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February 10, 2003
The Catawba County Board of Education held a Public Hearing
on the 2003-2004 Proposed Budget on February 10, 2003 at 5:30 p.m. at
the County Schools’ Administrative Building with Chairman Charlie Wyant
presiding. The following members were present: Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs.
Sherrill, Mr. Scott, Mrs. Butler and Mr. Sigmon. Also in attendance
were Superintendent Ann Hart, Assistant Superintendents Stephen Hilton,
Joyce Spencer and Nancy Yount, Attorney Walter Currie, Finance Officer
Sondra Wolfe, Construction Coordinator Ernest Williams and Public
Information/Grants Writer Sonya Gordon. Mr. Biggerstaff was absent from
the meeting.
Patrick Crotty represented the Observer News Enterprise.
The meeting was opened with a Moment of Silence followed by
the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mr. Scott.
The 2003-2004 Proposed Budget was presented and thoroughly
discussed at the January 27, 2003 Retreat. Recommended changes were
made to the proposed budget including an additional increase of $200,000
for asbestos removal. Members received by email the revised proposed
budget and copies were also distributed to the members prior to the
beginning of the Public Hearing.
Public Hearing:
Attorney Walter Currie conducted the Public Hearing phase of
the meeting. He opened the Public Hearing at 5:34 p.m. for any person
present who wished to address the Board concerning the proposed budget.
Since there were no persons present to address the Board, Attorney
Currie declared the Public Hearing closed at 5:35 p.m.
Superintendent Hart informed the Board that
the revised 2003-2004 Proposed Budget would be presented at the next
meeting on Monday, February 24, 2003 for final approval.
Since there was no further discussion
concerning the budget, Mrs. Butler asked for an adjustment to the agenda
to discuss the advertisement for the position of school board attorney.
Mrs. Butler’s discussion included several concerns she had regarding the
information included in the advertisement. She felt that priority to
the Board along with adding language regarding certification of
nondiscrimination should be added to the advertisement. Mrs. Butler
also recommended that fines and forfeitures representation should be
included under other services in the proposal letter for legal
services. An additional recommendation was the advertisement to include
that applicant having a thorough knowledge of Open Meeting laws.
The procedure of receiving applications was
discussed. All applications will be received, duplicated and given to
every member. References will be checked and the entire Board will
interview candidates.
Superintendent Hart asked the Board for
guidance regarding where the advertisement should be sent. Allison
Shafer with the NCSBA will post the advertisement. The advertisement
will also be sent to the Catawba County Bar Association and included in
the local papers. After discussion, the Board agreed that the closing
date for all applications would be March 17, 2003.
Superintendent Hart reminded the Board of the
NCSBA Legislative Lobbying Workshop on February 19th. Any
members interested in attending should contact Joretta Fish.
The last item of discussion was regarding
the increase in Community Schools’ summer camp fees due to the economy
and fewer children participating in the program. Mr. Scott asked about
the possibility of Community Schools’ Program remaining open during
inclement weather. An employer contacted him regarding this
possibility.
Upon a motion by Mr. Scott and seconded by
Mrs. Butler, the meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Charlie C.
Wyant, Chairman
Ann Y. Hart, Secretary
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