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January 27, 2003
The Catawba
County Board of Education held its two-day Board Retreat on January
27-28, 2003 at the County Schools’ Administration
Building
with Chairman Charlie Wyant presiding. The following members were
present: Mr. Biggerstaff, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Sherrill, Mr. Scott, Mrs.
Butler and Mr. Sigmon. Also in attendance were Superintendent Hart,
Assistant Superintendents Stephen Hilton and Joyce Spencer, Attorney
Cynthia Grady, Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe, Technology Director Terry
Bledsoe, Public Information/Grants Writer Sonya Gordon, Maintenance
Director Mark Bumgarner and Construction Coordinator Ernest Williams.
Other Central Office staff members attended various portions of the
meeting including Principal DeAnna Taylor and parents from
St. Stephens High
School.
Patrick
Crotty represented the Observer News Enterprise. Also in
attendance was Kim Gilliland representing the Hickory Daily Record.
The meeting
opened with a Moment of Silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led
by Mr. Biggerstaff.
Board
members and staff members toured the newly remodeled Central Office
Annex, formerly the old Ridgeview Property. Purchasing Agent Craig
Garner and Testing and Accountability Director Joe Famulary conducted a
tour of the Annex while informing members of their daily activities.
After
arriving back at the Central Office, Chairman Wyant reconvened the
meeting. He thanked the Maintenance Department for their hard work with
the renovations of the Annex.
The
2003-2004 Proposed Budget was the first item on the agenda. A copy of
the Current Expense and Capital Outlay Budget Request notebook was given
to members prior to the meeting for review. The notebook consisted of:
Budget Message, Local Current Expense Budget, Current Expense Expansion
Requests, Proposed Capital Outlay Category I Requests, and Proposed
Capital Outlay Category II Requests. Superintendent Hart emphasized
that the school district’s Strategic Plan remains the filter for all
budgetary decisions. Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe thoroughly explained
the Local Current Expense Budget which included 3% salary increases, 15%
hospitalization increase with retirement maintaining the same matching
rate. She explained that the proposed budget would be adjusted once
official notification was received from the General Assembly. Other
changes included inflationary increases. The proposed budget includes
an overall increase of about $500,000 with the base budget totaling
$20,275,850. Superintendent Hart extended thanks to Mrs. Wolfe for her
diligent work. Each month, Mrs. Wolfe produces a monthly budget report
which she and Superintendent Hart reviews.
Superintendent Hart delivered her Budget Message to the Board. The
Current Expense Expansion Requests were then reviewed allowing time for
discussion and/or questions from members. Proposed Capital Outlay
Category I and Category II Requests were discussed. Technology requests
were addressed. An additional topic that was addressed was asbestos
removal. After discussion, the consensus of the Board was to increase
the asbestos removal amount to $100,000 in the proposed budget. The
Public Hearing on the Proposed Budget 2003-2004 will be held on February
10, 2003. The budget will then be on the agenda at the February 24,
2003 meeting for final approval.
The next
item on the agenda was the review of the Eight Year Long Range Facility
Plan that was adopted by the Board of Education in August 2002. Members
received copies of the Long Range Facility Plan, Construction Projects
1986-2001 and Long Range Plan 2001-2006, and a copy of a School Capacity
Chart that is received each month from County
Planning.
Assistant Superintendent Hilton discussed these documents. He also
presented small area boundaries with schools and density recommendations
chart to members. Superintendent Hart asked the Board to look at the
priority order of needs and opened the floor for any suggested
adjustments to current plan. Mrs. Blackburn emphasized that our current
plan is in line and the other members agreed with her. The current plan
will remain as is and will be revisited in August.
Construction
Coordinator Ernest Williams presented the systematic plans for St.
Stephens High School. Superintendent Hart commended Mr. Williams for
his work with the plans. Mr. Robert Smith from CBSA was also in
attendance at the meeting. Mr. Williams met with members from the
school regarding their needs in order to prioritize the facility needs.
He then walked through the facility needs asking for any questions from
members. A proposed construction schedule with estimated construction
cost and available funding was presented. Additional funding will be
available pending the sale of the old St. Stephens Elementary School
property. After the presentation, a motion was made by Mrs. Sherrill
to approve the schematic designs for St. Stephens High School. Mrs.
Butler seconded the motion with no opposition.
There being
no other items of business to be conducted, Chairman Wyant declared the
meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m. to reconvene tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
Superintendent Hart reminded members of tonight’s Advisory Council
Dinner Meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m.
at the Holiday Inn Select.
Respectfully submitted,
______________________________
Charlie C. Wyant, Chairman
______________________________
Ann Y. Hart, Secretary
January 28, 2003
The Catawba
County Board of Education began day two of the Board Retreat on January
28, 2003 at the County Schools’ Administration
Building
with Chairman Charlie Wyant presiding. The following members were
present: Mr. Biggerstaff, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Sherrill, Mr. Scott,
Mrs. Butler and Mr. Sigmon. Also in attendance were Superintendent
Hart, Assistant Superintendents Stephen Hilton and Joyce Spencer,
Attorney Cynthia Grady, Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe, Technology
Director Terry Bledsoe and Public Information/Grants Writer Sonya
Gordon. Other Central Office staff members attended various portions of
the meeting.
The meeting
opened with a Moment of Silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led
by Mrs. Blackburn.
Technology Director
Terry Bledsoe presented to the Board information regarding the State
Report Card. Governor Easley introduced the State Report Card that
allows systems to compare themselves with other systems across the
state. The release of the report card will be February 20, 2003. Data
that is found on the report card is last school year’s data that was
collected by the Accountability Department throughout the school year.
Mr. Bledsoe distributed handouts to members and presented a power point
presentation about the report card. Formats of the report card
include: Printable School “Snapshot” Report Card; Web-based School
Report Card; Web-based District Report Card; and Sample State Report
Card. Indicators included on the report card are: School Profile; High
Student Performance; Safe, Orderly and Caring
Schools;
and Quality Teachers. Mr. Bledsoe emphasized the importance of making
parents aware of the report card being located on the web page. Any
questions regarding the State Report Card, contact Mr. Bledsoe or Mr.
Famulary.
The next item on the
agenda was the discussion of the procedures to follow when choosing a
school attorney. Attorney Cynthia Grady led the discussion. She
distributed a handout containing information with questions and answers
such as: Does the School Board need attorneys?; Is there authority to
hire attorneys?; What model for delivery of legal services does the
Board want?; What are some of the areas of legal services needed?; What
if the Board’s insurance carrier provides a lawyer?; Who does the School
Attorney represent?; the Selection Process; and Who will conduct the
process? Other items for consideration when choosing a school attorney
included the advertising process, setting a deadline for applications
and who would coordinate the process. Attorney Grady distributed a
handout that reviewed legal services to members and opened the floor for
discussion and/or questions. Members felt that advertising would be the
best route to see what kind of response they may receive. There was
some discussion regarding the length of contract for an attorney. The
current board policy states one year. Members decided to add this item
of business to the regular meeting agenda for consideration of waiving
of the length of contract for an attorney. The revised proposal for
legal services including members’ suggestions will be brought back at
the next meeting. Advertising for a school attorney will then begin.
The last item on the
agenda was the presentation of the New Audit Process. Roger Bowman and
Melanie Starr with Bowman, Pegg & Starr, CPA’s distributed handouts
containing comparative balances with the previous year. These handouts
included: General Fund Comparative Balance Sheet; General Fund
Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balance; All
Special Revenue Funds Combining Balance Sheet; All Special Revenue Funds
Combining Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund
Balance; State Public School Fund Statement of Revenues, Expenditures,
and Changes in Fund Balance; Federal Grants Fund Statement of Revenues,
Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balance; Capital Project Fund
Comparative Balance Sheet; Capital Project Fund Statement of Revenues,
Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balance; Food Service Fund Comparative
Balance Sheet; School Food Services Fund Schedule of Revenues and
Expenditures; Expendable Trust Fund Combining Balance Sheet; and,
Expendable Trust Fund Combining Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and
Changes in Fund Balance. The implementation of the GASB 34 requirements
impacted reporting statements. The intent of the new requirements was
to make governmental agencies’ financial statements look like business
statements. Mr. Bowman and Ms. Starr provided an in-depth power point
presentation of the audit explaining the new standards. Ms. Starr
emphasized that this was a new concept for all accounting firms to
follow nationwide and this was a learning process for all involved.
Modifications may be made as need be. Chairman Wyant thanked Finance
Officer Sondra Wolfe, the staff from her department and Mr. Bowman and
Ms. Starr for their outstanding work.
Upon the completion of
the audit process presentation, a motion was made by Mrs. Sherrill to
adjourn. Mr. Biggerstaff seconded the motion with no opposition.
Chairman Wyant adjourned day two of the Retreat at 4:05 p.m. The
regular Board of Education meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
______________________________
Charlie C. Wyant, Chairman
______________________________
Ann Y. Hart, Secretary
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