Johnathaun Lee: What Can the School Board Actually Do?

Peter Pappas: welcome to a special session of the Carolina Cabinet. I'm Peter Pappas. My guest today is Jonathan Lee, a candidate for the Cumberland County Board of Education. He's an Army veteran and he owns a home health care business here in Cumberland County. He ran for the board's District 2 seat in 2024. And this year he's running for one of the at-large seats. Sixteen candidates are running for three at-large seats on the nine-member board. The race is nonpartisan. You can vote for three and the top three will win. One of those seats opened up when board chair Judy Musgrave unfortunately passed away in June. And Vice Chair Jacqueline Brown is the only incumbent running. Early voting runs October fifteenth through the thirty first. And election day is November third, twenty twenty six. John, welcome to the cabinet. Thank you so very much, Mr. Pappas. I really appreciate being here. It's very good seeing you. I'm glad you're seated so I don't have to look up at you. you know. What what did I tell you last night? You said something like you told me you look familiar or something. I said, Yeah, I'm sure. I look like everybody else to you. So, you know, yeah. But I appreciate you being here really. It's it's an honor to have you guys on here. And I I've tried with all sixteen of y'all, by the way. I have tried to see everybody. And by the time the election is over with, I think I will have had forty interviews with different candidates. Okay. I saw I'm working at this. I'm where I'm really working at it. So you run a home healthcare business. what's something one of your clients taught you that you never expected to learn? That's a tough one. Now how long you been doing that? I've been at home health for fifteen maybe fifteen years. So you've seen some stuff. I've seen some weird weird things. Okay. I think in in in terms of what a client has taught me is if you if you give an inch. They'll take out. Mm-hmm. True to form. True true to form. And I think it is they play on your sympathy and they play on on your kindness, right? And they also know the the policies and the rules better than you do. Mm-hmm. they try to outsmart. Yes. Okay, I got you. Yes. So being caught up on policies, being caught up on what you can and cannot do and human nature. I if you're not there, mm-hmm. I mean and I don't I I can't define what the limits are on there. Cause every client will push you just a little bit further in different areas. Mm-hmm. But if you're if you're not there, you find yourself in trouble. Right. And you that's where you don't want to be. You you don't want to cross the line because once you cross the line, in a in violation of any policy or or any state rule. That becomes your ball and chain for them. yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Then they got you. Yeah. So these rules you're talking about with Medicare, that kind of stuff, reimbursement type stuff. Like what kind of rules? No. The r the rules are not trying to learn your business to go do it out here. help yourself. No, these rules that I'm talking about have to do with care. Okay. Okay. what you can provide and what you can't provide. Okay. Okay. things that you can do for a patient and things you can't do for a patient. for example, it's not smart to buy a McDonald meal for a client. Once you buy one hamburger, it'll turn into about thirty hamburgers. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So and it's against it's against policy as well. You it it you can't lead the client, right? but they'll take it, mm-hmm, they'll smile, but then they got you. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right? I I understand. I I think I can identify with that. It's like you wanna be a good guy. I think my rule in life is look, drink all the water I can, don't be a dick and try to do good. And I think people it's hard sometimes to do what you gotta do. And it feels kind of sometimes. It it does. Because you have rules. You got rules. You have a business to run. You have to follow them. I can I can get that. You really have to follow them. State money and Fed money. Mm-hmm. So nobody's looking over your shoulder. No one looking over your shoulder until you get audited. There you go. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, right. So let's shift a little bit. Where did the army send you that you'd go back to tomorrow? And where would you never go again? I have have not been very many places with the military. I went in to the I I got into the military through ROTC. Okay. Right. And where would I go back? Panama. Okay. And I would go back for the iguana. Okay. What the iguan what they eat that stuff? Yeah, eight. Did they I don't know. Eight? What do you do with the equals? Eat. Eat Okay. B barbecue. Look, I see him, I think boots. I don't I don't think eat Does it taste like chicken? No, it tastes like they say everything tastes like chicken. It tastes like frog. I thought frog tastes like chicken. Frogs don't taste like chicken at me. Okay, well I I don't I ain't eating no frog and I okay. But if that's what you're into. So he's good eating. It's very good eating. Okay. The natives there, we w we were out in the jungle area in the rural, and the natives put it, wrapped it in leaves, built a fire, they dug a hole, stuck it in the hole, cooked it, and when they brought it out, man, it was so That sounds like Hawaiian barbecue almost. Don't they dig a pit and put a pig in it and stuff like that? Yeah. So okay. That's pretty cool. Excellent. Excellent. I wouldn't trade it I wouldn't trade that meat. Well, how big was the iguana? I mean, does it get is it like iguanas can get pretty big. New York sewer rat style, like it's they can get that long but not that big, not that thick, not that the width of it. But in terms of length, yes, they can get bigger. They get huge. And they swim very well. Ugh. I'm not a reptile guy. I yeah. Dogs, cats, okay. But that snakes and all no. Snakes snakes, iguanas, I don't Snake is good meat. Okay. Snake is good meat. Alligator is excellent meat. I pray that I never am in a situation where that's the only option on the menu. Okay. My dad would say I was an American boy and I was raised all soft, but I I'd prefer just to open a can of something. You would not be disappointed. I would So Okay. So let's stick to let's see. Well, okay, the best thing the Army ever fed you then. Raw eggs. Raw eggs? Yes. Okay. Raw raw eggs. That was the best thing they served me. That the best thing that they served me. Keep in mind though, when they serve really good food, they're not serving you. You just happen to be in the space of where the good food is. Okay. And that's a difference. Okay. Okay. That's that's a difference. What was your career like in the military? I mean, so I not to keep going on the past, we want to talk about current things, but like what was your background in the military? You said R O T C you joined. Yes. I was I went in as a ninety one Charlie. And I'm medics. You gotta speak the non military to me, I don't know. And then a medic and it was fine. Okay. Because I This is not gonna sound very very thrilling. Mm-hmm. Right. I pulled teeth and gave a lot of shots. Okay. Pulled teeth and gave a lot of shots. Once you get through the training, right, they're they're gonna put you somewhere. Right. Right. So I I happened to be placed with an engineering battalion. Mm-hmm. And since I you know was that medic, I didn't they treated medic very well. Okay. Well, your doc. You take care of people. We went to the field. Yeah. We went to the field. We ate well. We slept well. like the passenger princess of the battalion. Like well, they gotta look, you gotta take care of everybody else. They better take care of you. They they did. Okay. Okay. So was that your full time in the military? Yeah, that was my full time. Okay. And how were you a twenty year guy, five how many years? I stayed in military about six years. Okay. That was enough. I had a plan, but it didn't work out. Imagine that. I've heard that before. Sometimes the plans don't work out. What was your plan? I wanted to go to law school. So you wanted many more people to hate you? Yes. I wanted to go to law school. Excellent. Me too. Did you? Yeah, I did. But I got an I've accumulated enough people that not so fans. I what I did not do was to get a mentor when I when I got in. I had a mentor in basic, I had a mentor in AIT, but you know, my regular duty, I didn't get a mentor. Okay. Okay. And I believe that hurt. What was so did you join right after high school or no, I went to college. So you were out of college. So you were what, twenty three, twenty four? You went in? No, I went in well or twenty twenty one. Okay. All right. Twenty one. So you were early go getter is what you're saying. You know, okay okay. So six years, all right. So Yeah. And you didn't have a mentor actually on the career. You didn't you did in training and you did in AIT, but not Yeah, I see that. Yeah. Yeah, that's tough. were you where are you from? Are you from Fayetteville? No, Mississippi originally. Okay. Okay. So the military brought you here? No. No? Wait a minute. You settled here on your own? Home care brought me. See, okay. All right. So you made Fayetteville home. Yeah. I like it. Yes. Okay. In Florida, I wanted to do home care in Florida. Okay. But when you write that business plan, the state of Florida require you to have that five year plan money in the bank. Mm-hmm. Well yeah, you don't have home healthcare you don't have the money in the bank. Right. But here the the strategy for the state is a little bit different. Okay. Okay. So a little easier to do business here in North Carolina, maybe. It's easy to get in the dough. I'm saying nuance. I'm not saying it's easy. Yes. Maybe granularly it was a little easy. Okay. Okay. so last one I'm gonna ask you about some not so serious. Best breakfast spot in Fayetteville. Where would you go? This is an unpaid portion of the show, so he's not being sponsored by anyone, so he's allowed to be Bees and Board. Bees and boards? Okay. That's the place on Green Street? Yes. Okay. I've been there before. Beth does a good job. So I'll have to let her s make sure to see this episode. You do? Yes. Okay, well everybody knows Beth. Yeah. She's she's a husband too. Okay. Yes. She's good people and she's a hard worker. She is. Yeah. She is. When I first met Beth, she was Very open, very accommodating, and very personable. Mm-hmm. Good people. And so was her husband. Yeah, I can agree. Yeah, absolutely. I I got along well with him. Well, it's a good place. And if anybody watching has not checked it out, I suggest you go do it. lunch or it's a breakfast lunch place. Yes. Yeah, yeah. So they she does does a good brunch. So you ran for the district two seat in twenty twenty four. So what did that campaign teach you and why are you running at large this time? When I ran twenty four, what it taught me was that I did not know as much as I should have known when I started knocking on the door. Okay, good. You self identifying. Okay. Yes. All right. I I I I just did not. And the perspective that I took wasn't the perspective of any community individual that wanted to serve. Okay. No. You have a desire to serve. Mm-hmm. You have a passion to serve. But what you really don't have is the knowledge to serve. I judging by the candidate form last night, I can agree with you. A little bit. Yeah. So that taught me to look at the board from perspective of what it really is and not what I think the little pain points are in terms in reference to can the boy do this, can the boy solve this problem? Why does this exist? Those are those pain points. Right. Right. Those the our pain points are our lack of knowledge in how North Carolina works, how Cumberland County works, how the General Assembly works. Your lack of knowledge keeps you on those pain points. Okay. So you knock on a door, constituent opens, hi, I'm Jonathan Lee running for a school board. Well, why'd you let my school get unfunded because of vouchers? Absolutely. What what happens? What do you say to that? I mean, is it even up to you on the school board? No, it's not. And when you when you really take a look at vouchers and I because I did, I asked myself, who owns That program. Right. Who administer that program? Mm-hmm. No? And when you really find out, you know, who takes care of it and what they say what the school boy can and cannot do, you you drop it. Yeah. You you drop it. You don't you don't administer the program, you don't set the standards, you don't you you can't you don't write the checks, you don't take a look at the schools, and most of all you can't cancel it. Mm-hmm. Well, it's and that's what I that's what it is. You a lot of people running don't know what they don't know and they're out here saying, Well, we need to get rid of this. Well, that's not really your job. We're electing you to represent us on a board that has constraints of what they can't do. In terms of representation, I'm glad you brought that up. If I can segue. Absolutely. The issue of closing schools was a question at the last forum. Mm-hmm. It was. And I I thought about it when I when the form was older, I gave it one of the yes or no at the end questions. No, the yes or no at the end of the question was did you agree with the school board closing the school? And I would not have been a fan of giving that a yes no. That needed to be sussed out a little bit, but continue. Yeah. So I said, yes, I I agree. Right. And the reason why, because I know I'm gonna get some feedback on this, right? The reason why is this the community get attached to a school. Mm-hmm. Right? And there are seven reasons why a a person will become attached to a school. Mm-hmm. Two of my psychological. Five of are philosophical. Okay. Right. Now I'm gonna make you break that down a little bit because I'm gonna have to write down one through seven. So give me an idea. For example, a parent, student or child learns how to read at an institution. Okay. And so they attach the accomplishment to the school. To that warm fuzzy. Yes. Okay. Right. Or a parent becomes attached to the school because it gives them a place of safety for the kids, and I can send them there. Okay. And for the most part. And also community, right? They believe I know these people. I I know the principal. I have a relationship with the guidance counselor. I know I I know staff there. Sure. Right. Okay. So they create a relationship with the schools through the people. Mm-hmm. Right. So they become attached. Sure. Right. For the school board. The school board doesn't see it as your school. The school board sees it as a managed facility. Okay. We the school board has to be detached from the emotions in order to manage it properly. Right. Right. But they also have to understand the community's feelings when it when when when you have to make a hard decision that one needs to be closed. So If you decide that this facility needs to be closed, then I think the school board has a duty to go to the community and say, We are looking at this facility to be GD and these is all the reasons why. These are the reasons why we make we are making that decision. And let them know. No. I'm not trying to take away your feelings for the school. I'm not trying to take away you know, discommodulate your emotions from this From the school, but in the seat that I'm representing, it's a facility that I have to manage. Right. So let's back up to why we even started to close schools or reorganize. I look at more as a reorganization than I do we're closing. We're not losing capacity. We're right-sizing our capacity for what we have. in my opinion, I w with the chamber, I advocated for E.E. Smith going to the striker golf course site. I was a big proponent of that. And my defense to the passionate community was cool, we can honor the history by giving the next generation of kids a 21st century education. Why do we want to saddle the next generation of kids with this aging falling down facility? And I I appreciate the pride. They have one of the most active alumni associations in Cumberland County. They truly do. But we elected the representative to represent us. The school board went out and got, and I'm gonna screw up the name of the consultant, BMG or BG, whatever it was. They first came with $800 million capital improvements that we're behind. And now, and they're also the ones that having identified that, they said, Well, here's how we're gonna move stuff around. Did you read that plan about the school closure and moving the programs? And if you saw that? I saw but I I I saw some of it. It was an exercise and I d I was impressed. Because they had like for this many months the kids are gonna be here, then they're gonna be here. It was very complicated, very intricate. We paid a consultant to do the work for the community. The board approved it and then backpedaled emotionally. And that was my opinion on it. And I'm kinda thinking that might be sort of your take too. Is that do you think they lost their nerve? I've spoken with some of the alumni. Okay. Of and Smith's not the only school that was up for right contention. It's just the one I knew the best. They're diehard. Yeah, they are. I mean they're tough. They they are they're diehard. Yeah. All right. I've been challenged to to be in conversation with them because I see it from a different perspective. Mm-hmm. Right. From from just one person to another, right? I can see how they feel. Mm-hmm. Right? I'm good with that. But from a board member perspective, as what am I fighting for and who do I work for? Right? I work for the state. You know, I get my guidance from the state. This is what you can, this is what you cannot do, right? So as soon as you sign up, as soon as you become a member of the board, you're a captive audience and then you you're a soldier. These are your orders, and this is what you can and cannot do. Right. So I I I asked them, what is it that North Carolina promised you? And it didn't promise didn't promise you anything. It it really doesn't. What it does is it it promises the the children, it promise it promises the students through the constitution a sound and basic education. The most ambiguous legalese ever. Thanks a lot, guys. Yes. Yeah. Sound basic education. But what it what that does for me is that it if you see a problem or you see an opportunity, it gives you wicker room for work for for verbi for verbiage. Sure. You know, it's that this Bob and Leave. Let's let's see if we can dig this concept out of that vague term that they give us, right? So they promise you an education. They promise your child an education. Right. That's that's it. They're not promising you where. Or in what facility. They're just saying that you have a right to a sound basic education, which I have spoken to several of the appeals court judges running for state off camera. Like, can you guys clean this up at all? Like, really. I mean, that's the most ambiguous even I I don't need a law degree to know that that sucks. Like, how do we fit how do we fit to that? But anyway, that's just me. So you've written that the question is no longer what's wrong with our schools, but what the board can actually do about it. So What has the board not been doing, in your opinion? I cannot I I I I that's that's a a trail I can I I can't go down. Because I would be pointing the finger. Right. Okay, fair enough. You understand? I'd be pointing the finger at a community that I have not been intimately attached to. Okay. Right. Some of the challenges from you know an an individual's outside looking in, some of the challenges are with proficiency, absenteeism. Mm-hmm. Growth. Okay. Right. And when you look those terms up. You fall back off of those as well. Mm-hmm. You know. I was educated with w about a principal and he set me down and we because we talked about how to manage and control Low performing schools. That was that was an issue. I had an idea. Why do we have low performance schools? That it it didn't register with me. Mm-hmm. But he sat me down and and shared with me the formulas of how low performance schools are determined. Okay. Right. And I read the evaluation that we got two years ago. Okay. I I read that thing. So you're talking real live data from Cumberland County? Yes. Okay. So Low performance school will always be with us. It's a calculation. As soon as the matrix says that this this number is either too big or too small, they can change it at will. Mm-hmm. Right. So low performance school will always be with be with us. Pro efficiency will always be with us. Well we'll will always 'cause pretty much somebody's always gonna be at the bottom. Is that what we're talking about? Somebody's gonna always be at the bottom. You're gonna always have a bell curve. Okay. You're gonna always have a bell curve, right? For me, the but opportunity is with that term growth. All right. Okay. Because now I get to measure where you are now and over a period of time I get to see where you are at the end of of that cycle. I get to see where you are. And then I can say I have moved you a little bit. Okay. And I believe we did have some good news. something there was some metric that l year over year from fifty to fifty five percent we had increased some proficiency. Maybe you know the details on that. What what number am I thinking? It's it's fifty five point six where we are today in terms of on grade so proficiency. Okay. Right. But that's overall. It it doesn't target an individual. Right. Because you can have low growth. Absolutely. Right. It's a complex formula, right? So you can have growth at a poor at a low performance school. Great growth at a low performing school and poor growth at an A school. Mm-hmm. It it it is a complicated thing. I mean, I just think about there's how many kids in one middle school, like four or five hundred kids. And you need all the little Johnnies to read a little bit better to move that needle. And every kid is so unique and so how to me, from 50 to 55%, that's a 10% kick that's heading in the right direction. We just need to keep that up or speed it up. And it's up to the superintendent to do that. It's his 'cause that's the sole employee you have on the Board of Education. That's it. That's all you get. You don't you you're not in the classrooms. You're not you're there to make sure they get the money they need and you hire the right guy. Hire the right guy. That's it. W with the right vision. With the right vision. And we stole our current guy from Samson County, I think, but he's doing okay. I read his plan. He has a written North Star. Have you read North Star? No, I have not. I have a copy of North Star at home. Okay. I asked for it. Okay. And that's his mission here. That's his mission. That's his strategy for the next five years. Well, that's unique 'cause I don't think and I could be mistaken, but I don't think the previous superintendent had a vision. I don't know if they did or not. And I don't know. Look. Children are an important resource. You're not gonna find anybody around that's gonna say, Man, screw the kids. Like, you know, we we gotta take care of these kids. We gotta educate them. We gotta give them the opportunities. But I I don't know if it's ever gonna be right. You know, we're never I don't think we're ever gonna get to a point that we say, yeah, all this is running great, without saying, No, we can do better over here. I mean I I I think it's possible. Okay. I I I do. I think it's possible. I don't know if Connolly had a a plan or not. Because when I when I came w my my approach in twenty four was I was stuck on the low performance goofs. Okay. I I I was stuck there 'cause I I didn't understand it, you know. I really didn't. I understand it now, mm-hmm. But but then I didn't. I think we can move I think we can we can move But I I think do you have heard this concept called Ling Six Sigma? Six Sigma, yes. Uhhuh. That's a G E thing, I thought. G G E company thing they came up with. No, no, no, Ling Six Sigma. I just remember reading a book in the nineties from Jack Welch, I think, or something like that. All those Six Sigma stuff. It works. Okay. It works. It lean is one concept and the Six Sigma is the other. Okay. Right. Lean helps you to find out in the process what's not working or what is h hindering the process from being as efficient as it can be. The Six Sigma part of that is how you measure it. Mm-hmm. Right. How how you measure it. So I believe that we can move the marker if we took a l a moment to find what they call waste, right? Decrease it. And as we decrease the waste, right, it'll it it increases our proficiency. And this is not one of my questions, but I will say last night at the forum, again, I seem to hear a lot of people talking about the waste, the waste, the waste. And I'm thinking, Is there just some big garbage can that we're throwing money into in our schools? What are these are are these people I you can't speak for other candidates, but is anybody doing the math to say, look, we're maybe we could trim five percent and that would equal this and we can do better with that? I don't feel like it's a f it's rooted in much evidence when we allege we can cut the waste. Do you do you see something that you've seen? And you don't have to say what it is, but have you seen an area that you think we could trim or fix and maybe recover something? I can't speak to it because I haven't analyzed the budget. Right. Crazy answer. You actually are gonna pause to analyze something. Yes, I'm gonna see a history. Right. In order to make an an intelligent And have an intelligent discussion about w where we can trim and where we cannot. So let's have a a very general outlook. So do you think anybody else would have the same answer that's running right now? How about that? See, that's only putting me on the spot. I'm not answering that. No, no, no. See it's okay. You gotta break a few eggs to make this omelet, my friend. I I got you. Jackie. Jackie what? Jackie Brown. She w would be able to speak intelligently about. I just wanna know if anybody would say, Hey, I probably need to look that up. Yeah. I'm not even knowing what they think in math. I'm just worried, like, do they have the wherewithal to say, you know, we probably should dig into this before I'm running my mouth about cutting waste? That's that's the running for office stuff, the BS, the sideshow stuff. It sounds good. Who doesn't trust their government or who doesn't think that their government's spending their money right? But is it true and how much? I I had a question thrown at me about budget. Okay. And they asked me. Chantis remember I don't remember the exact question. I know it's on the budget. Okay. And it was it it was geared toward supporting that the b the budget had not been handled properly. Okay. And I told him, I can't answer question. Well, that's a hell of an allegation. Yeah. I I can't answer that question. See, that's the thing. These are all very they're very large accusations to say that there's mismanagement, there's this, there's that. Just because things are not like it was when you were in school, that's another one of my pet peeves with a campaign for school board is well back when we were in school we did yeah, well that was like they had horse and buggies back then. Like I dude, it's twenty twenty six. These kids don't care. Like you know you know I they do, but I mean it's they don't care about the same things or the same way. They're different kids. Right. but yeah, it's a hell of an allegation that a lot of people make and I just feel like it's it's a cheap shot for vote. It's it's a cheap shot. You know, in order for you to say that a dollar was mismanaged, you must There must been have been a plan that said I'm going to allocate a certain number of dollars in this area and it wasn't. That's mismanagement. No. Or you they saw a need and they bypassed the need and put money in a place where the return on it was were was not as good. Mismanagement. And we say return, but we're not talking about Fortune 500 stocks. We're talking about performance of the kids. Performance of the kids. Right. And that's that's the that's the payoff. That's the only payoff. Yeah, that's the that's the only payoff. That's only payoff. So let's see here. No, vouchers, I'm not gonna ask you about that. We already covered that. You s you did mention chronic absenteeism wasn't getting enough attention. when a child misses a month of school, whose job is it to get them back? The schools or the parents? That's a loaded question. And I'll share with you why. Unload it. It's okay. Ten is the limit. And it's ten is the limit. Ten ten days. Ten ten missed days. Okay. Is is where they said that there is a real chronic problem. Sure. You know, that's is it consecutive or just ten on a time? Just ten, period. Ten is ten is the number. However you get there. Right. But at two and three, they actually are Reaching out Okay to So we do have some systems. Yes, they're actually reaching out. Okay. Okay. Making phone calls, asking things of that nature. Okay. My my challenge with absenteeism is not what I see in terms of the chair being empty, but understanding why the chair is empty. Mm-hmm. Right? Why? It it could be transportation. Could be. It could be family issues at home, could be. Mm-hmm. It could be some other issues. But unless you know what the issues are, the real issues are, you're gonna still wake up in the morning, teacher go to the classroom and the seat is gonna be empty. Right? That's for what is known as the safe path, right? Safe path is when everything is going right, when when things are going along in life and it's it's our pattern, we're we're we're used to it. It's a it's the safe path. We can navigate it, right? Child doesn't come to school, we call a parent, parents say she was sick, we didn't check in, we're sorry, safe path. Right? Safe path. Right? For me, it is those that we cannot truly account for, like the homeless. Mm-hmm. The homeless kid. How how do you why is that kid not here? And you c you cannot find a safe path answer to that. You know, the homeless. Well, it's where the Swiss Army knife of our schools have become that we're supposed to be everything to everybody and you're getting into social work. Yes. They have counselors, but we're shorthanded. But how far do we expect the schools to go to bring the children back to school? I believe the answer to that question is very vague, right? because that goes to what does the state owe the student in terms of getting them to school? Right. Right. Well that's a privilege. It is defined as a privilege. The bus drive the buses. The yeah. Those is defined as a privilege. Okay. But when you talk about equal access for each student. Mm-hmm. Right. Are you providing equal access when a student is homeless? Okay. You know what I'm saying? All right. How do you know where to go? How do you know where to pick up? Fair enough. Okay. Right. So when you look at the details, you know, that's where it be it it v it it becomes sad and unmanageable because you can't send a bus everywhere that you might find a homeless child. You can't send a bus to every long stay No, we can't. This is we're not Uber. I mean look, w we have to set it up and parents have to conform a certain distance to make sure that they meet us halfway with the school. Now I don't expect the school's going and sending, you know, like a lift. but absenteeism, so you think there's an element of homelessness definitely an element of homelessness The last part of that term is veto. They have a term for that. For kids being homeless and going to school. It's the last numbers I saw was between seven hundred and nine hundred students. And how many students total do we have in our system, approximately? Forty eight thousand. And those are the ones that they that they track. Right. That's the ones they know about. That's the one they know about. Yeah, right, right. And it's so You can't you can't fix what you can't what you which what you can't manage, you know? Right. so seven to nine hundred kids. And that's interesting because our point in time count of this year in January, when we did try to so every year HUD pays for us to go and inventory the homeless population. And we were year over year, we were down about ninety people. I think it was like four seventy, it went to three three eighty or three ninety this year. Of homeless adults, they're supposed to catch kids, but if you're saying we got seven hundred to nine hundred kids homeless in the schools, we're off by a couple factors of our point in time count. They know that the numbers are off. They they know. Right. And one of them has to do with parents just not admitting that their kids are homeless or the kids not admitting that they're homeless. Right. My first experience with that was with Algebrae Wilkins. Okay. When a walkthrough sh exposed To me, it's been going on for a while, but it opened my eyes. Where kids had the opportunity to come to that school and wash clothes. kids had an opportunity to come grab a meal. Mm-hmm. Well what about during like during COVID? We still we opened up our cafeterias. Yes. So the kids had lunch, something to eat. Something to eat. Yeah. Yeah. So where in education there's the responsibility for the school board when it comes to, you know, a social issue. Mm-hmm. You know? A real social issue. You fight the equal assays. You can't fight your feelings. You have to fight what's on paper. Right. What did you promise me? And are you living up to what you promised? Mm-hmm. That's our battlefield. I it it always it it's heartbreaking to see, you know, the need for social services inside of our school system. But I hope we can catch more of That's all we can do. Work towards it. I I don't think there I don't feel like there's a one size fits all solution that you're gonna bolt onto our school system and you're gonna solve all of our social ills in a four year term or a two year term or a hundred year term. My old German grandmother used to say when she was a girl in Germany, there was always a poor box in church. So we've always been trying to solve the poor box problem, right? Yeah. We're always gonna have the have nots. We're always gonna have people that need help. it just stings differently when we know where we live and the largesse of our community and how much money flows through here. It does make you my s well makes me angry that we have people falling through that want the help. Because you can't leave it you can't make you can't help everybody. You know, cr Christ said the poor will be with you always. Okay. Right. He wasn't necessarily speaking to the financial end of it being poor in spirit. Right. Right. But it translates cardinally very well. Mm-hmm. You know, there will always be poor Among us. Yes. Right. And we no one is exempt from being poor. That's right. It's equal opportunity. guy. You know, he he takes all that willing to come. Mm-hmm. So yes, it's it's sad. but it's it's one of those problems that you would drive yourself crazy trying to solve. Okay. Because you're never gonna solve it. You can decrease it, but you're never gonna solve it. You do the best you can. And that's the thing. I think it it's a conceit to think that I'm gonna sol really. Let's not. Let's step away from that ledge. Let's talk about military kids. Fort Bragg families move every two or three years. What do you think Cumberland County schools get wrong about military kids? What can we do better for them? I think military kids should have a special counselor. Okay. I I I do. A child develops relationships throughout school, right? So the permanent ones are more so in middle school, high school, they develop these relationships, right? And those relationships are are lasting not so much in the person but in the mind. Okay. Right? I miss Susan. You know, Jack and I used to play ball after school, right? But now my dad has the PCS. Mhm. Right? So then I think they need a special type of attention to to get them acclimated and hooked up. Okay. With support. And not necessarily a a a counselor, you know. A counselor maybe just to hear how they feel. Mm-hmm. Right? Or or or get an idea of what they're missing. Right. But I think they need a stronger community around them more quickly. than individuals who are stable. Okay. What about a mentor? See a mentor something for me is long lasting. Okay. The impact starts off really s slow and small. Okay. Right? And then it builds up because the the the job of the mentor is To comfort you in your areas of need, right? Comfort me in my areas of need. And then once I understand those areas of need, see how I can support you until you are no to you l no longer need me. Mm-hmm. Right. But in terms of the military s community, you don't have an answer to that question because you never know when orders are coming in. Right. Yeah. You know, you never know when your dad or your mom Get a school that they have to attend, or training that they have to attend. Or they get orders, okay, up route, you know, we're sending you to another location, another post, right? So that missing gap of family members, that missing gap of the community that they built when they was at their last duty station, right? Is missing. Right? So they have They have if you look at it, take a like a puzzle. Mm-hmm. Right. And if the puzzle is complete, you see the full picture. But it's not true for military kids, right? Because we've we've taken pieces out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're taking pieces out. Well, and look, in my experience, military kids are more resilient than the average k average bear is what I've seen, 'cause they are accustomed to picking up and moving, but that doesn't not that doesn't go for everybody. And not for everybody. You know, it's not. But I have they were some of my favorite friends growing up because they had been places and they'd seen things, and they knew we had it pretty good in this country, especially the ones that have been overseas. but yeah, there's again, the I think a lot of times in the last fifty years, we've depended on the schools to be that Swiss Army knife, be that multi tool, be you know, so many different things to everybody and I hate to always go back to, you know, reading, writing, arithmetic, but let's make sure the basics are a hundred percent taken care of. And then we can we have to readdress some of these social things and whatever. We gotta handle them better. Yes. But we're there to educate first and foremost. We're there to guarantee the sound, basic, ambiguous education. Yes. Foundation based upon a good government and happiness. Okay. Yeah. So well, here's the last one and I'll let you go. If somebody watching agrees with me about almost everything and thinks you're wrong on almost anything, what's the one thing you'd want them to take out of the last half hour we spent together? That's a good one. I th I think the one thing that I would like for them to take out is first of all We should come together on this issue of education. We we are we're all in the same pot. Okay. So who? Teachers and students or the whole community. Okay. No. Why? Because we have parents who are teachers who have kids in school. Mm-hmm. Right. So they they're wearing three and four different hats. Okay. Right? And so we can't dismiss them. Then we have those who are involved who don't have kids in school. Mm-hmm. Right. And they have a right to measure whether their community kids are being educated properly. Okay. Right. So Just understanding that we that this is not an area where your political hat or your political party makes a a a difference. It is not. It should not. It should not, right. Mm-hmm. And that's the goal. Choose something else to be political about, but but not the child that's not the children. Not not the children. And I also would like for them to take away from this discussion that we have is Don't make vague statements that are not supported with data. But they want to vote, Mr. Lee. They do want to vote. Sorry, Dr. Lee. That's okay. Yeah, they do wanna vote, but make an intelligent decision with your vote. Don't make a decision based on your emotions. Cause tomorrow you will feel different. Mm-hmm. Right. and you will if you if if you look long enough, you will find yourself out of the set that makes the decisions. Okay. And you want to be included. But because you were emotional about it, this thing today, but not that thing tomorrow. Mm-hmm. But they're still a community that is emotional about you. You're outside of the set. And then they're not going to consider you. Right? So make an intelligent decision and understand what you're voting for. The school board is a team. It's not an an individual accomplishment arena. It's a team. And you build a team by putting people together that can work together in order to solve a problem or solve problems. No, and in in our case, you're putting together a team that will deliver the promise of North Carolina when it comes to education. Okay. Well, Dr. Lee, thank you. the that's the kind of conversation people keep telling me doesn't happen, but we made it happen here. where do people find you? websites, stuff like that for campaign? I'm on Facebook. Facebook. Right. The Book of Faces. Make the Book of Faces. Okay. I'm there. And my telephone number is available okay through the Board of Election. Call me. On Facebook, what i is it just your name, Jonathan? Okay, J D L okay.com. Yeah, 'cause his name's not traditionally spelled as Jonathan. It's Jonathan almost. Yeah. I was like, Jonathan, who's but it's T H A U N. A U N, yeah. Yeah. You are getting me or my son. Okay. But anyway, look, folks, go look up Dr. Jonathan Lee yourself. Go Google, that's the point. Dr. Lee, the door's always open. You come back after the new board's first meeting in December, win or lose, and tell us what you do first. And with that, everybody watching, thank you for joining. You can find everything on the Carolinacabinet.com or our Facebook page, the Carolina Cabinet, with all of our links and all that fancy stuff. So with that, you all have a good afternoon. Dr. Lee, thank you for being here. Thank you. It's been a pleasure. Talk to y'all soon. Thank you.