July 31, 2007

The Montgomery County School Board met on the above date at the Montgomery County Government Center at 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of a joint meeting with the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.

School Board Members Present

Penny J. Franklin, Chair W. Wat Hopkins

Jamie M. Bond B. Wendell Jones

David G. Dunkenberger, II Susan K. Morikawa

Staff Members Present

Tiffany Anderson, Superintendent

Daniel A. Berenato Walter L. Shannon

Anita P. Johnston

Board of Supervisors Members Present

Mary W. Biggs Annette S. Perkins

Gary D. Creed James D. Politis

Douglas W. Marrs Steve L. Spradlin

John A. Muffo

County Staff Members Present

B. Clayton Goodman, III, County Administrator

L. Carol Edmonds Marty McMahon

Call to Order

Ms. Franklin called the meeting to order after dinner at 6:37 p.m.

Adoption of Agenda

On motion by Mrs. Morikawa, seconded by Mr. Jones, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the agenda as presented.

Work Session

Mr. Jones moved, seconded by Dr. Hopkins, and the Board voted unanimously to enter a work session at 6:38 p.m.

Carol Edmonds, Assistant County Administrator, told both Boards that the county administration’s plan is to issue bonds for capital projects in spring 2008. Ms. Edmonds said in order to issue the bonds, a purchase agreement for property must be in place by December 2007. She noted that a communication strategy among the boards would be very important in the future. Board members discussed various options for handling communications and decided to continue discussions via liaison meetings and quarterly joint meetings.

Ms. Edmonds summarized the process for the three phases of borrowing as follows:

Phase I (2007-2009) $31,000,000 Blacksburg High School Stadium and Elliston Lafayette Elementary School

Phase II (2009-2011) $27,900,000 Price’s Fork Elementary School

Phase III (2011-2013) $40,000,000 Project Sequence to be Determined

Mr. Creed expressed his desire to allow the School Board to handle the funding allocated for school construction and decide on the order of projects. He asked that the Board of Supervisors be kept informed of what is going on with the projects. Mr. Creed added that the School Board is more than capable of proceeding with construction and handling the details of the projects.

Dr. Hopkins noted that the level of trust between the two boards is higher than ever.

Mr. Creed urged the School Board to be careful about spending the allocated funding because there may not be enough money to finish all of the projects on the list.

Mr. Politis asked what would be done about the Auburn project if the elementary schools in Elliston and Price’s Fork cannot be built simultaneously due to land issues in Price’s Fork. He said there are no land issues in the Auburn community.

Mr. Spradlin said his expectation is very high that there will be a purchase agreement signed for Price’s Fork before the December deadline. He stated that no one has forgotten about the Auburn project.

Ms. Franklin asked members of the Board of Supervisors if the priority in looking at the construction projects is cost and speed or the funding of specific projects. Mr. Muffo said he believes cost and speed should be the priority.

The Board of Supervisors members expressed their desire to have the next joint meeting in conjunction with presentations on the Career and Technical Education program as was done some years ago. School Board members agreed to schedule the next meeting with this in mind.

Return to Regular Session

Mrs. Morikawa moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, and the Board voted unanimously to return to regular session at 7:40 p.m.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 7:41 p.m. on motion by Mr. Jones, seconded by Mr. Dunkenberger, and passed unanimously.

School Board Chair Clerk of the School Board