STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA WORK SESSION STOKES COUNTY DANBURY, NORTH CAROLINA MARCH 1, 2011 The Stokes County Board of Education met in a pre-board work session on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at 8:30 a.m., at the Central Office in Danbury. Board Members Present: Mr. Mike Rogers, Chairman; Mr. Jamie Yontz, Vice-Chairman; Mr. David L. Smith, member; Mrs. Sonya Cox, member, and Ms. Becky Boles, member. Administration Present: Dr. Stewart Hobbs, Superintendent; Mrs. Donna Boyles, Assistant Superintendent; and Mrs. Ann Robertson, Administrative Assistant. Others Present: Lanette Moore, Central Office; Ann Sliger, Central Office; David Burge, Central Office/Operations; Melisa Jessup, Central Office; Alice Connolly, Central Office; Sarah Wood, Central Office; Cynthia Mabe, Central Office; Myra Cox, Central Office; Michael Sands, Central Office; Todd Martin, Central Office; Tom Hughes, sfl+a; Chip Bruns, New Atlantic; Robbie Ferris, sfl+a; John Muter, New Atlantic; Josh Linger, sfl+a; Patricia Brezny, sfl+a; and Andrew Moriarty, Timmons Group. At 8:30 a.m., Mrs.Cox made a motion to enter closed session to hear a student appeal, discuss acquisition of real property, and to review the personnel report and closed session minutes of February 21, 2011 as allowed by General Statute 143.318.11(a)(1)(5)(6). Motion passed 5-0. [Closed Session] At 9:54 a.m., Mr. Smith made a motion to return to open session. Following a short break, Chairman Rogers welcomed everyone to the pre-board work session. Good News Information on people that will be recognized at the March 21 board meeting was shared with board members. Consent Agenda Dr. Hobbs reviewed items on the March 21, 2011 consent agenda with board members. These items include work session minutes of February 1, 2011, regular session minutes of February 21, 2011, fund raiser requests, and field trip requests. Action Agenda Approval of School Surplus Items for GovDeals.com A list of school surplus items was shared with board members. Ricky Goins, Maintenance Director, will list these items for disposal on GovDeals once board approval is received on March 21.
Page 2 March 1,2011 Approval of Contract Renewal for June 30, 2011 Audit Lanette Moore, Executive Director of Finance, explained that the previous board had agreed to enter a three year contract with Dixon Hughes PLLC to complete our year ending audits from June 30, 2010 to June 30, 2012. She explained that she was seeking the board s approval to accept the second year proposal and engagement letter for the year ending June 30, 2011 from Dixon Hughes PLLC. Their fee for the second year of the three year contract is $40,000.00. This item will be on the agenda for approval on March 21, 2011. Dr. Hobbs shared that during a recent federal audit of stimulus money we were required to start having all certified employees sign in and out on TimeKeeper. He stressed that this was in no way to question or affect the pay of salaried employees. This is simply a record keeping step to prove employees were at work. Plans are to have this process begin in a couple of weeks. Approval of Proposed Revisions to Section 8000 of the Board of Education Policy Manual Board members were given an opportunity to discuss the proposed revisions to Section 8000 of our policy manual by the North Carolina School Boards Association. Attorney Johnson stated he would be providing his recommendation to board members on these proposed revisions. The following policies will be on the agenda for approval at the March 21 board meeting: 1. Policy 8000: Fiscal Goals 2. Policy 8100: Budget Planning and Adoption 3. Policy 8110: Budget Resolution 4. Policy 8210: Grants and Funding for Special Projects 5. Policy 8215: Use of Federal Funds 6. Policy 8220: Gifts and Bequests 7. Policy 8230: Penalties, Fines and Forfeitures 8. Policy 5011/8240: Fund-Raising 9. Policy 3628/8241: Student-Sponsored Fund-Raising Events 10. Policy 8300: Fiscal Management Standards 11. Policy 8310: Annual Independent Audit 12. Policy 8320: Depositories 13. Policy 8325: Daily Deposits 14. Policy 8330: Facsimile Signatures 15. Policy 8340: Insurance 16. Policy 8341: Limited Claim Settlement 17. Policy 8350: Capital Assets Inventory 18. Policy 8410: Individual School Accounts 19. Policy 7422/8510: School Finance Officer 20. Policy 8520: School Treasurer 21. Policy 8530: Fidelity Bonds
Page 3 March 1, 2011 Discussion Agenda Discussion of New Elementary School Schematic Design/Southeastern Renovations Tom Hughes, Josh Linger, and Patricia Brezny, from sfl+a, updated board members on the schematic design for the proposed new elementary school and renovations at Southeastern Middle School. Board members were informed that money will be saved by shifting the position of the new elementary school on the Hobe Kiser site and by making use of the existing road. Turn lanes will have to be provided onto the Hobe Kiser property from Highway 66. The Department of Transportation is willing to work with us to improve the situation at Southeastern Middle School. They will not require any road widening, if we are able to move the traffic off of Highway 311 and onto the school site. Board member Sonya Cox questioned the proposed size of the gym for the new elementary school. She stated the functionality of the proposed gym would not be good for the number of students attending the school. She said unless the gym is larger it would be of no use to the community. Mrs. Cox added that we could always add classrooms, but this was our one chance to get the size of the gym right. Chris Bruns, with New Atlantic, estimated increasing the size of the proposed gym by 2,600 square feet would be $300,000.00. Mr. Yontz stated in the big scheme of things we re looking at two projects and he is unwilling to cut classroom space in favor of adding gym space. Chairman Rogers stated we do not have the money to increase the size of the gym. He thought the taxpayers of Stokes County would consider $300,000.00 a large sum. After further discussion, Tom Hughes stated he could take the bump out of the basketball court, straighten a wall out and take that extra space and expand the width of the court. That would give us a shorter court, but it would be about a regular width court. Mrs. Cox asked if additional space could be pulled out of the Media Center. Mr. Hughes stated that could happen and still keep us in the 74,000 square foot range for the school. Estimated Cost for the new elementary: $135 square foot with an estimated square footage of 74,218 for a total estimated cost of $12,671.745.00. Chip Bruns, with New Atlantic, stated $135 a square foot is a little on the aggressive side, but that it is still early in the process. Dr. Hobbs reminded board members that numbers are the architect s preliminary numbers and the CM at Risk should be able to give us more specific numbers. Patricia Brezny, with sfl+a, discussed a Pre-Design Project Budget Analysis on the Southeastern Middle School renovation project. This report was prepared focusing on stabilizing the building, adding functionality of spaces, and cosmetic continuity. The analysis was discussed at length. Dr. Hobbs asked board members to review the report focusing on what it will cost to stabilize the building. He requested they add items back, if they felt they were needed to stabilize the building. Chairman Rogers stated for safety reasons he wanted the kitchen hood with fire system put back in. This item has a total estimated cost of $55,000.
Page 4 March 1, 2011 Discussion of Exam Exemption Policy (Policy 4402: Attendance) Chairman Rogers stated he had talked to high school principals and requested their input on the current exam exemption policy. He presented the following suggestions from high school principals: (1) That students maintain an A average and accumulate no more than 6 (2) That students maintain a B average and accumulate no more than 4 (3) That students maintain a C average and accumulate no more than 3 (4) That students maintain a D average and accumulate no more than 2 absences per semester. (5) Students who accumulate five tardies in one class during a semester will lose exam exemption privileges for that class. Board members made the following recommendations to be on the action agenda on March 21, 2011: (1) That students maintain an A average and accumulate no more than 6 (2) That students maintain a B average and accumulate no more than 4 (3) That students maintain a C average and accumulate no more than 2 (4) That students maintain a D average and accumulate no more than 1 absence per semester. (5) Students who accumulate five tardies in one class during a semester will lose exam exemption privileges for that class. (Board members vote on this issue: Boles 5 tardies; Cox 4 tardies; Smith 3 tardies; Yontz 4 or 5 tardies; and Rogers 5 tardies. Chairman Rogers stated that tardies would be left at 5.) (6) Delete: Teachers of courses from which students can be exempt must notify students of their exam exemption status five days before the first day of final exams. (This was a recommendation from the C&I Council.)
Page 5 March 1, 2011 Discussion of Proposed Revisions to Section 6000 of the Board of Education Policy Manual Board members were given copies of the following policies to review proposed revisions from NCSBA (North Carolina School Boards Association.) 1. Policy 6000: Support Services 2. Policy 6100: Goals of Student Health Services 3. Policy 6110: Organization of Student Health Services 4. Policy 6120: Student Health Services 5. Policy 6125: Administering Medicines to Students 6. Policy 6140: Student Wellness 7. Policy 6200: Goals of Student Food Services 8. Policy 6210: Organization of Student Food Services 9. Policy 6220: Operation of Student Food Services 10. Policy 6225: Free and Reduced Price Food Services 11. Policy 6230: Nutritional Standards for Food Selection 12. Policy 6235: Beverage Vending Sales 13. Policy 6300: Goals of Student Transportation Services 14. Policy 6305: Safety and Student Transportation Services 15. Policy 6306: School Bus Idling 16. Policy 6306-R: School Bus Idling Procedures 17. Policy 6310: Organization of Student Transportation Services 18. Policy 6315: Drivers 19. Policy 6320: Use of Student transportation Services 20. Policy 6321: Bus Routes 21. Policy 6322: Student Assignment to Buses 22. Policy 6325: Parking Areas for Students 23. Policy 6330: Insurance for Student Transportation Services 24. Policy 6340: Transportation Service/Vehicle Contracts 25. Policy 6400: Goals of the Purchasing Function 26. Policy 6401: Ethics and the Purchasing Function 27. Policy 6402: Participation by Historically Underutilized Businesses 28. Policy 6410: Organization of the Purchasing Function 29. Policy 6420: Contracts with the Board 30. Policy 6421: Pre-Audit Certification 31. Policy 6425: Continuing Contracts 32. Policy 6430: State Purchasing Requirements for Equipment, Materials and Supplies 33. Policy 6440: Local Purchasing Requirements for Equipment, Materials and Supplies 34. Policy 6441/9121: Bidder s List 35. Policy 6442: Vendor Lists 36. Policy 6450: Purchase of Services 37. Policy 6500: Goals of Equipment, Materials and Supplies Services 38. Policy 6510: Organization of Equipment, Materials, and Supplies Services 39. Policy 6520: Use of Equipment, Materials and Supplies 40. Policy 6521: Personal Use of Equipment, Materials and Supplies 41. Policy 6522: Use of Equipment, Materials and Supplies by Non-School Groups 42. Policy 6523: Use of Computers
Page 6 March 1, 2011 43. Policy 6524: Network Security 44. Policy 6525: Instructional Materials Services 45. Policy 6530: Resource Conservation 46. Policy 6540: Hazardous Materials 47. Policy 6550: Vandalism 48. Policy 6560: Disposal of Surplus Property Discussion of Proposed Resolution Opposing Senate Bill 8 Dr. Hobbs shared a draft resolution opposing Senate Bill 8, No Cap on Charter Schools, which was prepared by Leanne Winner with the North Carolina School Boards Association. Dr. Hobbs briefly explained the harm this bill would do to local school systems, if it is passed as presented. Board consensus was to approve this resolution. Information and Announcements There is a joint meeting with the Board of Commissioners scheduled on Monday, March 14, at 11:00, to discuss capital projects. We should receive numbers on the new elementary school from New Atlantic on Monday, March 7. Dr. Hobbs and Chairman Rogers will look at the numbers and make a decision on the necessity of scheduling another Board of Education meeting either before the meeting with the commissioners or following it. Chairman Rogers ended the meeting. Secretary Chairman