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Baltimore City Public Schools board meeting, Aug 18, 2026

0 public speakers

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 18:23Reading and test scores ▶ 1:53:15

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  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  6. Robert SalleyBoard Chair
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Baltimore City school board hears proposed changes to committees and public comment rules 1:08:29

  • Robert Salley announced that a motion passed and then reviewed the consent agenda. 42:49
  • The board heard first readers on several governance policies, including a proposal to reduce its committees to 3 standing committees and the first substantive update to its public participation policy since 2009. 1:08:29
  • District staff said 100% of schools would be ready to receive students by August 24th, and a chief reported that literacy results on the state assessment reached 32.9%, the highest level since 2017. 1:38:53

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Item by item (13)
  1. Opening and minutes 0:01
    • Robert Salley read the roll call of the board and said the vice chair and another commissioner would not be present. 1:22
    • Robert Salley announced that motions to reopen the meeting and to approve the prior open session minutes passed. 2:03
    • Robert Salley announced that each motion passed. 2:30
  2. Chair and CEO remarks 3:24
    • Robert Salley welcomed the new student commissioner, who will be sworn in Saturday, and thanked staff, families and students as school year 26⁠-⁠27 begins. 3:51
    • The new CEO said 2 listening tour sessions had been held, with 6 additional sessions scheduled, and described a focus on enrollment, enlistment, employment and entrepreneurship. 13:08
    • The CEO said goals this year include raising student achievement and attendance, 9th grade on track and on-time graduation, and said Monday the 24th is the first day of school. 18:23
  3. Recognition of state track champions 9:48
    • The CEO recognized the Dunbar Boys Outdoor Track Team for winning the Class 2A State Championship for the '25-'26 season. 9:48
    • Board members took a photo with the athletes. 12:01
  4. Public comment from recognized groups 28:10
    • A speaker at public comment said the teacher chapter contract expired on June 30th, 2026, raised concerns about planning time and special educators being pulled to substitute, and said BTU staff deserve a meaningful compensation increase. 29:23
    • Other speakers at public comment described PTA programs and a special education committee, and a speaker said the committee meets the second Monday of the month, September 14th. 35:21
    • The board executive said there was no general public comment. ~42:00
  5. Personnel, employment and payroll 42:04
    • Robert Salley said new positions on the list grow the district staff and noted a new chief of staff and special assistant for the CEO. 42:49
    • Robert Salley announced that the motion passed. 42:49
  6. Compliance report policy revisions 42:49
    • The chief legal officer said the revisions align compliance report due dates, update sponsoring offices and propose eliminating compliance reports for about 7 policies while consolidating others, with a second reader on September 1st. 44:47
    • Asked where the public could find previously reported data, the staff member said a crosswalk would be brought for second reader. 53:01
    • Andrew Coy said the board initiated reviews of its operations, and Ashley Esposito said the community can now submit policy feedback on items outside the policy calendar. 53:56
  7. CEO evaluation policy 56:13
    • The board executive said the proposed framework weights performance goals at 85% and the 360 Leadership Survey at 15%, with a second reader in September. 59:24
    • The board executive said the board and CEO would agree annually on approximately 5 measurable SMART goals based on the board's 4 focus areas. 59:27
    • A speaker said the first goals would cover about the first 18 months to allow time for transition. 1:07:03
  8. Board committee restructuring 1:08:21
    • The board executive said the proposal would reduce last year's 6 committees to 3 standing committees: Accountability, Operations Finance and Facilities, and Policy. 1:08:29
    • The board executive said each committee would meet once a month, with the accountability committee lasting about an hour 30 and the operations committee about 2 hours. 1:13:46
    • One board member said the grouping of the committees is right and would help board members keep track of other committees' work. 1:17:11
  9. Public participation policy update 1:19:35
    • A staff member said the policy had not been revised since its initial adoption in 2009 and the proposal would set a registration window 3 hours long, with 10 speaking slots. 1:20:11
    • A staff member said that if more than 10 individuals register, first priority would go to people who have not spoken at a board meeting in the previous 30 days, and the public could submit written comments or prerecorded videos in addition to the 10 speaking slots. 1:22:29
    • A staff member said signs could not be bigger than 2 by 2 feet or be on sticks, and the policy would come back for a second reader on September 1st. 1:25:03
  10. School leadership policy 1:26:26
    • A chief presented a proposed new policy that would incorporate 13 remaining board rules about principal duties into a single reference without adding new duties, with a second reader in October. 1:27:42
    • Asked about updates to school leaders, the staff member said the district would use twice-weekly leadership updates and monthly school leader meetings. 1:36:21
    • Asked about charter schools, the staff member said charter schools follow board policy but have more autonomy on instructional decisions, which the policy does not touch. 1:37:21
  11. School readiness update 1:37:57
    • Staff said the goal is for 100% of schools to be ready by August 24th, and a chief said 47 capital projects are underway and a little over 5,000 students are routed for transportation. 1:38:53
    • Staff said about 94.7% of students had a full schedule as of last week and 74,281 students were confirmed so far. 1:45:24
    • One board member said community school coordinators help address barriers to getting students to school on time. 1:51:26
  12. State assessment results 1:52:30
    • The chief achievement and accountability officer said literacy reached 32.9%, the highest since 2017, with a 1.7 percentage point gain compared with the state's 0.9, and Algebra 1 rose 2.2 points. 1:53:40
    • A staff member said students with disabilities were flat in literacy, moving from 6.3 to 6.2%, and grade 8 science declined 0.6 points. 1:56:05
    • A staff member said the district's new North Star is to meet and to exceed the state's target. 2:07:01
  13. Consent agenda and adjournment 2:25:25
    • The consent agenda included the second reader of Policy JFC and an item for K-12 Insight LLC. 43:47
    • Announcements included an Operations Committee meeting on Tuesday, August 25th and a public board meeting on September 1st. 2:26:12
    • The chair announced that the consent agenda motion passed, and the meeting was adjourned. 2:26:12

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “Public Board Meeting | August 18, 2026”