February
19, 2008
The Montgomery County School Board met on the above date in the administrative building at 6:15 p.m. for the purpose of a work session.
Board Members Present
B. Wendell Jones, Chair Penny J. Franklin
Phyllis T. Albritton W. Wat
Jamie M. Bond Joseph T. Ivers, Jr.
David G. Dunkenberger, II
Staff Members Present
Tiffany Anderson, Superintendent
Daniel A. Berenato Carol Reynolds
Patricia A. Gaudreau Walter L.
Lois T. Graham Nelson L.
Simpkins
Anita P. Johnston Richard D. Weaver
Katie Miano Laura
Williams
Mark J. Pasier
Call
to Order
Mr.
Jones called the meeting to order with the pledge of allegiance to the flag at 7:30
p.m.
Adoption
of Agenda
On motion by Mr. Ivers, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, the Board voted unanimously to adopt a revised agenda removing closed session from the agenda.
Honors, Awards and Recognitions
Continuing
the commitment of recognizing student achievement and accomplishments, four new
“Senior of the Month” selections have been made by high school principals in
Eastern
Brittany
McElwee, December Senior of the Month for AHS, and Kerri Styne, January Senior
of the Month for AHS, were also recognized.
Lauren
Dalton, EMHS Senior of the Month for February, was not present and will be
recognized at a future meeting.
The
School Board recognized members of the BHS golf team for winning the Group AA
State Championship. Members of the team
include George Perkovich, Kyle Henderson, Doug Mullendore, Jake Mondy, Michael
Bekken, Alec Good, Zach Wall, Brian Langley, Courtney Ellenbogen, Stephen
Duetsch, Kevin Yoon, and Jackson Sims.
Doug Day and Rick Mattox coach the team.
The
School Board recognized the BHS girl’s cross country team for winning the Group
AA State Championship. Members of the
team include Kathleen Stevens, Ling Beisecker, Leah Fitchett, Jennie Welsh, Joanna
Stevens, Trinity Foreman, Laurel MacMillan, Sarah Dorrell, Avery Mattingly, and
Allison Homer. James DeMarco, Ingrid
Burbey, Marcia Barrow, and Justin Adams coach the team.
The
School Board recognized Peter Dorrell, a member of the BHS boy’s cross country
team, for winning an individual Group AA State Championship. James Demarco coaches the boy’s cross country
team.
School
Board members were honored with certificates and a reception as part of School
Board Appreciation Month in February.
The School Board
recessed at 8:05 p.m. and reconvened at 8:22 p.m.
Public Address
Steve Hiner, president of the Christiansburg Baseball Club, provided the Board with a presentation on the group’s fundraising efforts and requested financial assistance to help complete the batting cage at CHS.
Item 02/08-25 Personnel
Report: On motion by Mrs.
Albritton, seconded by Mr. Dunkenberger, the Board unanimously voted to approve
the personnel report with an addendum.
The
personnel report is attached and made a part of the minutes as pages A1-A5.
Item 02/08-26 Payment
of Bills: Ms. Franklin moved, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, and the Board voted
unanimously to approve the bills as presented.
Operating Fund:
Utilities, 02/13/08, Ck. Nos. 448238-448267,
$233,863.82
Item 02/08-25 and Item 02/08-26
Bills, 02/19/08, Ck. Nos. 448268-448501,
$217,723.21
Cafeteria:
Bills, 02/13/08, Ck. Nos. 2479-2494, $117,296.47
Work Session
Ms. Franklin moved, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, and the Board voted unanimously to enter a work session at 8:28 p.m.
Item 02/08-27 Southwest
Virginia Governor’s School Presentation: Members of the gifted staff and
students attending the governor’s school provided the Board with a presentation
on the Southwest Virginia Governor’s School.
Item
02/08-28 Student
Intervention Coordinator Presentation:
The student intervention coordinators gave a presentation on social work
services within Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
Item 02/08-29 PRIDE
Youth Survey Results: Laura Williams, Grant Writer, provided the School
Board with some of the results and information from the PRIDE Youth Survey
administered to eighth, tenth and twelfth grade students in the fall of 2007. Mrs. Williams said her biggest concern with
the survey results was in the students’ perception of risk. She said a large number of students did not
perceive marijuana as dangerous.
Item 02/08/30 Presentation
on Discipline Incidents Related to Drugs, Alcohol, and Weapons: Carol
Reynolds, Coordinator for Section 504 and School Board Discipline Matters,
briefed the Board on discipline incidents from school year 2006-2007 and the
first semester of school year 2007-2008.
Mrs. Reynolds said the number of discipline incidents appears to be
declining from last year to this year.
Mrs. Reynolds also provided the
Board with information on gang activity that she has gathered from her training
and conversations with the Virginia State Police. She presented a summary of survey results
from a gang assessment tool, which she said is based on the perceptions of
individuals. The survey was given to
building administrators, school resource officers, and school counselors.
Item
02/08-26 (Continued) and Items 02/08-27-30)
Mrs. Reynolds said there is some
evidence of gang activity in the area.
She explained to Board members that as law enforcement is more
successful in
Item 02/08-31 Health
Curriculum: Patricia Gaudreau, Supervisor of Science, Health and Physical
Education, presented the Board with information on textbooks and the health
curriculum as well as wellness initiatives in place in the school division.
Ms. Franklin said an hour a week
of physical education is not enough for students.
Return to Regular Session
Ms. Franklin moved, seconded by Mrs.
Albritton, and the Board voted unanimously to return to regular session at 10:00
p.m.
Superintendent’s Reports, Recommendations and
Announcements
Item 02/08-32 BHS Booster Club Stadium Plan (Information): Dan Berenato, Director of
Facilities, provided the Board with a draft of the athletic booster agreement
for the new BHS sports facility. The agreement
will be placed on the next School Board agenda for approval.
Item 02/08-33
Item 02/08-34 American
Electric Power (AEP) Easement at
Item
02/08-30 (Continued) and Items 02/08-31-34
Item 02/08-35 AEP
Easement at EMHS to Support Baseball Field Project (Action): Ms. Franklin moved, seconded by Mr.
Dunkenberger, and the Board voted unanimously to approve the AEP Easement at
EMHS.
Item 02/08-36 AEP
Easement at
Item 02/08-37 Supplemental
Appropriation (Action): Mrs.
Albritton moved, seconded by Ms. Franklin, and the Board voted unanimously to
request from the Board of Supervisors a supplemental appropriation to the 2007-2008
School Operating Budget, Code 610000 Instruction, in the amount of $142,218;
Code 630000 Transportation, in the amount of $18,036; and Code 640000
Operations and Maintenance, in the amount of $183,132.
Item 02/08-38 Special
Education Position (Action): Ms.
Franklin moved, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, and the Board voted unanimously to
approve a special education position to be funded with flow through dollars.
Unfinished Business by School Board Members
·
School
Board Retreat – Social Justice Training: Dr. Anderson told Board members that it would be at least a year before
social justice training could be provided to Board members based on the
schedule for the group the school division has been using. The Board agreed to think about what the
focus of this year’s retreat should be.
·
Legal
Review Session: The legal
review session was postponed to a future meeting.
New Business by School Board Members
·
Community
Bulletin Board: Mr.
Dunkenberger brought up, and the Board discussed the possibility of, placing a
community bulletin board on the MCPS website.
Dr. Anderson stated that Harvey Goodwin, Director of Technology, would
bring back information on the feasibility of doing this at a future meeting.
Items 02/08-35-38
·
Financial
Planning at the Secondary Schools: Mr. Dunkenberger expressed his desire to increase financial
planning/personal finance activities and classes for secondary students.
Mrs. Bond said
she would like an item to be placed on the next School Board meeting agenda to
discuss the baseball club’s proposal.
Dr. Anderson
discussed a survey being completed by the Montgomery County Education
Association (MCEA) to assess the group’s interest in a number of employee benefits
including waiving tuition for employees who send their children to MCPS from
other school districts. Mrs. Bond said
she would like this survey to be given to all employees (not just members of
the MCEA).
Announcements/Information
Mrs. Albritton
thanked the art teachers for displaying artwork in the resource room.
Agenda Preparation
March
4, 2008 Youth/Art and Music Presentation
Special Education Annual Plan
(Information)
March
11, 2008 Joint Meeting with the Board of
Supervisors
March
18, 2008 Senior Recognition
Recognition of SROs and DARE
Officers
Special Education Annual Plan
(Action)
Adjournment
The
meeting was adjourned at 10:55 p.m. on motion by Ms. Franklin, seconded by Mrs.
Albritton, and passed unanimously.
School Board Chair Clerk of the School Board