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Carteret
County Public School System
COMMUNICATOR
MARCH 4, 2008
The Carteret County Board of Education met March 4, 2008, in regular
session at 6:30 p.m. in the administrative offices of the school
system, Beaufort, NC.
Attending the meeting: Chair Cathy Neagle, Vice Chair Al Hill and
Board members Bill Blair, David Carr, Adele Collins, June Fulcher
and Dr. Rick Luettich.
Others attending included Superintendent Brad Sneeden, Assistant
Superintendents Dr. Ralph Lewis and Jeanne Huntley, Attorney Kyle
Dart (filling in for Neil Whitford), Communications Director Tabbie
Nance, principals, parents, community members, employees and members
of the media.
This Carteret County Board of Education meeting can be viewed on TV
10 Time Warner Cable Sunday, March 9, at 12 noon.
Board members met with Advisory Council chairmen from 5-6 p.m. and
conducted a public comment forum from 6-6:30 p.m. and one person
spoke during that time.
WELCOME
Chairman Cathy Neagle welcomed those in attendance. June Fulcher
gave the invocation and led the Pledge to the United States flag.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA
Al Hill made the motion to approve the agenda as presented.
June Fulcher provided the second and all members voted aye.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA
Chairman Cathy Neagle reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda and
asked Superintendent Brad Sneeden to review the field trip request
from East Carteret High School's Ocean Science Bowl team. The team
won the North Carolina Blue Heron Bowl and will advance to the
National Ocean Science Bowl Finals in Alaska in an all-expenses paid
trip.
Mrs. Neagle asked if any Board members had questions.
The Consent Agenda items were:
A. Approval of Minutes of the February 5, 2008, and February 18,
2008, Board meetings;
B. Personnel Matters (personnel matters are listed at end of this
document);
C. Fund Raiser Requests;
D. Field Trip Requests;
E. Student Transfers;
F. School Advisory Council Recommendations;
G. Graduation Dates *
1. Croatan High School, June 5, 2008, 6:30 p.m.;
2. East Carteret High School, June 6, 2008, 6 p.m.;
3. West Carteret High School, June 6, 2008, 6:30 p.m.
Bill Blair made motion to approve Consent Agenda as presented.
June Fulcher provided the second and all members voted aye.
HIGH STUDENT PERFORMANCE AND ACHIEVEMENT
RECEIVE INFORMATION ON HILL CENTER READING GRANT
Assistant Superintendent Jeanne Huntley and Jean Neville presented
information on the Hill Center in Durham. The Hill Center is based
Durham, North Carolina, and offers unique half-day programs to
students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade with diagnosed
learning disabilities or attention deficit disorders. Mrs. Huntley
said the program is research based and is very successful.
Mrs. Huntley noted the Carteret County Public School System has been
associated with The Hill Center for the past two years to provide
training of special education and Title 1 teachers. She noted the
cost of this training was offset by generous private donations. Mrs.
Huntley said students enrolled in this program have shown a great
deal of growth in the area of reading. Their focus has now extended
into the areas of writing and math. Mrs. Huntley said it was cost
prohibitive for the system to train additional teachers.
She noted the Front Street Village Foundation has provided the
school system with a four-year grant to bring the Hill Center
instructional strategies to Carteret County teachers.
The Hill Center Reading Achievement Program (HillRAP) will be funded
through the Front Street Village Foundation over the next four years
and will provide training to teachers; funding for a current
employee to coordinate, implement and evaluate the Hill Center
programs; follow up training/mentoring sessions; classroom
observations of HillRAP teachers; scholarships for elementary
teachers to take Hill Center online courses; parent meetings;
student pre- and post-tests; and leadership training for
administrators.
Mrs. Neville explained that The Hill Center offers a comprehensive
teacher training program and serves as a community and regional
resource for parents, teachers and educational administrators. While
the Hill Center is located in Durham, part of the center's mission
is outreach. Mrs. Neville shared information about the center and
about student successes.
RECEIVE FIRST READING OF POLICY JECC CHANGE * ASSIGNMENT OUT OF
ATTENDANCE AREAS
Board members heard the first reading of proposed changes to Policy
JECC * Assignment Out Of Attendance Areas. Assistant Superintendent
Dr. Ralph Lewis presented two proposed changes to the policy.
The first proposed change would eliminate the wording "The Board may
assign students to schools out of their residential areas." Dr.
Lewis explained that transfer approvals affecting students within
the Carteret County Public School System should be managed by
principals and approved at the level of the superintendent. By
striking that wording, Dr. Lewis said the Board of Education would
be alleviated of that responsibility.
The second proposed change would be to eliminate the last two
paragraphs of the Policy that fall under the heading Transfer Into
or Out of Carteret County. Dr. Lewis said those two paragraphs were
covered in Policy JECB and their inclusion in Policy JECC was
redundant and confusing.
Chair Neagle said the second reading of the proposed policy changes
would take place at the Board's April meeting.
Dr. Rick Luettich requested Dr. Lewis ensure the policy is
consistent with latest interpretation of the policy at the state
level.
Board members also requested the policy align with the NC High
School Athletic Association (NCHSAA). They also asked for
clarification on the NCHSAA's policy for students moving out of
district.
Superintendent Brad Sneeden said an athlete must be domiciled in
district in which he or she would is playing sports unless a
hardship is recognized. Mr. Sneeden said examples of hardships might
include medical reasons or course offerings.
Mr. Sneeden was requested to review the entire policy and ensure it
aligns with the NCHSAA policy.
EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE AND ACCOUNTABLE OPERATIONS
FISCAL DEPARTMENT
Finance Officer J. Ipock presented two items for Board
consideration.
BUDGET REVISIONS
Budget Revision 17 * This revision is for a grant received from the
State for the Twilight Leadership Corps in the amount of $149,690.
This grant is for a summer program and school year follow-up
sessions aimed toward students who have not passed their
End-of-Course tests and are at-risk of becoming dropouts.
Budget Revision 18 * This revision amends the Capital Outlay fund
for amendments to the Bond Project Ordinance requested by the Board
of Education at their February meeting and approved by the County at
their February meeting. These revisions are for a change order for
East Carteret High School construction (-$11,674); three change
orders for White Oak Elementary School ($19,398); two change orders
for White Oak Elementary School HVAC upgrade ($121,238); and a
change for the new transportation bays ($48,115).
Dr. Rick Luettich made the motion to approve Revisions 17 and 18.
Adele Collins provided the second and all members voted aye.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF 2008-2009 BUDGET REQUEST
Superintendent Brad Sneeden presented Carteret County Public School
System's 2008-2009 Operating and Capital Budget Request.
Mr. Sneeden noted the Operating Budget was reviewed and discussed at
a special Board of Education meeting in February and, based on that
meeting, no changes had been made.
He reviewed the Operating Budget and noted the following requests:
Add 2 elementary teachers because of enrollment shifts (one at
Morehead City Elementary and one at White Oak Elementary);
Hire 1 additional English as a Second Language teacher;
Add 6 special education teachers to the local budget because they
will no longer be covered by federal funds;
Add one social worker;
Add two school nurses to replace two that are funded from other
sources that will likely not be replaced;
Move assistant principals currently working 10 months to work 11
months;
Move NC WISE personnel one step in pay;
Provide performance bonuses with $100 being the most one employee
would receive;
Increase supplements for certified staff members from 5.75 percent
to 6.25 percent;
Provide performance pay to teachers working 5 years in the county
school system, evaluations and attendance of 1 percent;
Increase staff development;
Provide funding for one-third a position for a technology support
person because of a loss of federal funds in that area.
The 2008-2009 Operating Budget request totals $20,590,083, which
represents an increase of 9.81 percent.
Mr. Sneeden then reviewed the Capital Budget request. He noted that
several changes had been made since the Board of Education's
February special meeting and reviewed those with the Board members.
David Carr asked about the activity bus costs. At the workshop he
suggested the school system not use the state contract system and
seek bids from other companies. This is allowed by law for activity
buses.
Mr. Sneeden said that was investigated and one bid has been received
and it was less than the state contract. Two other bids should come
in soon. Board members will be updated on these bids at their April
meeting. Mr. Sneeden said safety was a top concern and stressed that
any bus purchased must meet all safety standards.
The 2008-2009 Capital Budget Request totals $2,800,900.
Adele Collins said performance based pay was very successful, but
noted it would put pressure on the principals. She asked Mr. Sneeden
about the principals' reactions.
Mr. Sneeden said he met with the principals and said they were
supportive of the performance based pay request and they added an
attendance component as part of the criteria as well.
Dr. Rick Luettich noted the school system had a plan to
systematically upgrade all the communications systems, including
security systems and phone system, in all schools. He noted the
school system was a standard set of specifications for security and
communications.
Dr. Rick Luettich made the motion to approve the 2008-2009 Carteret
County Public School System's Capital and Operating Budgets as
presented.
Bill Blair provided the second and all members voted aye.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AND INVOLVEMENT AMONG STAKEHOLDERS
COMMENTS FROM SUPERINTENDENT
MAINTENANCE REPORT -
Superintendent Brad Sneeden reviewed highlights of the Maintenance
Report. He noted that Smyrna Elementary School and White Oak
Elementary School had received grants through the NC Department of
Education to develop run off projects. WalMart is also providing
funding for these projects.
Maintenance staff members are working with Finance staff members to
track and compare the costs and efficiency of natural gas and fuel
oil. This is in an effort to see which is most economical for the
school system.
Mr. Sneeden noted maintenance staff members would be taking part in
Lunch and Learn sessions each month. These would be technical
presentations on the last Tuesday of each month. The first session
will feature Herb Stanford presenting information on HVAC systems.
That will take place March 25, 2008, at noon in the maintenance
office.
Maintenance staff members continue to mount projectors in classrooms
throughout the county.
The roof leak at Newport Middle School continues to be monitored.
Bengal Roofing is committed to making the repairs at their cost.
BOND UPDATE -
Mr. Sneeden highlighted several bond projects
The Croatan High School auditorium design process continues and is
on schedule.
Work at East Carteret High School continues to progress. Mr. Sneeden
expressed his thanks to the students, staff and parents at the
school for their patience while the work is taking place.
The work on the HVAC at Morehead City Primary will take place in the
summer and should be completed by the opening of school in August.
The track at West Carteret High School should be ready by June.
Mr. Sneeden also thanked the students, staff and parents of all
schools with construction projects, noting they were patient.
COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS
Board Chair Cathy Neagle invited Board members to make comments.
Al Hill * Mr. Hill thanked fellow Board members and others for their
support during the illness of his brother in law. He congratulated
East Carteret High School's Ocean Science Bowl.
Adele Collins * Mrs. Collins said she and Bill Blair would miss the
next Board meeting because they would be attending the National
School Board Association meeting.
June Fulcher * Mrs. Fulcher thanked the entire school family for
supporting her during the recent passing of her mother. She said
Ocean Science Bowl team captain Matthew Joyner worked for her and
she congratulated him on his hard work on the Ocean Science Bowl.
She also congratulated the entire team and Coach Barbara Waters.
Bill Blair * Mr. Blair saluted the Ocean Science Bowl team.
Dr. Rick Luettich * Dr. Luettich had no comments at this time of the
meeting, however at the beginning of the meeting he shared
information about the Blue Heron Bowl. He congratulated East
Carteret High School's Ocean Science Bowl A Team for placing first
in the competition and the school's B Team for placing third. He
also thanked coach Barbara Waters for her dedication.
David Carr * Mr. Carr congratulated the county's sports teams. He
noted many school employees and students are involved in the Relay
for Life event.
Cathy Neagle * Mrs. Neagle thanked Tabbie Nance and Patti Dill for
directing the Regional Odyssey of the Mind competition, and thanked
the many other school system staff members for making the event so
successful.
REMINDERS
Chair Cathy Neagle noted the next regularly scheduled Board of
Education meeting would take place April 1, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. The
Board will conduct a public comment time from 6-6:30 p.m. that
evening.
ADJOURNMENT
Dr. Rick Luettich made the motion to adjourn the meeting.
Bill Blair provided the second and all members voted aye.
APPROVED PERSONNEL MATTERS * MARCH 4, 2008
Licensed Employees
New Hires
Allison Guthrie, Media Coordinator, Atlantic Elementary
(01/22/08)
Elizabeth Ryan Lilley, Pre-kindergarten teacher, Atlantic Elementary
School
(11/28/08)
Leave of Absence
Jennifer Sledge, Elementary Teacher, Beaufort Elementary
(05/09/08)
Resignations
Tamara Ishee, Director of Middle and Secondary Education, Central
Office
(02/27/08)
Non-Licensed Employees
New Hires
Kathy Bell, EC Teacher Assistant, Beaufort Elementary School
(01/28/08-06/11/08) Interim
Linda Josey, Teacher Assistant, Newport Elementary School
(04/01/08)
Transfers
Kathy Longest, from P/T Food Service, East Carteret High School
(02/05/08) To P/T Food Service, Beaufort Middle School
Resignations
Shirley Hardison, P/T Food Service, White Oak Elementary School
(02/07/08)
Toni Norris, P/T Food Service, Croatan High School
(02/04/08)
Retirements
Joyce Maddox, Teacher Assistant, Newport Elementary School
(4/01/2008)
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