6
MINUTES
DOUGLAS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
REGULAR MEETING
JUNE 15, 2009
The Douglas County Board of Education met in a regular session in the board room of the administrative office building at 9030 Highway 5. Chairman James Bartlett (Post 2) called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Also present were board members Mr. Mike Miller (Post 1); Mr. Larry Barnes (Post 3); Dr. Sam Haskell, Vice Chairman (Post 4); and Mr. Jeff Morris (Post 5).
Mr. Bartlett asked for a motion to adjourn into an Executive Session to discuss personnel, or other matters as allowed under the Georgia Open Meetings Act.
Mr. Bartlett reconvened the Board in open session at 7:00 p.m.
Staff members present were Mr. Don Remillard, Superintendent; Dr. David Whitfield, Chief of Staff; Mr. Dudley Spruill, Chief Operations Officer; Mrs. Kay Turner, Chief Financial Officer; Mrs. Suvess Ricks, Associate Superintendent/General Administration; Mrs. Elaine Hopkins, Associate Superintendent/Curriculum & Instruction; Mrs. Karen Stroud, Director of Community Relations; and Mrs. Brenda Spain, Community Relations Specialist. Mr. Ken Bernard, Board Attorney, was also present.
The PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG was led by Mr. Remillard.
MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to accept the minutes of the June 1, 2009 meeting.
SETTING OF AGENDA: On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to accept the agenda as written.
SUPERINTENDENT’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
Superintendent’s Spotlight
A. Alexander High School and Douglas County Full Scale Exercise/Mock Emergency Drill
On April 3 of this year, Alexander High School hosted a full scale emergency exercise. The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the emergency response capability of local agencies and test our school and system safety plans in response to a crisis on a school campus. Participants in the exercise included the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department, City of Douglasville Police Department, Douglas County Fire Department and EMS, WellStar Douglas Hospital, Douglas County Emergency Management Agency, and Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA).
GEMA developed the scenario for the exercise, which involved an act of targeted violence on campus. To add to the authenticity of the drill, a select number of students volunteered to be participants. A GEMA representative role played as an intruder, entered the building, injured several students, and held several students and a teacher hostage. Students were also staged at WellStar to assist the hospital in testing its capacity to respond to such a crisis.
The benefits of conducting an exercise of this size and magnitude are considerable in regard to crisis planning. School crisis exercises allow public safety agencies and school staff and administration to test and improve their response to these incidents; better equipping them to protect our students. A safe environment is paramount to student achievement, and we as a system are committed to providing such.
We would like to recognize those individuals who participated in the exercise and reaffirm our commitment to recognizing the importance of the relationship we have with each agency. We thank all that participated in the drill and recognize the sacrifice of time and resources each gave.
Mr. Remillard recognized the following individuals:
Captain Butch Adams - Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Sergeant Jesse Hambrick - Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Nathan Hand – Principal, Alexander High School
Aaron Mackey - Director of Safety, WellStar Douglas Hospital
Jason Milhollin – Director, Douglas County Emergency Management Agency
Lieutenant Randy Rider - Douglasville City Police
Scott Spencer – Chief, Douglas County Fire and EMS
Zach Spencer – Director of Safety and Security, Douglas County School System
B. Georgia Marketing Teacher of the Year
Mr. Remillard recognized Ms. Stacey Orr, Marketing Teacher at Chapel Hill High School. She recently received the prestigious Georgia Marketing Teacher of the Year award from the Georgia Marketing Education Association. The purpose of this award is to recognize teachers who are providing outstanding career and technical education programs for students in marketing. Recipients of this award have made significant contributions toward innovative, unique and novel programs that are serving to improve and promote marketing and career and technical education. Ms. Orr will be honored in July at the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Conference.
C. Frank Ski Kids Foundation Winner
Mr. Remillard recognized Christopher Johnson, Stewart Middle School student, who was recently named a finalist in the Frank Ski Kids Foundation 2009 International Art Excursion. Ten finalists were chosen at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and on July 22 will travel to Florence, Italy on anall-expense paid trip.
The students were subjected to an impromptu drawing competition based on a surprise theme, being judged on their creations in addition to their landscape drawings that landed them as finalists.
The Frank Ski Kids Foundation's International Art Excursion to Florence, Italy is the latest in a number of educational excursions developed by the foundation to help sharpen young minds and give them the tools to develop and explore areas of interest, including science and the arts.
Mr. Remillard also recognized Ms. Sacheen Cassy, Media Clerk at Stewart Middle School. She recognized Christopher’s talent during a Service Learning Project last year and encouraged him to enter the contest.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS/COMMITTEE REPORTS
NEW BUSINESS
CONSENT AGENDA
The Board receives a package of information approximately a week before their regular board meeting. The Board discusses items placed on the “Consent Agenda” at the Work Session or in Executive Session as allowed under the Georgia Open Meetings Act. Before the Board voting session the Board may ask or answer any questions about items to be placed on the “Consent Agenda”.
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to set the consent agenda. The agenda was set as follows:
PERSONNEL
A. Certified
B. Classified
D. FY2010 Personnel Allotment Sheets
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to approve the consent agenda.
INSTRUCTION
A. Purchase of Calculators for Math II
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to accept the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the purchase of calculators for Math II in the amount of $49,973.10 from D & H Distributing as presented.
FINANCE
A. May 2009 General Fund Report
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to accept the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the May 2009 General Fund Report as presented.
B. May 2009 Capital Projects Report
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to accept the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the May 2009 Capital Projects Report as presented.
C. May 2009 SPLOST Report
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to accept the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the May 2009 SPLOST Report as presented.
D. FY2010 Budget Adoption
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to accept the Superintendent’s recommendation to adopt the FY2010 Budget as presented.
OPERATIONS
A. Increase Adult Breakfast Price
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, unanimous approval was given to accept the Superintendent’s recommendation to approve the increased adult breakfast price as presented.
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
A. Student Tribunal Appeal SY 09-04
On motion by Dr. Haskell, seconded by Mr. Barnes, approval was given to uphold the tribunal panel decision and deny Student Tribunal Appeal SY 09-04.
PERSONNEL
C. Board Attorney Contract
Mr. Bartlett entertained a motion to approve the Board Attorney Contract. Dr. Haskell made a motion to approve the Board Attorney Contract and Mr. Morris seconded the motion. Mr. Bartlett asked if there was any discussion.
Mr. Miller made a motion to table the Board Attorney Contract, seconded by Mr. Barnes. Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Morris and Dr. Haskell voted against tabling the Board Attorney Contract and the motion failed.
Mr. Bartlett asked if there was any other discussion.
Mr. Barnes said that he had concerns of transparency with several things with the school system for some time. I conveyed those to Mr. Bartlett several months ago my concerns on several issues. I want to thank Mr. Bartlett for providing a copy of the contract we are reviewing this evening prior to our voting on it so that the Board could review its merits and be allowed to voice any concerns we may have. After reviewing the proposed contract I have concerns and questions and would recommend although the Board just voted this down that we would table the issue until further review can be done. This is a very difficult time for everyone and it is my heartfelt belief that this would be in the best interest of the school district. I have stated every time that I have spoken on anything concerning budget that it is my goal to preserve the grass roots of instruction in our school system. It is our responsibility to be good stewards and see that we provide the best instruction possible. Tough decisions are hard to make but everyone must realize that these our difficult days financially and we all have to pitch in and try to weather this storm. I am very proud of the dedication of our teachers, administrators and all of our employees and their willingness to meet this challenge. Classroom instruction and teachers must come first. Our children must come first. Approximately 90 teacher slots have been lost. I feel that not just this issue but any issue that we can look at to save teaching slots I would be in favor of that. I have no problem with our present attorneys as far as their performance. It is not about that. To me it is a financial issue and I feel like that it’s important that we review every issue to make sure that we are in line with every other county that provides the same service. This is tough for me to say because I know it effects us all and where we can save money there will be a brighter day and I think at the present time this should be reviewed and investigated at least to the point of what other systems are doing and the amount of money that they put into this area. That concludes what I have to say right now.
Dr. Haskell stated that he was happy with Mr. Bernard’s performance and was happy to approve this contract.
Mr. Morris stated that the motion had been made.
Mr. Bartlett said that he appreciates and has profound respect for the office that each of us holds, including his own. We are all privileged to represent the people of Douglas County, and in the time I have been here, I have never supported any position that I did not believe was in the best interest of my constituents or anyone else’s. Let’s face it: every elected person wishes to please the people they represent.
Transparency is a worthy goal for any governing body, but the effort can easily get mired when some inaccurate things have been said, so I need to set the record straight on a few points:
When this board unanimously elected me as chairman in January, my first action was to re-align our committee structure to promote better engagement by all members. I did this by seeking input from each member, and making a concerted effort to elicit involvement by all members, but I alone appointed the chair of each committee, and did so in a most inclusive fashion. By the way, these committee meetings are open to the public. The second thing we began work on as an entire board was reviewing various contracts for different positions. I have led this effort and we have spent many, many hours of dialog in scheduled meetings of this board to discuss personnel, while attempting to build consensus and ensure that every member is heard. That extra effort, while admittedly very challenging, was ultimately validated by this board’s unanimous support of the contracts in discussion.
The remaining contract (which is the one for the board attorney firm) was the last contract that the majority (including myself I will add) had expressed an interest in reviewing. After personally listening to each member on the matter, I instructed our attorney to make a number of changes to the existing contract. Furthermore, I asked him to not only make himself available to all members as he always does, but to also proactively reach out to each board member and elicit input and find commonalities, which he has also done. There has been no rush to vote, as this issue has been discussed for over 5 months.
And while there has been no rush to vote, certainly there has always been a deadline as this is our final voting session before the beginning of our fiscal year. Furthermore, each board member was provided our tentative budget during our May 16 planning session which was also a public meeting held right here. This contract is well within our budget for legal services, and this tentative budget was adopted unanimously in our public meeting on June 1 and again tonight.