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Guilford County Board of Education
Board Meeting
September 9, 2003

GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
REGULAR MEETING
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

The Guilford County Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Tuesday, August 12, 2003, at 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. The following Board members were present: Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett (arrived at 6:52 p.m.), Deena Hayes, Johnny Hodge (arrived 7:16 p.m.), Dot Kearns, Susan Mendenhall, Nancy Routh, Anita Sharpe (arrived at 7:06 p.m.), and Marti Sykes. Board member Garry Burnett was absent. Also present were Superintendent Terry Grier and Attorney Jill Wilson.

Call to Order

Chairman Duncan called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence

Board member Kris Cooke led the Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence.

Public Comments

Chairman Duncan called on the following members of the public who requested an opportunity to address the Board:

Katy Rodriguez, 3801 Repon Street, Greensboro, NC 27407
Cameron Rodriguez, Smith High student, 3801 Repon Street, Greensboro, NC 27407
Lucia Kennerly, 3306 North Rockingham Road, Greensboro, NC 27407
Julie Montpellier, 16 Country Walk Lane, Greensboro, NC 27407
David Boy, 2801 Hackney Way, Jamestown, NC 27282
Julie Culver, 308 Pearce Drive, Jamestown, NC 27282
Dave Owens, 4106 Duffers Lane, Greensboro, NC 27407
Kenneth Dean, 2213 Stamey Street, Greensboro, NC 27401
Annie Gwynn, 1624 Ridge Croft Road, Brown Summit, NC 27214
Debra Owens, 381 Brann Road, Brown Summit, NC 27214
Donnie Brown, 2607 Azalea Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407
Deborah Compton-Holt, 3103 Pinecroft Road, Greensboro, NC 27407
Scott Kouchel, 2902 Merryweather Road, Greensboro, NC 27407

Approval of Agenda

Chairman Duncan asked Board members to review the meeting agenda and called for a motion to approve or revise it. Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Susan Mendenhall, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.

Recognitions

The Board recognized Faith Rogers, a Southeast High graduate, for being named the school's 2003 Salutatorian. Executive Director for School Support, Dr. Vernon Farrington, shared with the Board that an error in calculating the salutatorian was made at Southeast High School when a pass/fail course was counted as a graded course, therefore slightly lowering Ms. Rogers' Grade Point Average (GPA). Ms. Rogers ended her high school career with a 4.967 GPA, over $2 million in scholarship offers, and perfect attendance in grades K-12. Principal Keith Kremer presented the Salutatorian Medal to Ms. Rogers' grandmother as Ms. Rogers is currently enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and could not attend the Board meeting.

Staff Reports

Technology Update

Dr. Terrence Young, Chief Information Officer, updated the Board on technology in the school district including results of a recent peer review audit conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools. He reported that the number of students per computer is 4.6 as compared to the state average of 8.8 and the national average of 6.8. Eighty-nine percent of the district's classrooms are wired with access to the Internet as compared to 84 percent of classrooms in North Carolina and 72 percent of classrooms across the nation. He noted that while not all classrooms have access to the Internet, 100 percent of the district's schools do have at least one computer with high-speed access.

Dr. Young reminded the Board that in May 2003, the Council of Great City Schools conducted an audit review of the district's technology. The audit noted several successes: an impressive distribution of computers to schools and departments; a solid technology network; a robust teacher training program, and high rates of student technology proficiency with 89.9 percent of eighth graders passing both the performance and multiple choice sections on the 2003 NC Test of Computer Skills as compared to 89.5 percent in 2002.

The audit also noted challenges facing the district's technology department such as the need for leadership and a successful strategic vision. The district has since acted on a number of the audit's recommendations by creating a Technology Services Policies, Procedures, and Standards manual and a Technology Applications Review Committee (TARC). The purpose of TARC is to ensure that computer applications used throughout the school district are compatible with the district's technology infrastructure.

Dr. Young noted that the Technology Services Policies, Procedures, and Standards manual included a proposed revision to Board Policy EFE, Acceptable Use Policy. Recognizing that the Board is in the process of determining the manner in which the district addresses policies, he alerted the Board to the proposed revisions and asked for input. The Board will address the proposed policy revision once a process for such has been determined.

Dr. Young also provided the Board a copy of the district's Assessment and Evaluation Manual. He noted that each school's principal and testing coordinator had also been provided a copy of the revised manual.

Report on District Opt-Out Schools

Eric Hoekstra, district Planner/Demographer, reviewed the criteria in which the administration considers when selecting schools to serve as opt-out schools. The purpose of opt-out schools is to provide parents of students residing within a magnet school attendance zone the choice of a regular (non-magnet) school. Each magnet school with an attendance zone has a primary and a secondary opt-out school. The primary criteria for the designation of opt-out schools are space and diversity. Secondary criteria include proximity, population size of the magnet's attendance zone, size of the prior year's opt-out population, previous school connection, for example the former satellite area of a school, and transportation synergy.

Board members expressed their desire for distance, consistency of school selection, and consideration of permanent seats be added to the criteria used for selection of opt-out schools.

In response to Board member requests for additional information pertaining to the number of opt-out students, Superintendent Grier indicated staff would gather the data and report to the Board at its next meeting, scheduled for August 28, 2003.

Red Carpet Schools Initiative

Julie Zwahr, Executive Director of Communications, presented a report on the Red Carpet Schools Initiative which is designed to help schools improve customer service skills at reception areas such as a school's front office and to reward those who exhibit excellent customer service. During the spring of 2003, 380 office support staff attended four half-day workshops relating to improving customer service.

Schools will apply to earn Red Carpet status by undergoing an evaluation, which includes anonymous "secret shoppers" who will visit and call schools. Teams made up of Board members, County Commissioners, business volunteers, staff members, and parents will visit, phone and assess schools based on Red Carpet criteria. In January 2004, Red Carpet status will be awarded to schools that provide an exceptionally friendly and welcoming environment for visitors and parents.

Consent Agenda

Superintendent Grier presented the following consent agenda items:

A. July 2003 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the July 1 Special Called Meeting, July 8 Regular Meeting, July 22 Special Called Meeting, and July 24 Regular Meeting.

B. Personnel Action Report for the Period Ending July 21, 2003
Personnel actions as noted in the monthly Personnel Action Report.

C. Sale of House Constructed by Building Trade Classes At Weaver Education Center
The Consent Agenda included the Board's approval of the sale of the house constructed by the building trade classes at Weaver Education Center via a public auction. A minimum bid of $40,000 is recommended to ensure the replenishment of funds for future building projects. The auction is scheduled for an August to September timeframe at a date to be determined after receiving Board approval and will be conducted by Action Auctions, Inc.

D. Purchase of Land Adjacent to Sedgefield Elementary School
The Consent Agenda included the Board's approval to purchase the land and house adjacent to Sedgefield Elementary School at the appraised price of $138,000. The administration secured an option on the land and had a Phase I environment study conducted on the property. Subsequently, the Board of County Commissioners approved the purchase of the land at the appraised price of $138,000 on June 5, 2003. Money for the purchase of the land is to come from the Sedgefield construction project. Nothing substantial was shown in the environmental study of the property.

E. NC Department of Transportation Easement at Union Hill Elementary School
The Consent Agenda included the Board's approval to grant a temporary construction easement and a permanent drainage easement to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for the purpose of widening Kivett Drive west of the intersection of Triangle Lake and Kivett Drive. The temporary construction easement along the Kivett Drive property line contains approximately 4,213 square feet. The permanent drainage easement at the Kivett driveway, at the northwest corner along Kivett, and at the northeast corner at Kivett and Triangle Lake contains approximately 1,098 square feet. The easements are approximately 13 feet in width from the property line. Together the easements follow the entire Kivett Drive property line.

The state proposes to pay a total of $6,450 for the easements and any possible construction damages. The administration has deemed that the granting of these two easements will not diminish the use of the property as an active school site.

Motion was made by Johnny Hodge, seconded by Susan Mendenhall, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. The motion passed upon majority roll call vote of 9 to 1 as follows: Ayes - Johnny Hodge, Susan Mendenhall, Deena Hayes (no on item B), Darlene Garrett, Anita Sharpe, Marti Sykes, Nancy Routh, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, and Dot Kearns.

Reports from the Chairman

Governance Review Committee's Report

Chairman Duncan called on Board Member Nancy Routh to present a report from the Governance Review Committee. Dr. Routh reported that the Governance Review Committee had begun the process of reviewing policies in an effort to reinstate policies as Board Policies separately from Administrative Procedures as approved by the Board in June 2003.

On behalf of the committee, Dr. Routh presented for a first reading, proposed revisions to Board Policy BD, Policy Development. The committee recommended that when policies are presented, they be given a 21-day period for review and to receive public input prior to any final action being taken by the Board.

Motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Kris Cooke, to accept Policy BD, Policy Development, for a first reading and to place Policy BD on the table for a 21-day period to receive public input. The motion passed upon unanimous show of hands.

Dr. Routh also presented revised By-Laws reflecting the Board's decision on July 1, 2003 to refer to all Board meetings as Regular meetings unless otherwise noted (Section 5.1). Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to incorporate the Board's decision regarding the naming of its meetings into the By-Laws and to accept the revised By-Laws as presented. The motion passed upon unanimous roll call vote.

Chairman Duncan reminded Board members to submit agenda items for the Board's upcoming retreat scheduled for September 6 and 7, 2003.

Board Comments

Board members were each allowed two minutes to make remarks, as they deemed appropriate.

Adjournment

With no further business, at 9:13 p.m., motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Susan Mendenhall, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.