JOINT MEETING WITH JASPER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
& BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
AUGUST 21, 2008
JASPER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Present: Berty Riley, Priscilla Fraser, James Gardner, Kathleen Snooks, Patricia Walls, Sister Mary Gallagher and Alina Hamilton-Clark (T)
Absent: Michael Hubbard and Randy Horton
BEAUFORT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Present: Jim Bequette, Earl Campbell, Joan Deery, Ronald Speaks, Reid Eikner, George Wilson, Michael Rivers, Bob Arundell and Fred Washington and Laura Bush
Absent: Margie K. Jenkins
OTHERS: Delacy W. Sanford, Jasper County Superintendent
Valerie Truesdale, Beaufort County Superintendent
Mr. Eddie Ogden, Interim ACE Director
CALL TO ORDER – Priscilla Fraser, ACE Board Chair, called this special joint
meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. in the Academy for Career Excellence (ACE)
Auditorium in Ridgeland, South Carolina.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA – A motion was made by Earl Campbell and
seconded by Berty Riley to approve the Agenda.
THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mr. Washington shared that the Beaufort County Board will meet following this
meeting to handle a matter that was carried over from their last meeting.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, INVOCATION AND STATEMENT OF MEDIA
NOTIFICATION – The pledge to the flag was recited by everyone present and
the Invocation was led by Earl Campbell, Chaplain of the Beaufort County Board
of Education.
POINTS OF CELEBRATION – Evelyn Lee announced that board members are
invited to ACE’s Back to School Celebration on Friday (8/22/08) at 12:30 p.m.
BOARD DISCUSSION AND ACTION – ACE GOVERNANCE – Mrs. Fraser
asked each County’s board chair to share what their Board has discussed prior
to this meeting.
JOINT BOARD MEETING
AUGUST 21, 2008
PAGE TWO
Fred Washington shared that Beaufort met on two separate occasions and
discussed the proposal as presented to them on July 17th with the understanding
that they would select options that were on the document. They were to report
back to the joint boards. After the two meetings, the general consensus was that
Option C was preferred by the Beaufort County Board of Education. They did not
specifically state which Facility option they preferred.
Mr. Washington read for the public’s information Option C:
Continue with joint service to students in the two-county region, but clarify
ownership so that much needed repairs could be accomplished and the Center
could be positioned as a high tech High School for regional workforce develop-
ment. Beaufort County would assume governance and ownership of the Center
as well as financial responsibility for capital improvements and maintenance.
Jasper students would be served at current ratio levels for current tuition,
adjusted annually in accordance with changes the state’s base student cost or
tuition-free for a stipulated number of years as determined by the Boards of
Education.
He also shared Facilities Consideration 2 & 3:
(2) This proposal would keep all the programs at ACE but would necessitate the
$4.4 million in essential repairs plus adding on to the building to accommodate
the programs displaced by elimination of the ten portables which are in extreme
disrepair. The cost of Facilities Consideration 2 is estimated at $7.4 million.
(3) This proposal would keep all programs at ACE, adding on to the building and
adding an Instructional Services Center. There is great learning and cost benefit
to providing a regional teacher technology training center, a textbook and instruc-
tional materials sharing center, and other teacher support space. The cost of
Facilities Consideration 3 is estimated at $9.9 million
Mr. Washington stated that the major issues are governance and that work
needs to be done or this facility will continue to deteriorate.
Ms. Riley shared that the Jasper Board met to discuss the proposals from the
last joint meeting. It was their understanding that they were to discuss the reno-
vations of ACE and how they were going to fund this. The proposal that they
received was on the Governance and this is not Jasper County’s main goal at
this time. Anything else needs to go back to the ACE Board and they would take
this back to their individual boards. Any decision made would be brought back to
the ACE Board.
JOINT BOARD MEETING
AUGUST 21, 2008
PAGE THREE
Ms. Riley shared several points that were brought out at the Jasper County
Board of Education’s meeting:
§ The Jasper County School District is not in favor of ending joint ownership of ACE.
§ The Jasper County School District is not willing to surrender the governance of ACE to one County.
§ The Jasper County School District is willing to share in the renovation of ACE but would like for the renovations to take place in phases.
§ The Jasper County Board of Education is interested in exploring with Beaufort other ways of raising the funds needed for renovations.
Ms. Riley stated that Jasper County is in no way interested in talking about the
Governance of ACE. The Governance cannot be changed by either Board but
must go back before the State Legislature. Both Senator Clementa Pinckney
and Representative Curtis Brantley were present at this meeting.
Mr. Washington stated that he respectfully disagrees that both parties did not
know that the discussion of Governance was on the table. Given the way that
the legislation was written in order to resolve the issue of funding for renovations
Governance became a part of the discussion.
Mrs. Fraser asked for remarks from Senator Pinckney or Representative
Brantley.
Senator Pinckney came forward to share that he and Dr. Brantley have met and
talked with both Boards and there seems to be several discussion that they have
had. There were discussions concerning governance, funding and renovations.
All of this seemed to come about because of funding for renovations. This is a
worthy discussion. Any talk about changes in Governance would have to be
discussed in Columbia by the Legislation. He would not want to make any
changes to the Governance if there is no consensus from both Board’s to change
it. He would have some concerns about ownership and the assets of ACE being
in the control of one school district. He does support the Boards on how to fund
the renovations and maintenance issues at ACE.
Mr. Campbell asked how Senator Pinckney would address capital improvements
for ACE with other delegation members.
Senator Pinckney stated that the Governance states that any maintenance would
be paid fifty-fifty by both districts. ACE is an asset. It is a hidden jewel. He feels
that both Delegations would be willing to support this. If there are any bond bills
that may become available he would be willing to pursue these.
JOINT BOARD MEETING
AUGUST 21, 2008
PAGE FOUR
Bob Arundell shared that they have a report from Heery International, Inc. that
indicates that the bare minimum of capital improvements for ACE would cost
$4.4 million. He questioned what happens if one county is able to fund its half
of the cost ($2.2 million) and the other county is unable to do this.
Senator Pinckney responded that if it is confirmed that this is the case he would
be willing to sit down with the prospective County Council to discuss this issue.
Mr. Washington stated that they have documentation that ACE needs to be
updated and its structure is deteriorating. They were given several options and
he questioned if there has been any discussion by the Jasper Board regarding
these options and which one they were leaning towards. They all agree that
ACE is an asset and a regional center and that is the reason why they are trying
to take a regional approach.
Mrs. Fraser questioned who directed Heery International, Inc. to do a study. She
stated that to her knowledge this was not done by the ACE Board.
Dr. Truesdale responded that both Boards charged her, Dr. Sanford, Dr. Smith
and they included Eddie Ogden, Interim Director, to do a study to bring back to
them. Beaufort County volunteered their engineers to have this preliminary study
done as a service to both boards. A preliminary study was done in July 2008 by
Heery International, Inc. They have continued with a further study and she has
copies of this report this evening.
Senator Pinckney stated that he commits to work with the ACE Board, both
school districts and the two County Councils.
Ms. Riley stated that they did not consider the options for ACE because they had
appointed the Superintendents to go back and look at the renovations and come
up with suggestions. The Governance somehow came into play. She shared
that Jasper County’s number one priority is renovations for ACE and they are
willing to come up with their portion of the money. They will work hard with the
Delegation and the County Council.
George Wilson stated that all he cares about is that they do the right things for
the students of Beaufort County. They have portables at ACE that are rotting
away. Beaufort County has been putting in $91,000 for equipment and Jasper
County has not put in their matching amount. He was under the impression that
Jasper County did not have the funds to continue to match the $91,000. He
wants them to be able to meet the needs of the students in this facility. If Jasper
County cannot come up with their share of the funds, Beaufort cannot put in any
more.
JOINT BOARD MEETING
AUGUST 21, 2008
PAGE FIVE
Mr. Wilson stated that they need to look to see if they need to move some of the
Beaufort students to other facilities. If the renovations need to be done in phases
then he has no problem with this. The first step is the $9.25 million. They do not
want to take the Governance away from Jasper as long as the system is working.
The key is that they have to work relatively fast or they will need to go in another
direction. The Port coming in is another reason to make sure that they have
adequate facilities. The final objective is the students.
Mrs. Walls stated that this is not about power or control but about the students
succeeding. She has grandchildren in both Jasper and Beaufort County. The
Port is coming and they all have to be ready for it.
Jim Bequette stated that if they can’t bring this school up to code for the students’
safety and health then they do not need to continue.
Michael Rivers stated that they have an excellent opportunity to turn a problem
into a solution. They need to maximize the potential that this facility offers and
focus on the future. They need to come together with an attitude to work this out.
Senator Pinckney stated that he is present on behalf of the Delegation and he
represents both counties. This is not a Jasper County or Beaufort County fight.
The main issue is how they take care of the renovations. He did not come to
argue about Governance. The question is how they resolve the renovations
and future building needs. He is willing to commit to the Boards to use whatever
resources available to do this.
Joan Deery spoke about the Heery study and pointed out that the cost will go up
if they do not act on the renovations within the next twelve months. The longer
it takes for them to resolve this issue, the more students that will be coming
through a poor quality building.
Mr. Arundell stated they were presented with Facility Considerations (1, 2 & 3)
on July 17th and both boards were charged with going back and deciding which
one they wanted to pursue. The Beaufort Board discussed this and agreed on
#2 or #3 because the bare minimum is not going to be enough. If both Boards
agree that the renovations need to be done then they need to be talking about
putting this out for bids.
Mrs. Snooks stated that the options were for consideration and Jasper County
felt that none of the options were favorable. They know that renovations have
to take place. Beaufort should not assume that Jasper cannot come up with their
part of the $4.2 million. There are mandates at the state that say what they must
do. Jasper is not in favor of Beaufort County having sole proprietorship of ACE.
JOINT BOARD MEETING
AUGUST 21, 2008
PAGE SIX
Mr. Arundell stated that they had a professional group to come in and do a study.
Senator Pinckney stated that is appears that both Boards are on the same page
and they need to look at option 2 or 3. He asked them to look at option 2.
Mr. Campbell stated that Senator Pinckney indicated that he would meet with
both Counties. He suggested that Ms. Riley and Mr. Washington set up a
committee to work with Senator Pinckney and the County Council’s to find out
where the funding is coming from.
Mr. Washington stated that they need to have some discussion regarding the
options before they leave this evening and agree on what direction they are
going. There are people present in the audience that are prepared to discuss the
report. Instead of appointing a committee they need to take a few minutes to
hear the reports.
Mr. Wilson stated that they need to move on this. They need to look at all of the
options (1, 2 or 3). He spoke about what is included in these options.
Mr. Eikner stated that it would be helpful to look at Facilities Consideration #2.
He feels that Heery should discuss the state of the mobiles and how much longer
they will last. The need to see what building configuration that they were propos-
ing.
Laura Bush stated that it was her hope that the discussion would have already
taken place. She is not in favor of forming another committee. They have the
information needed in front of them. She hopes they can leave here today with
some type of direction. It is not about board members, but about the students of
both Counties.
Mrs. Walls stated that she would hope the committee would not do research
but to come up with ways to fund the renovations. They know the funds are