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March 22, 2004
The Catawba County Board of Education met in regular session on March
22, 2004 at 5:30 p.m. at the County Schools’ Administration Building
with Chairman Charlie Wyant presiding. The following members were
present: Mr. Biggerstaff, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Scott, Mrs. Butler and Mr.
Sigmon. Also in attendance were Superintendent Ann Hart, Assistant
Superintendents Pat Hensley, Nancy Yount and Rick Sherrill, Attorney
Crystal Davis, Finance Director Sondra Wolfe, Technology Director Terry
Bledsoe, Exceptional Children’s Director Sharon Fox White, Public
Information/Grants Writer Sonya Gordon, Catawba County Sheriff David
Huffman and Mt. View Elementary School Principal Kim Penley.
Sarah Newell represented the Observer News Enterprise and Jim
Wrinn represented the Charlotte Observer. WNNC was
represented by Al Mainess.
The meeting opened with a Moment of Silence followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance led by Mr. Sigmon. A motion was made by Mr. Scott to approve
the following minutes: February 3, 2004, February 9, 2004, February 23,
2004 and March 8, 2004. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Blackburn with
no opposition. The Consent Agenda was unanimously approved upon a
motion by Mrs. Blackburn and seconded by Mrs. Butler.
Public Hearing:
Attorney Crystal Davis conducted the Public Hearing phase of the meeting
for comments concerning any agenda items. No person present wished to
address the Board on any agenda item.
Superintendent’s Report:
Superintendent Hart began her report by recognizing News Director Al
Mainess from WNNC. Mr. Mainess will be retiring the end of March after
almost thirty years announcing the local news at WNNC. Superintendent
Hart acknowledged the support and dedication that Mr. Mainess has given
to the school system in his news coverage throughout the years.
Superintendent Hart gave some background information about Mr. Mainess
and then presented him a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the
Catawba County Board of Education and the school system. Mr. Mainess
made comments to members and extended his appreciation.
Other items of update included:
•Pat Summerall Productions has selected Catawba County Schools to be
featured in the annual Education Station Television Program on the
Discovery Channel in June. Various filming activities for the
production will be held in April.
•April is National Occupational Therapy month. Occupational therapists
work with students identified as having a disability who demonstrate
needs due to sensory, perceptual or fine motor limitations that impact
their ability to participate in activities related to their educational
program. Our system employs seven outstanding therapists that help the
disabled students in the schools. Two of the therapists, Elyse Frye and
Tra’ Sigmon, were in attendance at the meeting. Ms. Frye and Ms. Sigmon
gave members additional information regarding the vital roles
occupational therapists perform in the schools.
•Bruce-David Canterbury, a visiting teacher at Bunker Hill High School
from South Africa, was named the Western North Carolina Cultural
Educator of the Year.
•Judy Ainsworth, teacher assistant at Mt. View Elementary School,
recently won the State Teacher Assistant of the Year award on March 19,
only a few days after District Seven North Carolina Association of
Teacher Assistants named her District Teacher Assistant of the Year.
•Catawba Intermediate School earned United Way’s award for highest per
capita fundraising award. The school had the highest per capita,
$68.47, raised by any school in the district during the recent United
Way campaign.
•Two St. Stephens High School students won the Kids in Nature Defense
(KIND) award. The award was given by KIND News and the National
Association for Humane and Environmental Education (NAHEE), the youth
education division of the Humane Society of the United States. Third
grader, Garrett Corneliussen, received an honorable mention for the KIND
Poster Contest. Sixth grader, Mindy Vang, also received an honorable
mention. Art teacher, Cheryl Stemple, encouraged and worked with the
students in our schools to submit entries for the poster contest which
had a theme of “The Humane Society of the United States: Celebrating
All Animals.”
•Eleven elementary and middle school students won first and second
places in the 2004 district Science Fair. These students will
participate in the regional competition on April 17 in Wilkesboro. The
district Science Fair, which was held at Arndt Middle School, had a
total of ninety-three science project entrees this year. First place
winners included: Jessica Hoyle of Tuttle Middle School; Chris Baker of
Arndt Middle School; Colin Briggs and Sarah Sakatos of Jacobs Fork
Middle School; Garrett Hoffa of St. Stephens Elementary School and Jared
Broome of Claremont Elementary School. Second place winners included:
Samara Ahmed and Brittany Beatty of Arndt Middle School; Jamie Lovino of
St. Stephens Elementary School; Katie Shuford of Murray Elementary
School and Katie Carpenter of Claremont Elementary School.
•The Second Annual Community Drug-Free Forum will be held on March 21,
2004 at CVCC in the multipurpose center. Superintendent Hart thanked
the media for their coverage of the forum.
•Sheriff David Huffman presented the school system $42,553.92. These
dollars were received from forfeitures for narcotics. Sheriff Huffman
thanked the Board for their terrific partnership with the Sheriff’s
department.
The following Consent Agenda items were transacted:
Budget Amendment:
Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe presented one budget amendment for the
Board’s consideration budgeting additional funds allocated by the
Capital Outlay Fund. A copy of this amendment may be found between
pages ___ and ___ and become an official part of these minutes.
Field Trip Requests/Camp:
*Bunker Hill High School Band to Cullowhee, North Carolina, April 2-3,
2004
*Maiden High School AFJROTC to Sumter, South Carolina, April 14-15, 2004
*St. Stephens High School Summer Basketball Camp, July 12-16, 2004
Personnel Requests:
*employed certified employees Susan Bley, Nicole Furmage, Carrie James
and Wendy Lewis;
*employed classified employees Leslee Bekemeier, Tammy Brown, Elizabeth
Caldwell, Tina Filip and Derrick Wilfong;
*employed non-staff coach Harold Beach;
*employed job share positions of certified employees Mary Hancock and
Lucinda Lundy;
*granted the leaves of absence requests of certified employees Cherie
Cason and Hayley Hollar;
*granted the resignation requests of certified employees Kimberly
Burton, Veronica Caporossi, Jennifer Childres, Sara Gonzalez, Andrew
Miller, Kelly Powell, Michelle Prince and Rachel Turner;
*granted the retirement requests of certified employees Marion Brewer,
Susan Fulbright, Margaret Gatewood, Betty Rayle, T.M. Rembert III and
Roland Scott;
*granted the resignation requests of classified employees Cheryl Arnett,
Robin, Ekard, Kathryn Mitchell, Cynthia Molnar, Dawn Stanley and Yue
Xiong; and
*granted the retirement requests of classified employees Betty Bennett,
Mary Broome and Paula Hammer.
Mrs. Butler asked two questions regarding the Consent items. One
question was regarding the type of camp request that was presented. The
other question was regarding the vehicle purchase in the Capital Outlay
request. Both questions were addressed.
There being no other questions, the motion was made by Mrs. Butler and
seconded by Mr. Biggerstaff to approve the budget amendment, presented
field trips/camp and personnel requests. The motion carried.
The following item of Old Business was transacted:
OB#1:
Superintendent Hart reviewed with members the previous discussion at the
February 23, 2004 meeting regarding Board of Education Policy 9.2300 –
Use of Facilities. Members were given another copy of the current
policy. The policy was reviewed and members were asked to give
administration their input regarding any revisions to the policy. Mrs.
Butler asked about the removal of the word “or” from the first
paragraph. After some discussion, it was the consensus of the members
to give direction to administration for language revision to the current
policy. Attorney Davis advised members of certain legalities to
consider when revising the policy. Administration was also asked to
gather additional information from the principals and Community Schools
personnel regarding the current usage of facilities on Sundays. The
first draft of the revised policy will be brought back to members at the
April 26, 2004 meeting.
The following items of New Business were then transacted:
NB#1:
G.S. 115-C-518 provides that before a school administrative unit may
dispose of property, the local Board of Education must declare the
property as undesirable for public school purposes and declare said
items as surplus property. Assistant Superintendent Rick Sherrill
provided a list of such items to the Board. The recommended date for
the auction was Saturday, May 8, 2004 beginning at 9:00 a.m. until 1:00
p.m. to be held on the grounds behind the Central Office. Carpenter
Realty will conduct the sale. Mrs. Blackburn made the motion to declare
said items as surplus property and for Carpenter Realty to conduct the
auction on the recommended date. Mr. Biggerstaff seconded the motion
with no opposition.
NB#2:
Catawba County Mental Health has been the provider of the district’s
Employee Assistance Program since the establishment of the service to
employees. As a result of the state’s mental health reform initiative,
Catawba County Mental Health will no longer be able to provide this
service. To continue this valuable service to employees, four providers
submitted proposals and were interviewed. Assistant Superintendent
Hensley informed members that after careful review of the strong
proposals, there were two providers that have the greatest capacity to
meet the needs of our employees. Members received background
information on these two providers that were: The Counseling Group
(estimated cost of $38,000) and the Employee Assistance Network
(estimated cost of $16,000). Members complimented strengths of both
groups. Mr. Scott asked about the length of the proposed contracts.
Representatives from both groups were in attendance to address any
questions members may have. Ms. Dawn Klug represented the Employee
Assistance Network while Ms. Amy Wood and Mr. John Worm represented
The Counseling Group. Mrs. Butler made the motion to recommend the
employment of the Employee Assistance Network for a one-year contract.
Mr. Scott seconded the motion. Mr. Worm, one of the representatives
from The Counseling Group, addressed members reiterating the benefits of
his group. There being no other questions or discussion, the motion
carried.
NB#3:
Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe presented to members proposals from
Liberty Mutual Insurance and MetLife Insurance for the purpose of group
automobile and home insurance for employees as an optional benefit to
them. Currently, Hanover Insurance provided the benefit, but will be
discontinuing the group coverage. Information that described the
coverage and background information from both companies was given to
members. A committee of Central Office staff reviewed both proposals on
March 5, 2004. After review, the committee recommended Liberty Mutual
Insurance as the provider. Finance Officer Wolfe opened the floor for
any questions from members. Mr. Sigmon asked about the rating of
Liberty Mutual Insurance. Mrs. Butler asked an additional question
regarding the size of MetLife Insurance. Finance Officer Wolfe
addressed the questions. Mr. Sigmon made the motion to accept the
recommendation of Liberty Mutual Insurance with Mrs. Blackburn seconding
the motion. All members were in favor.
NB#4:
In order to comply closer with the rules and regulations of the Fair
Labor Standards Act, an electronic method of record keeping was
presented to members. Assistant Superintendent Hensley and Finance
Officer Wolfe presented a power point presentation on the ISIS
Timekeeper Software, which is a module of the current payroll system.
There are three components of the software: employee functions, payroll
clerk and central office. Employees will “log in and log out” to begin
and end their workday. Sheets will be developed for bus drivers to
complete and turn into their school’s secretary since access to a
computer is not available for bus drivers when they begin and end their
workday. It will be necessary for employees to allow their immediate
supervisor to review and approve their printed timesheets.
Implementation of this timekeeper software will begin at the Central
Office in April followed by gradual implementation in the schools.
NB#5:
Assistant Superintendent Yount presented, for information to the Board,
the Summer Learning Plan for 2004. There will be six school sites for
the summer session. Feeder districts will be used for elementary and
middle schools. St. Stephens Elementary School will be the site for all
high school students needing competency instruction. Instructional
Assistance Program at CVCC will be the site for all high school students
needing credit. The dates of the summer sessions for elementary, middle
and competency high schools are as follows: June 7 and June 30 are
teacher workdays and June 9 through June 26 are student days. Lunch
will be provided with limited transportation for elementary, middle and
high schools, with the exception of no transportation or lunch being
provided for the Instructional Assistance site. There will be a cost of
$125.00 per session for those credit sessions. Sessions are June 7
through June 24 and July 5 through July 22.
Public Comments:
Attorney Crystal Davis conducted the Public Comments section of the
agenda at which time no person present wished to address the Board.
Chairman Wyant recognized and welcomed the visitors that were in
attendance at the meeting.
There being no other items of business to be conducted, Mrs. Blackburn
made the motion to adjourn. Mrs. Butler seconded the motion. All
members were in favor. The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Charlie C. Wyant, Chairman
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Ann Y. Hart, Secretary
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