Minutes MARLBORO COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT Marlboro County High School Media Center Monday February 3, :00 P.M.

Transcription

1 Minutes MARLBORO COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT Marlboro County High School Media Center Monday February 3, :00 P.M. Present: Absent: Ms. Lucy Parsons, Chair Ms. Nan Fleming, Secretary Mr. Jackie Branch Mr. Robert Goff Mr. Michael Coachman Mrs. Janice Bright Mrs. Valerie McClain Mrs. Barbara Ohanesian Deborah Peterkin, Vice Chair A. Call to Order: The Chairman called the meeting to order at approximately 6:05 p.m. B. Invocation: The invocation was given by Mr. Branch C. Approval of Agenda: Upon a motion by Mr. Coachman, seconded by Mr. Branch the Board unanimously approved the agenda as written. D. Notification of News Media: In accordance with the S.C. Code of laws, Section (d), as amended, the following were notified of the time, date, place and agenda for the meeting: Marlboro Herald-Advocate, WBSC, The Cheraw Chronicle, WCRE, WJSG-FM, Northland Cable, The Laurinburg Exchange, The Morning News, The Community Times, WEGX-FM, WLMC, WEWO/WAZZ and Chesterfield County Shopper. Recognitions Cleanliness Award: Dr. Henry Cobb, Executive Director of Human Resources presented the school cleanliness awards to the District Office and Clio Elementary Middle School Scholastic Award: Dr. Henry Cobb, Executive Director of Human Resources recognized Dr. Helena Tillar, Superintendent and Teresa Battle, Executive Director for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, for an award the district received from the company Scholastic for its focus on reading. E. New Business Open Session: Approval of the Minutes: Upon a motion by Ms. Fleming, seconded by Mrs. Bright, the Board (7-2) approved the minutes of January 6, 2014, approving were Ms. Fleming, Mr. Branch, Ms. Peterkin, Mr. Goff, Mr. Coachman Mrs. Bright and Mrs. McClain. Mrs. Ohanasian and Ms. Parsons opposed. Ms. Parsons requested that the minutes of January 6, 2014 be deferred until the lengthy discussion of this meeting is included into the minutes. The majority of the board did not agree and approved the minutes as they were written. Upon a motion by Mr. Coachman, seconded by Mrs. Ohanesian the board unanimously approved the minutes of January 21, 2014 as written. 1

2 Individuals or Groups Who Wish to Appear before the Board: Mr. Colin Abraham spoke on behalf of the Hartsville-based firm CMA Services, Inc., which provides contract janitorial, security and other services, about his desire to do business with the school district. Mr. John Scism, local contractor and owner of Scism Construction Co. stated he had a bid on the Blenheim School project but was not the low bidder. He later submitted a request under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for information about what the low bid included but did not receive a written response. Dr. Helena Tillar, Superintendent apologized and said she would see that he received the appropriate response. Individual Items from the Members of the School Board: District Response to FOIA and Request: Ms. Parsons inquired about a (FOIA) that was requested by an individual via . After research to the unanswered request, Mr. Park explained the request was blocked by district spam. He has since responded to the individuals request and suggested anyone sending request via should call to follow up that he is in receipt due to the districts technological protection. District Credit Cards: Ms. Parsons inquired about the limit on district credit cards, Mr. Wes Park, Chief Financial Officer reported that the board had authorized district credit cards in 2010 and that these cards have a total debt limit of $650,000 which was determined by Bank of America based on annual spending of about $10 million. He said the use of these credit cards does not circumvent the district s procurement policy, specifically addressing an expenditure of more than $300,000 that had come into question, which was for the purchase of reading programs. FOIA-SC Code of Law title 30, School Policy Manual, Roberts Rule of Order: There was a brief discussion of our district policy being in compliance with state policy. Preparation of Agendas: Ms. Parsons, Board Chair raised the issue that the board s policy manual calls for the regular monthly meeting agenda to be set by the superintendent and board chair. Ms. Parsons said other board members sit in on these meetings. There was discussion between board members on how the agendas should be prepared. The school district s attorney, Mr. Dave Duff was in attendance and gave an opinion, saying he did not believe the policy as written prohibits other board members from attending the agenda meetings. There were no changes made in the current way the agendas are set. Censure: Ms. Parsons asked board member Michael Coachman to clarify some of the allegations he made in a motion to censure her, which the board approved in the December meeting, Mr. Coachman refused. Board Workshop: Upon a motion by Ms. Fleming, seconded by Mr. Coachman the Board unanimously voted to have a workshop on February 17, 2014 with a discussion on Board Policy JICFAA - Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying Finance: Financial Report as of January 22, 2014: Wes Park, Chief Financial Officer presented the financial statement as of January 22, The district s cash and investment balances on hand for the four primary operating accounts were $4,169,985. The district has expended $14,856,343 of a $29,241,319 budget or 30.81% of budget. Preliminary Budget Observations FY : Wes Park, Chief Financial Officer presented an overview of the Preliminary Budget stating the budget process is underway. The Board of Trustees has approved the budget calendar. Preliminary staffing analysis is being performed at all locations. Principals and other location managers have received a staff listing for their review and 2

3 consideration for the upcoming budget year. The Human Resource office has distributed recommendation forms to Principals and location managers for certified and classified staff. As indicated in the budget schedule, recommendations for certified staff listing will be provided to the board in March with approval at the April meeting. Administrative recommendations and approval will take place at the May meeting. Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Spelling Bee: Mrs. Dannie Blair, Director of K-5 Curriculum recognized the winners of the district s recent Spelling Bee, who will now move on to a regional competition at Francis Marion University. Focus on Reading: Ms. Teresa Battle, Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment talked about the district s focus on reading, including a report that a grant has provided $70,000 worth of books to classrooms and will provide even more for media centers throughout the district. Ms. Battle also reported on a K-2 summer reading initiative through which 356 students read 3,306 books, and recognized the winners in this program. SC Longitudinal Information Center for Public Education (SLICE) Public Portal: Ms. Battle gave the board members a handout and talked about public portal created by the S.C. Longitudinal Information Center for Public Education (SLICE) that allows the public easy access to testing data for schools and school districts. Human Resources: Recruitment Schedule: Dr. Henry Cobb, Executive Director of Public Information and Human Resources gave the board a copy of the Recruitment Activities by Location. District Calendar Update: Dr. Henry Cobb, Executive Director of Public Information and Human Resources gave an update on the progress of the District Calendar for school year and explained the process of preparing the calendar. He said it should be ready for 1 st reading at the March board meeting. Cerra South Carolina: Dr. Henry Cobb, Executive Director of Public Information and Human Resources shared a letter received from (Cerra) The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement located on the campus of Winthrop University, is the oldest and most established teacher recruitment program in the country. He gave an overview of the letter which helped explain why we have such difficulty recruiting teachers. Year Round School Surveys: Mrs. Barbara McCall, Director of Human Resources presented a preliminary report on how receptive district employees would be to year round school. Certified and non-certified staff at every school in the district were surveyed about whether they would like to see year-round school, and Yes votes outnumbered No votes at every school except Marlboro County High School (results for Bennettsville Intermediate were not available). Students and parents have not been surveyed as of yet. A more detailed report on the staff survey will be presented at the board s March meeting. AdvancED: Dr. Henry Cobb, Executive Director of Public Information and Human Resources stated the Accreditation Progress Report (APR) is a critical component of the AdvancED accreditation process. It engages the district/system in a detailed review and analysis of the steps it has taken to address the required actions made by the AdvancED Quality Assurance Review (QAR) team. It is the responsibility of the district/system to address each of the QAR report s required actions within the 5-year term accreditation. The APR is organized around the required actions in the district/system s QAR team report. The APR lists the required action from the report along with the rationale and evidence supporting the required action. The district/system then indicates the progress that it has made toward meeting the 3

4 required action and provides a more detailed response describing the actions it has taken and the results obtained. The district/system provides a response for each of the QAR team required actions. Administration/Student Services: Student Field Trips: Upon a motion by Mr. Coachman, seconded by Mrs. Bright the Board unanimously approved the 4 field trips. (MCHS) Band Trip to the South Carolina Band Directors Honor Band Clinic, nine students will travel to Cane Bay High School in Summerville, SC on February 21-22, Travel will be by activity bus. There will be 2 adult chaperones, Mr. Carl Sinkler, Director (MCHS) and Mr. Patrick Davis, Director (SOD). The cost of the trip will be $ (MCHS) 100 sophomore students will travel to Washington, DC. The dates will be May 6-9, Travel will be by chartered bus. There will be 10 adult chaperones. The cost of the trip will be $54,600. All expenses will be covered by student contributions and fundraisers. (MCHS) (DECA) trip to Charleston, SC, 14 students will travel to the Distributive Education Clubs of America State Leadership Conference in Charleston, SC February 28-March1, Travel will be by activity bus. There will be 3 adult chaperones. Total cost of the trip will be $ All expenses will be covered by the Career and Technology Perkins Grant Funding. (MCHS) Wrestling Team Trip to the AAA Lower State Tournament in Murrells Inlet, SC There will be 12 students and 2 adult chaperones. The cost of the trip will be approximately $ All expenses will be covered by the Athletic Booster Club and the Wrestling athletic account. Update on Small Projects Timeline: Dr. Rippin McLeod, Deputy Superintendent reported that Coach Boyd was scheduled to meet with Richard Jackson; Civil Engineer regarding the football field and field house drainage, the meeting was scheduled for Friday, January 31 but due to inclement weather the meeting has been rescheduled. Blenheim Fields Ms. Peterkin, Mr. Branch and Mr. Goff met regarding the fields, the outcome of that meeting is we re waiting on DHEC to tell us that the corner lot is suitable for use. Jumper, Carter and Sease is waiting on the results from the next meeting with DHEC. Baseball/Softball Complex: Bids will be received by this weeks end, Thompson Turner Construction should have all numbers by the middle of next week. Pending Board approval we anticipate work starting around mid-february. Work will likely not be completed until the end of June or first of July Dr. McLeod reported two water leaks at the building on the lake, and drainage problems at Bennettsville Primary School. These problems have been repaired. Superintendent s Report Dr. Tillar, Superintendent reported that four new activity buses purchased by the district were delivered on January 31, The Community Forum that was held January 22 nd in Wallace to show preliminary sketches of the new school was a huge success. The district has received a Gates Freedom Schools Teacher Institute Grant which will allow for professional development for teachers. The Institute prepares teaches to use innovative methods in the area of Literacy and English Language Arts to close the achievement gap. The participating districts will share $400,000 in funding for professional development. Ms. Sandra Wydiako, (MCHS Chorus Instructor), members of the chorus, members of the gold rush dancers and other student volunteers are to be commended for this years Annual Legends Past, Present and Future Program. F. Executive Session Upon a motion by Mr. Goff, seconded by Mrs. Bright the Board unanimously entered into executive session to discuss: 4

5 Personnel Matters Hiring Contractual Matters SFL&A Update Open Session Upon a motion by Mr. Goff seconded by Mr. Branch the Board reconvened in open session. No Action Taken on Executive Session Items Upon a motion by Mr. Goff seconded by Mrs. Bright the Board unanimously approved one Election. Election Robert Blackwell Teacher - BEMS Adjournment: Upon a motion by Mr. Coachman, seconded by Mrs. Ohanesian the Board unanimously adjourned the meeting at approximately 8:55 p.m. APPROVED: Lucy Parsons, Chairman Nan Fleming, Secretary 5