00:08:44.980 --> 00:08:46.639 that are offered. I think it's, it's evident. 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:51.730 Yeah. Yeah. And I think faculty, just like students, 00:08:51.769 --> 00:08:57.029 also take a big part of keeping the building 00:08:57.029 --> 00:09:00.629 looking great because they enjoy being in a nice 00:09:00.629 --> 00:09:03.149 looking facility. That's something that we do. 00:09:03.309 --> 00:09:08.210 We do not have our schools officially LEED certified, 00:09:08.389 --> 00:09:12.519 but most of all our architects are LEED. So we 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:16.220 use LEED practices in all of our buildings. Give 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:18.840 an example. For a person that hears LEED, you 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:20.960 may not know what it is. Give us an example of 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:25.000 what that means. A big piece of LEED is the natural 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:29.240 daylighting. Also, the efficiency of the building 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:31.759 with the systems. And not only the efficiency 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:36.100 for utility and cost, but comfort level, controllability. 00:09:37.580 --> 00:09:40.980 Basically, the... The end user comfort is what 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:44.759 it really does to it. This ping for me when you 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:48.019 said that, we've done a really good job, your 00:09:48.019 --> 00:09:52.360 team especially, of controlling energy costs, 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:55.379 right? And that's part of it is getting LEED 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:58.340 certified, but having the geothermal, improving 00:09:58.340 --> 00:10:04.179 lights, so on and so forth. You mentioned Tyner. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:07.250 Obviously, Tyner is the newest one. What project 00:10:07.250 --> 00:10:10.110 in the 17 years that you've done here do you 00:10:10.110 --> 00:10:12.649 think is like the most rewarding project for 00:10:12.649 --> 00:10:17.029 you? The most, I think it was my first project 00:10:17.029 --> 00:10:19.529 when Gary retired and it was probably, it was 00:10:19.529 --> 00:10:22.350 the most difficult one. And I don't think we 00:10:22.350 --> 00:10:24.269 could do this project today, but that was Gans 00:10:24.269 --> 00:10:28.629 Middle Valley. It was 160 ,000 square feet and 00:10:28.629 --> 00:10:32.909 we had a cause to expedite the schedule. So we 00:10:32.909 --> 00:10:36.799 did 160 ,000 square feet and. 14 months, and 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:39.259 that also included the demolition of an existing 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:45.539 building, new parking, playgrounds. So with supply 00:10:45.539 --> 00:10:48.679 chain, labor, I don't think that could be done 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:51.779 today. Yeah, that's pretty impressive. I didn't 00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:54.679 realize it was done that quick. I thought you 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:57.279 would have gone to East Brainerd Elementary and 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:01.159 the tornado. That was, I thought, one of the 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:03.470 most impressive things. everything that your 00:11:03.470 --> 00:11:06.070 team was able to do and coordinate with the contractor, 00:11:06.149 --> 00:11:09.769 with the architect, and be back in that building, 00:11:09.870 --> 00:11:13.870 what, in eight months? Eight months. And that 00:11:13.870 --> 00:11:18.110 one was totally different. So I think that says 00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:21.330 a lot about our maintenance team. We showed up 00:11:21.330 --> 00:11:25.450 the day after Easter with the entire building 00:11:25.450 --> 00:11:29.529 flooded. Our insurance agents, which they were 00:11:29.529 --> 00:11:33.289 great to work with, met. We walked the building 00:11:33.289 --> 00:11:35.129 and they turned to the maintenance department 00:11:35.129 --> 00:11:38.470 and you were there and said, what's the plan? 00:11:38.649 --> 00:11:44.250 And we came up with a good plan. Well, a good 00:11:44.250 --> 00:11:49.090 plan that not only solves that problem, but also 00:11:49.090 --> 00:11:51.950 has some benefit down the road. And we were able 00:11:51.950 --> 00:11:55.429 to replace some really old, over in Central, 00:11:55.629 --> 00:11:58.690 some old portables with the portables that we 00:11:58.690 --> 00:12:01.789 were using. During that tornado. So that that 00:12:01.789 --> 00:12:05.389 was something that not only helped us right there 00:12:05.389 --> 00:12:07.909 in the aftermath of that tornado, but we're still 00:12:07.909 --> 00:12:13.149 benefiting from. So think about the historical 00:12:13.149 --> 00:12:16.190 context again. And you said this kind of before 00:12:16.190 --> 00:12:19.549 we we came on air. The money that's available 00:12:19.549 --> 00:12:23.250 now is is unlike probably anything we've ever 00:12:23.250 --> 00:12:25.990 seen. I mean, the 260 million dollar bond issues 00:12:25.990 --> 00:12:30.590 allowed us to do a lot. I think of it as kind 00:12:30.590 --> 00:12:34.370 of the booster shot, but your team's been able 00:12:34.370 --> 00:12:36.610 over the last two years to take care of some 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:39.370 things that we couldn't have taken care of five 00:12:39.370 --> 00:12:42.090 years ago, but we're desperate to get them done. 00:12:42.250 --> 00:12:44.710 Talk a little bit about what that's meant. I 00:12:44.710 --> 00:12:47.549 think it goes back to your earlier point on a 00:12:47.549 --> 00:12:53.529 nice opening, a good opening for school systems 00:12:53.529 --> 00:13:00.220 with no emergencies. We didn't have... overly 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:02.779 HVAC emergencies, but I do think it's a shot 00:13:02.779 --> 00:13:06.100 in the arm. You know, I think it's some catch 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:08.460 up, you know, to obvious projects that we needed 00:13:08.460 --> 00:13:11.860 to do. So I hope with, you know, the next budget 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:14.440 seasons that are, that are upcoming that we, 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:16.940 we keep capital in mind and, and realize that 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:19.120 that's a place that we need to continue to build 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:21.559 your ass. Yeah. Gary, from a board member's perspective 00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:25.279 and the chair of the facilities committee, what 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.399 have you heard from the community in terms of 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.419 that? kind of influx of money and maybe even 00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:32.820 what what should we be thinking about long term 00:13:32.820 --> 00:13:39.379 right it's really uh many different schools have 00:13:39.379 --> 00:13:43.419 benefited uh from this and in many different 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:49.000 ways that you wouldn't think you know maybe matter 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.460 as much as education but they are a big part 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:54.539 of education and they're a big part of keeping 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:57.769 our kids in public schools. And that's things 00:13:57.769 --> 00:14:00.990 like the turf fields that are coming in, lights 00:14:00.990 --> 00:14:05.809 on all of our athletic fields, replace the number 00:14:05.809 --> 00:14:09.610 of roofs that we've had to work on to make sure, 00:14:09.730 --> 00:14:14.210 you know, it's not raining down on kids or raining 00:14:14.210 --> 00:14:20.929 down on equipment that can't get wet. And what 00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:25.750 people don't realize, the last real big push 00:14:25.750 --> 00:14:30.990 for schools was back in the early 70s the federal 00:14:30.990 --> 00:14:35.070 education department put out grants and if you 00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:37.509 took advantage of it you could build a school 00:14:37.509 --> 00:14:40.230 for half the price and then federal government 00:14:40.230 --> 00:14:44.450 paid the other half this money that we've done 00:14:44.450 --> 00:14:48.049 through the bond has really helped to you know 00:14:48.049 --> 00:14:52.700 start working on the MGT uh challenge that we 00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:57.120 had uh six years ago i guess and but we've only 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:00.659 you know we've only really touched about a third 00:15:00.659 --> 00:15:04.139 of what that report said we needed to work on 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:09.320 so uh this bond was great and i think the partnership 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:12.779 between the school system and the commission 00:15:12.779 --> 00:15:15.679 has done really well we're going to give the 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:22.360 commission a little uh visual uh update of what's 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.000 been going on here in the near future and and 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:28.039 uh hopefully that'll get them to be thinking 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:32.179 about a good uh bond opportunity again because 00:15:32.179 --> 00:15:36.240 budget comes year to year uh and that budget 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:39.240 we keep you know we try to keep right there uh 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:44.100 about the same uh maybe a little higher but capital 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:47.220 projects aren't a part of our regular school 00:15:47.220 --> 00:15:52.519 budget and we are in a need continued need to 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:55.940 improve our schools possibly even build new schools 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:59.000 in areas that you know we don't have schools 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:03.100 in right now so that requires big money like 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:06.980 the 260 million dollars and hopefully we'll get 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:11.120 that opportunity again in a couple years Well, 00:16:11.179 --> 00:16:13.639 what are the challenges that you see for us? 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:16.320 I mean, as Gary just said, we have been able 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:19.799 to kind of get ahead on some projects. We've 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:23.240 taken some really old buildings from the old 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:26.559 CSLA to the two tiners, like completely offline. 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:29.960 What do you look ahead at? Like, man, we got 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:34.100 to start thinking about either this area or... 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:36.399 Maybe it's not even a school. Maybe it's saying 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.200 that we've got to replace a lot more HVAC units 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.940 or get ahead of the electrical. What do you think 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:46.120 the next? I think, you know, when I came here 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:49.840 17 years ago, I think we were chasing growth. 00:16:49.940 --> 00:16:54.240 We mentioned that several times. So Tyre, good 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.639 example. Orchard Mountain Elementary was a good 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:59.960 example of falling back and replacing some of 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:02.500 those older buildings. I think we're quickly 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:07.299 need to hit it and look at both, but definitely 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:10.279 look at that growth in the East Hamilton area, 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:13.920 particularly elementary schools. I think Ben 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:17.420 Coulter and Robert did a presentation a month 00:17:17.420 --> 00:17:20.660 ago and across the board, you know, we're pretty 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:26.079 tight in elementary schools. Talking the other 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.920 day to Tyner as the first replacement of a... 00:17:30.109 --> 00:17:33.750 existing high school don't you think someone 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:36.029 said that and I was like I guess that's right 00:17:36.029 --> 00:17:39.750 and it is that's correct but and you don't realize 00:17:39.750 --> 00:17:42.690 it you don't it didn't it didn't dawn on me until 00:17:42.690 --> 00:17:46.009 I heard that so you know obviously East Hamilton 00:17:46.009 --> 00:17:48.650 Middle High School was new Signal Mountain Middle 00:17:48.650 --> 00:17:51.869 High School new school so yeah it was exciting 00:17:51.869 --> 00:17:56.869 to see again that replacement of an old needed 00:17:57.879 --> 00:18:00.980 Yeah. Yeah. I think it, when, when I heard that 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:02.660 it hit me and I'm like, we have been chasing 00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:06.940 growth. We've been trying to get ahead of elementaries, 00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:09.200 but we do have, you know, these high schools, 00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:12.619 you mentioned the 1970s federal grant. That's 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:14.819 why we have all those circular buildings that 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:18.380 were the worst design ever. But, you know, if 00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:20.920 we don't start getting ahead of, of some of this, 00:18:21.099 --> 00:18:25.180 you know, 20 years down the road, 30 years down 00:18:25.180 --> 00:18:27.839 the road, people are going to be. you're trying 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:30.400 to catch up again. So, and that's the tough part 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.059 about playing, um, is your two years, you know, 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:38.019 if we start today, a new school delivered is 00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:41.039 two years. So typically, you know, um, or three 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:42.740 years and, you know, a year, year and a half 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:45.859 of, uh, design and a year and a half, uh, for 00:18:45.859 --> 00:18:49.299 construction. So, um, I think that's in the facilities 00:18:49.299 --> 00:18:52.930 side, the facilities committee, the, um, another 00:18:52.930 --> 00:18:56.089 piece of our, our, our job is, is, and your job 00:18:56.089 --> 00:18:58.150 is, you know, making those decisions, you know, 00:18:58.150 --> 00:19:01.049 three, three, four, five years out. Yeah. You 00:19:01.049 --> 00:19:04.329 think about why it takes so long to build a building. 00:19:04.410 --> 00:19:07.210 It's not only the design, but it's also the labor 00:19:07.210 --> 00:19:09.809 market, right? I mean, that impacts construction. 00:19:10.009 --> 00:19:12.430 It impacts construction costs. If I remember 00:19:12.430 --> 00:19:15.529 correctly, wasn't there one brick Mason company 00:19:15.529 --> 00:19:18.309 that was part of all three of the major bids 00:19:18.309 --> 00:19:22.230 on Tyner? I believe so. At the time, masonry, 00:19:22.289 --> 00:19:26.670 you know, in school buildings, masonry is the 00:19:26.670 --> 00:19:30.410 driving force, the schedule. I worked for a general 00:19:30.410 --> 00:19:32.450 contractor, and we booked a lot of schools, and 00:19:32.450 --> 00:19:34.930 that was number one. You wanted to have a good 00:19:34.930 --> 00:19:39.130 mason to drive your schedule. I've opened the 00:19:39.130 --> 00:19:43.529 supplies as well. You know, chillers were, at 00:19:43.529 --> 00:19:47.069 the time of time, there were 52 weeks. an electrical 00:19:47.069 --> 00:19:50.089 panel was 52 weeks, you know, a year. Is that 00:19:50.089 --> 00:19:53.390 getting better? That is getting better. Um, I 00:19:53.390 --> 00:19:57.049 think it's tied into, um, I have example playground 00:19:57.049 --> 00:20:00.930 equipment. So we're seeing increases in playground 00:20:00.930 --> 00:20:05.089 material still because they're actually buying 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:08.450 more domestic still with terrorists. So another 00:20:08.450 --> 00:20:10.289 curve ball, you know, in the construction world 00:20:10.289 --> 00:20:14.109 with, uh, labor markets straightens out and material 00:20:14.109 --> 00:20:15.609 straightens out. And then you have another curve 00:20:15.609 --> 00:20:18.750 ball of, tariffs and how that affects the economy. 00:20:19.069 --> 00:20:22.109 But this, we're actually seeing more domestically 00:20:22.109 --> 00:20:25.029 made items. And I'm hoping it filters into the 00:20:25.029 --> 00:20:29.069 electronics side, the panels, the actual HVAC 00:20:29.069 --> 00:20:31.930 equipment for those lead times. We'll start to 00:20:31.930 --> 00:20:36.069 show you. Good. Well, I appreciate both of you 00:20:36.069 --> 00:20:38.369 coming on. There's a lot of historical knowledge 00:20:38.369 --> 00:20:41.829 from being in buildings, leading buildings, teaching, 00:20:41.930 --> 00:20:44.329 coaching, and then, you know, again, almost 20 00:20:44.329 --> 00:20:47.470 years of leading. the maintenance department. 00:20:47.890 --> 00:20:50.269 Your team, I want to say it here, like we had 00:20:50.269 --> 00:20:52.289 that lunch for them the other day, they've done 00:20:52.289 --> 00:20:55.529 amazing work. I mean, the really good start to 00:20:55.529 --> 00:20:59.509 this school year, I think, is directly related 00:20:59.509 --> 00:21:01.930 to the work that they put in last spring, the 00:21:01.930 --> 00:21:03.950 work they put into the summer of making sure 00:21:03.950 --> 00:21:07.369 that operationally we're ready to go. So I want 00:21:07.369 --> 00:21:10.890 to publicly tell your team thank you. Every one 00:21:10.890 --> 00:21:14.410 of them just do a tremendous job. So appreciate 00:21:14.410 --> 00:21:18.069 you guys being on here. We will be right back 00:21:18.069 --> 00:21:20.930 in a couple of minutes with Mayor Weston Womp 00:21:20.930 --> 00:21:23.529 to finish up this session on high school facilities. 00:21:27.150 --> 00:21:30.230 Mayor Womp, thanks for joining us on Let's Talk 00:21:30.230 --> 00:21:32.609 HCS. We've been talking about facilities like 00:21:32.609 --> 00:21:36.470 the technical things, roofs, HVAC, but we know 00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:39.980 facilities are much more about that. Super excited 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:43.619 when you were coming into office, you made a 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:47.380 point to talk about school facilities. Why do 00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:51.880 you think that's so important to you? Well, for 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:53.700 a bunch of reasons. I mean, you've heard me say 00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:56.319 this a lot, but I grew up in a family of architects. 00:21:56.500 --> 00:22:00.640 I a lot of times describe my dad and our part 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:02.619 of the family is the black sheeps of the Womp 00:22:02.619 --> 00:22:05.380 family because his brothers and his dad were 00:22:05.380 --> 00:22:08.009 all architects and musicians. And we can't draw 00:22:08.009 --> 00:22:11.430 or play music. And so we all ended up in politics. 00:22:11.849 --> 00:22:14.329 State would have it. But I grew up on a lot of 00:22:14.329 --> 00:22:17.450 job sites. My grandpa was my hero. And grew up 00:22:17.450 --> 00:22:20.430 on a lot of the job sites of county schools. 00:22:20.710 --> 00:22:23.009 I watched Allen Elementary and Saudi Elementary 00:22:23.009 --> 00:22:24.630 and Red Bank Elementary come out of the ground. 00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:28.849 And my grandfather cared so much about how teachers 00:22:28.849 --> 00:22:33.059 would be able to speak into. And then he would 00:22:33.059 --> 00:22:34.819 beam with pride on the first day of school. And 00:22:34.819 --> 00:22:36.819 I got to watch him do that even through the last 00:22:36.819 --> 00:22:39.240 school he designed, Eastridge Elementary. And 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:41.099 so, you know, long before I ever thought that 00:22:41.099 --> 00:22:43.700 I would be in office or, you know, lower than 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:45.220 county government, nobody in my family had ever 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:47.700 been in local office. I thought about this process. 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:51.259 I thought about what a school means to kids and 00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:53.339 the teachers and the families. What is a signal? 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.160 And then I've learned a lot from you about, you 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:59.099 know, if we're doing this right, you're. designing 00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:01.539 schools and build them and programming them in 00:23:01.539 --> 00:23:03.559 a way that opens up new and different educational 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:06.759 opportunities so you know there's that side that 00:23:06.759 --> 00:23:07.920 you know i think some of the things that we're 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:10.319 doing right now are going to give kids opportunities 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:13.000 based on the design and the build out the investments 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:14.440 we're making opportunities they may not have 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:18.500 had before that's obviously awesome but then 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:22.039 you know not to get too far into design theory 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:25.170 i'm no expert but Like, this is a great office. 00:23:25.230 --> 00:23:26.890 Like, Claude Ramsey designed this office. It's 00:23:26.890 --> 00:23:28.910 a dignified place to work every day. I take my 00:23:28.910 --> 00:23:31.210 job and myself more seriously when I walk in 00:23:31.210 --> 00:23:35.470 here. I think the same is true for the, like, 00:23:35.529 --> 00:23:37.670 the lived environment, the professional environment 00:23:37.670 --> 00:23:40.630 that we give to teachers, to kids. I think we're 00:23:40.630 --> 00:23:42.609 on the cusp. The system is, you know, we just 00:23:42.609 --> 00:23:45.549 opened this Tyner Academy, which is the nicest 00:23:45.549 --> 00:23:47.990 facility in a lot of ways the system's ever... 00:23:49.180 --> 00:23:51.559 given to kids right and like what an investment 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:55.019 in them i would hope that kids even if it's subconsciously 00:23:55.019 --> 00:23:57.099 they may not totally understand it you know as 00:23:57.099 --> 00:24:01.599 sixth graders or freshmen at tyner but you know 00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:03.720 like somebody believes in them because they've 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:06.880 been set up for success in a great environment 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:09.799 for learning and a great environment for performing 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:12.640 on the athletic field which is something you 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:14.119 were a better high school athlete than i was 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:16.329 but it's something i But early on, we were getting 00:24:16.329 --> 00:24:17.890 to know each other. I think that's another component 00:24:17.890 --> 00:24:20.190 that you and I had kind of a shared experience 00:24:20.190 --> 00:24:22.529 where no matter how good or bad of an athlete 00:24:22.529 --> 00:24:24.990 we were, a huge part of my life was as a high 00:24:24.990 --> 00:24:28.690 school athlete. And the facilities that we give 00:24:28.690 --> 00:24:30.869 students, particularly a community with a lot 00:24:30.869 --> 00:24:34.089 of traditions in private education, I think it 00:24:34.089 --> 00:24:36.869 really matters what we're signaling to students 00:24:36.869 --> 00:24:40.660 and parents and coaches. on the public school 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:42.660 athletic field. So there's all these different 00:24:42.660 --> 00:24:45.220 impacts of it. And then, you know, the very last 00:24:45.220 --> 00:24:47.839 one I'd say that we shouldn't overlook is these, 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:50.660 when you're building schools or renovating schools, 00:24:50.819 --> 00:24:53.500 and some of this is, you know, the way that you 00:24:53.500 --> 00:24:56.000 maintain them. Some of it's the way that we design 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:58.880 schools that we hope will stand the test of time. 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:02.420 They are symbols to our community and even to 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:03.940 people who visit our community about what we 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:05.779 care about, right? It's a unique opportunity 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:09.759 to build schools that, you know, primarily function 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:14.220 in a way that serves students and teachers. But 00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:19.279 with a mind and an understanding and awareness 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:20.920 that we had an opportunity to make statements 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:23.559 every time we renovated a school or then build 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:26.640 something new. You said something about Tyner. 00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:28.859 It took me back. And this is one of the first 00:25:28.859 --> 00:25:31.019 meetings we had and probably the first time that 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:33.839 I was nervous walking into your office is we 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:36.380 had a number for Tyner Middle High School that 00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:39.539 was between. 15 and 20 million more than what 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:42.279 we thought it was. And I remember bringing that 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:43.819 to your office thinking you were going to be 00:25:43.819 --> 00:25:47.240 like, yep, cut programming, cut this, got to 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:49.680 get it on budget. And I don't remember your exact 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:53.000 words, but it was essentially, no, we're not 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.779 going to make cuts. We're going to figure out 00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:57.599 how to do this. Do you remember that? Yeah. What 00:25:57.599 --> 00:26:01.660 made you do that? And that was within, I would 00:26:01.660 --> 00:26:04.740 say, six weeks of you coming into office and 00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:08.240 to be willing to take on. a project that big 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:11.339 that was over budget. What were your thoughts? 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:17.460 I watched the process just as a citizen, right, 00:26:17.539 --> 00:26:19.839 from students stepping forward, understanding 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:22.960 that there had been promises made to the school, 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.819 the school family years in advance. I was aware 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:29.079 of in the moment, right? You helped me understand 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:30.940 that the, and this is something I don't think 00:26:30.940 --> 00:26:32.799 a lot of folks understand, the school system 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:37.740 plowed. say what, 25 plus million dollars into 00:26:37.740 --> 00:26:39.640 it. So this was not a, like a lot of schools, 00:26:39.660 --> 00:26:42.500 this was not a project that was funded just by 00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:44.700 the count of it. There was tens of millions of 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:48.019 dollars of school funds that went into the facility. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:50.720 And, you know, I think I just generally believe 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:53.299 that, you know, we should, you should finish 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:55.119 what you start. Like that was one of our, our 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:57.000 house didn't grow it up, didn't have a whole 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:58.500 lot of rules, but like one of Zach Mott's rules 00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:01.059 was you finish what you start. And particularly 00:27:01.059 --> 00:27:03.970 with You know, the opportunity has set an all 00:27:03.970 --> 00:27:07.390 -new standard. I think the more that we've gotten 00:27:07.390 --> 00:27:09.369 to, you know, re -examine what the new tiner 00:27:09.369 --> 00:27:11.089 means, you know, something that I said at the 00:27:11.089 --> 00:27:14.289 groundbreaking of the ribbon -cutting a few weeks 00:27:14.289 --> 00:27:17.349 ago, I think it's the first replacement of a 00:27:17.349 --> 00:27:19.970 high school since maybe Soddy Daisy. You had 00:27:19.970 --> 00:27:22.750 about 40 years of that, right? So, yeah, I think 00:27:22.750 --> 00:27:25.430 I wanted it to be great and it was something 00:27:25.430 --> 00:27:27.670 that you all committed yourselves to and that 00:27:27.670 --> 00:27:30.640 Mayor Coppinger initiated. And so it wouldn't 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:32.259 have been a very good start for me to say we 00:27:32.259 --> 00:27:34.559 really care deeply about public education in 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:36.799 every part of the community. But we're going 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:39.680 to come up short on what we promised on this 00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:44.799 big project. Really early on, also, we started 00:27:44.799 --> 00:27:49.880 talking about a bond for new school projects. 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:52.559 It was way bigger than what I thought it would 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:58.109 be. It's $260 million for... Not only new projects, 00:27:58.170 --> 00:28:00.789 but also deferred maintenance. It's a pretty 00:28:00.789 --> 00:28:04.589 bold step in early on in the first term. Did 00:28:04.589 --> 00:28:06.869 you plan that going in, or is that something 00:28:06.869 --> 00:28:11.730 that developed as you got into office? I think 00:28:11.730 --> 00:28:15.529 we knew on a project -by -project basis that 00:28:15.529 --> 00:28:17.490 there were some things that we wanted to be a 00:28:17.490 --> 00:28:19.990 part of. I think one of the very first conversations 00:28:19.990 --> 00:28:22.950 I had before I was even sworn in was with you 00:28:22.950 --> 00:28:27.089 about where there was... common ground on some 00:28:27.089 --> 00:28:30.430 of these big priorities and and then i did once 00:28:30.430 --> 00:28:33.549 i had i feel like at a point um the christmas 00:28:33.549 --> 00:28:36.970 after i was sworn in a few months after i've 00:28:36.970 --> 00:28:39.230 been in office i think i'd learned enough about 00:28:39.230 --> 00:28:41.970 public finance never been in government before 00:28:41.970 --> 00:28:44.190 so i was learning quite a bit on the job the 00:28:44.190 --> 00:28:47.369 first few months i got to a point where i had 00:28:47.369 --> 00:28:49.829 done the napkin math of how i thought we could 00:28:49.829 --> 00:28:52.869 handle a bond issue of that size without a tax 00:28:52.869 --> 00:28:55.910 increase. But I also knew that it was pretty 00:28:55.910 --> 00:28:58.849 aggressive. And so, yeah, it took me, I bet I 00:28:58.849 --> 00:29:01.369 napkin -masted out for five or six months before 00:29:01.369 --> 00:29:04.069 I told finance about my plans because they, it 00:29:04.069 --> 00:29:06.190 was larger than what the county would conventionally 00:29:06.190 --> 00:29:09.190 have done. And I don't think we're done yet. 00:29:09.369 --> 00:29:11.509 I mean, you know, I think we, you know, part 00:29:11.509 --> 00:29:16.740 of what you and I talked about in terms of creating 00:29:16.740 --> 00:29:19.019 some standards in the WEDEC. There's some similarities 00:29:19.019 --> 00:29:21.220 between some of the projects that we're pursuing 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:23.599 right now. There's a common thread between them 00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:26.099 because you and I talked about demonstrating 00:29:26.099 --> 00:29:28.619 to the public that the county and the school 00:29:28.619 --> 00:29:31.819 system could be good stewards of a lot of funds 00:29:31.819 --> 00:29:35.019 and several projects all at one time. Because 00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:37.440 if we did that, then they might trust us to do 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:39.660 it again. We talked about that before we ever 00:29:39.660 --> 00:29:42.640 issued bonds on this series of projects. And 00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:45.970 I think we're now in the early stages of... demonstrating 00:29:45.970 --> 00:29:49.049 that we can do that. And I think the community, 00:29:49.190 --> 00:29:52.109 probably rightfully, like a lot of the communities 00:29:52.109 --> 00:29:54.009 in the country, has some distrust of government. 00:29:54.150 --> 00:29:57.269 I don't blame them. I think the collaboration 00:29:57.269 --> 00:29:59.210 that they're going to see on projects like the 00:29:59.210 --> 00:30:01.910 YMCA Elementary School is going to cause people 00:30:01.910 --> 00:30:03.990 to think, well, you know what? These guys are 00:30:03.990 --> 00:30:07.269 trying really hard. And so, you know, my hope 00:30:07.269 --> 00:30:08.769 would be that, you know, the years ahead when 00:30:08.769 --> 00:30:12.190 we bring forward projects with the same kind 00:30:12.190 --> 00:30:14.640 of impact to different communities. That this 00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:18.900 first round, funded by the big bond, you know, 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:20.339 we give confidence that we could do it again. 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:23.940 And, you know, it's complicated how we got there. 00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:26.700 And there was going to cause some tough conversations 00:30:26.700 --> 00:30:30.220 between you and I, but the $60 million, which 00:30:30.220 --> 00:30:32.319 really makes you go back a couple of budget years 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:35.539 prior, probably totaled, well, $70 million of 00:30:35.539 --> 00:30:40.529 deferred maintenance. That required you to go 00:30:40.529 --> 00:30:43.170 along with a plan that several on the school 00:30:43.170 --> 00:30:45.589 board didn't love. I don't know that I loved 00:30:45.589 --> 00:30:50.349 it. I mean, certainly it was unconventional based 00:30:50.349 --> 00:30:52.390 on the way that the school system in the county 00:30:52.390 --> 00:30:55.450 had budgeted in the past. In the middle of that, 00:30:55.609 --> 00:30:58.349 I think we now realize, you know, whenever the 00:30:58.349 --> 00:31:00.269 county said $60 million to spend on something, 00:31:00.369 --> 00:31:02.710 it's gone into a single big project or maybe 00:31:02.710 --> 00:31:05.049 two. But for us to do it and say, no, this is 00:31:05.049 --> 00:31:07.779 a big bucket of things. that we should have done 00:31:07.779 --> 00:31:10.799 or that we would have wanted to do. That's got 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:13.119 this cascading effect across the county, and 00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:15.380 it's allowed us to do some really boring stuff 00:31:15.380 --> 00:31:18.779 that we should be doing, but also to do some 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:20.680 things well that I think you guys would have 00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:22.579 always liked to do. Yeah, some playgrounds in 00:31:22.579 --> 00:31:24.619 parts of town where they'll really serve as community 00:31:24.619 --> 00:31:27.599 hubs, and that's a cool thing. It's like for 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:29.420 us to have been able to say, at this point in 00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:32.980 time, we're going to play catch up, but do it 00:31:32.980 --> 00:31:35.440 in a way that has kind of countywide impact. 00:31:35.930 --> 00:31:38.690 That part has been more rewarding than I expected. 00:31:38.910 --> 00:31:42.190 I would agree with it. I mean, I joke about me, 00:31:42.210 --> 00:31:45.289 but I saw it pretty quickly. I described it to 00:31:45.289 --> 00:31:47.710 people as it's like a booster shot for the things 00:31:47.710 --> 00:31:50.029 that we should have been doing and then a proof 00:31:50.029 --> 00:31:52.950 point for the things that we want to do as a 00:31:52.950 --> 00:31:55.549 community. You can take the east side playground. 00:31:55.670 --> 00:32:00.670 You can take the turf field at Howard that tonight 00:32:00.670 --> 00:32:03.819 we're about to go up to Seminole Mountain. Opened 00:32:03.819 --> 00:32:06.339 that field. And so it's allowed us to catch up 00:32:06.339 --> 00:32:09.420 on deferred maintenance and allowed us to really 00:32:09.420 --> 00:32:11.920 be innovative in things that we never would have 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:15.220 been able to do. Or even thinking about the gratitude 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:19.299 of the McConnell community, right? For example, 00:32:19.420 --> 00:32:22.700 I mean, that's a bigger project, but it's in 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:25.200 that deferred category because I think for probably 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:27.519 20 years, people have recognized it probably 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:30.589 should be a better. PE type of facility at McConnell, 00:32:30.849 --> 00:32:32.509 which is one of the best elementary schools in 00:32:32.509 --> 00:32:35.589 the region. And so for that to be able to be 00:32:35.589 --> 00:32:38.349 facilitated through this is another example of, 00:32:38.430 --> 00:32:42.390 I think, a big win. Yeah. Ms. Sensley, the PE 00:32:42.390 --> 00:32:44.250 teacher there, I worked with her for a year at 00:32:44.250 --> 00:32:47.069 Lookout Valley Elementary before there was the 00:32:47.069 --> 00:32:51.890 gym there. So she was running PE in a classroom 00:32:51.890 --> 00:32:54.210 and then goes to McConnell where she's having 00:32:54.210 --> 00:32:57.839 to do that. I got to see her. And on August 1st, 00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:00.220 and I mean, she was beating, I was just super 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:04.519 excited about McConnell. There is a piece of 00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:06.200 this, I like the way you say it, of trying to 00:33:06.200 --> 00:33:09.019 get the community to buy in and build trust of 00:33:09.019 --> 00:33:11.420 like, we're going to have to sustain some of 00:33:11.420 --> 00:33:13.160 this moving forward. I mean, even though it's 00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:16.740 the largest investment for us to really get where 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:19.500 we need to be as a community, you know, for the 00:33:19.500 --> 00:33:22.180 next 10 to 15 years, we're not to keep iterating 00:33:22.180 --> 00:33:25.450 around how we're creative and address this. I 00:33:25.450 --> 00:33:28.390 always press and you talk about those kind of 00:33:28.390 --> 00:33:31.650 guardrails around, you know, we need to lower 00:33:31.650 --> 00:33:33.670 our deferred maintenance. We need to reduce our 00:33:33.670 --> 00:33:37.029 square footage and reduce schools. And I think 00:33:37.029 --> 00:33:40.569 we've been pretty consistent in that. Yeah, you 00:33:40.569 --> 00:33:42.190 know a lot more about that than I do. I mean, 00:33:42.210 --> 00:33:45.730 there's a benefit from a financial standpoint 00:33:45.730 --> 00:33:50.690 to us being, you know, common sense in terms 00:33:50.690 --> 00:33:54.640 of finding a sweet spot. uh in terms of number 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:57.759 of students but we also recognize this a county 00:33:57.759 --> 00:33:59.599 with unusual geography and there's got to be 00:33:59.599 --> 00:34:02.539 exceptions right i don't think we intend for 00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:05.740 there to be like 12 schools sort of this huge 00:34:05.740 --> 00:34:10.340 county uh but i've learned a lot in trying to 00:34:10.340 --> 00:34:13.159 uh test and challenge some of my own assumptions 00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:17.639 what is too big what what's too small is a conversation 00:34:17.639 --> 00:34:19.400 we have probably don't have very often that's 00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:22.360 right I've spent, I've now been to almost all 00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:26.380 of our public schools, and there's a lot of benefits 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:29.179 on the larger side. I think you and I are very 00:34:29.179 --> 00:34:32.079 sensitive to any downside at the larger side. 00:34:32.139 --> 00:34:34.760 One of the advantages you and I have, I think, 00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:37.280 doing our jobs is just that we've been parents 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:41.239 on the job, right? We don't look at any student, 00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:44.239 whether we're thinking about it from a facility 00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:45.659 standpoint or you're thinking about it from a 00:34:45.659 --> 00:34:47.219 programmer standpoint, they're not a number, 00:34:47.380 --> 00:34:49.949 right? They're just a... They're like your daughter. 00:34:50.170 --> 00:34:54.110 I think it was like my kids. And so that's been 00:34:54.110 --> 00:34:56.409 to me, I think a rewarding part of all this is 00:34:56.409 --> 00:34:59.610 we recognize, we hear some of the pushback and 00:34:59.610 --> 00:35:02.030 criticism from the community, but we've all, 00:35:02.309 --> 00:35:05.409 your team, our team internally and with each 00:35:05.409 --> 00:35:10.010 other, we've been skeptical at times, even some 00:35:10.010 --> 00:35:12.289 of the decisions that we're pursuing and double 00:35:12.289 --> 00:35:14.469 and triple checked, you know, to really believe 00:35:14.469 --> 00:35:17.010 in the pursuit. And, and, you know, in the middle 00:35:17.010 --> 00:35:20.449 of it, my kids, And I enrolled in one of the 00:35:20.449 --> 00:35:24.789 larger elementary schools in the system. And, 00:35:24.789 --> 00:35:28.070 you know, it's as big as their homeroom class. 00:35:28.170 --> 00:35:30.190 That's right. When I go there, it's like it feels 00:35:30.190 --> 00:35:33.269 like there's about 22 kids. If you do a good 00:35:33.269 --> 00:35:36.710 job, even in a large school, and you're intentional 00:35:36.710 --> 00:35:38.809 about creating smaller learning environments, 00:35:38.889 --> 00:35:41.550 that's what you experience, right, of even an 00:35:41.550 --> 00:35:44.750 800 -plus student school where your kids go to. 00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:47.739 It feels very small because they're intentional 00:35:47.739 --> 00:35:50.980 about creating those conditions within the school. 00:35:51.980 --> 00:35:55.820 So we've got five big projects. Are there is 00:35:55.820 --> 00:35:58.079 there one or maybe two that you're like, man, 00:35:58.179 --> 00:36:01.500 this is I'm really excited. I think probably 00:36:01.500 --> 00:36:03.539 there's three that I might expect you would say, 00:36:03.639 --> 00:36:09.099 but. No, there's more than that. I think they 00:36:09.099 --> 00:36:11.800 represent, I actually gave a speech out, I used 00:36:11.800 --> 00:36:13.440 to probably want to do a good speech, but we 00:36:13.440 --> 00:36:16.320 give a lot of speeches, so sometimes we go, I'm 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:17.739 tired of saying the same thing over and over, 00:36:17.840 --> 00:36:20.179 and I gave the whole speech about the biggest 00:36:20.179 --> 00:36:23.820 school projects and what they represented from 00:36:23.820 --> 00:36:25.800 a value standpoint, I think about the school 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:29.840 system and about the county. Obviously, I have 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:34.219 a belief that this downtown technical school 00:36:35.119 --> 00:36:39.139 can be a major contributor to the future of our 00:36:39.139 --> 00:36:47.000 college. And give kids who have been left out 00:36:47.000 --> 00:36:49.900 of some career opportunities some of the coolest 00:36:49.900 --> 00:36:52.380 career opportunities. So there's a story there 00:36:52.380 --> 00:36:54.559 that has, I think, the kind of relevance where 00:36:54.559 --> 00:36:56.920 Nashville's watching what's going on there because 00:36:56.920 --> 00:36:59.719 they see it as this very unique economic development 00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:03.699 tool. But then at the same time, we've got the 00:37:03.699 --> 00:37:05.300 potential. We've got to go make good on the potential. 00:37:05.380 --> 00:37:07.679 But I think the potential for students who come 00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:11.679 from pretty tough upbringing to walk into a facility 00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:13.880 that opens up a ton of possibilities. So it's 00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:15.920 hard not to like that. At the point that this 00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:18.039 elementary school went from being an elementary 00:37:18.039 --> 00:37:21.440 school to being this really incredible project 00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:23.579 that's bigger than anybody who's been a part 00:37:23.579 --> 00:37:25.920 of it. And I can't even remember whose idea it 00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:28.420 was or who all has done the work, but we've all 00:37:28.420 --> 00:37:29.920 had to kind of hang in there to see through. 00:37:30.579 --> 00:37:33.300 to where we are now in this YMCA school project. 00:37:33.460 --> 00:37:35.280 That one's awesome. Kind of pulls my heartstrings 00:37:35.280 --> 00:37:38.380 because I grew up in Hickson and at North River 00:37:38.380 --> 00:37:41.440 UI. I love that. I think what we're doing at 00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:45.320 Brainerd has this generational impact. Like decades 00:37:45.320 --> 00:37:50.519 of Brainerd grads that I talk to are proud and 00:37:50.519 --> 00:37:52.219 they're interested. But then when we're done, 00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:54.599 I think it's going to breed a whole new kind 00:37:54.599 --> 00:37:57.460 of confidence into that school. But then the 00:37:57.460 --> 00:38:01.570 one that's the sleeper. is Soddy Mill. Because 00:38:01.570 --> 00:38:06.050 when I think about us doing our jobs well, it's 00:38:06.050 --> 00:38:08.329 easy. And I know this is true for you. Like every 00:38:08.329 --> 00:38:10.670 day, if you're not careful, you just get pulled 00:38:10.670 --> 00:38:13.050 to like the next controversy, the next fire you 00:38:13.050 --> 00:38:14.909 got to put out, that the worst news in the school 00:38:14.909 --> 00:38:17.710 system could consume your day. But the challenge 00:38:17.710 --> 00:38:20.130 is to go and like take care of the things that 00:38:20.130 --> 00:38:23.269 are struggling and go address the problems, but 00:38:23.269 --> 00:38:25.090 also make sure that you're investing enough in 00:38:25.090 --> 00:38:27.579 the things that are going well. that they continue 00:38:27.579 --> 00:38:30.079 to be strengths and even get stronger. And so 00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:32.480 a theme of ours over three years has been leaning 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:34.340 into our strengths. We talk a lot about the smaller 00:38:34.340 --> 00:38:37.239 communities in Hamilton County over the last 00:38:37.239 --> 00:38:41.460 year. And the sleeper of the projects is Soddy 00:38:41.460 --> 00:38:44.360 Middle because Soddy Day is an incredible community. 00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:50.179 Three great elementary schools feed up to, some 00:38:50.179 --> 00:38:53.050 accept Loftus, but largely to Soddy Middle. And 00:38:53.050 --> 00:38:54.630 then Saudi Daisy High School is awesome, but 00:38:54.630 --> 00:38:56.489 the weak link, if you talk to people in that 00:38:56.489 --> 00:38:58.949 community, has been for some time Saudi Daisy 00:38:58.949 --> 00:39:01.349 Middle School. And so to go to one of our great 00:39:01.349 --> 00:39:03.769 communities and take what's been seen as kind 00:39:03.769 --> 00:39:06.409 of the weak link in public education and make 00:39:06.409 --> 00:39:08.769 it one of the two or three best middle school 00:39:08.769 --> 00:39:13.210 facilities in the county, that one's going to 00:39:13.210 --> 00:39:15.510 be awesome. That one is the kind of project that 00:39:15.510 --> 00:39:18.690 ends up having economic impact to our community 00:39:18.690 --> 00:39:21.309 because the more communities we have, that are 00:39:21.309 --> 00:39:25.230 as solid as Soddy Daisy, where you could start 00:39:25.230 --> 00:39:29.110 at Daisy or Allen or Soddy and end up at Soddy 00:39:29.110 --> 00:39:31.269 Middle or Loftus and then go to Soddy Daisy High 00:39:31.269 --> 00:39:35.070 School. That's a story that applies to companies 00:39:35.070 --> 00:39:37.650 here that are trying to recruit people to relocate 00:39:37.650 --> 00:39:39.989 or trying to find a part of the community where 00:39:39.989 --> 00:39:41.710 they can, with confidence, go and enroll their 00:39:41.710 --> 00:39:45.250 kid for 13 years in public education. So I like 00:39:45.250 --> 00:39:49.619 all the projects. Franklin Roberts Future Ready 00:39:49.619 --> 00:39:53.300 Center is going to create a scenario where the 00:39:53.300 --> 00:39:56.059 first time I would say maybe in the history of 00:39:56.059 --> 00:40:00.920 the county, every kid has access to career and 00:40:00.920 --> 00:40:04.000 technical education. When you combine that with 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:08.019 North River Harrison Day, which I think is pretty 00:40:08.019 --> 00:40:10.739 historic, I think it's a pretty big deal. I don't 00:40:10.739 --> 00:40:13.980 know that many people under or know that outside 00:40:13.980 --> 00:40:16.519 of even Franklin Roberts, the investment from 00:40:16.519 --> 00:40:19.260 the county. in Harrison Day and the investment 00:40:19.260 --> 00:40:23.320 in the county at North River. But outside of 00:40:23.320 --> 00:40:26.059 even this bond, there's been investment in those 00:40:26.059 --> 00:40:28.659 tennis. Yeah, well, and at East Ridge High School. 00:40:28.840 --> 00:40:33.539 Yeah. And at Howard High School in CTE. But you're 00:40:33.539 --> 00:40:35.900 right. I mean, Tucker McClendon on our team worked 00:40:35.900 --> 00:40:39.000 with y 'all's team to identify some classroom 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:43.139 expansion space out east, which is pretty cool 00:40:43.139 --> 00:40:45.409 at Harrison Future Ready Center because. The 00:40:45.409 --> 00:40:46.989 model that y 'all have gone to, I think you guys 00:40:46.989 --> 00:40:49.030 are really close to cracking the code where the 00:40:49.030 --> 00:40:51.050 half -day model, where every kid has stretch 00:40:51.050 --> 00:40:53.929 patient provided to go and explore career and 00:40:53.929 --> 00:40:58.030 technical career pathways, that works. And there's 00:40:58.030 --> 00:41:01.909 a long kind of growing list of students who want 00:41:01.909 --> 00:41:03.949 to go and spend. I think I would have jumped 00:41:03.949 --> 00:41:05.469 at that opportunity in high school. To be able 00:41:05.469 --> 00:41:08.769 to move around and stay connected to where you 00:41:08.769 --> 00:41:10.590 want to be in school, right? So that you don't 00:41:10.590 --> 00:41:12.269 have to leave the basketball team, but you can 00:41:12.269 --> 00:41:16.199 still go do that. I think it's got a ton of potential. 00:41:16.340 --> 00:41:20.099 And what will happen at Franklin Roberts, and 00:41:20.099 --> 00:41:21.539 we're in the middle of, you know, with y 'all's 00:41:21.539 --> 00:41:23.820 team working through this, we're going to invite 00:41:23.820 --> 00:41:26.920 some of the biggest brands and most respected 00:41:26.920 --> 00:41:30.260 companies into big partnerships. You know, the 00:41:30.260 --> 00:41:32.659 school system, going back to Dr. Johnson's leadership, 00:41:32.960 --> 00:41:34.860 has been doing Futurania Institutes in partnership 00:41:34.860 --> 00:41:37.159 with companies. And, you know, we're hopeful 00:41:37.159 --> 00:41:40.400 to take that model. bigger and develop even more 00:41:40.400 --> 00:41:42.739 robust partnerships. And one thing I've been 00:41:42.739 --> 00:41:44.500 saying, and you in a conversation this morning 00:41:44.500 --> 00:41:47.360 makes me think we can get there is that, you 00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:50.179 know, I've been on a mission to kind of redefine 00:41:50.179 --> 00:41:53.019 career and technical education because I think 00:41:53.019 --> 00:41:55.679 brilliant people go this route, need to go this 00:41:55.679 --> 00:41:57.780 route. Not all of us love school the same way. 00:41:57.820 --> 00:42:01.860 Not all of us learn to love learning the same 00:42:01.860 --> 00:42:03.739 way. And you all often talk about Dalton Roberts, 00:42:03.820 --> 00:42:05.559 my predecessor, he went to Kirkman, but then 00:42:05.559 --> 00:42:09.460 became a master's educated. educator before he 00:42:09.460 --> 00:42:13.019 was a politician. And I think we're going to 00:42:13.019 --> 00:42:17.900 have some, that Franklin Roberts Future Ready 00:42:17.900 --> 00:42:19.860 Center, probably after I'm gone and maybe after 00:42:19.860 --> 00:42:22.260 you're gone, it's going to give Hanley County 00:42:22.260 --> 00:42:25.440 Schools the opportunity to go some places it's 00:42:25.440 --> 00:42:28.039 ever gone before. And to get people thinking 00:42:28.039 --> 00:42:30.340 about career and technical education in a different 00:42:30.340 --> 00:42:32.960 way, because I think there'll be university pathways 00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:36.199 sort of from there, right? And pathways where 00:42:36.199 --> 00:42:38.150 you may be able to do work. with a high school 00:42:38.150 --> 00:42:41.449 degree. But I just want to always remind people 00:42:41.449 --> 00:42:43.309 that that's what we're trying to do. We're trying 00:42:43.309 --> 00:42:45.869 to give kids more opportunities that'll lead 00:42:45.869 --> 00:42:48.750 to more on -ramps, whether that's educationally 00:42:48.750 --> 00:42:51.929 or to a job, or even to a job and back to education. 00:42:52.550 --> 00:42:56.150 Because the old trope that career technical pathway 00:42:56.150 --> 00:42:58.929 was for a kid who wasn't a great student, but 00:42:58.929 --> 00:43:01.150 it's a good alternative, well, that might be 00:43:01.150 --> 00:43:05.730 true. But it also can be this... especially in 00:43:05.730 --> 00:43:08.710 the world role of it today, unbelievable path 00:43:08.710 --> 00:43:12.090 to college. Yeah, and it's the ability to stack, 00:43:12.269 --> 00:43:14.050 right? I mean, you said, yo, right in the workforce, 00:43:14.269 --> 00:43:16.630 maybe we'd go back to college, but we don't want 00:43:16.630 --> 00:43:20.230 to pigeonhole kids into where they've only got 00:43:20.230 --> 00:43:22.530 one option. I mean, they've got multiple options 00:43:22.530 --> 00:43:25.949 that they can continue to build on, and their 00:43:25.949 --> 00:43:28.769 wages can continue to grow right into career 00:43:28.769 --> 00:43:31.690 paths that won't be set for the next 20 years, 00:43:31.769 --> 00:43:35.139 but they can continue to grow and build. So as 00:43:35.139 --> 00:43:41.119 we finish up, you're coming towards your fourth 00:43:41.119 --> 00:43:45.119 year in office. You're in your fourth year. I'm 00:43:45.119 --> 00:43:47.739 in my fourth year in this role. And one of the 00:43:47.739 --> 00:43:50.360 things I recommitted to at the beginning of this 00:43:50.360 --> 00:43:52.159 year was like, I'm going to find the things that 00:43:52.159 --> 00:43:55.420 bring me joy in this job. And like you said, 00:43:55.440 --> 00:43:58.840 lean into your strengths. I'm going to lean into 00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:01.280 the things that I think we do well and that I 00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:05.360 think bring me joy. What do you see in the next 00:44:05.360 --> 00:44:08.219 year as you're finishing your first term that 00:44:08.219 --> 00:44:14.400 you want to lean into? Well, I think some of 00:44:14.400 --> 00:44:17.820 it is making sure that we finish what we started. 00:44:17.960 --> 00:44:19.920 It was something we started off talking about 00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:22.659 here. I mean, even in terms of what Franklin 00:44:22.659 --> 00:44:24.280 Roberts said, something that we asked the school 00:44:24.280 --> 00:44:27.179 system to consider, really believe it in. And 00:44:27.179 --> 00:44:30.360 I think we've got a continuing role to play from 00:44:30.360 --> 00:44:33.780 the mayor's office in. bringing corporate parkers 00:44:33.780 --> 00:44:36.059 to y 'all in a way that will ultimately serve 00:44:36.059 --> 00:44:38.599 students really well. So that's something that 00:44:38.599 --> 00:44:40.739 we've always talked about. Just because it's 00:44:40.739 --> 00:44:43.139 happening and it's going into design, I feel 00:44:43.139 --> 00:44:46.300 like I've got a lot of work left. Yeah, we're 00:44:46.300 --> 00:44:48.260 real excited. We've come behind the scenes, played 00:44:48.260 --> 00:44:52.340 a lead role in the redevelopment, the redesigning 00:44:52.340 --> 00:44:54.940 of the Chattanooga Riverfront. Downtown Chattanooga 00:44:54.940 --> 00:44:57.360 is the living area of the whole county. So that's 00:44:57.360 --> 00:44:59.980 a project that we've been really deeply involved 00:44:59.980 --> 00:45:02.420 in, like all the way down to a design level. 00:45:03.559 --> 00:45:05.380 And it's something I think you and I started 00:45:05.380 --> 00:45:08.599 and may snowball over the next couple of years. 00:45:08.639 --> 00:45:10.340 We'll be able to lay some of the plans for it 00:45:10.340 --> 00:45:14.659 in my fourth year, your fourth years. We are 00:45:14.659 --> 00:45:16.840 a community that has tons of quality of life 00:45:16.840 --> 00:45:19.900 advantages. We love to brag on ourselves. Most 00:45:19.900 --> 00:45:21.980 of it is warranted. But there's some things we 00:45:21.980 --> 00:45:24.360 don't do well. And one of them is we have underinvested, 00:45:24.360 --> 00:45:27.619 not the school system. but the county and city 00:45:27.619 --> 00:45:30.179 of Chattanooga have underinvested in youth recreation 00:45:30.179 --> 00:45:34.119 and youth sports. And they're huge drivers of 00:45:34.119 --> 00:45:37.940 economic activity. And I think we can catch up 00:45:37.940 --> 00:45:40.320 to some of our peer communities and then even 00:45:40.320 --> 00:45:42.900 move past them because Chattanooga should be 00:45:42.900 --> 00:45:45.780 a place that's dominant in the youth sports world. 00:45:46.320 --> 00:45:48.440 And if anything, we're seen as deficient. Like 00:45:48.440 --> 00:45:50.579 everybody loves Chattanooga. Hamlin County has 00:45:50.579 --> 00:45:52.800 done all these unique advantages and geographic 00:45:52.800 --> 00:45:55.369 features. And that's a place where, you know, 00:45:55.369 --> 00:45:57.630 if we do it right, it benefits the school system 00:45:57.630 --> 00:46:02.110 probably, but also becomes a driver of tourism 00:46:02.110 --> 00:46:06.030 and economic activity. I want to thank you for 00:46:06.030 --> 00:46:10.630 coming on and thank you for being a good partner 00:46:10.630 --> 00:46:14.929 in public education. I think that you, just like 00:46:14.929 --> 00:46:17.469 me, are not only committed to these roles because 00:46:17.469 --> 00:46:21.119 of ambition or wanting to but it's because of 00:46:21.119 --> 00:46:23.059 our families right and it's because of the connections 00:46:23.059 --> 00:46:25.119 that we have this community and I appreciate 00:46:25.119 --> 00:46:28.460 the approach you've taken from the mayor seat 00:46:28.460 --> 00:46:32.380 to think about our communities I hear you say 00:46:32.380 --> 00:46:35.079 that word a lot and thank you for being a good 00:46:35.079 --> 00:46:37.960 Parker to the school system you have me pardon 00:46:37.960 --> 00:46:41.860 words for us no other than it's a lot of fun 00:46:41.860 --> 00:46:45.400 and I think one thing you and I both would agree 00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:47.760 about because sometimes we commiserate together 00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:51.400 you know about this or that but the the job both 00:46:51.400 --> 00:46:54.360 jobs are a huge honor and I and it's it's community 00:46:54.360 --> 00:46:56.579 you didn't do it hired into the job from out 00:46:56.579 --> 00:47:01.380 of town you grew up here I grew up here and it's 00:47:01.380 --> 00:47:03.280 a big privilege and I think you and I both at 00:47:03.280 --> 00:47:04.880 the end of the week even if we're exhausted look 00:47:04.880 --> 00:47:09.099 at it that way and uh you know to see it through 00:47:09.099 --> 00:47:10.980 the school system I think is the most honest 00:47:10.980 --> 00:47:13.610 way to know Our community, the good and the bad, 00:47:13.730 --> 00:47:16.550 right? It's been a, like, even the, you know, 00:47:16.550 --> 00:47:18.510 we go around the school system and try not to 00:47:18.510 --> 00:47:21.530 cause too much of a ruckus doing our full Tuesday 00:47:21.530 --> 00:47:23.989 lunches. And just what I've learned about our 00:47:23.989 --> 00:47:27.469 county through that experience has been, I think, 00:47:27.489 --> 00:47:29.909 invaluable. I understand our community in ways 00:47:29.909 --> 00:47:32.590 that I don't think I ever could have had I not 00:47:32.590 --> 00:47:34.989 set with elementary school kids, you know, from 00:47:34.989 --> 00:47:38.980 Calvin Donaldson to Snow Hill Elementary. And 00:47:38.980 --> 00:47:40.920 so it's been fun to work with you. But I would 00:47:40.920 --> 00:47:42.699 just say to everybody, what I tell anybody who 00:47:42.699 --> 00:47:45.500 tries to tell us that we're doing a good or a 00:47:45.500 --> 00:47:47.559 bad job, I tell them, well, just don't get started. 00:47:47.659 --> 00:47:49.000 If you like what we're doing, just get started. 00:47:49.079 --> 00:47:51.179 If you don't like what we're doing, we may change 00:47:51.179 --> 00:47:53.659 your mind. Well, again, I appreciate you coming 00:47:53.659 --> 00:47:57.260 on to Let's Talk HCS. Again, this is our third 00:47:57.260 --> 00:48:00.360 podcast. Thanks for joining us and listening. 00:48:01.119 --> 00:48:03.820 We'll be back in two weeks. David Kerr will be 00:48:03.820 --> 00:48:07.559 on for a real talk. And appreciate you listening 00:48:07.559 --> 00:48:08.860 to our third podcast.