Notes from Board of Education Meeting, 2/11/14

The Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, February 11 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, North Point High School JROTC

Superintendent’s update - See report

Correspondence/Board Member updates

• Bowie - Westlake - Code.org Thank you for hosting and received certificate
• Cook - Code.org can be used with any subject
• Wise - Scholarship Committee - seniors deadline is March 1.  48 different scholarships with 70 available.
• Wise - EACC Legislative Breakfast
• Testify for stipend raise for board members

Education Association of Charles County update - See report

Student Board Member update - See report

New school discipline regulations - Addressed in Superintendent's comments

St. Charles High School

• Lockers, lights, doors, cabinets, gym paint and wood floors installed. 
• Interviews of staff transfers underway.

CIP update

• Public works appeal
• LaPlata HVAC approval
• St. Charles $6M approval
• John Hanson gym railing improvement welding done by students
• Abell - loves to see this opportunity for students --  It's a win/win situation -- and hopes to see more of this in the future
• Student shadow asked why students were doing it instead of professionals   :)

SMECO check presentation - rebate check for $286,075

Ninth grade Earth science textbooks - see report; available as e-book

Middle school health textbooks - Due to weather, will be available for another 30 days

High school government textbooks - Due to weather, will be available for another 30 days

Curriculum Repository

• One stop shop for lesson plans, development, videos, etc.; Share across counties and with other counties;  Make some self-help videos available to public for homework
• Abell - We do a subject?  Another county do a subject? etc.....   yes
• Pedersen - Announce when ready and ask for feedback from teachers?  Constantly ongoing and testing with a handful of teachers...should be ready to test drive in the fall

Budget update

Technology planning for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
(PARCC) assessments - see report;  COST $7,126,656

SY 2015-2016 calendar

• Abell - How will you get public input?
• Balides - Communications will put out a survey

Legislative update

• SB203/HB209 - Charles County board member salary
• SB332/HB297 - optional grant expand pre-K options to add students; no facilities
• HB117 - MSDE request waiver for state mandated testing
• SB779/1198 - school system burden of proof on special education
• SB232/HB727 - amend prevailing wage law 25% of state funding
• HB300 - alcohol beverage license in Charles County
• Baltimore - adopted new discipline practices, policies, rules, etc state-wide.  Staff has started making changes and will bring forward to Board as changes are made.

Unfinished business

• School APFO committee report - Kudos and thank you to staff;
• Wise - agree with report; concerned on public/private partnership
• consensus

New business

• Bowie - One room school house tours

Future agenda items

• Lukas - Leadership Council Task Force on Arts; concerned with losing the arts to other programs

Recognition – 4:30 p.m.

• Students - Reginald Alexander, 5^th grade, Career Readiness, Berry Elementary School; Laura Bond, 5^th grade, Academic Achievement, Eva Turner Elementary School; Madison Mote, 8^th grade, Academic Achievement, Piccowaxen Middle School; Kim Jacks, 11^th grade, Academic Achievement, Henry E. Lackey High School; Alec Hunsaker, 12^th grade, Personal Responsibility, La Plata High School
• Staff - Olivia Coffey, school counselor, Berry; Stephanie Boyer, music teacher, Turner; Sandra Chisolm, computer teacher, Piccowaxen; Chief Larry Adams, Air Force ROTC Instructor, Lackey; Vicki Kenworthy, instructional assistant, La Plata; Cynthia Fitzsimmons, special education teacher, F.B. Gwynn Center, Coordinator: Todd Wonderling
• Resolutions: Read Across Charles County; Women’s History Month; and Fine and Performing Arts Month

Public Forum – 6 p.m.

• Ms. Marki - Berry Elementary - Scotland Heights approval, redistricting, overcrowding Berry, 900+ students, security of trailers, more teachers needed for specials
• Francesca Acheana(?) - Berry Elementary - Bad Table Cafeteria, Reflection Walk, 150+ more students
• Maresha Fieldo - Berry - more trailers, security, no window on door of two trailers, fence around school incomplete
• Ms. Campbell - Berry - Ditto - New traffic pattern dangerous....requires a U turn on Berry road, students not wanting to go to school
• Tony Johnson - Berry - Scotland Heights - redistricting - don't we talk to commissioners?

Action items

• Minutes

Motion to accept the Minutes by Cook; Second by Pedersen

Yes=All; Absent=Wade

• Personnel

Motion to accept the Personnel by Pedersen; Second by Lukas

Yes=All; Absent=Wade

• Superintendent’s proposed FY 2015 operating budget

Motion to accept the Superintendent's Proposed FY15 Operating Budget by Abell;

Second by Lukas

Yes=All; Absent=Wade

Adjournment