MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SCHOOL BOARD CITY OF CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA February 26, 2018 A meeting of the School Board of the City of Chesapeake, Virginia, was held on Monday, February 26, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the School Administration Building. Mr. C. Jeff Bunn, Chairman, presided. The Call to Order Mr. Bunn called the meeting to order. He welcomed visitors to the meeting and informed them that a printed agenda for the meeting was available. Roll Call Dr. Jean Infantino called the roll and recorded attendance as follows: Present: Mrs. Colleen C. Leary Mr. Thomas L. Mercer, Sr. Mr. Harry A. Murphy Mrs. Christie New Craig Mr. Louis J. Tayon, Jr. Mr. Michael J. Woods Mrs. Victoria L. Proffitt, Vice Chairman Mr. C. Jeff Bunn, Chairman Absent: Mr. Samuel L. Boone, Jr. Also present were Dr. James T. Roberts, Superintendent; Dr. Jacqueline C. Miller, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services; Dr. Anita B. James, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction; Ms. Victoria Lucente, Assistant Superintendent for Budget and Finance; Ms. J. Paige Stutz, Assistant Superintendent for Operations; Dr. Alan L. Vaughan, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and School Services; Dr. Jean A. Infantino, Executive Director of Administrative Services/Clerk of the Board; Mr. Robert J. Barry, Attorney; and Mrs. Darlene Gorman, Deputy Clerk of the Board. Adoption of the Agenda Dr. Roberts had no amendments to the agenda but needed a closed session for one pupil matter, one legal matter, three real estate matters, and two personnel matters. Mrs. Proffitt moved to approve the agenda as presented. Mrs. New Craig seconded the motion, which passed with all members present voting in favor of the motion. 6128
Closed Session Mr. Bunn asked Mr. Barry to prepare the language for the Board to go into closed session. Mr. Barry stated that the motion should read as follows: The Board should convene in closed session pursuant to Section 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia, for consideration of one pupil matter, one legal matter, three real estate matters, and two personnel matters. Mrs. Proffitt moved that the Board go into closed session as provided in the Code of Virginia. The motion was seconded by Mrs. New Craig and approved with all Board members present voting yes. Reconvene in Open Meeting The meeting reconvened in open session. Mrs. Proffitt moved that the record show the only items discussed in the closed meeting were those specifically cited in the motion to convene into closed session. Mr. Murphy seconded the motion, which passed with all Board members voting in favor of the motion. Items Resulting from Closed Session The Superintendent recommended the expulsion of Student #1 under the conditions discussed. Mrs. New Craig moved to approve the recommendation. The motion was seconded by Mr. Murphy and passed with all Board members present voting in favor of the motion. Mrs. Leary moved that (1) the petition of our superintendent asking that the School Board recommend the revocation of the teaching license of the person discussed in closed session be approved and (2) that notice of such recommendation be sent to the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction within 14 calendar days. The motion was seconded by Mr. Tayon and passed with all Board members present voting in favor of the motion. Moment of Silence/Pledge of Allegiance A moment of silence was observed and Jaden Dabbs, a fifth grader at Cedar Road Elementary School, led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Clerk s Items Dr. Infantino introduced Mr. Reese Jackson, President and CEO of Chesapeake Regional Healthcare and Mr. Matt Houck, Youth Market Director with the American Heart Association, who partnered in support of our division to expand training for our teachers in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). 6129
Public Hearing Superintendent s Proposed Operating, Categorical, and Special Funds Budgets, 2018-2019: No citizens spoke on this topic. Hearing of Citizens Maggie Mae Young, 1508 Skylark Court, Chesapeake, VA 23321, spoke about school safety. Reagan Young, 1508 Skylark Court, Chesapeake, VA 23321, spoke about school safety. Mrs. Becky Amos, 181 Green Cable Way, Chesapeake, VA 23322, spoke about keeping our schools safe and how parents can help. Unfinished Business Proposed School Calendar, 2018-2019--Update: Dr. Roberts encouraged citizens and employees to take the online survey that is available on the division s web site through Friday, March 16, 2018. Dr. Roberts mentioned that bills before the General Assembly regarding the ability to start school prior to Labor Day are gone for this year but there is hope they will be back again next year. Instructional Presentation--School Improvement Plan: A Memorandum of Understanding between Chesapeake Public Schools and the Virginia Department of Education requires the division to provide monthly school improvement reports to the School Board. Dr. Roberts introduced Dr. Anita James, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, who introduced Mr. Robert Sander, principal of Camelot Elementary School, who gave an update to the Board on the implementation of the Corrective Action Plan for Camelot Elementary School. Some of the corrective actions implemented were cultivating positive relationships, conducting daily classroom visits, implementing Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), assessment analysis, continuous review of progress, the use of technology to enhance reading and math programs, and data collection. Mr. Sander also highlighted improvements in Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) and compared on-level grade improvements Camelot Elementary School has made from September 2017 to January 2018. Mr. Bunn congratulated Mr. Sander and his staff for making a difference in the lives of all the students at Camelot Elementary School and thanked him and his staff for all of their hard work. Legislative Update: Dr. Infantino reported the action taken on many bills before the General Assembly during this session. Highlights of all the bills were included in the School Board packet along with a complete legislative update from our lobbyists. 6130
Superintendent s Proposed Operating, Categorical, and Special Funds Budgets, 2018-2019 Work Session: Dr. Roberts gave an update on the projected revenue implications for the House and Senate budgets with general assumptions about the impact on our state funding. There is no money from the state for salary increases in either of the budgets for next year. The House did change the date of the proposed 2% raise from 12/1/19 to 7/1/19. Dr. Roberts is hopeful our division will be able to provide teacher raises for the next two years. The House did not provide any per pupil amount increase for the Virginia Preschool Initiative but the Senate provided $375 per pupil which is good news except it will cost our division money as we have to provide a match of 34%. He reviewed the lottery supplanting for the general fund in the House at $80.4M but, the Senate took the projected increase in lottery funds for next year and increased the supplanting money by $17M to $97.9M, which is not a good thing for us. However, in the House increases were included and in the year 2020 we will be back to the 40% which is good news for our division, but 60% of the lottery money is still being used to supplant the general fund. He noted that the Senate has decided to eliminate any state funding for school board members. The Senate budget also reduced school breakfast money by $4.5M and phased out Project Graduation money. He also reviewed the House and Senate budget for At-Risk funding. Dr. Roberts mentioned some other items in the budget that may not be directly related to us but are worth mentioning such as no budget amendments to revive support position funding, classified employees for the state will receive a 2% bonus on 12/1/2018 if revenues reach a certain level, and state classified employees will receive an additional 2% raise on 7/1/2019 just like teachers and school division employees, with a 1% merit salary adjustment on the same date. He also reviewed funding for state employee health insurance in the Governor s, House, and Senate budgets. The superintendent hopes to provide more detailed numbers from those budgets at the next Board meeting on March 12 when the Board takes potential action on our budget. City Council will adopt their budget on May 15, 2018, and the Board will take final action on our budget at the May 24, 2018, meeting. Mr. Murphy thanked Dr. Roberts for the information regarding the cost of raising bus drivers salaries by $1.00 an hour. He hopes to speak more about this at the next Board meeting. Dr. Roberts said his staff is looking at offering significant supplements for drivers who would agree to do double-back bus runs on a daily basis. New Business The Chairman and Vice-Chairman presented a resolution for consideration recognizing Dr. Jean Infantino, Executive Director of Administrative Services/Clerk of the Board and Mrs. Darlene Gorman, Deputy Clerk of the Board, during School Board Clerk Appreciation Week. A motion was made by Mrs. New Craig and seconded by Mrs. Leary to approve the resolution. The motion passed with all Board members present voting in favor of the motion. A copy of the resolution is included in the minutes on page 6134. 6131
Consent Agenda The chairman requested approval of the consent agenda. Items included the following: A. Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting B. Bids C. Proposed Revisions to School Board Policy P 9-20 - Student Behavior - Second Reading and Final Action D. Proposed Revisions to School Board Policy P 9-21 - Suspension and Expulsion - Second Reading and Final Action E. Department of Human Resources - Personnel Report Mr. Mercer moved to approve the Consent Agenda and the motion was seconded by Mr. Murphy. The motion passed with all Board members present voting in favor of the motion. Monthly Financial Report Ms. Lucente presented the interim financial report for the period ending January 2018. This report was provided in BoardDocs. She stated that we are expecting a small revenue surplus mainly tied to the increase in enrollment. All expenditures continue to be monitored. Superintendent s Report The Superintendent made the following announcements: 1. Dr. Roberts noted that on March 22, 2018, the Board was scheduled to have a planning meeting. However, that meeting has changed from a planning meeting to a work session to hire a new superintendent. 2. Mayor s Youth Day is Wednesday, February 28, 2018. 3. Next week (March 5-9, 2018) has been designated as School Breakfast Week. He stated his appreciation for all those who serve breakfast in our schools. 2016-2017 Chesapeake Public Schools Audited Financial Report: A spokesperson from the firm of Cherry Bekaert gave a presentation regarding the June 2017 audit. She was happy they did not have any matters that were reported and the division had an unmodified opinion. Board Member Items Mrs. Leary offered kudos to the young girls who spoke at the meeting, along with Mrs. Amos regarding school safety. She stated that all Board members are concerned about the safety of our students and staff. She was happy to hear that Dr. Roberts and his staff were being proactive and currently working with the fire and police departments. She asked Dr. Roberts to look into ways to improve security in our portable classrooms. 6132
Mr. Mercer stated that he received a message from Pastor Mike Plasters who was stranded on Moses Grandy Parkway with a flat tire and that was why he was unable to give the invocation at the meeting. Mr. Tayon thanked Dr. Roberts and the twelve other superintendents in the Hampton Roads area for the very informative letter sent to all parents regarding school safety. Mr. Tayon reminded parents to monitor their children s activities and internet work and also to report anything that might appear suspicious. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:16 p.m. Jean A. Infantino, Ed.D., Clerk C. Jeff Bunn, Chairman 6133
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