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March 27, 2006
The Catawba County Board of Education met in regular session on March 27, 2006 at 5:30 p.m. at the County Schools’ Administration Annex Building with Chairman Charlie Wyant presiding. The following members were present: Mr. Hilton, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Spencer, Mr. Scott, Mrs. Butler and Mr. Sigmon. Also in attendance were Superintendent Timothy Markley, Assistant Superintendents Doyle Brinson, Pat Hensley and Beth Isenhour, Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe, Chief Technology Officer Judith Ray, Public Information/Grant Writer Beverly Lampe, Student Services Director Paul Holden, Career-Technical Education Director Karen Cale, Child Nutrition Director Karen Duncan, Blackburn Elementary School Principal Donna Sigmon and River Bend Middle School Principal Donna Heavner. Attorney Crystal Davis was not present for the meeting.
Lauren Williamson represented the Hickory Daily Record and Chris Gilfillan represented the Observer News Enterprise.
The meeting opened with a Moment of Silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mr. Scott. A motion was made by Mr. Hilton to approve the Consent Agenda. Mrs. Blackburn seconded the motion with no opposition.
Public Hearing:
In the absence of Attorney Crystal Davis, Superintendent Markley 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 Markley began his report by introducing two new principals. Ms. Donna Sigmon, principal of Blackburn Elementary School and Ms. Donna Heavner, principal of River Bend Middle School were in attendance at the meeting.
Other items of update included:
• Members received a floor plan of the Bunker Hill High School nine classroom additions. The bidding process was approved and completion of the additions will be December 2006. Superintendent Markley extended thanks to the County Commissioners and the Board of Education.
•Due to recent changes by the North Carolina State Board of Education at their March 2, 2006 meeting, a course name change is necessary for Algebra I. Algebra I will change to Algebra Connections.
•Catawba County Schools has applied to be the fiscal agent for the Parenting Network. Prior to this, Catawba Valley Medical Center was the fiscal agent. There is no cost to the district. Members were given a list of benefits for our school district.
•Members were given a copy of the most recent information for Summer School. Information included dates, sites, instruction and funding information. Applications will be sent to schools the first week of April.
•Finance Officer Wolfe and her department were recognized by the State Department of Public Instruction for their outstanding work.
•Two Maiden High School AFJROTC cadets have recently received special recognition. Alex Wilson, a senior, was notified that he is the recipient of an AFJROTC scholarship to attend The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. Jennifer Gortney, a junior, was selected to attend Aerospace and Technology Honors Camp 2006. The camp will be for one week this summer at Oklahoma University and Tinker Air Force Base. Congratulations were extended to both cadets.
•The St. Stephens High School Men’s and Women’s Track Teams performed very well at the recent Florida Relays in Orlando. Held at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex, the women’s team finished fifth overall and the men’s team finished seventh overall. Twenty-two high school teams competed.
•Anjela Medeiros and Trent Safrit, two Fred T. Foard High School freshmen Honors English I students, were recently named as finalists in the Letters about Literature 2006 essay writing contest. Congratulations were extended to these two excellent writers and their teacher, Ron Woods.
•Craig Garner, Purchasing Officer for Catawba County Schools, was recently inducted as the new president of the Carolinas Association of Governmental Purchasing. The association’s membership expands to over 400 purchasing professionals from schools, cities, counties and state governments representing the Carolinas.
•The State HOSA meeting will be held at the end of March. Special guests will include Lizbeth Alfaro and her daughter Lizbeth Rojas who serves in the St. Stephens High School HOSA club. Congratulations were extended to the mother/daughter team.
•The Career-Technical Education Department was recently notified that their brochure for marketing the Catawba Valley Tech Prep Consortium was named one of the recipients of the 2006 Grimsley James-Stogner College Tech Prep Awards. The consortium was recognized at the State Career-Technical Education Conference in Greensboro.
•Holly Whalen, English teacher at St. Stephens High School, recently presented at the North Carolina Association of Gifted and Talented Annual Conference. Her topic was Role Playing…Productive Drama in the Classroom.
•The Jump Rope for Heart program at Balls Creek Elementary School was a great success. The students raised a total of $10,492 for this event. Congratulations were extended to all of the students and staff of Balls Creek Elementary School, particularly to those who led the program, Physical Educators Randy Bernhardt and Misti Richardson, and Lenoir-Rhyne College student-teacher Lathan Fowler.
•Earlier in March, students from Bandys High School and Mill Creek Middle School achieved high honors as they competed against ten teams from Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and Mitchell counties during the District Tournament held at the Catawba Valley Wildlife Club in Vale.
•Catawba County Schools recently held the annual middle and elementary school “Battle of the Books” at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Students read 27 books and competed to see who would take home the 2006 honors. Congratulations to Jacobs Fork Middle School who won the competition. Regional competition will be held on April 7 at Wilkesboro United Methodist Church. The winner will advance to the state competition on May 5 in Greensboro.
•Amy Beane, drama teacher at Mill Creek Middle School, was accepted to the NCCAT On Broadway in New York scheduled for this summer.
•Tuttle Middle School cheerleaders recently won the North Carolina State Middle School Cheerleading Championship. The cheerleaders, Coach Debbie Rogers and parents were in attendance at the meeting and were individually recognized and presented with a certificate of outstanding achievement.
To conclude his report, Superintendent Markley informed members of several upcoming events that included:
•The Bandys High School JROTC Military Ball will be held on April 7 at Rock Barn. The guest speaker will be Jason Hensley, a graduate of UNC School of Law who serves as a corporate lawyer for Bernhardt in Lenoir.
•The St. Stephens High School JROTC Military Ball will be held on March 30 at the CVCC Multi-Purpose Complex. The event will be held from 6:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. with the crowning of the King and Queen at 9:00 p.m. For more information, contact LCDR Dave Marks at St. Stephens High School.
•Fred T. Foard High School will host their Third Annual Silent Auction and BBQ on April 8 from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria. Proceeds will benefit scholarships for students and staff.
•According to Sylvia Boyd Schnopple, drama teacher at Arndt Middle School, all seventh graders will be attending the Greenroom’s Production of The Hobbit. Arndt drama students began a touring production of Once There Was a Boy Named Jack which was performed at St. Stephens Elementary School and Murray Elementary School. The students hope to perform for Sweetwater Elementary School and Campbell Elementary School in the near future. The eighth grade drama students are working on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night that will presented for the school on March 29, and on March 28 and 30 for the general public. For more details, contact Sylvia Boyd Schnopple at Arndt Middle School.
•A Career Fair will be held on March 30 at Claremont Elementary School. Approximately twenty professionals from the community will visit the school, including representatives from the Catawba County Coroner’s Office to a professor from Lenoir-Rhyne College. For more information, contact Angela Totty, school counselor at Claremont Elementary School.
•Arndt Middle School will be competing, for the first time, in a track and field event. The school held their first meet and will then travel to East Burke for more competition culminating the season with an inter-squad meet on April 6.
The following Consent Agenda items were transacted:
Budget Amendments:
Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe presented two budget amendments for the Board’s consideration budgeting additional funds allocated by the State Public School Fund and the Capital Outlay Fund. A copy of these amendments may be found between pages ___ and ___ and become an official part of these minutes.
Overnight/Out-of-State Field Trip Requests:
*Fred T. Foard High School Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team to Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, March 3-4, 2006
*Fred T. Foard High School Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, March 10-11, 2006
*St. Stephens High School HOSA to Greensboro, North Carolina, March 30-April 1, 2006
*Maiden High School Beta Club to Greensboro, North Carolina, April 1-3, 2006
*St. Stephens High School FCCLA to Greensboro, North Carolina, April 2-5, 2006
*Fred T. Foard High School Chorus to Charlotte, North Carolina, April 5-6, 2006
*St. Stephens High School Band/Chorus to Virginia, Pennsylvania and Niagara Falls, April 19-22, 2006
*Jacobs Fork Middle School Envirothon Team to Graham, North Carolina, April 28-29, 2006
*Fred T. Foard High School DECA to Dallas, Texas, April 28-May 3, 2006
*Tuttle Middle School Band to Cedar Point, Ohio, May 11-14, 2006
Personnel Requests:
*approved the administrative contract of Mark Bumgarner;
*approved classified employees Scott Bowman, Wendy Canter, Debbie Carmack, Charles Chislom, Ricky Duckworth, Linda Horne and Frieda Whisnant;
*granted the leave of absences to certified employees Jessica Caldwell and Nathaniel Norman;
*granted the resignation requests of certified employees James Meadows, Toni Nolte and Christina Walter;
*granted the retirement requests of certified employees Michael Paysour, Margaret Pope and Carolyn Sosebee;
*granted the resignation requests of classified employees Janet Gissy, Michael Ramseur and Sandra Wise; and
*granted the retirement request of classified employee Janice Sigmon.
The Board was also given an approved listing of substitutes for child nutrition, teachers and custodians.
There being no questions, the motion was made by Mrs. Blackburn and seconded by Mrs. Butler to approve the presented budget amendments, overnight out-of-state field trip and personnel requests. The motion carried.
The following items of New Business were 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 Doyle Brinson provided a list of such items to the Board. The recommended date for the auction was Saturday, May 13, 2006 with the begin time to be determined. Mr. Hilton made the motion to declare said items as surplus property and to conduct the auction on the recommended date. Mr. Scott seconded the motion with no opposition.
NB#2: Last spring, the Employee Assistance Network (EAN) was awarded a one-year contract to administer the district’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Assistant Superintendent Hensley stated that there have been no concerns with the EAN’s work and administration recommended renewal of their contract. Members were provided the program report and supporting documentation for the 2005-2006 service year. Assistant Superintendent Hensley highlighted the area of growth, which were on-line resources to staff. There being no questions or discussion, Mrs. Butler made the motion to approve the continuation of the Employee Assistance Network contract pending the approval of the contract by Attorney Davis. Mrs. Blackburn seconded the motion with no opposition.
NB#3: Assistant Superintendent Hensley presented, on first reading, Board of Education Policy 4.4200 – Student Wellness. She stated that the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2004 established a new regulation which requires all LEAs that participate in the National school Lunch Program to develop and implement wellness policies that address nutrition and physical activity. Under the Act, local Boards of Education are required to adopt wellness policies no later than June 30, 2006. A model policy was received in February. Mrs. Butler questioned a statement on page 3 section E of the policy – Students will be provided adequate time to eat meals. She then asked for additional information regarding the length of time students are in the cafeteria and how much of that time is being spent
in lunch lines, especially in the high schools. Mrs. Spencer commented about “pizza parties” in the schools. There being no other questions or comments, Mrs. Butler made the motion to adopt Board of Education Policy 4.4200 – Student Wellness on first reading. Mrs. Spencer seconded the motion. All members were in favor of the motion. The policy will be brought back to members on second reading at the April 24 Board of Education meeting.
NB#4: Superintendent Markley presented the student transfer recommendations for the 2006-2007 school year. He explained the change in the process as compared to the past several years. Recommending the available space and asking the Board’s approval of the student transfer recommendations prior to the April 1 student transfer process, Superintendent Markley and administration felt this would benefit those requesting a transfer for their child(ren). The recommendations of space availability for transfer students are the result of the study of building capacity, projected enrollment, student-teacher ratio, expected growth at each school for new resident students and effects of redistricting. Space
availability at the elementary schools was recommended by grade levels. Middle and high schools’ availability was recommended as a total for all grade levels at each school. Mrs. Spencer asked if the “grandfathering” of redistricted students was considered. There being no other questions, Mrs. Spencer made the motion to approve the recommended space for student transfers. Mrs. Blackburn seconded the motion. All members were in favor. Approved available student transfer space will be posted on the Catawba County Schools’ webpage, in the local newspapers and in the schools.
NB#5: Members were mailed, prior to the meeting for their review, documents required by the County for the financing construction of the new Catawba Elementary School. Documents included: a Resolution, Lease Agreement, and Construction and Acquisition Agreement. Members were also given the School Installment Financing Calendar for the New Catawba Elementary School and an Exhibit A for their review. Both Attorney Debra Bechtel and Attorney Davis have carefully reviewed the presented documents. There being no questions or discussion, Mr. Hilton made the motion to approve the documents required by the County as presented by Superintendent Markley. Mrs. Butler seconded the motion with no opposition.
NB#6: Superintendent Markley presented to members administrative procedures for reserved seating for athletic events. With the opening of the new Maiden High School in the fall of 2006, all members agreed that the procedures needed to be fair and equitable to all schools and persons involved. After much discussion, members directed the Transition Team, chaired by Michael Wyant, to develop procedures for the reserved seating. The procedures will be developed and brought back to members at their April 24 Board of Education meeting for their approval.
Before conducting the Public Comments portion of the meeting, Superintendent Markley highlighted information given to members regarding safety concerns at several schools. Mrs. Blackburn asked administration to look into the need of a left turn signal at Sweetwater Elementary School.
Public Comments:
Superintendent Markley conducted the Public Comments section of the agenda at which time two persons present wished to address the Board.
The first person who wished to address members was Rebekka Adamson. Her concerns were in regards to the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Vikki Reed, Miss Adamson’s mother, was the second person who wished to address members. Her concerns also were in regards to the necessity of daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Both persons stated “that the pledge shows respect to our country.” Ms. Reed asked for the Board’s consideration to adopt a policy and enforce the General Statue pertaining to the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Reed also stated that she would be able to secure donations to place a flag in every classroom. At the request of Ms. Reed, additional discussion of the Pledge of Allegiance and policies involved will be placed on the agenda at the upcoming April 24 Board of Education meeting.
Upon a motion by Mrs. Butler and seconded by Mrs. Blackburn, the Board unanimously went into Closed Session pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11 for the following purpose: under subsection (a)(1) to prevent the disclosure of privileged and confidential personnel information pursuant to G.S. 115C-319-321.
CLOSED SESSION (Separate minutes for Closed Session are prepared and kept confidential.)
The Board returned to Open Session with a motion by Mr. Sigmon seconded by Mrs. Blackburn with no opposition.
A motion was made by Mrs. Butler and seconded by Mr. Scott to approve the following personnel recommendations from Superintendent Markley:
Ms. Barbara Bell as principal of Startown Elementary School effective July 1, 2006; and
Mr. Robert Rucker as principal of Mill Creek Middle School effective July 1, 2006.
Both Ms. Bell and Mr. Rucker will be granted two year contracts in their new positions.
There being no other items of business to be conducted, Mr. Sigmon made the motion to adjourn. Mrs. Butler seconded the motion. All members were in favor. The meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Charlie
Wyant, Chairman
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Timothy S.
Markley, Secretary
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