Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Members Present: Rita Hunter (vice chair), Carl Powe, Carl Telford (chair), Cathy Breazeale, Angela Brown, Chekeia Hunt, Eric McCullough, Amy Gomez, Tajae Smith, Rosalind Moss, Tomeika Bennett
Members Absent: Jesla Hendrix, Terail Dorn, Diamond Neal, Thomasina Watson, Z'Quoia Blassingame, Harriett Hunt, Neco Hester, Mikya Cowan, Cheyenne Beasley, Jordan Machen, Bobby Allison
Excused: Bryon Martinez, Teneie Mathis
The meeting was called to order by Carl Telford, Chair. A quorum was met.
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes from the April 14, 2026 meeting were reviewed by the Policy Council (See Attachment). After discussion, Rosalind Moss made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Carl Powe seconded the motion. Motion carried.
The meeting opened with Carl Telford wanting to restructure the agenda to focus on establishing a personnel committee. Patrice Hawthorne reminded the council that at the April 14th Policy Council meeting, the council made a motion and seconded the motion that if no members expressed interest in serving on the Personnel Committee by the established deadline, the committee would be dissolved and removed from the by-laws. She informed the council that no responses or volunteer interest were received by the deadline provided.
After the deadline had expired and the agreed-upon timeframe had passed, Mr. Carl Telford continued with wanting to table the establishment of a personnel committee he continued to raise the issue and stated that he had received the names of individuals interested in serving on the committee. Patrice reminded the council that a motion had already been made and approved that if no responses were received by the deadline, the Personnel Committee would be removed from the by-laws. Patrice further clarified that the council’s prior agreement and approved motion were based on the original deadline established by the council. Melissa presented the names of the new hires and approval was needed by the council.
Approval of Personnel Report:
The personnel report was then presented by Tara Cannon, Director of Human Resources and Melissa Botsoe, Information Coordinator II. All Prospective New Employees have been interviewed and are recommended for employment with our program. All applicants are subject to a Background Investigation as mandated by the S.C. Department of Social Services. This includes State and Federal Background Investigations and the Child Registry Search to determine if any abuse or neglect has been made against a child, and Pre-employment Drug Screenings. We will also conduct reference checks on all prospective new employees. Appointments are conditional upon receiving satisfactory references, state and federal background investigation. Each full-time employee must serve a three-month introductory probationary period before obtaining regular appointment status. Substitutes are on an as-needed basis. Two prospective new employees were presented (See below). There was no termination report.
Alana Lester — Program: Head Start; Position: Kitchen Supervisor; Location: Greenville Main Office
Education Credentials: High School Diploma. She is a former SHARE Head Start employee. She has 9 years of experience working at SHARE Head Start as a Cook & Kitchen Supervisor.
Aubrey McDonald — Program: Head Start; Position: Cook; Location: Willis H. Crosby
Education Credentials: High School Diploma. He has 20+ years of experience working as a Cook at Tri-County Technical College.
After discussion, Tajae Smith made a motion to approve the personnel report as presented. Rosalind Moss seconded. Motion carried.
Director’s Report:
The Director’s Report was provided by Ms. Vaughn, Director of Children & Family Development. She updated the council on a delayed change of scope approval from the Office of Head Start, which could take 6-9 months instead of the typical 3-4 months due to federal delays. The program's enrollment rates were discussed, with Head Start at 92.6% and Early Head Start at 97.6%, both still below the required 97% threshold. Ms. Vaughn reported on abuse and neglect policy revisions following an incident. She will meet with Training and Technical Assistance to revise the abuse and neglect reporting policy, and present the updated policy to the council for approval at the next meeting. Ms. Vaughn discussed exploring new in-kind tracking software options such as the Learning Genie which will cost $15,000 annually which exceeds our budget. Ms. Vaughn also addressed the importance of completing self-assessments before the end of June and reminded policy council to participate on teams which they were assigned. Patrice Hawthorne highlighted successful family engagement activities, including a science fair at Pleasant Valley Center and a fatherhood conference that provided valuable resources and training for participants. She discussed strategies to increase parent engagement, including organizing larger-scale activities and a science fair to encourage parent participation. We will create a flyer to inform parents about program funding costs and plans for training family advocates on how to communicate this information effectively. Patrice also proposed discussing the importance of parent participation with center managers and suggested using QR codes on materials to provide easy access to program information. After discussion, Rosalind Moss made a motion to approve the director’s report as presented. Carl Powe seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Budget Revision:
Ms. Vaughn explained the need for a budget revision to fund camera system upgrades at 8 remaining centers for $117,000, as the current systems are outdated and in poor condition. After discussion, Tajae Smith made a motion to approve the need for a budget revision to purchase camera system upgrades at the 8 remaining centers. Angela Brown seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Budget Review:
The budget review was presented by Shannon Vaughn, in the absence of Doris Pitchford, Director of Business & Finance. She reported that 83.34% of the fiscal year budget had been expended, with Head Start at 87.92% and Early Head Start at 73.52%. The council received and reviewed the credit card expenditure reports. After discussion, Carl Powe made a motion to approve the budget report as presented. Angela Brown seconded the motion. Motion carried.
No further business, Tajae Smith made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Carl Powe seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Recorded by. Tomeika Bennett, Secretary
Carl Telford, Chair
