• February 2009 Board Minutes
    Work Session

    CHATTOOGACOUNTYSCHOOL DISTRICT
    FEBRUARY 2, 2009
    WORK SESSION BOARD MEETING MINUTES
     
    ChattoogaCounty Board of Education
     
    Office of the Superintendent
     
    Agenda for Board Meeting
     
    The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mr. Anderson, Chairman with a quorum of Board members present along with Superintendent. Dr. Dwight Pullen and Asst. Superintendent, Mrs. Emily Bolton. Mrs. Dot Johnson was absent.
     
    Invocation was lead by Dr. Pullen. Pledge of Allegiance was led by Will Turner, School Advisor.
     
     Mr. Anderson asks if there were any additions to the Superintendent’s Recommended Agenda for February 2, 2009 School Board Meeting and there were none.
    Mr. Anderson asks for a motion to approve all items of the Agenda. Mr. Elsberry made a motion to approve with a second by Mr. Money and the vote was unanimous.
     
    Approve Minutes of Previous Meetings at the next meeting on February 9, 2009..
    1.      Work Session - January 5, 2009
    2.       Regular Session – January 12, 2009
     
    Public Participation
                Ms. Kathy Floyd and Mr. Bobby Cavin along with some of the Gifted Students who attended the Presidential Inauguration spoke about their trip. They visited the Arlington National Cemetery, Mt. Vernon and the Inauguration. They expressed the friendliness of the people around them. Body Brooks, SMS, was the first to speak. He told of the things he most enjoyed. Everyone agreed that he might someday be our President of the United States.  John Cavin and John Thomas Maddox, MES also were excited about the trip. Ann Maddox, parent, enjoyed the trip also. It was a feeling of excitement and they all truly enjoyed every moment they were there. All of them were really impressed with Mt. Vernon and George Washington’s grave site.
     
    1. Resolutions/Recognitions
           None
    1. School Board Members
    None
    1. School Board Policies
    None
     
     
     
    1. Financial Management
    1. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval of Financial Statement for December 31, 2008.
    2. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval of School Sales Projects.
    3. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval of American Cancer Society use of Chattooga High Football Field for the Relay for Life on May 15, 2009 .
    4. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval of Trion Heights Baptist Church sponsored Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University use of Room 5025 at Leroy Massey Elementary School from February 12 thru May 14 with no meeting on April 9 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
     
    1.  Educational Programs, Student Support and Staff Development
     1. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval of Field Trips.
                2. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval of guidelines for Gifted
                referrals.
                3. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval of K-8 Language       Arts/Reading Textbook Adoption Committee for 2009-2010.
                4. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval on update on progress of       the Academy and possibly Charter School Option.
    Dr. Miller spoke to the group and gave each BOE member a packet of letters that her students had written. They took what they called grade 8 ½, those that had failed the CRCT for the second time, and brought them into their little fold at the Academy. These students for the most part had planned to drop-out of school. They did not see that there   was anyway that they could reach the new standards or High School in general. Discipline referrals since November are down 75%.At the beginning of school she was wondering why the BOE had done this to her. It was a pretty tough time. This is a group of kids that had missed a lot of days of school in the past, stayed in trouble a lot at school. It is not that they can’t learn they were just not motivated and were constantly missing classroom instruction. In their letters they will tell you for the first time that they are learning Math and really enjoying the class. This year we have 3 teachers & 32 students.
    Learning has improved. They are helping each other. Have excellent parent involvement. Some would like to see the Academy go to a 10th grade. They have a lack of resources. In some ways that has worked to their advantage and has caused the teachers to be more creative. The students have to take notes. Out of necessity they are learning how to listen and take notes and be more involved. One thing that they have learned and always known is that “Students success is more about relationships with caring adults than it is any kind of resources or any program that may be used”. The students at the Academy know that they are vested in seeing them Graduate. They have had only 2 to drop out so far due to pregnancy and such.
    Dr. Miller ask for permission from the BOE to write a Grant for this to be a Charter School. The Federal Government would put $400,000 into the school to get it started. It would be there for 5 years before we would have to do any rewriting. She is asking for permission to make an application for the Grant but does not mean that we would get it. She is asking for approval to make the application.
     
    Dr. Pullen stated that when Dr. Miller gets the proposal ready he will bring it to the Board with recommendation to see what we need to do. Next year will be a planning stage.
                5. Board Consideration of Recommendation for approval of the Night School
                Program at Chattooga High School in conjunction with Northwest Georgia
                Technical College. Starting with a Metals program, Automotive, Health and try to provide opportunities for the people in this county to get Technical School degrees. They will give our instructors the opportunity to teach in their own labs and if they opt not to they will provide instructors. They will provide all supplies & materials. They basically won’t us to provide the facility.                                        
     
    1. Support Services/Facilities and Construction Management/Planning
     
            Executive Session
                A motion was made by Mr. Elsberry with a second by Mr. Massey and the vote
    was unanimous to go into Executive Session  at 7:20 p.m. They returned at 8:15 p.m. with no action taken.
     
    1. Personnel
    1. Board Consideration of Recommendations for approval of Certified &          Classified Personnel
          Certified Transfers – Brian Beasley, Principal SES; Jennie Starr, Asst. Principal SMS
          Certified Resignations – Richard Chamlee CHS; Corinne W.Beauchamp, ESOL Teacher CHS; Sandra Black, Retirement LMES; Melanie Eubanks, Retirement Spec. Ed. SMS; Charles Robert Hammon, PE Teacher CHS; Elsie E. “Honey” Housch, Retirement SES Kindergarten; Barbara McCutchins, Retirement LMES Media Specialist; Megan Nix, SMS; Alan Perry, Retirement CHS Language Arts
          Certified Recommendations – Denver Pate CHS PE; Shane Reid CHS Social Science
          Classified Recommendation – Annie Martin Special Ed Caregiver; Darrell Wheat, Full Time Sub Bus Driver
          Classified Resignations – Jeannette Clayton, Retirement LES Food Service Manager; Pat Rash, Retirement SMS Food Service Worker
          Substitute Recommendations – Autumn Nicole Hunt and Emily Spears
    2. Board Consideration of Recommendation for High School Principal Salary and Supplement for 2009-2010. We want to take them off the salary band on now and put back on like the other principals based on years of experience and qualifications and give a supplement to supplement and what we are proposing is in line with other Systems in the area. Also an FYI – a Principal with a Masters Degree & limited experience would make less – a Principal with Specialist Degree & medium experience about the same – a Principal with a Doctorate degree a several years experience would put him at the top of the pay scale – would make a little more than we are paying now. Most systems are in line with that for High School Principals.
    3. Board Consideration of Recommendation for Administrative Renewals for 2009-2010. Listing of Certified Central Office Staff, Principals and Assistant Principals.
     
    1. Superintendent of School
    1. Board Consideration of Recommendation to have a Called Board of Education meeting on February 17, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. for the purpose of opening bids for the Menlo School HVAC project.
    2. Board Consideration of Recommendation for proposed Reduction in Force for the 2009-2010 school year.
         
    Adjournment
    With no further business Mr. Money made a motion to adjourn at 8:20 p.m. with a second by Mr. Elsberry and the vote was unanimous.
     
     
     
     
    __________________________                               ___________________________
    Dr. Dwight Pullen, Superintendent                            Mr. William Anderson, Chairman