March
4, 2008
The
Montgomery County School Board met on the above date in the administrative
building at 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of a regular business meeting.
Board Members Present
B. Wendell Jones, Chair
Phyllis T. Albritton (6:30 p.m.) Penny
J.
Jamie M. Bond W. Wat
David G. Dunkenberger, II Joseph T. Ivers, Jr.
Staff Members Present
Tiffany Anderson, Superintendent
Daniel A. Berenato Carol Reynolds
Christine C. Burton Walter L.
Kathy A. Duncan Richard D. Weaver
Harvey C. Goodwin Laura Williams
Anita P. Johnston Brad King, Attorney
Mark J. Pasier
Call to Order
Mr.
Jones called the meeting to order with the pledge of allegiance to the flag at
6:03 p.m.
Adoption
of Agenda
On motion by Ms. Franklin, seconded by Mr. Ivers, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the agenda as presented.
Closed Session
Ms. Franklin
moved, seconded by Mr. Ivers, and the Board voted unanimously to enter into a
closed meeting pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A) of the Code of Virginia
at 6:04 p.m. for the purpose of discussion of the following specific matters:
Student
Matter: Discussion or
consideration of a student disciplinary matter, as authorized by Section 2.2-3711
(A)(2) of the Code of Virginia.
Legal
Matters: Consultation
with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of
legal advice by counsel, as authorized by Section 2.2-3711(A)(7) of the Code
of Virginia.
Personnel
Matters: The
discussion or consideration of prospective candidates for employment;
assignment; appointment; promotion; performance; demotion; salaries;
disciplining or resignation of specific public school officers, employees or
appointees, as authorized by Section 2.2-3711 (A)(1) of the Code of Virginia.
Real Estate Matters: The discussion or consideration of the
acquisition of real estate for the construction of a new school, where
discussion in an open meeting would adversely affect the bargaining position or
negotiating strategy of the public body, as authorized by Section
2.2-3711(A)(3) of the Code of Virginia.
Return to Open Session and Certification
Ms. Franklin
moved, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, and the Board voted unanimously to return to
open session at 7:32 p.m.
Ms. Franklin
moved, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, and the Board adopted the following
resolution:
WHEREAS, the County School Board of
convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative
recorded vote and in accordance with provisions of the Virginia Freedom of
Information Act; and
WHEREAS, Section
2.2-3711(d) of the Code of
requires a certification by this School Board that such closed meeting
was conducted in conformity with Virginia Law;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
that the County School Board of
hereby certifies that, to the best of each member’s knowledge (i) only
public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by
Ayes: Phyllis
T. Albritton W. Wat
Jamie M. Bond Joseph
T. Ivers, Jr.
David
G. Dunkenberger, II B. Wendell Jones,
Chair
Penny J. Franklin
_________________________ March
4, 2008
Clerk
of the
Action
Mr. Ivers moved, seconded by Ms. Franklin, and the Board voted unanimously to long-term suspend student A from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) until the end of the next marking period.
Public Address
Matthew Repass urged the Board to waive non-resident tuition for MCPS employees who want their children to attend MCPS. Mr. Repass noted that the Board cannot control many of the employee benefits but said this is one benefit that can be controlled.
Marcee Repass, an art teacher at
Price’s
Item 03/08-39 Personnel
Report: On motion by Ms. Franklin, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, the
Board unanimously voted to approve the personnel report with an addendum.
The report is attached and made a part of
these minutes as pages A1-A7.
Item 03/08-40 Payment
of Bills: On motion by Mrs. Albritton, seconded by Mr. Dunkenberger, the
Board unanimously voted to approve the bills as presented.
Operating Fund:
Utilities, 02/26/08, Ck. Nos. 448502-448519,
$135,752.80
Bills, 03/04/08, Ck. Nos. 448520-448783, $323,992.11
Item 03/08-39 and Item 03/08-40
Payroll, 02/29/08, Ck. Nos. 45399-45416, $4,738,236.29
Fixed Charges, 02/29/08, Ck. Nos. 45417-45484, $1,789,606.41
Cafeteria:
Bills, 02/26/08, Ck. Nos. 2495-2502,
$90,427.07
Payroll, 02/29/08, Direct Deposit, $138,313.34
Fixed Charges, 02/29/08, Ck. Nos. 5156-5176, $34,615.18
Item 03/08-41 Consent Items: The following items were approved by general
consent:
1.
Minutes: Minutes from the budget work session on
January 15, 2008, the work session on January 22, 2008, and the public
hearing/regular session on February 5, 2008.
2.
Field Trips:
a.
The MCPS robotics team to travel to
b.
U. S. history and government students at
Christiansburg High School (CHS) to travel to Washington, D. C., on January
18-21, 2009. Students will travel via
charter bus. Accommodations are to be
provided by a hotel not yet determined.
The cost per student is $400.
c.
Art guild students at Blacksburg High School (BHS)
to travel to Washington, D. C., on April 2, 2008. Students will travel via charter bus. No accommodations are needed. The cost per student is $46.
d.
The Singing Eagles choir at Elliston Lafayette
Elementary School (ELES) to travel to
e.
Eighth grade students at Christiansburg Middle School
(CMS) to travel to Washington, D. C., on April 4, 2008. Students will travel
via charter bus. No accommodations are
needed. The cost per student is $75.
Item 03/08-40 (Continued) and Item 03/08-41
f.
Band students at Eastern Montgomery High School
(EMHS) to travel to
g.
The indoor track team at CHS to travel to
h.
Students at
i.
The Mimosa team at CMS to travel to the Asheboro Zoo
in
3.
Grants:
a.
Orff Program Expansion at Price’s
b.
AEDs for
c.
Transition Field Trip: A grant to
provide an educational and celebratory experience for a group of seven MCPS
special education students who are completing their public school program as
participants in the On Campus Transition Partnership program at
Item 03/08-41
(Continued)
Superintendent’s Reports, Recommendations,
Announcements:
Item 03/08-42
Item 03/08-43 Youth Art/Music Presentation (Information): The CMS band performed for Board
members. Kathy Duncan, Fine Arts
Supervisor, presented the Board with gifts and artwork from students to
celebrate Youth Art Month and Music in our Schools Month.
Item 03/08-44 Presentation on Member One Bank (Information): The Board heard a presentation from Brandon
Funk, manager of Member One Credit Union, regarding the new branch of the
credit union that recently opened at CHS.
Mr. Funk told Board members that the credit union will provide students
with the opportunity to operate and market their own branch. He said it will also allow students to teach
their peers about the importance of financial literacy.
Item 03/08-45 BHS Athletic Boosters Facility Agreement
(Action): Ms. Franklin moved, seconded by Mr. Ivers,
and the Board voted unanimously to approve the BHS Athletic Boosters Facility
Agreement.
Item 03/08-46 Special Education Annual Plan (Information): Dr. Anderson told Board members that the
Special Education Annual Plan is a state mandated document approved each
year. The plan will be brought back to
the Board for approval at the next meeting.
Item 03/08-47 Christiansburg Baseball Club Request
(Discussion): Board members
discussed the Christiansburg Baseball Club’s request for funding to complete
batting cages at CHS. Dan Berenato,
Director of Facilities, told Board members that the batting cages planned for
CHS would far exceed the standard of the batting cages at the other three high
schools.
Items
03/08-42-47
Mr. Dunkenberger stated that the Board would have to
upgrade all the batting cages at the high schools if it approves funding for
the CHS batting cages.
Mr. Ivers said he believes the group should fundraise
to acquire the money it needs. There was no further discussion.
Item 03/08-48 Community Bulletin Board (Information): Harvey Goodwin, Director of Technology,
briefed the Board on the challenges of offering a community bulletin board on
the MCPS website. Mr. Goodwin said offering
this service could impact E-Rate funding because in order to receive E-Rate
funding, school division websites are required to be used solely for
educational purposes. He also noted the
School Board attorney’s concerns about the difficulty in providing open/free
access to the community.
Item 03/08-49 Announcements/Calendar
for March (Information): Dr. Anderson made no announcements.
Unfinished Business by School Board Members
School Board Retreat – Board members proposed holding the retreat on July 11-12, 2008.
Mr. Jones brought up the concerns expressed by the speakers during public address regarding non-resident tuition. Dr. Anderson reminded Board members that the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) is surveying employees for feedback on all benefits including non-resident tuition.
Dr. Hopkins asked for information on what nearby counties charge for non-resident tuition.
Mrs. Bond thanked Dr. Anderson for providing college and scholarship information to parents via a letter sent from the superintendent’s office and information posted on the MCPS website.
New Business by
School Board Members
Plans for April 16 – Dr. Anderson briefed the Board on plans for April 16. She said she would provide the Board with more information on these plans closer the date.
Item 03/08-47
(Continued), Item 03/08-48, and Item 03/08-49
Announcements/Information
Dr. Anderson
announced that several members of the forensics team at BHS qualified for the
national competition.
Mr. Ivers told
Board members that students from BHS and CHS did well at the regional wrestling
tournament. He said CHS placed first and
BHS placed third.
Mr. Jones
announced that Moog Components recently donated $20,000 to the BHS stadium
project.
Agenda Preparation
March 11, 2008 Joint
Meeting with the Board of Supervisors
March 18, 2008 Senior
Recognition
Recognition
of SROs and DARE Officers
Recognition
of Elementary Schools – State Awards
Special
Education Annual Plan (Action)
Draft of
Salary Plan
Energy
Performance Contracting
Adjournment
The
meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. on motion by Mrs. Albritton, seconded by Mr.
Ivers, and passed unanimously.
School Board Chair Clerk of the School Board