May 19-20, 2006

The Montgomery County School Board met on the above dates at the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke for a retreat beginning at 1:00 p.m. on May 19, 2006.

Board Members Present

Penny J. Franklin, Chair B. Wendell Jones

Jamie M. Bond Amy U. Lythgoe (2:30-5:30 p.m. on May 19)

David G. Dunkenberger, II Susan K. Morikawa

W. Wat Hopkins

Staff Members Present

Tiffany Anderson, Superintendent

Nancy L. Ballinger (May 20) Lisa R. McAlexander

Daniel A. Berenato (May 19) Walter L. Shannon (May 19)

Christina T. Gilley (May 20) Jeanette Warwick

Harvey C. Goodwin Richard D. Weaver (May 20)

Anita P. Johnston (May 19)

Call to Order

The meeting came to order at 1:12 p.m. on May 19, 2006.

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

Walt Shannon, Director of Management Services, told Board members that it’s possible that the school division will not have a budget in place until July because the General Assembly has yet to approve a budget. Mr. Shannon added that the county and the school administration are working on contingency plans in the event that a budget is not in place until July.

Mr. Shannon and Dr. Anderson presented the Board with compensation options for the budget and various options for cuts in the budget. The following options for compensation were presented by Dr. Anderson:

Option 1 9.4 percent overall compensation increase for all employee groups

Option 2 9.4 percent overall compensation increase for teachers

Option 3 9.4 percent overall compensation increase for teachers and 5 percent increase for all other employee groups

Option 4 8 percent overall compensation increase for teachers and 5 percent increase for all other employee groups

Dr. Hopkins stated that the Board could always decrease the amount of compensation in the budget (possibly to 6.7 percent overall) without having to make reductions to the budget.

Ms. Franklin said she has a problem with cutting hours for instructional aides.

Mrs. Morikawa stated that she would like to see compensation allocated equally across all employee groups. Mr. Dunkenberger noted that he has a problem with saying that one position is worth more than another. Mrs. Bond agreed.

Mr. Dunkenberger said he would like to see figures on a 6.7 percent or 7.7 percent overall compensation increase for all employees.

Mr. Jones asked about the possibility of making changes to the health insurance plans. Mr. Shannon told Board members that the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) would rather see a lower salary increase while maintaining current health insurance benefits than a larger salary increase and a change in health insurance benefits.

Ms. Franklin asked that potential changes to contract times for principals be reviewed with the principals prior to further discussion.

Dr. Anderson said budget discussion would be placed on the next School Board meeting agenda.

The Board recessed at 2:20 p.m. and reconvened at 2:40 p.m.

Mr. Dunkenberger moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, and the Board voted unanimously to approve a field trip for the Elliston Lafayette Elementary School Singing Eagles to travel to Hershey Park, Pennsylvania, on May 26-28, 2006.

The Board spent the remainder of the day working with Barbara Allen, Director of Caucus and Urban Development with the National School Boards Association (NSBA), on Board development.

The Board recessed at 4:50 p.m. and reconvened at 5:00 p.m. at which time discussion continued.

The Board recessed at 5:37 p.m. on May 19, 2006 and reconvened on May 20, 2006 at 8:30 a.m.

Nancy Ballinger, Supervisor of Gifted Education, shared an overview of the MCPS Gifted Education Program with the School Board. She talked about the philosophy of the program and noted that the state requires that the school division maintain one gifted staff person per each 1,000 students in average daily membership.

Richard Weaver, Supervisor of Career and Technical Education (CTE) for MCPS, talked about the existing program and examined ways to redesign and improve the existing program. Among a number of ideas for the School Board to consider were a new CTE center in Montgomery County and specialized academies located at each high school. Discussions centered on ensuring that offerings would match industry needs. Dr. Anderson agreed that a presentation on business partnerships would be placed on an upcoming agenda.

Christina Gilley, Supervisor of Special Education, said inclusion would now be occurring across the nation as a result of new laws. She went on to talk about what is happening in MCPS in terms of services offered, behaviors that are dealt with on a daily basis and how situations are handled by trained staff at the school and division level.

Jeanette Warwick, Assistant Superintendent, talked to the School Board about alternative education. This presentation encompassed the following program areas:

· Independence Secondary School (IS), which currently houses 40 students;

· Wilson Avenue School (WAS), with a current enrollment of 4 students;

· the Phoenix Center, which is a transitional program with a student membership that varies but traditionally does not have more than 10 students per month in its student membership and has a capacity of 20 students;

· the Rivendell program, which currently has 31 students.

The School Board learned about the origins of these programs and how the programs have expanded to their current structure.

Mrs. Morikawa made a motion to amend the agenda to add a closed session to consider a personnel matter immediately before lunch, which was seconded by Mr. Jones, and passed unanimously.

Harvey Goodwin, Director of Technology, spoke to the School Board about the potential benefits of virtual education. He noted that Don Simpkins would now be working in technology helping to coordinate this effort.

Dr. Anderson asked the School Board for parameters in terms of moving WAS closer to Rivendell in order for WAS students to access the co-op programs offered at Rivendell. As the School Board looked at available space at old Christiansburg Middle School, there were questions about the possibility of having to use some of this space for “overflow” elementary enrollment in Christiansburg. Dr. Anderson responded that she had been told this was not a viable option. Dr. Hopkins questioned why the space would work for one group of students but not for another. Mr. Jones wanted information on how much funding it would take to bring the cafeteria “up to code.” Several Board members reiterated that this had been discussed as an alternative space in the past. Dr. Anderson agreed to add this as an agenda item on the next agenda and said she would gather requested information.

Dr. Anderson shared that IS currently has 30 students and has a capacity of 50 students. A suggestion was made to keep middle school students separate from high school students. Discussion continued about the possibility of consolidating programs to best meet student needs. In response to a Board member’s question, Dr. Anderson said WAS students would be matched with the program that best suits their needs if a consolidation occurs. She explained that in most cases this would be Rivendell.

Dr. Hopkins referenced a recent IS parent meeting and concerns noted about their children’s ability to take classes at Christiansburg High School and related loss of time due to travel. Mr. Goodwin and Ms. Gilley addressed Dr. Hopkins’ concerns related to this.

The School Board delayed looking at the mission and vision statements due to the absence of Mrs. Lythgoe during this day of the retreat.

Under the topic of “establishing priorities for future board meetings,” Board members said they would like to see presentations on the following topics:

1. Mobile Unit Usage in the County

a) How many do we have?

b) Where are they located?

c) What are they used for?

2. Business Partnerships

3. Mission and Vision Statement

(Dr. Hopkins commented that the board may wish to examine the FOCUS 2006 Report in connection with the mission and vision statement)

4. Usage of Old CMS

5. Special Education (how behaviors manifest themselves)

6. How to Engage the Community

Dr. Hopkins cautioned others about bringing items up under discussion that really need to be put on the next agenda.

Mr. Dunkenberger asked if “Discussion” and “New Business” could be combined on the agenda. Dr. Anderson agreed to check with the clerk to see if this would be a possibility.

Dr. Hopkins mentioned a communication by a previous board member that was very helpful in keeping the community informed. In discussions about ways to communicate with the community, Dr. Anderson said she would talk with Anita Johnston, Clerk/Public Information Officer, to ask her to alert PTA/PTO presidents of upcoming board meetings and associated recognitions on the agenda. A suggestion was made to have a School Board meeting in a different strand throughout the year. Some Board members were not in favor of this due to perceived limited attendance. Another suggestion was to have a “Meet the School Board” event once a quarter.

Mr. Dunkenberger asked if a statement about the role of a School Board member could be added to the School Board site on the MCPS web page. Dr. Anderson agreed to take care of this.

Closed Session

On motion by Mrs. Morikawa, seconded by Mr. Dunkenberger, the Board voted unanimously to enter into a closed meeting pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A) of the Code of Virginia at 11:44 a.m. for the purpose of discussion of the following specific matter:

Personnel Matter: 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.

Return to Open Session and Certification

Mr. Dunkenberger moved, seconded by Mr. Jones, and the Board voted unanimously to return to open session at 11:48 a.m.

Dr. Hopkins moved, seconded by Mrs. Morikawa, and the Board adopted the following resolution:

WHEREAS, the County School Board of Montgomery County has

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 Virginia 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 Montgomery County hereby

certifies that, to the best of each member’s knowledge (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies, and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the meeting were heard, discussed, or considered.

Ayes: Jamie M. Bond B. Wendell Jones

David G. Dunkenberger, II Susan K. Morikawa

W. Wat Hopkins Penny J. Franklin, Chair

Mr. Jones left the meeting at 11:50 a.m.

The remaining group then had lunch.

On motion by Mrs. Bond, seconded by Mrs. Morikawa, the Board unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 12:40 p.m.

School Board Chair Deputy Clerk of the School Board