Notes from Board of Education Meeting, 1/14/14 & FY15 Budget Hearing

 

The Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, January 14 will be re-broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, Verizon FIOS Channel 12 and is available via webstream at http://www.ccboe.com/ . To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs.

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes.

Executive session - 12 p.m. Call to order - 1 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance, Maurice J. McDonough High School JROTC

Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman

Motion by Cook to nominate Wise as Chair; Second by Abell

Yes = Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wise; Absent = Wade



Motion by Cook to nominate Abell as Vice-Chair; Second by Wise

Motion by Bowie to nominate Lukas as Vice-Chair; Second by Pedersen

Those in favor of Abell = Abell, Cook, Wise

Those in favor Lukas = Bowie, Lukas, Pedersen

Vote continued for six rounds with the same results

 

Motion by Lukas to reconvene later in the meeting to continue the vote; Second by Abell

Recognized by Wise

Yes = Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wise

 

Superintendents update - see report

Correspondence/Board member updates

• Bowie - Waldorf West Library has free classes; thank you to staff for coordination and collaboration
• Cook - MABE Budget Committee Meeting and budget was passed

Education Association of Charles County update - see report

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees update - see report

Student Board member update - see report

Security update - verbal only for security reasons :)

• "A" phone (access) phone and doors will be complete at all schools by August 31st.
• Example lockdown plan - NP - instructions on inside of every door, universal for every class, every door remains locked, paper blinds for each window in every classroom, all teachers received training at the beginning of the year
• All schools have been given a timeline to come up with a plan.

CIP update - see report

• St. Charles High School pool -commissioners had additional questions, staff went to their meeting this morning and addressed; should hear something this afternoon.
• St. Charles High School Construction update - on target
• Brown - rooftop and boiler units are back on the table and will begin soon with local funding
• Gale-Bailey renovations going to bid soon
• Security initiative - $650,000 from the state, out to bid now, work complete by 8/31/14.
• FY15 IAC Appeal of $12K

School bell change - see report

• need 23 bus routes to accomodate new high school.    We originally only asked for 17 new contracts and new pieces of equipment.  Plan to use current equipment by changing bell times and use a tier system.
• Mattawoman Middle School has 25 buses that could be used and would have a 4 tier system.  
• Mattawoman, Davis and Berry affected by bell changes. 

Out-of-county transportation change

• 14% increase in Special Needs students in the past year. 
• Propose purchase of 4 Type 2 school buses, and hire drivers and attendants

Regionalized ELL program at Maurice J. McDonough High School - see report

• ELL  program at McDonough starting next year, don't know if it will be optional or mandatory
• Abell - how many students, optimum to start as freshman, continue throughout high school or go back to home school
• approximately 60 form all over the county, start at whatever level they are at and stay there for their entire high school tenure.
• Lukas - transportation
• similar to Stetham with a shuttle
• Bowie - a lot of different languages, hispanic is  large majority but will others be added.
• Support system is for English emersion; Title I will pay for interpreters
• Pedersen - Thank you

Middle school health textbooks - Available for review at Davis and Stoddert;

• The Glencoe TeenHealth text is a series of 8 texts that supplement the Maryland State Health Curriculum
• Wise - students take them home - NO
• Lukas - same process of review
• Pedersen - teacher review

High school government textbooks - Available at North Point, Westlake and McDonough

• United States Government – Principles and Practices, is
  proposed as an alternative and potential replacement for the current ninth grade
  government text.
• Wise - online texts vs. hardback
• Lukas - buy all at once or piece by piece
• discount provided when all at once

FY 2015 proposed operating budget - $342,695,000 (6.4% increase) see report

• enrollment decrease; expect decrease in state funding
• increase in Free and Reduced Priced Meal students (FARMS)
• health care cost $3.1M; teacher pensin $1.4M;
• St. Charles High School first year operating school whittled down to $7.7M
• Supplemental Budget Unfunded Request $19.1M
• Operating Cost per pupil - $12,453

Legislative update

• Thornton 2bills - education funding bill
• full day kindergarten bills

Vice-Chair Vote Reconvened
Those in favor of Abell = Abell, Cook, Wise

Those in favor Lukas = Bowie, Lukas, Pedersen

Vote continued for two rounds with the same results

 

Motion by Lukas to reconvene later in the meeting to continue the vote; Second by Abell

Recognized by Wise

Yes = Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wise
 

Unfinished business - None

New business - None

Future agenda items

• Joint BOE/CSM Meeting Aenda Items - Abell requested adding Middle college; Cook requested Dual Enrollment

Recognition - 4:30 p.m.

• Students - Ajani Witherspoon, 5th grade, Career readiness, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Elementary; Ryann Brown, 5th grade, Academic Achievement, T.C. Martin Elementary school; Alexandria Barrow, 5th grade, Academic Achievement, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School; Erik Wells, 5th grade, Academic Achievement, William B. Wade Elementary School; Jeniece Bailey, 8th grade, Personal Responsibility, Matthew Henson Middle School; Michael Fraley, 11th grade, Academic Achievement, Robert D. Stethem Educational Center
• Staff  - Tracy Cundiff, secretary, Jenifer; Carol Briscoe, kindergarten instructional assistant, Martin; Sharon Hawkins, food service worker, Mudd; Lisa Hasz, special education instructional assistant, Wade; Brenda Coombs, special education instructional assistant, Henson; Tony Chase, building service manager, Stethem
• Resolutions - African-American History Month, Career and Technology Education Month; National School Counseling Week; and Gifted and Talented Education Month

Public Forum - 6 p.m.

• Derrick Terry - School closings weather delays.  Not happy with schools being open on frigid cold days, and then being closed on rain days.  What about our walkers? 

Action items

• Minutes

Motion to accept the minutes Pedersen; Second Cook

Yes = Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wise; Absent = Wade

• Personnel

Motion to accept  personnel Pedersen; Second Cook

Yes = Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wise; Absent = Wade

• Superintendent’s transfer rule #5126

Motion to accept the minutes Cook; Second Pedersen

Yes = Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wise; Absent = Wade

 

Vice-Chair Vote Reconvened
Those in favor of Abell = Abell, Cook, Wise

Those in favor Lukas = Bowie, Lukas, Pedersen

Lukas motion to open motion for accepting nominations; Second Pedersen
Yes=Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wise; Absent=Wade

Lukas nominated Cook for Vice Chair; Secon Pedersen
Yes=Abell, Bowie, Cook, Lukas, Pedersen, Wise; Absent=Wade 



Adjournment

Public hearing on Superintendent’s proposed FY 2015 operating budget

• None