Hall County Board of Education

                              Work Session

                              November 3, 2008

Board Members:         Richard Higgins, Chairman

                                    Nath Morris, Vice Chairman

                                    Craig Herrington

                                    Sam Chapman

                                    Brian Sloan

William Schofield, Superintendent

Lee Lovett, Deputy Superintendent

Dr. Richard Hill, Associate Superintendent for Human Resources

Dr. Eloise Barron, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning

Jewel Armour, Executive Director of Operations

Dr. Aaron Turpin, Exec. Director of Information, Technology, and Assessment

Dr. Gary Stewart, Exec. Director of Administrative Services, School Safety and Security

Dr. Cindy Blakley, Director of Middle and High Schools

Gordon Higgins, Director of Community Relations and Athletics

Lloyd Smee, Supervisor of Maintenance

Jerry Gunn, WDUN

Steve Brock, HCEA

Steven Wang, HCEA

Johnny Johnson, Parent

Carrie Moffitt, Technology

Todd Murrow, Technology

Chairman Higgins called the meeting to order at 5:00 P.M. 

On motion of Nath Morris, seconded by Sam Chapman, the board voted 5-0 to approve the agenda.

Superintendent Schofield proceeded with the following: 

1.   GSBA Legislative Liaison FY2009 – The board named Nath Morris as the Legislative Liaison Delegate FY2009 and Sam Chapman as Alternate.

2.   GSBA/GSSA Pre-conference/Annual Conference/2009 Summer Conference– Discussion of registrations for conferences.  The superintendent said to go ahead and reserve six rooms at the Savannah Hyatt so they will be able to stay there for the June 2009 GSBA Summer Conference.  He said that Hall County was asked to make a presentation at the Student Achievement Workshop on December 4, 2008, and he would get more info to them.

      Dr. Eloise Barron made introductory remarks for the following items:

1.   2009-2010 School Calendar – Discussion. On motion by Sam Chapman, seconded by Craig Herrington, the board voted 5-0 to approve Version 1 of the 2009-2010 School Calendar, as recommended by the superintendent.  A copy of the calendar is hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

2.   Balanced Scorecard Revisions – Discussion by Dr. Barron and Superintendent Schofield.

3.   Iowa Tests of Basic Skills – Discussion by Dr. Barron, superintendent, and board members. Testing starts next week.

5.   Graduation Requirements for Non-Block Transfer Students – Dr. Barron and Dr. Cindy Blakley explained graduation requirement adjustments for students transferring from high schools that are not on a block schedule.

6.   WHHS – JROTC Application – Discussion of cost estimates to start up a JROTC Program at West Hall High School.

7. Infinite Campus Messenger Test – Dr. Turpin reported the results of the Infinite Campus Messenger Test. He said the phone calling did not go as well as expected and AT&T was working with them on the problem.

The superintendent extended an invitation to a tour of integrated instructional technology at several Hall County Schools on November 17, 2008.  A bus will be leaving from the Central Office at 8:15 a.m. on that date.

8.   Field Trips – On motion by Nath Morris, seconded by Brian Sloan, the board voted 5-0 to approve field trips #’s 1 and 9 on the November 2008 list, as recommended by the superintendent.  The list is hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

1. Approval of Payments – September 2008 – Reviewed by Lee Lovett.
2. Update on Inventorying of Fuel – Jewel Armour gave an update on measures being taken for monitoring and inventorying fuel.  (Photos of fuel monitoring equipment were shared with the Board.)

      1.   SPLOST Report:

            a.   SPLOST III Analysis – October 2008 – Reviewed by the superintendent.

a.   November SPLOST III Request –A list of SPLOST III Fund Requests for November was discussed by Dr. Aaron Turpin and the superintendent.

3.   Bids/RFP Approvals – None

4.   Flowery Branch High School Athletic Competition Facilities 2010 – Superintendent Schofield made comments.

                                                                                                Hall County Board of Education

                                                                                                Regular Board Meeting

November 10, 2008

Richard Higgins, Chairman

Nath Morris, Vice Chairman

Craig Herrington

Sam Chapman

Brian Sloan

William Schofield, Superintendent

Lee Lovett, Deputy Superintendent

Dr. Richard Hill, Associate Superintendent for Human Resources

Dr. Eloise Barron, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning

Dr. Aaron Turpin, Executive Director of Information, Technology, and Assessment

Jerry Huguley, Construction Manager

Dr. Gary Stewart, Exec. Director of Adm. Services, School Safety & Security

Jim Sargent, Director of Student Services

Gordon Higgins, Director of Community Relations and Athletics

Cookie Palmer, Director of School Nutrition

Reception - 5:00 P.M. - Georgia Retired Educators’ Association, Inc. (GREA) & GREA Museum Board Members – Prior to the regular meeting, a reception was held for a small number of board members from the GREA/GREA Museum to celebrate the partnership between them and the Hall County Board of Education (HCBOE) for a Lease with Option to Purchase agreement approved at the October regular meeting.  The Lease with Option to Purchase is for a 2.400 acre tract of land that lies in Land Lot 93, 8^th District, Hall County, GA, on which a proposed building is to be constructed for use as a state headquarters and museum by GREA.  Superintendent Schofield welcomed everyone, guests introduced themselves, and several made comments. (The Lease with Option to Purchase document was signed during the 5:30 regular meeting.)

Regular Meeting - 5:30 P.M. – Following the reception, the Hall County Board of Education met in regular session as follows:

CALL TO ORDER AND ADOPTION OF AGENDA

Chairman Higgins called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. On motion by Nath Morris, seconded by Craig Herrington, the board voted 5-0 to adopt the agenda.

Brian Sloan gave the invocation; and veterans in the audience led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

3. Recognitions:

Chairman Higgins welcomed everyone prior to the following being recognized:

·       Partnership between Hall County School System & Georgia Retired Teachers Association –

      Superintendent Schofield made comments and introduced Bill Chandler of GREA. Mr. Chandler introduced GREA guests and thanked the HCBOE members for making this opportunity possible for them. Mr. Sammy Smith of Rainmaker & Associates, who helped with the transaction, then obtained signatures of both parties on the Lease with Option to Purchase documents.

·       Mr. Garnett Baugh – EHHS Special High School Diploma – Gary Brown made comments and introduced Garnett Baugh who was presented a special high school diploma from East Hall High School (EHHS) by Chairman Higgins on behalf of the board. Mr. Baugh thanked the board and said he accepted his diploma in honor of four friends who were killed in action who would never receive their diplomas. Mr. Baugh would have graduated from EHHS in 1968, but instead fought in the Vietnam War. Gary Brown arranged for the diploma for Mr. Baugh in accordance with Georgia Law (Code 20-2-70) which awards veterans with their high school diploma if wartime military service prevents them from graduating.

·       McEver – 2007-2008 - 5^th Grade Exemplary School of Writing Award – McEver Principal, Dr. Catherine Rosa, made comments about the award and introduced Teachers, Sabrina Waters and Sara Lux, who were presented a certificate by Craig Herrington.

On motion of Nath Morris, seconded by Craig Herrington, the board voted 5-0 to adopt the minutes of October 1, 2008 (Work Session), and October 6, 2008 (Regular Meeting).

      Dr. Eloise Barron made comments and presented the following:

1.     Approval for Charter School Planning Grant Applications - On motion by Brian Sloan, seconded by Sam Chapman, the board voted 5-0 to approve Charter School Planning Grant Applications in the amount of $5,000 each for McEver, Wauka Mountain, and White Sulphur Elementary Schools, as recommended by the superintendent. The applications are hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

2.     Balanced Scorecard Revisions – On motion by Sam Chapman, seconded by Nath Morris, the board voted 5-0 to approve the November 3, 2008, Balanced Scorecard Revisions, as recommended by the superintendent.  A copy of the scorecard is hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

3.     Update on LCCA Grant – Dr. Barron noted she had received a call from the state department on November 6^th saying they were postponing making a decision on the LCCA Grant until December.

4.     Field Trips – On motion by Sam Chapman, seconded by Craig Herrington, the board voted 5-0 to approve 2 two additional field trips (#’s 10 & 11) for a total of 11 field trips for the month of November 2008, as recommended by the superintendent.  The list of trips is hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

1. Financial Report and Approval of Payments –

a.   Financial Report October 31, 2008 – After review by Lee Lovett, on motion by Sam Chapman, seconded by Craig Herrington, the board voted 5-0 to approve the Financial Report for October 31, 2008, as recommended by the superintendent.  Said financial report is hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

b.   Approval of Payments – September 2008 - On motion by Sam Chapman, seconded by Craig Herrington, the board voted 5-0 to approve the payments for September 2008, in the amount of $28,388,132.36, as recommended by the superintendent.  Said payment list is hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

2.   Budget Amendment – November 10, 2008 - On motion by Sam Chapman, seconded by Craig Herrington, the board voted 5-0 to approve the November 10, 2008, Budget Amendment, as recommended by the superintendent.  A copy of the amendment is hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

2.   SPLOST Request – November 2008, Request – On motion by Sam Chapman, seconded by Craig Herrington, the board voted 5-0 to approve the November SPLOST III Funds Request list plus additional funds in the amount of $33,500 for White Sulphur Elementary activity field, as recommended by the superintendent.  The list is hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

D.  Personnel

On motion by Sam Chapman, seconded by Nath Morris, the board voted 4-0, with Craig Herrington abstaining, to approve the superintendent’s certified and classified personnel recommendations as summarized below. The lists of approved recommendations are hereby made a part of these minutes by reference.

            A.      1 Resignation

            B.     1 Recommendation

            C.     1 Transfer

            D.  248 Reclassifications from Temporary to Permanent Status

            E.     14 Long-Term Substitutes

F.       1 Other

            A.      0 Resignations

            B.      0 Recommendations

            C.      0 Transfers

            D.      0 Reclassifications from Temporary to Permanent Status

            E.       0 Long-Term Substitutes

            F.      0 Other

            A.     14 Resignations

            B.     16 Recommendations

            C.     7 Transfers

            D.     3 Other

            E.      3 Terminations

            A.     0 Resignations

            B.     0 Recommendations

            C.     0 Transfers

            D.      0 Other

            E.      0 Terminations

On motion by Craig Herrington, seconded by Sam Chapman, the board voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting.

The meeting ended at 6:18 P.M.

Chairman Higgins called for citizens comments. 

-SHM Parent, Jimmy Hernandez, a naturalized citizen who was a 1985 immigrant from Nicaragua, said he believed there was an imbalance of socio economics of student populations going on in the school and school system.  He said Latino families were struggling with integrating themselves because of language barriers and other issues.  He has attended several meetings and will be attending more regarding the negative perception of the community and they are looking for the support of the board for solutions or any ideas to help change this perception.

-SHM Parent, Craig Henderson, said he supported more responsibility to see that children have the opportunity to exercise their rights and everyone needed to work together to find a solution.

-James Mills, State Representative from Hall County, suggested the board require immigrant students to be proficient in speaking English before entering high school.

-JHS Parent, Johnny Johnson, said he appreciated what the board has done in helping students to be able to catch up on credits and get grades and/or be moved over to the career academy.  He said parents met last week and talked about issues and concerns because they want kids to have a better experience.  He said the academics at JHS are incredible--they just need to figure out how to best go forward and make it a more attractive place to go.

-JHS Parent, Tane Shannon, spoke of her family’s long history of attending Johnson High School and of not wanting to lose the greatness they had experienced in past years.

-Chairman Higgins, Nath Morris, and Brian Sloan followed with individual comments and said they were willing to listen and do what they could to make a difference but that it was not an easy task--that the community and the board would need to work together to try to change this perception.

-Superintendent Schofield responded to Mr. Mills’ statement that he was working on a way for students to be proficient in speaking English before they enter high school—that language immersion would teach the language as quickly as possible—but currently, non-English speaking immigrant students cannot and should not be barred from entering high school.

Chairman Higgins called for any other comments. There were none.

******************************************************************************