DATE: November 17, 2008 Barbara Owens, ChairS
Mary Grace Bright
Jill Camnitz
Michael Dixon
Betsy Leech
Ralph Love, Sr.
Billy Peaden
TIME:7:30 P.M.Roy Peaden Marcy Romary
Dick Tolmie DelanoWilson
PLACE:PittCountyOfficeBuilding ABSENT:Sidney Scott
Chair Barbara Owens called the Board of Education to order in Regular Session at
7:30 P.M.
Mr. Roy Peaden led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chair Barbara Owens thanked all Board Members for their years of service to the 23,000
children in Pitt County Schools. She then recognized and presented plaques to three out-
going Board Members: Ms. Betsy Leech, who served from 2002-2008; Mr. Delano Wilson,
who served from 2002-2008; and Mr. Sidney Scott, who served from 1990-2008. Chair
Owens described Ms. Leech as a person who kept up with details, and Mr. Wilson as a
mediator or sounding board. She stated that Mr. Scott had served many students North of
the River and all Pitt County Schools students for many years and had been Chairman of
the Board for several of those years. Both Ms. Leech and Mr. Wilson stated they had
appreciated working with the other Board Members, Pitt County Schools Staff, and serving
all students in the Pitt County Schools.
As this is the last meeting for Ms. Owens to Chair the Board Meeting, she thanked other
Board Members and the Administration for their support during her two-year term. She
stated she felt love for everyone even when they did not agree on a particular issue. Chair
Owens wished the upcoming Chair good luck in his or her endeavors.
Chair Barbara Owens offered the Agenda for consideration. Mr. Roy Peaden asked to add
the topic of travel to the Agenda under New Business as item F. Superintendent Beverly
Reep asked to add item E. Budget Update, which was sent this afternoon from DPI, under
New Business. Mr. Michael Dixon, second by Dr. Ralph Love, made motion for approval.
Motion carried unanimously.
Under Public Expression, Mr. James Carlton, representing a group of concerned parents
and also as Vice-President of the P.T.A. at A.G.CoxMiddle School, thanked the Board
for supporting the students, parents, and staff of A.G.CoxMiddle School. He mentioned
the addition of support personnel and four mobile units being placed at A. G. Cox this
school year. The representation tonight was to address an incident which occurred on
November 5, 2008 in the cafeteria of A. G. Cox in an overcrowded facility. They are
concerned about the safety and well-being of the students, faculty and staff. Following the
incident mentioned, the school has implemented increased supervision of students in the
cafeteria and hallways, designated contact staff within the building to help with
student discipline, conducted grade level meetings for behavioral expectations, and designed
a school-wide chill-out period. They are also investigating training for faculty and staff
members on how to restrain students. As parents, the group has requested a link to
receive information regarding events and incidents which have occurred within the
school. They asked that students be talked to regarding school safety, moving away
from fighting not toward the fight, and when students hear of an incident getting ready
to occur – tell an adult first to prevent the incident from occurring. With a current
enrollment of 1,017, the group asked for a second School Resource Officer and revisit-
ing the school regarding its attendance.
The Spotlight on Teaching and Learning centered on “Wireless Palm Technology used for
a Classroom Walk Through”. Each classroom in a school is loaded into the principal’s
Palm. As the principal enters the classroom, he/she can do a visual sweep, tune in as
to what is going on, and actually program into the Palm what is occurring, i.e. learning
center, hands-on experience, discussion in small groups/entire class, activity sheet, etc.
This details are saved and downloaded back in the principal’s office giving a wealth of
information by class, grade level, or school. By studying the different strategies used and
the results of those strategies, we can decipher which plan produces higher achievements
for the students. After obtaining these results, then directives for using the information
collected needs to be implemented throughout the school in helping students reach their
full potential. This tool is not used in any way in evaluating the teacher, but is used for
clinical supervision or a growth model. Feedback is given during staff meetings, grade
level meetings, and at times to individual teachers if asked for.
Under Consent Items, Ms. Mary Grace Bright motioned, second by Mr. Delano Wilson,
that the November 3, 2008 minutes be approved. Motion carried unanimously.
Under New Business, Associate Superintendent of Operations Aaron Beaulieu followed
up on a Facility Committee meeting held October 27, 2008 regarding forming the
foundation for a very important process which will culminate in a very productive and
well-designed long-range facility plan. Mr. Beaulieu stated the last long-range facility
plan had been laid out in 2003 which included new schools, deferred maintenance items,
renovations and additions. Shortly after the plan was adopted, an extensive redistrict-
ing process evolved in which arose the question of the capacity of each campus within
the district. After much discussion involving the Facility Committee and the Board of
Education, it was decided that Pitt County Schools would officially follow the Department
of Pubic Instruction’s Standard Profile for what should be included in each school based
upon the grade configuration and school size. Tonight we hope to provide the baseline
for our current capacity and student projections.
Mr. Beaulieu referred the Board to the new “Pitt County Schools Property Accounting” book,
which will be used as a reference tool in making decisions for the next long-range facility
plan. He stated that Pitt County Schools works closely with OR/Ed. Laboratories at the
Institute for Transportation and Research and Education at N.C. State University to obtain
this information. Mr. Beaulieu presented a breakdown of the ADM for all Pitt County
Schools for the last ten years. He spoke of the growth of students since the 2004-05 school
year to the present by attendance areas and by each individual school. Then Mr. Beaulieu
reviewed all the schools’ percentage of capacity levels and followed this with a projected ADM
for the next ten-year period. Breaking down each attendance area for Pitt County Schools,
Mr. Beaulieu presented the projected ADM and the percentage for over/under capacity of
schools for the next ten years. His last presentation was an out-of capacity worksheet
showing the projected ADM for the next ten years for each school and where that school will
range in the over/under capacity percentages. Summing these figures up by grade levels
showed:
Elementary: Current capacity 9,145, projected ADM in 2008-09 of 8,825, current K-5 seats
available in the district-320 seats; projected ADM in 2018-19 of 11,229, over by 2,084 seats.
K-8: Current capacity 3,478, projected ADM in 2008-09 of 3,199, current K-8 seats
available in the district-279 seats; projected ADM in 2018-19 of 4,155, over by 677 seats.
Middle School: Current capacity 5,122, projected ADM in 2008-09 of 4,114, current
middle school seats available in the district-1008 seats; projected ADM in 2018-19 of 5,234,
over by 112 seats.
High School: Current capacity 7,319, projected ADM in 2008-09 of 7,054, current seats
available in the district-265 seats; projected ADM in 2018-19 of 8,198, over by 879 seats.
At the next Facility Committee meeting in December, Mr. Beaulieu stated the Mobile Unit
Report for 2008-09 will be discussed in detail. There are currently 136 mobile units being
used across the district in the 36 schools with over 70 of them being more than 35 years
old.
Mr. Dick Tolmie asked about the State formula for having a number of students per
classroom. Mr. Beaulieu stated high school was still 20-21 based on the school’s capacity
size, middle school is 26. Mr. Tolmie asked what was the chance of hitting DPI’s figure
exactly? Mr. Beaulieu stated this percentage had been discussed, and a number of systems
across the state are looking at a percentage of the overall capacity with a common factor of
85% in elementary and middle schools and 90% in high schools. Pitt County Schools has
not fully decided what percentage will be used and this will be looked at in the near future.
Also, what schools are at “built out” beyond the current maximum capacity, and which schools
can be looked at for future additions will be checked.
Mr. Tolmie expressed hope that the Growth Management Committee will be talking about
what the ideal maximum school size is. Do we want 1600-1800 students in a middle school
or build another middle school? He also asked what was the accuracy of the previous
OR/Ed. projections?
Mr. Roy Peaden asked about the down-fall of the economy and what delay in building would
result because of this? Mr. Beaulieu stated this was a difficult variable to work with but
meetings had been held with City and County Planning who stated there is clear indication
that the housing market has been affected by the economy. An extensive process will be
carried out regarding land use.
Mr. Beaulieu discussed with the Board an attempt at an initial timeline for the Long-Range
Facility Plan. Consultants will come forward at the December 1 meeting to talk to the
Board about two of the oldest structures – Third Street and Chicod Schools (both 1920
structures). On December 15, publicly we hope to walk through the recommendations
of the Growth Management Committee sharing the concepts involved, which in turn will give
guidelines and restrictions staff will follow as they implement staff recommendations which
will be presented at a later date. There is one scheduled Growth Management Meeting re-
maining set for December 17. On January 12, 2009, Dr. Reep and the new Chair will work
to schedule possibly a half-day workshop that will be a little more detailed than an average
Board meeting where you could receive the initial phase of staff recommendations for the
Long-Range Facility Plan and the overall presentation of that. In January and February, we
plan to take the staff recommendations back out to the community and get their feedback.
In February, we may select possible architects to keep the process moving. In early March,
we hope to be able to formulate all the information received from the community sessions and
bring back to the Board the results in the separate attendance areas regarding the recommen-
dations. Lastly, by mid March or early April, we will start anticipating approval of Phase I.
Some of these projects may have an 18-24 month turn-around given the detail and scope of
the projects, the design and planning phase, and the actual construction. Nothing has been
planned for next school year, minor projects for the 2010-11 school year, and a number of
things for the 2011-2012 school year to culminate the first phase projects. This is a work
in progress and changes could be made along the way.
Superintendent Reep presented a Resolution of Support for the J. H. Rose High School
Athletic Conference Appeal. Dr. Reep thanked Mr. Brock Letchworth of the Greenville
Reflector for his coverage regarding the Resolution and what we are attempting to do.
Superintendent Reep stated the N. C. High School Athletic Association has realigned
athletic conferences which takes Rose out of the split conference they’re currently in and
beginning with the 2009-10 school year, would put them in a 4-A Mideastern conference.
This was done without consultation with the school or the district. There had been men-
tion of moving Rose more toward the Wake County/Raleigh area. We were quite surprised
when it was announced Rose would be in the Wilmington Conference. The impact is huge
on students, athletes, and coaches and we are doing our homework in preparation for our
appeal before the Board of the N. C. High School Athletic Association on December 2. Rose
High would have the single largest travel time of any 3-A or 4-A team which right now is
averaging 203 miles per away contest. The decision has already been appealed to the
Realignment Committee, who turned down the appeal. The Board we are appealing to on
December 2 has the authority to make decisions regarding this realignment. We are taking
our concerns regarding this change and also a proposal for solution to the Board. Our
primary concern is the huge loss of instructional time for students traveling this distant
to games, but the change will also have an impact on student participation, coaching and
staffing these positions which will mean additional time for them away, and fan participation.
It was felt that having a Resolution of Support from our Board of Education would be helpful
in this endeavor, thus I am asking for your approval of the Resolution. Ms. Mary Grace
Bright moved, second by Mr. Dick Tolmie, that the Resolution of Support for the J. H. Rose
High School Athletic Conference Appeal be approved. The motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Roy Peaden did state there were nice four-lane highways to Raleigh which would be
closer for athletic activities, but not so for the Wilmington Conference.
Ms. Mary Grace Bright discussed with the Board the First Reading of Policy 5.403 Pitt
County Schools AED Policy. With no further questions, Ms. Bright moved, second by
Mr. Dick Tolmie, that the Board approve the First Reading of Policy 5.403 Pitt County
Schools AED Policy. Motion carried unanimously.
Superintendent Beverly Reep shared with the Board that this afternoon at 4:26 p.m. a
fax was received regarding the State Budget. Assistant Superintendent of Finance
Michael Cowin announced that the Office of State Budget and Management instructed
DPI that it had to revert $117 million of its budget back to the State to cover the poten-
tial shortfalls in State Revenues. DPI told LEAs that $58 million would be made up
through reductions in LEA allotments. This works out to be a .75% reduction in each
LEA State Allotment or approximately $39.25/student. As a part of this, Pitt County
Schools will be required to revert back approximately $912,035 to the State over the next
several weeks. DPI will be providing information as to the allotments that are subject to
this overall reduction as well as the specifics in flexibility that we have in making the
reduction to our overall allotments to handle the budget shortfall. Mr. Cowin stated that
no level of budget reduction can undermine the overall success of our school system, our
goals and our overall mission. Sacrifices will have to be made and discussion to cover
this will be held after more input from the State. Mr. Cowin stated “we will survive” and
are student/teacher interaction will be maintained as much as possible.
Mr. Dick Tolmie stated the State wanted instruction, at risk student services, and special
needs student services to be maintained even through this budget cut. Mr. Cowin stated
that 90% of the State Budget is used directly for instruction in the classroom. With State
and Local Budget reductions, Mr. Cowin stated we have the potential to have our budget
reduced by almost $4 million.
Mr. Roy Peaden stated he hoped our Government would put as much reduction in the
inauguration expenses as they are in the education of our children.
Ms. Jill Camnitz asked did Administration have any idea of what process could be
followed to get this reduction. Dr. Reep said tomorrow morning schools would get an
e-mail freezing some accounts until we learn what we can and cannot do so people won’t
go out and start cutting purchase orders. Once we get further details from DPI, then
we’ll begin to look further for solutions. First and foremost we have to protect the
classroom and the teacher instructing the students. We may have to freeze equipment
and supplies for the classroom, and/or freeze hiring in certain areas of the district that
do not impact the classroom. Ms. Camnitz stated that the response was due back to the
State by December 19, and Dr. Reep stated this was true and she’s appalled that we have
to make budget changes in November of a budget cycle in a school year after spending
months preparing for the budget as presented and approved. Dr. Reep felt the Board should
also send a Resolution to the State with the proposed plan we send back stating how
appalling it is to have to send back almost one million dollars in December of a school year.
Mr. Roy Peaden mentioned letters from and conversations with concerned parents throughout