Q&A District III Area Board and Town Hall Meeting

All budget scenarios are considered with planning for budget season.

As part of a school's safety plan, principals must consider how their buildings ensure safe and secure student transitions at all times, including during classroom changes. A variety of methods are used to help ensure an overall positive school climate that helps creates the conditions that foster orderly, safe transitions. More specific measures may include increased adult presence and visibility during class changes. For example, key staff members at each school are assigned roles and responsibilities during class changes, which they practice and held accountable to. Also, schools should engage in repeated, effective communication with internal stakeholders regarding the importance of keeping doors with outside access closed (unless students must use them to transition from one part of the building to another). The cost of fencing varies from school to school due to location and the size of areas fenced. Fencing is a measure utilized by GCPS to help ensure the safety of its schools.

For 2025 property taxes, GCPS teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators and SROs residing in Gwinnett are eligible for a new homestead exemption of $2,000 which provided additions savings on their 2025 tax bill. Employees can find detailed information on the county tax commissioner's website at https://www.gwinnetttaxcommissioner.com/cpse. Employees can download a GCPS verification letter provided by HR from the staff/employee portal, to support their application for the exemption.

Offering higher supplements to lower compensated employees can be justified through the lenses of equity, retention and recruitment, and adjusting for market conditions. The supplement structure considers sensitivity to inflation and ensuring that the impact of the supplement combined with the step increase, plus a $1,000 for employees paid on the teacher scale, or 1% for employees not paid on the teacher scale, should receive at least a 3% increase to combat inflation. The average employee will receive approximately 5.7%, with the highest percentages going the majority (approx. 94% )of our employees.

Offering higher supplements to lower compensated employees can be justified through the lenses of equity, retention and recruitment and adjusting for market conditions. The supplement structure considers sensitivity to inflation and ensuring that the impact of the supplement combined with the step increase, plus a $1,000 for employees paid on the teacher scale, or 1% for employees not paid on the teacher scale, should receive at least a 3% increase to combat inflation. The average employee will receive approximately 5.7%, with the highest percentages going to 94% of our employees.

Our contingency plan around financial resiliency is designed to ensure that we can respond effectively to unforeseen economic circumstances while safeguarding the interests of students and staff. We have built our reserves/fund balance to provide for immediate support during emergencies. Our operating fund balance will ensure we can safely operate for just over three months (currently equivalent a minimum of $600M). Three to six months of operating expenditures is the recommended reserve fund balance based on industry standards.

Thank you for the question. We are in the process of creating an information resource page for the budget webpage that explains growth in the budget over time. However to provide some details during this period 2019 (2019 Total Budget was $2.19billion - 2026 Total Budget proposed is $3.4billion): GCPS increased the budget adding positions to the local schools to address class sizes ($200 M) and other school staffing needs, adding over 2000 positions to schools; the Governor's budget along with GCPS made investments in the budget each year adding salary raises for teachers and other staff and supplements; the state health benefits plan cost increased thereby resulting in the cost of benefits increasing for all certified and classified staff (GCPS pays 100% for the cost of classified staff from local funds); significant investments were made in based on need such supports in the budget for multilingual learners, special education, mental health, college and career, safety and security and pre-K; 2020 was the onset of the pandemic requiring virtual learning and all of the associated additional costs, the district also sustained staff and other investments from ESSER.

The district does not allocate funds for clubs. This is a local school decision using local funds. Generally high schools have significantly more clubs, involving more activity and this could be the reason that they provide for this.

District assessments are aligned with the pacing guide, curriculum and instructional materials that the district provides. The DAs are designed to assess standards that should have been covered prior to the assessment being given. The level of rigor (degree of difficulty) of the assessment items matches what students will experience on the Milestones assessment.

District III encompasses a range of very different school communities with and a range of diverse needs. In general, I am pushing for improving academic outcomes for all students, particularly with regards to literacy and graduation rates. I am also a strong proponent of CTAE programming which can be leveraged to improve both of those areas. However, I am also mindful that we have to ensure that our financial and human resources are netting positive outcomes. As such, I believe strongly that progress should be measured both against a standard criteria and also through improvements over time.

Dr. Taylor and Mr. Gasper responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Dr. Taylor and Mr. Gasper responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Here is the legal information regarding what it takes to change the number of board members in a school district:

• State Law - O.C.G.A 20-2-52 Each local board of education shall have no more than seven members as provided by a local Act.
• Local Legislative Proposal – The Gwinnett County delegation to the Georgia General Assembly would need to introduce a bill proposing the change.
• State Approval – If a bill is introduced, it would need to pass through the Georgia House and Senate before being signed into law by the governor.

Dr. Taylor and Mr. Gasper responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Dr. Taylor responded during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Dr. Taylor responded during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Dr. Taylor responded during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Dr. Taylor responded during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Dr. Taylor responded during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Each elementary school in the North Gwinnett cluster offers a variety of afterschool programming. While this may look different coming from the programming in the Dacula cluster, a multitude of after school activities occur in the North Gwinnett elementary schools on a daily basis. To access further information, please reach out to your local school or visit the local school website.

Each student deserves an inviting, warm, and welcoming environment in each of their classroom settings. Classrooms like these help students meet their academic potential, develop safe friendships, and look forward to their time in school. GCPS schools must provide students with the opportunity to forge meaningful relationships with the adults in their buildings, foster a sense of belonging, promote student opportunities for open communication with school staff, and provide students with the support services needed.

GCPS and the Board of Education are committed to engaging with students, families, and staff offering both in-person and virtual options when possible to ensure that the meetings are accessible to the wide variety of needs among our county.

GCPS is dedicated to providing support for our ML learners in all content areas (including Core, Enrichment, Special Education, CTAE and other areas of study). All teachers districtwide have been trained in the national WIDA best practices for delivering quality ML instruction. Additionally, we will launch training in the fall for our teachers to learn to write language goals for ML learners. This training will help teachers identify opportunities within each lesson where they can strengthen English development so that ML learners can access the content being taught.

GCPS salaries are competitive. While we have not aimed to be the highest paying district in the state, we strive to remain competitive and sustain our efforts without negatively impacting our fund balance. We want what we do for staff to be sustainable year over year.

GCPS will be moving forward with installation of EVOLV weapons detection systems in its middle and high schools during the 25-26 school year. The district will continue to move towards its goal of housing an SRO in each elementary school. Until this plan is fully staffed, we will supplement it by contracting with private security firms, placing a guard in each elementary school that is currently without an SRO.

In GCPS, the teacher(s) of each student is responsible for evaluating the individual student’s progress toward the achievement of the AKS, and principals are responsible for implementing a local process for monitoring grading procedures. Grading practices must align to the GCPS grading policy and procedure. Standards-based grading, with its emphasis on student mastery of student learning objectives, is an approach that warrants a deeper look and understanding.

In GCPS, we have had a longstanding practice of establishing specialized programs across the district at all levels to ensure that our students have the opportunity to be served within their home cluster or a neighboring cluster. Local school IEP teams determine the services and programs needed to provide our students with a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Using the information shared by IEP teams, the Department of Special Education and Psychological Services determines the location of these services for all students serviced in K-12 specialized classes. The student’s identified program of need and home address are typically used to determine the school location which is generally in the same school, cluster, or neighboring cluster.

Mr. Gasper and Dr. Taylor responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Mr. Gasper and Dr. Taylor responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Mr. Gasper and Dr. Taylor responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Mr. Gasper responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Mr. Gasper responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Mr. Gasper responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Mr. Gasper responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Mr. Gasper responded to this during the event, you can watch and listen here.

Students are prohibited from possessing firearms (including a handgun, rifle, shotgun, or other weapon which will or can be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or electrical charge), dangerous weapons (as defined by O.C.G.A. § 16-11-121) or hazardous objects (as defined by O.C.G.A. § 20-2-751), while on school property or at school functions. A student shall be excluded from school for one calendar year for possessing on school grounds or at a school function a firearm or a dangerous weapon (as defined by O.C.G.A. § 16-11-121), provided that all tribunal officers, tribunals, panels, administrators, the superintendent, and the Gwinnett County Board of Education shall have the discretion to impose a lesser or more harsh, appropriate consequence on a case by case basis for any such offense.

Thank you for your comment.

The Board is actively and frequently engaged in data discussion, program reviews, trainings, and other activities intended to improve our awareness and understanding of the complexities of school governance. We appreciate the district staff providing us with the information we need, and we also appreciate their work managing the daily operations of such a complex organization.

The budgeting process is complex and has several competing priorities. We are weighing and considering how to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our 180,000 students while also considering the impact on our constituents. We have a longstanding history of being good stewards of taxpayers' dollars, and we are committed to doing efficiency studies and reducing costs wherever and whenever possible. That is work that has to be done, and we are committed to doing.

The clear backpack pilot provided the district with useful information as it considered the use of clear backpacks. After a review of that information and stakeholder input, the decision was made to move forward next year without a clear backpack usage mandate.

The well-being of our students, faculty, and staff is our most important responsibility. This responsibility underscores our commitment to ensuring that our schools are as safe and secure as they can be. Therefore, we take proactive approach to working towards the safety of students, staffs, faculties, and visitors to our schools. We partner with safety personnel from the national, state, and local levels, to include police, fire, emergency medical services, emergency management agencies, and public health. We train our staffs to work with our students, readying and preparing them for emergency situations that may arise. School safety is an inclusive process; we seek to communicate and partner with our families and community members on the preparations we make for emergency situations. An example of our work with our parents and our community exists in the School Safety Advisory Council (SSAC). The SSAC is an opportunity for Gwinnett County students, parents, community, staff, and Board of Education members to collaborate with district and school leaders regarding the status of school safety. It meets four times a year; its final meeting this year will be held on May 6, 2025, at the Instructional Support Center.

There will be some changes to SLC this year. A part of the rationale is considering cost associated with the conference.

This summer, we will pilot our use of the EVOLV weapons detection systems at our high school summer school sites. Information from this pilot, coupled with information gleaned from multiple visits to sister districts who utilize EVOLV, will help drive the processes put into place to help ensure the effective use of these systems. While there are no plans to alter school start times, changes to how students typically enter their buildings to begin their day can be anticipated.

To increase quality professional development for Core and non-Core content teachers teaching MLs we have:

• Adopted a new ESOL curriculum in 2024 for grades 6-12 and provided supplemental resources and professional development to support newcomer students at the elementary level.

• Provided Imagine Learning Language and Literature for K-12 students and provided professional development for teachers.

• Increased the number of ESOL Endorsed teachers through the district-led ESOL Endorsement Program at no cost to staff participating in the endorsement and provided a stipend to staff completing the program in one academic year. These teachers receive training in high-impact best instructional practices for MLs.

• Offer ongoing training for teachers to integrate language goals within content instruction. Beginning this upcoming school year, this professional development will be available for all teachers and leaders systemwide.

Additionally, the district has increased our ML Program support with the addition of 8 instructional specialists who will be serving in three of our highest need areas and providing professional development for teachers.

Finally, during this school year, all teachers in GCPS received professional development on the WIDA Standards, a nationally recognized program aimed training teachers on high-quality teaching for ML learners.

We are continually assessing early learning programming and adding programs when and where appropriate based on needs, funding and building space. We are excited to be adding the program to one high school next year.

We can always review and see what other districts are doing and what is happening in the K-12 landscape.

We can review what other districts may be doing in this space in conjunction with SIO and the Superintendent's Office. We have to take the school calendar into consideration when looking at adding days not worked to the schedule.

We cannot pay some in same job family and not all. A retention bonus is intended to encourage staff to stay within the organization is does not recognize longevity.

We consistently monitor our school safety and security plans. While the vestibules that have been added to each of our schools are an integral part of those plans, there are currently no plans to expand them to having a second vestibule in each school.

We continually provide professional learning and supports to staff who support students with specific behavioral needs.

We do have some outlets, but this may indicate that we need to expand those outlets and/or increase the frequency of the outlets. The engagement has been appreciated, especially in terms of how we may use this to further our work in a collaborative manner.

When a GCPS school believes a student has violated the code and a long-term suspension or expulsion should be considered, the school refers the student to a disciplinary tribunal. The tribunal, when utilized, is part of a student's due process. At the disciplinary tribunal, a tribunal officer (acting on behalf of the BOE) will determine whether the student violated the code. The tribunal officer will issue a consequence for the rule violation(s). Our Office of Student Discipline monitors its trend data and provides training opportunities for its tribunal officers. Families with additional questions may contact the Office of Student Discipline at 770-513-6607. Families may also contact Dr. Byron Howard, Community Engagement Coordinator, by email: byron.howard@gcpsk12.org or by phone: 678-407-8885.

Yes. This is called out in Priority #1 of the Transition plan, you can read the plan in full online at: https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/board/transition-plan. Please continue to review district communications as opportunities are announced.

GCPS continues to evaluate how best to support multilingual learners while managing logistical and operational constraints. The district is currently focused on providing resources at students' home schools and will continue to assess potential transportation options. For students living within the clusters of the six high schools that host the International Transition Center—Berkmar, Central Gwinnett, Discovery, Duluth, Meadowcreek, and Norcross—transportation is provided to those schools.

The District II Capital Plan for 2026-31 is in proposal phase and is still under consideration. The school projects listed in the presentation capture HVAC and Roofing projects only. All schools benefit from the Capital Plan in areas such as safety and security, technology for students and staff, instructional materials, replacement of equipment / furniture, bus purchases, building renovations, instructional improvements to the facilities, building electrical / life safe systems, paving, PE/Athleitcs, playgrounds,  etc. The Lanier Cluster will receive these districtwide benefits under the 2026-31 Capital Plan Priorities, shared during the Area Board Meeting Presentation. The recording of the Area Board Meeting Presentation can be accessed at https://vimeo.com/showcase/gcps-boe and you can viewa detailed list of these proposed benefits, beginning at the 43:00 mark in the video. 

We are always recruiting for diversity.  We make every effort to ensure our pipeline for all positons include diversity.  We attend events at HBCUs and HSIs throughout the year.  We also post our jobs on a variety of diverse platforms.  We have increased our teacher divesity index more than 3% in the last 18 months.