Culpeper County School Board 10/9/2007 ~ 2:06:55 PM
Minutes

August 13, 2007

Page 1

CULPEPER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD

Minutes

August 13, 2007

The regular meeting of the School Board of Culpeper County was held on August 13, 2007 at the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room at 302 N. Main Street, Culpeper, VA. Present were Elizabeth Hutchins (Cedar Mountain District), Chair; Claudia Vento (West Fairfax District); Leanne Jenkins (Jefferson District); George Dasher (Stevensburg District), Vice-Chair; Robert Beard (East Fairfax District); Jennifer McCauley (Salem District); Division Superintendent Dr. David Cox, Clerk of the Board Jeff Shomo, Parliamentarian Eric Conti, Executive Director of Administrative Services Dr. Larry Carter, Director of Human Resources Starr Rowe, and Deputy Clerk Pearl Jamison. Mr. Robert Jenkins III (Catalpa District) was absent due to work.

At 5:30 p.m. the School Board and members of staff toured the activity building.

At 7 p.m. Ms. Hutchins called the meeting to order and Dr. Cox called the roll.

Ms. Hutchins noted that Mr. Jenkins was absent due to work.

Those present observed a moment of silence.

Ms. Hutchins led the Pledge of Allegiance.

On motion of Mr. Dasher seconded by Ms. Vento, the board approved the adoption of the agenda. Motion carried 6-0 by voice vote (Mr. Jenkins was absent.)

Before Delegations, Ms. Hutchins said persons may present ideas or concerns regarding Culpeper County Public Schools. She said there would be no action taken by the Board at this Meeting and that such items would be referred to the appropriate administrators for future information and research and reported back to the Board at a later meeting. She said that personalities and behavior of employees are not to be presented during this period but are to be reported to the employee’s immediate supervisor. Ms. Hutchins noted there would be a three minute time limit for speakers.

Aaron Greso (West Fairfax) – Mr. Greso said driver’s licenses would provide better proof of residency rather than a phone bill. Mr. Greso said by viewing driver’s license you would also prove their residency.

Hortense Hinton (Stevensburg District) – Dr. Hinton said she facilitated the CARES Summit at Culpeper High School. She said they spoke about the community and schools. She said the dialogue was good. She said our community is in the midst of rapid change. She said the schools and community need a vision. She said more parents need to be involved in CARES. She encouraged the board to continue the dialogue.

On motion of Mr. Beard seconded by Mr. Dasher, the Board approved the consent agenda. Motion carried 6-0 by voice vote.

(a) Minutes ofJune 25, 2007

(b) Payroll and Payment of Bills

(c) Personnel Recommendations

(d) Approval of Special Education Advisory Committee

(e) Request of permission for the Superintendent to teach a "School Law" class

(f) Request to Increase Adult Lunch Prices to $2.75

The board considered the following action items:

(a)  Approval of Resolution for Leasing School Busses

Mr. Shomo said this is the final installment on bus leases. He said we have purchased $636,000 each year. He said this lease will purchase 7 more busses.

On motion of Ms. Jenkins seconded by Ms. Vento, the Board approved the lease as presented.

YEAS

Robert Beard

George Dasher

Elizabeth Hutchins

Leanne Jenkins

Jennifer McCauley

Claudia Vento

ABSENT

Robert L. Jenkins, III

Motion carried 6-0 by roll call vote.

(b) Approval to Nominate Elizabeth Hutchins to serve as a candidate for VSBA Central Regional Chair

On motion of Ms. Vento seconded by Mr. Dasher, the Board nominated Ms. Hutchins to serve as a candidate for VSBA Central Regional Chair. Motion carried 6-0 by voice vote.

The board heard the following reports:

(a) Update on Water and Sewer at Eastern View High School

Mr. Spencer introduced Paul Howard, Director of Environmental Services for the county.

Mr. Howard said the contract for water/sewer has been awarded and the completion date is December 6th. He said they have cleared the right of way. He said the sewage treatment plant will be installed in February/March and pump and haul will continue through the summer months.

Mr. Beard asked when the water taps will be turned on for the construction staff. Mr. Howard said they have temporary hookups now. Mr. Dasher asked about the road improvements. Mr. Howard said the county will be responsible for Rt. 666 and VDOT will be responsible for Rt. 29.

(b) Staffing Report

Ms. Rowe said we still need to hire a reading specialist and an English teacher. She said we hired 83 teachers last year and 21 of those left this year. She said we had 2.5 positions in our 07/08 budget. She said we have hired the principal for Eastern View High School. She said we had 7 individuals who accepted jobs and then resigned.

Ms. Jenkins asked if exit interviews have been completed. Ms. Rowe said HR is still receiving exit interviews.

Ms. McCauley asked if we have ever surveyed our staff as to why they stay. Ms. Rowe said that question was not specifically asked.

Mr. Dasher asked when we will hire the principal for Yowell Elementary School. Ms. Rowe said we will hire in January.

Ms. Jenkins asked if we try to keep employees by asking them what we could do to keep them here. Ms. Rowe said a lot of new teachers return home after getting a year under their belt.

Dr. Cox said we had a retention task force that surveyed teachers with less than 5 years experience. He said the turnover teacher rate for teachers with under 5 years experience is 17-25%. He said PA graduates more teachers than there are jobs. He said it is important for younger teachers to be supported with tuition.

Ms. Jenkins asked Dr. Cox to define the funding available to help with masters degrees. Dr. Cox described the funding available.

Dr. Cox introduced Roger Mello, Eastern View High School Principal. Mr. Mello said everyone has been wonderful to him during his first month. He said he looks forward to making our schools the best in the nation.

(c) Update on Water at Emerald Hill Elementary School

Mr. Robson said there has always been an ongoing problem with the water level and flow at EHES. Mr. Robson said in September we had a geo-physical survey done at EHES. He said they identified four sites for an additional well. He said two sites were unacceptable. He said one site produced 50 gallons a minute. He said the draw down test will happen over the next two days. He said after that they will determine the best route to get the water to the storage tanks. He said we can haul water to EHES if we have to.

Ms. Hutchins asked what is in place for the opening of school. Mr. Robson said Umberger’s will haul water if necessary. Mr. Robson said the average flow per day is 4500 gallons and that is the size of the hauling truck.

Dr. Cox said we do not have a final cost for this work. He said it will cost between $50,000 - $100,000 for this installation. He said the school system pays about $40,000 per year for wastewater disposal.

Mr. Shomo said the testing will cost $18,500. He said this could get pricey because of the distance from the pump house.

(d) Building Updates

Activity Building - Mr. Spencer noted that board members toured the activity building prior to the meeting.

Yowell Elementary School – Mr. Spencer said they have started the retaining wall, lower level footings, and block masonry on the foundation. He said they are on schedule with a completion date of August 1, 2008. Mr. Dasher asked about additional cost savings. He said during the cost evaluation process several areas were suggested to save money. He said they chose the value savings they could live with and expected more value savings to be proposed. He said he has asked Crabtree to meet with staff regarding additional cost savings. He said he has not heard anything officially from Crabtree. He said we need to make up $1.5 million and he has made it plain to Crabtree.

Ms. Hutchins asked when the board will receive an update on soft-costs. Dr. Cox said this information will be presented at each monthly work session.

Mr. Dasher said the school board wants answers on August 27th from Crabtree.

Eastern View High School - Mr. Spencer said EVHS is on or ahead of schedule. He said they will soon be air-conditioning some of the building. He said most of the concrete has been done outside.

Mr. Mello said he is working on RFP’s for soft costs. He said teachers have put a lot of work into the process. He said he will be meeting with Follett for library equipment. He said he will create a priority list for equipment. He said the communication committee has been wonderful. He said Dr. Nicolay has also created an EVHS website. He said he is open to speak with community groups about school and Culpeper County. He said they hope to get some science materials from William and Mary.

(e)  Transition Team Report

Included in building updates.

(f)  Financial Report

Mr. Shomo distributed a handout. He said the agenda pages reflected funds through June 30, 2007. He said the handout reflects year end expenditures. He said the state and federal revenues were more than expected. He said we collected $63,178,348 in revenues with expenditures of $62,277,117. He said the bottom line is we will have a balance of about $901,231. He said the auditors have done the preliminary work. He said we finished the parking area and a/c on the activity building. Mr. Shomo said we will get $381,000 for the development behind Lowes (Meadows Manor). He said we are in pretty good shape for the end of year.

Ms. Jenkins asked when the completed audit for the activity accounts would be complete. Mr. Shomo said the end of September.

Dr. Cox said the Superintendent’s FY09 budget will be presented at the September meeting.

(g) CARES Report

Ms. Hutchins referred members to their packet. Ms. Vento thanked Dr. Hinton for facilitating the meeting on June 30th. She said there was a very diverse group; however, they would like to see more Hispanic representation. She said the meeting was very enlightening. She referenced the draft press release regarding the upcoming summit.

Ms. Thomas-Cox said those in attendance were excited about being involved and addressing issues they felt powerless in. She said Dr. Cox laid to rest some myths. She said they felt the community should be involved in rezoning issues. Ms. Cox would like to see the issues resolved now; however, the group wanted more dialogue. She would like to see CARES continue. She said Healthy Culpeper’s mission is focused on different issues. She said their membership includes business people in Culpeper. She said CARES is more parents and educators.

Ms. Jenkins said the summit was a means to get community members involved in what the problem is and what can we do to fix it. Ms. Jenkins said the problems don’t just belong to the school system but rather the parents and the community. She said CARES hopes to help students to succeed before they fail.

Ms. McCauley said a major change will take the entire community coming together. She said everyone has a part in this. She said she would like the CARES group to share their findings with Healthy Culpeper. She said she would like the schools responsibility to be defined. She said Healthy Culpeper represents the welfare of the community. She said it is very important to work collaboratively.

Ms. Vento said the focus was the community. She said Healthy Culpeper is more of an organizational group not parents. She said CARES wants to hear new thoughts and ideas. Ms. Vento would like to have another summit.

Mr. Beard said we need “unity” in the community. He said we need to talk and listen and hear what others say. He said we can support the discussions and the fanning of this spark. Mr. Beard said we should have another follow up meeting.

Mr. Dasher said he would support another follow up meeting. He also requested to see the demographics of the group – income, race, etc.

Ms. Vento said on June 30th the group consisted of two-thirds African-American and one-third white constituents. Ms. Vento said there was a large Hispanic picnic that day that which may have cut down on Hispanic attendance.

Ms. Jenkins said the energy at the meeting was phenomenal.

Ms. McCauley requested that our PIO put out an article relative to the next meeting. Ms. Hutchins said a draft letter is included in the packet.

Ms. Hutchins said it is very exciting to have a group of community members who want to help the students. She said she supports the second summit.

It was the consensus of the board to proceed with the second meeting.

Ms. Hutchins recognized Mr. Nixon and Ms. Hansohn from the Board of Supervisors.

(g)  Career Partners

Ms. Vento said Career Partners have met several times since the last school board meeting. She said they had a Leadership Academy retreat. The next meeting will be August 29th.

(h) Governor’s School Report

Ms. Hutchins said a Mt. Vista Governor’s School retreat was held on August 7. She said all 7 counties were represented and there were also governor’s school teachers in attendance. She said the superintendents will get together to discuss expansion – grades, numbers, courses, etc. She said there is no planned additional space at the Warrenton campus. She said they also discussed searching corporate sponsorships to assist with equipment and funding. She said the superintendents will report back to the board. Dr. Cox said the superintendent meeting has not been scheduled.