Culpepercountyschool Board 12/9/2018 9:15:07 AM

CulpeperCountySchool Board 12/9/2018 ~ 9:15:07 AM

Minutes

January 12, 2009

Page 1

CulpeperCountySchool Board

Minutes

January 12, 2009

The regular meeting of the School Board of Culpeper County was held on January 12, 2009 at the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room at 302 N. Main Street, Culpeper, VA. Present were: George Dasher (Stevensburg District); Elizabeth Hutchins (Cedar Mountain District); Robert Beard (East Fairfax District); Leanne Jenkins (Jefferson District); Russell E. Jenkins (Catalpa District); James Lee (West Fairfax District); Anne C. Luckinbill (Salem District); Clerk of the Board Jeff Shomo; Director of Human Resources Starr Rowe; Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jim Allen; and Deputy Clerk Pearl Jamison.

At 6:45 p.m. the board decided not to have a closed session for personnel.

Mr. Allen called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and Ms. Jamison called the roll.

Those present observed a moment of silence.

Mr. Allen led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mr. Allen noted that the School Board always reorganizes in January. He opened the floor for nominations for chair.

Mr. Jenkins nominated Mr. Dasher for chair, seconded by Mr. Lee. No other nominations were made for chair. Mr. Dasher was elected chair by acclamation.

Mr. Dasher informed everyone that Dr. Carter is ill this evening. He thanked Mr. Allen for filling in. He also thanked the board members for their vote of confidence. He opened the floor for nominations for vice-chair.

Mr. Beard nominated Anne Luckinbill for vice-chair, seconded by Mr. Lee.

Ms. Hutchins nominated Leanne Jenkins for vice-chair. She said with the difficult economic situation we face and the transition our system is undergoing we need experienced leadership. She said Leanne has proven herself to be working for our children and has shown a willingness to work with the entire board and to engage the public and staff.

On motion of Mr. Lee seconded by Ms. Hutchins, the School Board closed the floor to nominations. Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

Mr. Dasher asked for a show of hands for those voting for Anne Luckinbill. Motion carried 5-2 by show of hands. (Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Hutchins voted in opposition.)

Mr. Dasher asked for a show of hands for those voting for Leanne Jenkins. Motion failed 2-5 by show of hands. (Mr. Beard, Mr. Lee, Mr. Dasher, Ms. Luckinbill, and Mr. Jenkins voted in opposition.)

Ms. Luckinbill was elected vice-chair.

On motion of Mr. Beard seconded by Ms. Hutchins, the School Board considered approving the agenda with Consent Agenda Item H (Supplemental Education Services Contract) being moved to Action Item I. Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

Delegations

Mr. Dasher said persons may present ideas or concerns regarding Culpeper County Public Schools. He 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. He 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. Mr. Dasher noted there would be a threeminute time limit for speakers.

There were no delegations.

Mr. Dasher reviewed the items on the consent agenda for approval.

On motion of Ms. Jenkins seconded by Mr. Jenkins, the School Board considered approving the consent agenda with the November 24th and December 8th meeting minutes removed and Item H moved to Action Item I.

(a)Minutes of December 15, 2008 November 24, 2008, December 8, 2008(Moved to February for approval.)

(b)Payroll and Payment of Bills

(c) Personnel Recommendations

(d)Adoption of 2009 Regular Meeting Calendar, Discipline Meetings, Committee Meetings

(e)Second Reading of Policy - KN

(f)Technology Plan Yearly Review

(g)Telecommunication Services Yearly Review

(h)Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Contract - ***

NCLB Title I, Section 1116(e) of ESEA (See Action Item I.)

Ms. Jenkins noted that at the finance committee meeting she requested a detailed listing of legal services that have been provided throughout the school year. Mr. Dasher noted that it has been requested from our attorney.

Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

The board considered the following action items:

(a)Recommended Appointments

On motion of Mr. Lee seconded by Ms. Hutchins, the School Board appointed Jeff Shomo as Clerk and Pearl Jamison as Deputy Clerk. Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

(b)Consideration of School Board Committees/Appointments

Mr. Dasher said he would like to amend the committees/appointments by moving Ms. Luckinbill from Capital Planning to Administrative and moving Mr. Beard from Administrative to Capital Planning.

On motion of Ms. Luckinbill seconded by Ms. Hutchins, the committees/

appointments were approved as amended by Mr. Dasher.

Ms. Jenkins said at a future work session she would like the board to discuss the committee structure as revised in January 2008, and how it has functioned over the past year. Mr. Dasher said he would add that item to a future agenda.

Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

Mr. Dasher noted that he still needs to appoint an alternate for PREP.

(c)Approval of Signature and Board Meeting Designee in the Absence of theSuperintendent

On motion of Ms. Luckinbill seconded by Mr. Jenkins, the School Board approved Jeff Shomo and Starr Rowe to sign in the absence of the superintendent. Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

(d)Approval of School Board Bylaws

Ms. Jenkins noted that the board typically appoints a parliamentarian at the organizational meeting. Mr. Dasher said we do not have anyone in mind at this point. He said in the past Dr. Conti served in that capacity.

Mr. Beard noted that we have a spouse of a faculty member who has helped in the past with parliamentary issues. Mr. Dasher said he will approach Steve Hicks about helping out.

On motion of Mr. Beard seconded by Ms. Luckinbill, the School Board approved the Bylaws as presented in pages 29-52 of the packet.

Ms. Jenkins said she would vote against the bylaws due to previous amendments.

Motion carried 6-1 by voice vote. (Ms. Jenkins voted in opposition.)

(e)Consideration of School Board Signing Code of Conduct

On motion of Mr. Beard seconded by Mr. Lee, the School Board considered signing the “Code of Conduct”.

Ms. Jenkins said she will support this; however, she questioned in general the value. She said she has great misgivings.

Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

(f)Consideration of Dates/Location for the School Board Summer and Fall Retreat

Mr. Dasher suggested two options for the retreat: Option 1 (June26-27 and November 20-21); and Option 2 (August 7-8 and January 15-16). He noted that June 26-27 would be before the new superintendent starts.

On motion of Ms. Hutchins seconded by Mr. Beard, the School Board considered the dates as noted in Option 1. Ms. Hutchins said the new superintendent should be invited to attend and if the board waited until August to meet they would be behind the eight ball.

Ms. Jenkins said she has a conflict with June 26-27. She suggested the weekend of June 19-20. Further discussion ensued. Other board members indicated a problem with June 19-20. She said she would try to rearrange her schedule.

Mr. Dasher reminded members that the new superintendent would not take office until July 1st. He said the board would have to compensate the new superintendent for attending the retreat on June 26-27.

Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

On motion of Ms. Jenkins seconded by Mr. Jenkins, the School Board considered holding both retreats in Culpeper at a school site. Motion carried 7-0 by voice vote.

(g)Consideration of 2009 Legislative Priorities

On motion of Ms. Hutchins seconded by Mr. Lee, the School Board adopted the legislative priorities for 2009 as established by VSBA, VASS, and VEA.

Mr. Beard said he would abstain from voting due to philosophical reasons.

Motion carried 6-1 by voice vote. (Mr. Beard abstained.)

(h)Consider Canceling School Board Retreat

On motion of Mr. Jenkins seconded by Mr. Lee, the School Board considered canceling the retreat scheduled for January 16-17, 2009.

Ms. Jenkins said the staff has received very little direction from the board. She said she feels the board has not received enough information on where we are at academically and instructionally speaking. She said through the actions of the board we have not,as a board, examined setting goals and priorities and conveying those to staff. She said the board has chosen to embark on obtaining asuperintendent. She said we have, at this point, an interim and no long lasting leadership either from administration or the board. She said it is ill considered to not have a retreat to examine where we are at and where we are going and offer direction to staff.

Mr. Beard said this board has suffered from the delusion that our employees can’t do their jobs unless we are looking over their shoulders. He said we have good fine professional employees and they do good work. He said we do not need to micromanage them. He said we are moving to a more site based approach. He said he strongly disagrees and will miss having the retreat. He said with everything else going on it has not been possible to put together a very thoughtful planned agenda.

Ms. Jenkins said it is not her intention to micromanage. She said she has no lack of faith in the staff’s ability to do their jobs. She said this board is not in touch with what is going on in the classroom and that is a poor reflection on the board. She said she is confused that the board has issues to discuss but they don’t want to meet to discuss them. She said as far as the agenda she understands that there is only a brief amount of time to put together an agenda; however, the board does have things to be discussed and the board needs to be discussing them.

Mr. Dasher said there are a number of things that need to be discussed. He said we will dedicate several work sessions to getting that information. He said we do need to see more details about how the school system is performing. He said SOL testing is taking place now and that information will be available later.

Mr. Dasher said he wants the superintendent evaluation completed and submitted to the administrative committee by January 16th. He said Mr. Jenkins will assemble the committee, summarize the results, and report back to the board. Mr. Dasher asked that the evaluations be placed in Mr. Jenkins box before the end of the week.

Ms. Hutchins noted that each committee will have to reorganize at their first meeting of the year. She said Mr. Jenkins may not remain as chair.

Ms. Hutchins said this board has yet to determine goals and, at this point, it is moot. She said the reason for the retreat is to set the standard for the system, not micromanage the classroom, but give direction for the system and staff to follow. She said at this point, we have no established goals other than the ones the board has been operating under previously and, to her knowledge,the system is not meeting any of those goals. The board’s job is to see that instruction is deliveredproperlyand efficiently. She said she doesn’t doubt the staff is doing their job. She said she would appreciate some updates, in great detail, from Mr. Allen.

Motion carried 5-2 by voice vote. (Ms. Jenkins and Mr. Beard voted in opposition.)

(i)Supplemental Education Services (SES) Contract

Mr. Allen said at the December meeting Ms. White and Ms. Lane introduced the concept of SES. He said our attorney has reviewed the contract being presented for approval. He said it was just received today from our attorney.

On motion of Mr. Jenkins seconded by Mr. Beard, the School Board considered approving the SES contract as presented.

Mr. Beard asked if this comes from Title I funds and if there is a list of potential providers. Ms. Lane said yes, and the list was given to us from the State of Virginia. Mr. Beard asked if rates are the same. Ms. Lane said there is a set amount per child. Mr. Allen said the cost is $1,049.23 per student.

Mr. Dasher said this money comes from Title I funds (no new money is involved). Mr. Allen said monies had been set aside for this purpose.

Ms. Lane said this is not a choice but a sanction.

Ms. Hutchins said she does not disapprove of this; however, since she only received the contract at 3 p.m.,she has been unable to read it and will not vote on something she hasn’t read.

Ms. Jenkins said she was unable to read the document as well.

Motion carried 5-2 by voice vote. (Ms. Hutchins and Ms. Jenkins abstained.)

The board heard the following reports:

(a)Finance Report

Mr. Shomo said on December 19th he went to Richmondwith Dr. Carter for a superintendent briefing regarding budget dollars.

Mr. Shomo referred members to page 63 of their board packet. He said this page lists the calc tool used by the state. He said the second column reflects our current budget using 7432 ADM. He said the first column is an attempt to project out state revenues under the actual 7264 ADM. He said the previous updates reflect about a $600,000 shortfall but it did not take into consideration sales tax adjustments or lottery proceeds. He said the anticipated shortfall at this point is $1,335,837. He said page 62 outlines a plan on how to deal with the shortfall. He reviewed the eight items that savings could come from – insurance, transportation, maintenance, payroll docks, contracts/vacancies, miscellaneous revenues, school allocations, and food service workers compensation. He said these savings would total $1,337,849. He noted we have a CISCO payment in the budget for the phone system that could be switched from the operating budget to CIP if things get rough. He said we are monitoring expenses everyday. He said March 31st ADM will be a very important date.

Mr. Dasher thanked Mr. Shomo for his energy and effort in these tough budget times. Mr. Shomo reinforced that these are estimates. He said a lot of these items will be rolled forward to meet the shortfall next year.

(b)Elementary Principal Report

Mr. Dasher noted that Mr. Timmons is sick and his report will be moved to the February meeting.

(c)Secondary Principal Report

Mr. Zierden said this year about half of the student body is new to Culpeper Middle. He said the staff and enrollment have increased this year. He said Adam Hughes has provided a well rounded choral experience. He said over the years they have had several different choral teachers. Mr. Zierden noted CMS is fully accredited.

Mr. Zierden said last year a fully certified math professional provided a data analysis for the math department.

Mr. Zierden said there is better and smarter collaboration happening this year. He shared a report prepared by MGT of America about education in the State of Maryland. He said the survey dealt about what practices worked best in education.

Mr. Zierden said more and more CMS teachers are collaborating on lesson plans. He noted 3 math teachers who work together.

Mr. Zierden shared with the board a copy of the “CMS Team Learning Log”. He said they have just about completed their three year improvement plan.

Mr. Zierden said the primary goal for the math department for grades 6 and 7 is a 20% increase in SOL scores by 2011 and a 10% increase for grade 8.

Mr. Zierden said the teachers must have a passion for learning.

Mr. Zierden said his staff has focused on the culture of the school. He said staff decided they need to be more direct and less invitational. He said WEB time allows students to work on items important to the student. He said this year they offer WEB time everyday.

Mr. Zierden said CMS has implemented a school-wide behavioral intervention model. He said in August 2008 staff attended a full-day of training and implemented a model called “Time to Teach”. He shared the first quarter discipline data for 2006-2008 (defiance, disrespect, disruption of instruction). He said there has also been about a 40% drop in the number of students placed in in-school suspension.

Ms. Hutchins asked if the “Team Learning Log” will be spread to other instructional areas than math. Mr. Zierden said yes.

Mr. Dasher noted that 7 of 10 principals are in attendance this evening.

Mr. Dasher noted that Steve Nixon, Board of Supervisors, was in attendance this evening.

Board Member Reports

Ms. Hutchins said the School Board will host the VSBA Central Regional Meeting on March 18th at 7 p.m. at EasternViewHigh School.

Mr. Lee said he looks forward to traveling to Richmond to see the CMS Chorus sing the “National Anthem” at the University of Richmondbasketball game.

Ms. Jenkins said our staff is tremendousand we owe all of our achievement to them. She said this year has been a difficult year and has been worsened by the board’s actions. She said the next year will be even worse with finances. She said the school division has suffered from a lack of leadership in both administration and board, inspite of the fact that Dr. Carter and staff has been working very hard and diligently. She said this lack of direction and clear purpose or a course of action has hurt us. She said the board needs to reexamine their priorities. She said student achievement needs to be the top priority.