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June 27, 2005
The Catawba County Board of Education met in regular session on June 27, 2005 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 Superintendents Ann Hart and Timothy Markley, Assistant Superintendents Nancy Yount, Pat Hensley and Rick Sherrill, Attorney Crystal Davis, Finance Director Sondra Wolfe, Exceptional Children’s Director Sharon Fox White, Career-Technical Education Director Karen Cale, Public Information Officer/Grants Writer Beverly Lampe, NCWISE Project Manager Angela Blalock, Director of Media Services Judith Ray, Child Nutrition Director Karen Duncan, Energy Education Director Tony Cox, Clyde
Campbell Elementary School Principal Walter Zahler, Arndt Middle School Principal Jeff Taylor and Bunker Hill High School Principal Jerry Griffin.
John Mayhew represented the Observer News Enterprise and Andrew Mackie represented the Hickory Daily Record.
The meeting opened with a Moment of Silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mrs. Butler. A motion was made by Mr. Scott to approve the May 31, 2005 minutes. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hilton with no opposition. An amendment was made by Superintendent Hart for the inclusion of the addendum to the personnel requests and to add three additional field trip requests. The adjusted agenda was then 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 extending congratulations to Landon Coffey, Amanda Felts and Jennifer White, three members of the Bandys FFA Chapter, that were awarded the State FFA Recognition by the North Carolina FFA Association on June 7. These students have obtained the Greenhand and Chapter FFA Degrees, completed two years of study in agricultural education, implemented an agricultural project and have earned and productively invested at least $1,000 or worked at least 300 hours in excess of scheduled class time. In addition, the students must have demonstrated their leadership abilities by meeting ten parliamentary objects, serving as an officer or committee chairperson and participated in a minimum of five different FFA activities above the chapter level.
Other items of update included:
•The Criminal Justice Careers Summer Internship was held June 13-17 for rising juniors and seniors in the Catawba County Schools. These students, who had a strong career interest in the Criminal Justice field, were screened through an application and interview process. Partners for the program included: the Catawba County Sheriff’s Department, Hickory Police Department, District Attorney’s Office, SBI and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
•Congratulations were extended to a recent Maiden High School graduate, Derry Vang. She was named a Dell Scholar and will receive $20,000 from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation’s Dell Scholars Program to continue her higher education during the next four years.
•The Fifth Annual Summer Library Program will continue at Claremont Elementary School’s Media Center until August 11. The Media Center is open to the Public every Thursday night from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Children and their parents will be allowed to check-out five books each and have an opportunity to use the mini computer lab with internet access. This summer opportunity also helps children get a head start on their Accelerated Reading points for the next year. For more information, contact Amanda Moose, Media Coordinator for Claremont Elementary School.
•The demolition of the old St. Stephens Elementary School will begin today, June 27. Special thanks were extended to the Catawba County Schools’ Maintenance Department for their assistance in pulling together bricks for the Public.
To conclude her report, Superintendent Hart thanked the Board and the community for their support during her past five years as Superintendent for Catawba County Schools. Superintendent Hart extended best wishes to Superintendent Markley as he begins his service with the district.
The following Consent Agenda items were transacted:
Budget Amendments:
Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe presented four budget amendments for the Board’s consideration budgeting additional funds allocated by the State Public School Fund, the Local Current Expense Fund, the Federal Grants 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.
Field Trip Requests/Camps:
*St. Stephens High School NJROTC to Conway, South Carolina, June 14-19, 2005
*Fred T. Foard High School Band to Jacksonville, Alabama, June 28-July 12, 2005
*Fred T. Foard High School Guard Camp, July 11-15, 2005
*Fred T. Foard High School Percussion Camp, August 1-5, 2005
*Fred T. Foard High School Marching Band Camp, August 7, 2005, August 8-11, 2005, August 12, 2005, August 15-26, 2005
*Bunker Hill High School AFJROTC to Florence, South Carolina, September 10-11, 2005
*Bunker Hill High School AFJROTC to Washington, DC, September 22-25, 2005
*Bandys High School FFA to Louisville, Kentucky, October 26-29, 2005
Personnel Requests:
*approved certified employees Dorinda Baker, Heather Benfield, Kristin Blackwell, Mary Bolick, Bradley Cameron, David Campbell, Melissa Duckworth, Cheryl Dyson, Scott Goforth, Marcus Greer, Patricia Gail Hackney, Anita Hatfield, DeAnna Houser, Delene Huggins, Shelly Isenhour, Holly Jones, Jennifer Jones, Stephanie Kelly, Timothy Knopp, Jon Kravitz, Lisa Milstead, Michael Morettie, Katie Norris, Kirby Overcash, Raye Lynn Parsons, Phoenix Price, Michelle Proctor, Joy Rowe, Patricia Smith, Kevin Thompson, Laura Wachsmuth, Susan Watson, Amanda West-Austin, Sonya Whiteside, Sandra Williams and Jessica Wilson;
*granted administrative contracts to certified employees William Long and Kim Teague;
*granted change in employment (from part-time to full-time) to certified employees Marsha Apke, Paul Bonham and Deanne Robbins;
*approved VIF contracts to certified employees Carol Almond, Martha Elizonda, Cristella Gomez, Cheryl Harris, Jonathan Harris, Chon Lee, Karen Massey, Rebecca Matthews, Erin McConnell, Alvara Mediavilla, Craig Moore, Sandra Muneton, Paola Pena, Luis Vasquez and Cecilia Villarreal;
*approved Instructional Assistance Summer School employees Samuel McRee, Anita Morris, Evelyn Starr, Katherine Jenkins, Stephen Hensley, Heather Houser, Raven Houston, Elizabeth Herman, Alicia Slaughter and Margaret Gatewood;
*approved classified employees Maria Arellano, Tammy Burns, Lisa Cunningham, Sandra Lutz, Elizabeth McGraw, John Parker and Jane Sigmon;
*accepted resignations of certified employees Christopher Baucom, Wanda Carver, Sara Hall, John Haas, Virginia Johnson, Rick Redding, Robin Rudisill, Laura Warren and Nicole Watters;
*accepted resignations of classified employees Barbara Boone, Bonnie Cash and Geoffrey McIntosh;
*granted the leave of absence requests of certified employees Cheri Hudson and Toni Nolte;
*granted the transfer requests of certified employees Jane Clark, Alisa Ferguson, Thomas Howell, Linda Lilly, Renee Pagoota, Jessica Pickard, Elizabeth Reichard, Leslie Rothenberger, Michael Stump and Teresa Underwood;
*granted the transfer requests of classified employees Cathy Smart and Nettie Smith;
*granted the reassignment of certified employee Dyanne Sherrill; and
*granted the retirement requests of certified employees Glenda Foster, Donna Harrill and June Purkerson.
Before the motion was made to approve the Consent Items, Mrs. Butler asked for the removal of one name from the Personnel Requests, Shelly Isenhour. Attorney Davis also made comments to members regarding the VIF Contract (employees presented on the Personnel Requests). Attorney Davis recommended that the motion be made subject to the finalization of the VIF contract because language of liability insurance and other issues related to salary are currently being discussed. Mrs. Butler made the motion to adopt the presented Consent Items excluding the name of Shelly Isenhour listed on the Personnel Requests and the finalization of the VIF Contract. Mrs. Blackburn seconded the motion with no opposition.
Mrs. Blackburn then made the motion to approve the name of Shelly Isenhour listed on the Personnel Requests. Mrs. Spencer seconded this motion with no opposition. Mrs. Butler abstained from the vote due to being related to the employee in the motion. The motion carried.
The following items of New Business were transacted:
NB#1: The Career-Technical Education Plan for the fiscal year 2005-2006 was presented by Director Karen Cale. This year is the continuation of a four-year strategic plan for the program. A new plan is pending reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998. Parts I and II of the plan are developed by the State Board of Education and were presented for your information. These parts do not require Board approval, but will become the State Board of Education’s expectations for the program and must be met in order to receive funding from the state. Parts III and IV of the plan must be approved annually by the Board. Part III of the plan shows the distribution of allotted federal and state funds to support
the Career-Technical Education Program in the school system. Part IV is the official signature page indicating approval of the plan agreement. Once the plan is approved, it will become the agreement between the Catawba County Board of Education and the State Board of Education to operate our Career-Technical Education Program as outlined in the plan. Director Cale opened the floor for any questions from members. Mrs. Butler asked questions regarding the decrease of Catawba County Schools’ goals towards the State average included in Performance Indicators 3, 6, 4 and 1. Director Cale responded to the questions. She then informed members that of the eighty Career-Technical Education positions, seventy-five positions were funded from the Career-Technical Education budget. Local funding provides the other five positions. There being no other questions or discussion, Mr. Hilton made the motion to approve the Career-Technical Education Plan for 2005-2006. Mrs. Butler seconded
the motion with no opposition.
NB#2: Finance Officer Sondra Wolfe asked from the Board for the consideration of an interim budget. She explained that G.S. 115C-434 allows for the adoption of an interim budget when the Budget Resolution is not passed prior to July. This interim budget will allow for the paying of salaries and usual operating expenses of the school system including Capital Outlay projects until such time as the Budget Resolution can be adopted. With a motion from Mrs. Blackburn and seconded by Mrs. Spencer, the interim budget will continue until a budget is adopted. The motion carried.
NB#3: Members received a copy of the timeline for School Improvement Plans. This year is the beginning of the three year cycle (July 1, 2005-July 1, 2008). Work began on the plans in March and April with the completion of NSSE surveys by teachers, classified staff, students, parents and the community. Results were compiled on CD’s instead of in notebooks and given to members at the meeting. At the August 22, 2005 Board of Education meeting, members along with Dr. Markley will determine the procedures for approval of the School Improvement Plans.
NB#4: Child Nutrition Director Karen Duncan presented Bread, Ice Cream and Milk bid total information to members for the period of July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006. After bids were received, reviewed and calculation verifications completed, administration recommends the following vendors be approved to provide products to the school cafeterias for 2005-2006 with a four year roll-over option:
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Bread – Sara Lee Bakery Group
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Ice Cream – Blue Bell Creameries
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Milk – Land-O-Sun Dairies (Pet Dairy)
There being no discussion, Mrs. Butler made the motion to approve the recommended vendors. Mr. Sigmon seconded the motion with no opposition.
NB#5: Energy Education Director Cox began his presentation by extending his gratitude to Superintendent Hart and Assistant Superintendent Sherrill for their support with the Energy Education Program. Director Cox briefed members of the proposed Cost Avoidance and Savings Redistribution Incentive Plan. The proposed plan contains three parts: determination of saving amounts, proposed distribution of funds and guidance on funds expenditure. In addition to funds for each school, specific amounts are also recommended to be set aside for special system-wide programs and to recognize the efforts of individuals and groups vital to the program’s success. Director Cox stated that even after accounting for our Energy Program “First Year Start-Up”
expenses of $274,000.00, our new Energy Program is projected to have $125,644.00 in net savings. The floor was opened for any questions from members during Director Cox’s presentation. Mrs. Butler’s question was in reference to the breakdown of schools by elementary, middle and high for the bonuses and why not based on percentages. An additional question was asked by Mrs. Spencer regarding the bonuses given to custodians. After responses to the questions were given, Chairman Wyant thanked Director Cox for his presentation and his continued work with energy savings for the school system.
Public Comments:
Attorney Crystal Davis conducted the Public Comments section of the agenda at which time Ms. Donna Key wished to address the Board. She is a parent that lives in the “proposed redistricting” area. Her primary concern is to allow students to be able to go to schools that are closer to their residency. The “proposed redistricting plan” will increase students’ “ride time” to school. Not only will the increased time cause students to stay on buses longer, but it will increase parents to travel farther to extra curricular activities and possibility limit the students’ activities. Ms. Key asked administration and members to consider logic and safety issues looking at a midpoint (possibility Davis Road) for redistricting. Members were invited to a Community Meeting regarding redistricting on July 25, 2005
in the gymnasium at Balls Creek Elementary School. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. There being no other persons present who wished to address members, Attorney Davis closed the Public Comments portion of the meeting.
Mrs. Butler extended gratitude to Superintendent Hart for her outstanding job during the past five years with Catawba County Schools. Mrs. Butler expressed being very proud of Superintendent Hart’s accomplishments and wished her good luck in her future endeavors.
Upon a motion by Mr. Scott and seconded by Mrs. Butler, the Board unanimously went into Closed Session the pursuant to G.S.143-318.11 for the following purposes: under subsection (a)(3) to discuss matter protected by the attorney-client privilege; and under subsection (a)(5) to discuss the acquisition of real property.
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 Mr. Hilton with no opposition.
A motion was made by Mrs. Butler and seconded by Mr. Scott to extend the contract for five years with the County Commissioners regarding the River Bend property. All members were in favor of the motion.
There being no other items of business to be conducted, Mr. Sigmon made the motion to adjourn. Mrs. Blackburn seconded the motion. All members were in favor. The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.
__________________________
Charlie
Wyant, Chairman
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Ann Y.
Hart, Secretary
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