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Guilford County Board of Education |
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GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION |
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Thursday, January 31, 2008 |
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The Guilford County Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Thursday, January 31, 2008, at 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. The following board members were present: Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Dot Kearns, Amos Quick (arrived at 10:52 p.m.), Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe (arrived at 6:56 p.m.). Board members Deena Hayes and Garth Hébert were absent. Also present were Superintendent Terry Grier and Attorney Jill Wilson. Call to OrderChairman Duncan called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. Moment of Remembrance and Silence Recognition2007 Project Fit America All Star Teacher of the Year Public Comments
Approval of Agenda Consent Agenda A. Personnel Action Reports The consent agenda included personnel actions as noted in the monthly Personnel Action Report requiring board approval. B. Budget Amendments and Transfers The consent agenda included State, Local, Federal, Capital Outlay and After School Care Enrichment Services (ACES) budget amendments/transfers for the 2007-08 school year as follows: State Public School Fund Amendment #2 reflects:
Local Current Expense Fund Amendment #2 reflects:
Federal Grant Fund Amendment #2 reflects:
After School Care Enrichment Services (ACES) # 2 reflects:
C. NCDOT Right-of-Way Encroachment Agreement for Sand Filter Bed Outlets, Southeast High School D. Sanitary Sewer Easement for New Garden Friends School, Inc., E.P. Pearce Elementary In lieu of monetary compensation for the easement, staff has negotiated grade improvements and landscape replacements that will greatly improve the appearance of the northwest corner of the Pearce Elementary School property. E. Approval of Attendance Zone Maps and Duplicate Magnet Feeder Zone Lists F. Proposed 2008-09 Calendars – Extended-Year, Washington Montessori Extended-Year, Middle College and Early College Calendars The Academy at Smith has requested to transition to the middle college calendar starting with the 2008-09 school year. Many of their students are taking college courses and have experienced scheduling difficulties while operating on a traditional calendar. Operational logistics have been coordinated to support this transition. Staff and parents were surveyed with the following results:
As part of the magnet grant, Washington Montessori will transition to an extended-year calendar during the 2008-09 school year. However, due to the time needed for professional development during the first year of Montessori, it was not possible to add the full 20 additional days to the 2008-09 calendar. As such, they will operate with an additional 10 days in 2008-09 and the remaining 10 days will be added during the 2009-10 school year, at which time they will operate on the Brooks/Johnson St. extended-year calendar. Motion was made by Walter Childs, seconded by Dot Kearns, to approve the consent agenda as presented. Items A, C and F passed upon unanimous roll call vote. Item B passed upon majority roll call vote of 7-to-1 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Dot Kearns, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe; Nays – Darlene Garrett. Item D passed upon majority roll call vote of 7-to-1 as follows: Ayes - Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Dot Kearns, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe; Nays – Darlene Garrett. Item E passed upon majority roll call vote of 6-to-2 as follows: Ayes - Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Dot Kearns and Nancy Routh; Nays – Darlene Garrett and Anita Sharpe. Staff Reports Construction Update SCALES at High Point Update – Selection Committee Recommendations Request for Proposals for Construction Management at Risk for SCALES at High Point was advertised on November 11, 2007. A mandatory pre-proposal conference was held on Thursday, November 29, 2007 with eleven contractors in attendance. Four proposals were received on December 6, 2007. After an extensive review by GCS staff and the Architect Selection Committee, three companies have been selected to be forwarded to the board. The three companies in order of ranking are: New Atlantic Contracting Inc., Winston Salem, NC; Morganti Group, Greensboro, NC and West Palm Beach, FL and Devere Construction Company, Inc., Apex, NC. The number one ranked company has an excellent construction history with GCS. This history includes: Northern Middle, E.P. Pearce Elementary and Southern Middle. Its MWBE Participation for these projects ranged from 7.8 percent to 10.9 percent. Motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to enter into negotiations with New Atlantic Contracting Inc. to provide services as Construction Management at Risk for Scales High Point and to also enter into negotiations with the second and/or third ranked firm (as noted above), if necessary. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote. Union Hill Elementary School Update – Demolition/Site Related Services After-School Shared Use Libraries Dr. Eric Becoats, chief of staff, led the board in a continued discussion regarding the after-school shared use libraries. He introduced Rob Bencini, who works with the Guilford County Manager’s office on these initiatives; Sandy Neerman, Greensboro Public Library Director; and Steve Allen, Chair of the Library Board of Trustees. Mr. Allen shared preliminary information about this concept and explained that it had initially been discussed several years ago with board members and city and county officials. Since that time new ideas have surfaced resulting from input from county commissioners and city officials. He said that after-school shared use libraries make sense because each agency is contributing to the success of the project. Mr. Allen said the purpose of his presentation at this board meeting was to ask that this concept be brought back to the table to discuss implementation in GCS. The original idea called for all-day use of the facilities. That was not acceptable to the community or to this board. The current proposal is for after-hours use primarily with the actual details to be worked out for an option that would be acceptable to the board, the county commissioners and the library staff. Under this concept, staffing would come from the county library. They would also be responsible for the security component to ensure safety at the facility. Board members talked about the implementation of this program. Dr. Routh expressed concern that the cost has been underestimated. She requested a detailed plan based on an interest and needs survey for the area in which it would be located as well as an accurate and realistic assessment of the collections currently available at the site, including a replacement plan (since school collections are based on curriculum needs). The current collection may not incorporate the needs for the community at large. Also documentation is needed to show what involvement from GCS current media services would be required as well as clearly-defined goals that would be evaluated on a regular basis. Board member Dot Kearns said that although she favors the concept, she believes it is much more complicated that the set of recommendations presented with the board materials. She spoke with Jean Howard, GCS Program Administrator of Media Services, and Libby Oxenfeld, media specialist. They agree with looking at this concept again but expressed concern because they had read about it in the newspaper but had not been approached regarding their views and what needed to be done. Ms. Kearns asked that Chief Curriculum and Organizational Development Officer Beth Folger, Jean Howard and Libby Oxenfeld, as well as Secondary Curriculum Officer Michelle Ungurait, to be part of a committee along with public library representatives in order to gather more specifics on this concept. It is not only a matter of specifics for funding, but also to address how all of this would work together to serve citizens as well as students. Board member Darlene Garrett agreed with Ms. Kearns. She added that the media specialist from whichever site is being considered should be included in the committee. In addition, her suggestion would be to pilot one school and then evaluate it to see how it is working. Some things that need to be monitored include: 1) Is there any additional damage to books or equipment and, if so, who would be responsible for the cost of repair as well as the security? 2) Would students be unable to get books they need because they have been checked out? Board member Walter Childs asked that representatives from the High Point community also be part of this group. Board member Anita Sharpe stated concern that the media director at the site which is ultimately selected will feel undue pressure to accept something that they may not think is in the best interest of their school. Many other issues need to be considered as well. Chairman Duncan said that he is aware of at least one high school media specialist who does have interest in hosting, and there may be others. Listening to the reservations of Ms. Kearns, Ms. Garrett and others, he suggested the board agree to form a group including administrators, key county media specialists in schools which would be the primary focus, board members Dot Kearns and Nancy Routh, Steve Allen, Rob Bencini and Sandy Neerman. He also agrees with the suggestion to have a pilot program which would be evaluated. After the group has had the opportunity to discuss this program internally, it should come back to the board with a suggestion to move forward, or not, depending on careful consideration of all needs. The goal would be to start the program by the start of the next school year if all issues can be worked out. There was board consensus on this plan. Chief of Staff Eric Becoats will serve as the lead in this process. Minority Male Initiative Report Dr. Eric Becoats, chief of staff, presented to the board a report on The Minority Male Initiative: The Brotherhood. The problem within GCS is that students of color are suspended at a much higher rate than white students, with African American males being suspended at a rate of six times that of white students. Students of color rank the lowest in academic achievement but the highest in discipline referrals, suspensions and drop outs. These statistics are alarming and the goal is to reverse this trend within this district. Bishop Brooks shared his concerns and expressed interest in wanting to work with this population. Instructional Improvement Officer Lewis Ferebee did research on programs that are working in other school districts. Based on his research and further discussions with Bishop Brooks, GCS is providing information on the piloting of The Minority Male Initiative: The Brotherhood at six schools. The plan is to have a continuum that serves students in grades six through 12 so that once a student leaves middle school, this initiative would be in place at their high school as well. The six schools are: Jackson Middle, Smith High, Northeast Middle, Northeast High, Welborn Middle and Andrews High. The project team who worked on this program included the principals from these six schools as well as Chief Academic Officer Mack McCary, Chief Student Services Officer John Morris, Supervisor of Dropout Prevention/Intervention/Parent Outreach Richard Tuck, Diversity Officer Monica Walker and District Relations. The pilot program started at the beginning of this semester. The program addresses students’ needs through relationships, counseling, leadership and character development by focusing on the following areas: cultural, academic and social experiences; community service; reading list/books; public speaking; personal finance management; peer pressure; etiquette and supplemental academic services. Bishop Brooks has committed to providing GCS with 60 mentors for these young men (10 young men at each school). Superintendent Grier stated that the program is designed to identify students in the sixth grade and ninth grade who have had problems with attendance, discipline and responsible behavior in school. The right mentor for each school will be carefully selected being sure the mentor has the proper training and disposition to work with these young men. The plan is for the same mentor to stay with the same group of young men through the sixth, seventh and eighth grades with the goal that all of those young men will improve academically and finish the eighth grade without being suspended from school. The plan is the same for ninth graders with the same mentor staying with the young men through the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades. Data shows that the highest percentage of issues and problems occurs in the ninth grade. The second highest percentage is in the sixth grade. The hope is that if problems can be solved in the sixth grade, it will help alleviate problems in the ninth grade. The desire is to offer the six mentors in this pilot program a stipend of approximately $2,500 each for work done after school with these young men. Partnerships with the business community will be pursued to obtain tickets to athletic events as a way of providing outside-of-school-hour activities for the students. Also, if the budget will allow, the desire is to provide each of the mentors with a small amount of money ($2,500-$3,000 each) to provide tutoring services for each of these groups. Data shows that the same core group of students who get in trouble in school become repeat offenders through the ninth and tenth grades, and then in eleventh grade a high percentage may drop out of school. This program has the potential to improve the graduation rate, decrease the dropout rate and to improve the climate in school whereby not only these students, but also other students who have been adversely affected by these behaviors, will get a better education. Dr. Becoats stated that the principals are committed to this process and will be intricately involved along with the mentors. The amount of $1,250 has been budgeted for stipends, $1,250 for leadership activities or other activities that the students may be involved in and $1,000 for field trips per site. At the request of the board, Dr. Becoats will provide additional detail, including budget information, for this program. Middle School Character Education Program Update Dr. John Morris, chief student services officer, presented to the board an update on the middle school character education program. In July of 2006, the United States Department of Education/Partnerships in Character Education Programs (PCEP) awarded nearly $1.6 million to GCS and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in a four-year grant to study the impact of character education on the social, ethical and academic achievement of middle school students. Dr. Philip Vincent, character education consultant and author, is the project director. Six GCS middle schools were randomly selected by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the four-year study. The six schools participating are Ferndale, Jamestown, Kernodle, Northeast, Northwest and Welborn. GCS is now in year two of the four-year grant. The six schools have implemented many initiatives as part of the grant requirements. The presentation to the board focused on implementation of the goals, curriculum integration and collaboration with the Diversity Office and National Conference of Community and Justice (NCCJ). Highlighting school efforts and the next steps of implementation were also discussed. Philip Vincent, Social Worker Katherine Munns and Executive Director of Student Services Gwen Willis were present to provide information and to answer questions. Magnet School Program Update Tony Burks, director of magnet and choice schools, presented to the board an update on the existing magnet schools including snapshots and a school-by-school review. Chief Curriculum and Organizational Development Officer Beth Folger, Director of Student Assignment Doyle Craven and Director of Planning Donna Bell met with Mr. Burks to brainstorm ways to condense and represent the salient points of the detailed school evaluation forms. The magnet office used this information to rank and categorize schools. The following snapshots were provided: 2006-07 Performance Composite, 2006-07 Adequate Yearly Progress, 2007-08 Total Magnet Students, 2007-08 Total Applications Received, 2007-08 Number and Percentage of White/European-American Students, 2007-08 Number and Percentage of Students of Color and 2007-08 Number and Percentage of Students Receiving Free or Reduced Lunch (in this document there is a revision for Lincoln with the correct percentage being 30.5). In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the schools, a series of five questions have been presented to principals and coordinators.
As a result, helpful information has been received and followed up by discussion of ways that successful programs and ideas can be shared throughout the district. Chairman Duncan asked that Mr. Burks come back to the board in June with additional data including recommendations on whether there are any schools which should not be continued going forward. Sharon Ozment, chief financial officer, presented to the board an update on the funding used to support magnet and high school option programs. Board Discussion Search Process for New Superintendent Chairman Duncan led the board in a discussion regarding the search process for a new superintendent. Board members shared their ideas for conducting this search. Some suggestions mentioned included:
There was general agreement among board members regarding how to move forward in the search. This process will be discussed further at the February 7 board meeting. Reports from the Chairman Chairman Duncan called on board member Dot Kearns to provide information on behalf of the legislative committee. As directed by the board at the January 26 retreat, the wording has been revised in the resolution regarding board support for H.R. 648, the No Child Left Behind Improvements Act of 2007, to say “That the Guilford County School Board supports the major components of HR 648 and therefore urges …” Ms. Kearns stated that if board members are comfortable with this resolution, she would like to attach a memo , with signatures of each board member, saying that it comes with the endorsement of the board. Board members agreed. Closed Session At 10:22 p.m., motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to go into closed session to preserve the attorney/client privilege, to discuss personnel matters protected by state law and to give instruction to our attorney and staff regarding material terms for a proposed contract for real property. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote. The board returned to open session at 12:39 p.m. Attorney Jill Wilson reported to the board about a conversation she had with Sharon Kurtz, who is the legal counsel for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners. This was done in an effort to understand and accomplish the goals of the board of education regarding Eastern and the bond. Ms. Kurtz has consulted with her bond counsel and has provided assurance to Ms. Wilson, in writing, that although county commissioners divided the bond, all of the projects from which money was borrowed to complete Eastern will be refunded by the county commissioners using those bond proceeds. Ms. Wilson stated that the main concern of the board was that if the board enters into this agreement and the purpose of the bond is limited to specifically funding Eastern, then the board would have no way to replenish the approximately $16 million that had been committed to other projects, but were moved to rebuild Eastern. Ms. Wilson said that this information from Ms. Kurtz may help board members to reconsider the motion made to remove Eastern from the bond projects on January 26, 2008. It gives assurance to the board that by using the structure the commissioners had approved (with Eastern separated), the Eastern project will be funded with this bond or other means if the bond doesn’t pass. Motion was made by Darlene Garrett, seconded by Kris Cooke, to reconsider the motion the board made on January 26, 2008 asking for Eastern High to be taken off the bond. The motion passed upon unanimous show of hands. Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to retract the board’s request to the County Commissioners to remove the Eastern High replacement from the upcoming bond issue. The motion passed upon unanimous show of hands. Board member Anita Sharpe read a portion of the fully-executed Memorandum of Understanding dated October 18, 2007 between the County of Guilford and the Guilford County Board of Education stating that the reference in this document is to a bond referendum (not referenda) and, as a result, her opinion is that this agreement has been violated. Chairman Duncan also shared comments regarding this situation. Board Comments Board members were each allowed two minutes to make remarks, as they deemed appropriate. Adjournment With no further business, at 12:58 a.m. on Friday, February 1, motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Kris Cooke to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.
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In compliance with federal laws, Guilford County Schools administers all educational programs, employment activities and admissions without discrimination because of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, color, age, military service, disability or gender, except where exemption is appropriate and allowed by law. Refer to the Board of Education's Discrimination Free Environment Policy AC for a complete statement. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the Guilford County Schools Compliance Officer, 120 Franklin Boulevard, Greensboro, NC 27401; 336.370.2323. All Guilford County Schools facilities, both educational and athletic, are tobacco-free learning environments. © 2007 Guilford County Schools, 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, NC 27401 336.370.8100 |
