Guilford County Board of Education
Regular Meeting
December 6, 2005

GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
REGULAR MEETING
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

The Guilford County Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Thursday, November 17, 2005, at 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. The following Board members were present: Walter Childs (arrived at 5:35 p.m.), Kris Cooke (arrived at 5:37 p.m.), Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett (arrived at 5:40 p.m.), Deena Hayes (arrived at 5:35 p.m.), Dot Kearns, Susan Mendenhall, Amos Quick (arrived at 5:35 p.m.), Nancy Routh, Anita Sharpe, and Marti Sykes. Also present were Superintendent Terry Grier and Attorney Jill Wilson.

Call to Order

Chairman Duncan called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence

Boy Scout Troop 101 led by Scoutmaster Bob Bond led the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.

Recognition

Chairman Duncan introduced Kevin Lear, Guilford County Schools’ new Chief Operating Officer.

Public Comments

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

Carlie Blake, student at High Point Central, 1041 Wellington Street, High Point, NC 27262
Debbie Maines, 2145 Rivermeade Drive, High Point, NC 27265
Joe Stafford, 4604 Forest Village Drive, Greensboro, NC 27406

Superintendent Grier announced that in an effort to support the High Point community’s Gradfest, the graduation date for Andrews High had changed. Eastern High Principal Lisa Cooke agreed to switch graduation dates with Andrews to allow all High Point students to participate in Gradfest. Andrews will now graduate on Saturday, June 3, 2006 at 3:30 p.m. and Eastern will graduate on Monday, June 5, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. Superintendent Grier also announced that activity buses will be made available to each principal at no cost to allow parents who do not have transportation to travel the activity bus.

Approval of Agenda

Chairman Duncan asked Board members to review the meeting agenda and called for a motion to approve or revise it. Chairman Duncan noted that Staff Report Item C, School Improvement Plans had been removed from the agenda to allow Board members more time to review the plans and that paper copies of the plans would be placed at each of the three central offices. Motion was made by Susan Mendenhall, seconded by Marti Sykes, to approve the agenda as revised. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.

Staff Reports

Continued Discussion of Proposed Redistricting Plans
Eric Hoekstra, District Demographer, led the Board in a continued discussion regarding the proposed redistricting plans as discussed at the August 9, August 25, September 13, September 29, October 27, and November 8 meetings. He provided a summary of comments received from the community at the public forums relating to the original redistricting maps (not the districtwide maps).

From those comments received, Mr. Hoekstra recommended the following changes:

• Northwest Area Elementary – Modify the attendance zone to include the east side of Stanley Huff Road south of Moores Creek. Those students would attend Northwest Elementary, Kernodle Middle, and Northwest High. Students on the north side of Moores Creek to Bunch Road would be assigned to Oak Ridge Elementary, Northwest Middle, and Northwest High.
• Northern Area Middle – Accept the alternate map presented that includes the Triple Lakes area on the east side of Church Street in the Northern Area Middle School attendance zone.
• Stokesdale and Oak Ridge - shift an area from Stokesdale to Oak Ridge once Northwest Elementary is opened.

Mr. Hoekstra reported that he would re-draw the original redistricting maps to include these changes and present the revised maps to the Board. Mr. Hoekstra also reported that he was working on overlay film for the redistricting maps that would reflect the current attendance zones. He also reported that as he prepared the districtwide redistricting map, he found areas that he felt the Board should consider. The Board then discussed those areas affecting the following schools:

• Murphey Traditional Academy as a dedicated magnet school after changes are made at Peck Elementary
• Possible use of the Pisgah Church Road facility as an elementary school to address the area near Lees Chapel Road and Church Street. However, this option would require relocation of the SCALE program
• Potential shifting of students among Allen, Jackson, and Kiser Middle Schools to reduce the number of students assigned to Allen
• Attendance zones for Alamance and Sedalia Elementary Schools and expected growth
• Gillespie and increased attendance zone which raises a concern with the middle school feeder pattern
• Cone Elementary and the best utilization of its attendance zone to reduce overcrowding at surrounding schools. Mr. Hoekstra noted the need for an additional elementary school in the area near the former Carolina Circle Mall
• Attendance zones for Alderman and Sedgefield Elementary Schools
• Possible reconfiguration of Southern and Sumner Elementary Schools to a K-2 and 3-5 organization

Superintendent Grier informed the Board that next year would be the year for submitting federal magnet school grants. He asked that the Board decide if it wanted to submit a grant and inform the staff in a timeframe that would allow them adequate time to plan and prepare the material.

Chairman Duncan led the Board in a discussion of next steps as it related to the district-wide redistricting maps. Motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to schedule community meetings to receive feedback on the districtwide maps as presented by staff.

Upon further discussion, motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Deena Hayes, to table Ms. Sharpe’s motion until the December 6 meeting. The motion to table passed upon majority electronic vote of 6 to 5 as follows: Ayes – Dot Kearns, Nancy Routh, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Amos Quick, and Deena Hayes; Nays – Marti Sykes, Walter Childs, Anita Sharpe, Susan Mendenhall, and Darlene Garrett.

Proposed 2006-2007 District Calendar Options

District Relations presented three calendar options for the 2006-2007 school year. She noted that the calendar options are in compliance with Board guidelines and House Bill 1464, which outlines the criteria for public school calendars. This legislation states that school cannot start before August 25, cannot end after June 10, and must have 180 days of student instruction.

• Option 1 features a start date of August 25, 2006, with the last day of school being June 8, 2007. This option features:
• Fairly equal grading periods
• Teacher workdays spread throughout the school year
• A teacher workday on Nov 22 (prior to the Thanksgiving holiday)
• Eight days of vacation/holidays for winter break
• A workday following winter break for teachers to prepare before students return
• Five days of vacation/holidays for spring break
• Option 2 features a start date of September 5, 2006, with the last day of school being June 8, 2007. This option features:
  • A post-Labor Day start
  • Equal grading periods
  • Limited time for eighth-grade students to prepare for the state mandated computer skills test (usually administered the first week of October)
  • No snow make-up days during the school year (stacked at the end)
  • Increased financial liability with regard to teacher pay dates – teachers would be advanced pay for 18 days on August 31
    
• Option 3 features a start date of August 25, 2006, with the last day of school being June 8, 2007. This option features:
  • A pre-Labor Day start
  • Fairly equal grading periods
  • Snow make-up days throughout the school year
  • Mandatory teacher workdays at the beginning of the school year

Motion was made by Marti Sykes, seconded by Dot Kearns, to place all three calendar options on the table for a 21-day period of public comment. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 10 to 1 as follows: Ayes – Dot Kearns, Marti Sykes, Nancy Routh, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Amos Quick, Susan Mendenhall, Deena Hayes, and Darlene Garrett; Nays – Anita Sharpe.

Following the public comment period, District Relations will provide the Board a summary of the responses received.

School Improvement Plans for 2005-2008

This item was deferred until the next meeting.

Reports from the Chairman

Chairman Duncan shared a letter he received from EngeryUnited announcing that teachers from Guilford County Schools had received Bright Ideas grants. As part of a statewide program of North Carolina’s electric cooperative, EnergyUnited annually awards Bright Ideas grants to classroom teachers to enhance the quality of classroom instruction. This year’s winners include: Denise Ebbs, Gillespie Park Elementary, for her “Show Me the Money” project, Dereatha Rice, Southwest High, for her “Life on the Ranch and Beyond-Bravely Engineering Your Own New Destination” project, and Anglea Waiters-Jackson, Oak Hill Elementary, for her “Family Reading Library” project.

Closed Session

At 8:08 p.m., motion was made by Deena Hayes, seconded by Kris Cooke, to move to closed session to preserve the attorney client privilege, to give instruction to staff and the Board’s agents and attorneys regarding the price or other material term to be paid for a contract or proposed contract for the purchase of real estate as protected by N.C.G.S. 143-318.1, and to discuss personnel matters protected by N.C.G.S. 115-321. The motion passed upon majority voice vote of 10 to 1 as follows: Ayes – Dot Kearns, Marti Sykes, Nancy Routh, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Anita Sharpe, Amos Quick, Susan Mendenhall, and Deena Hayes; Nays – Darlene Garrett.

The Board returned to open session at 9:10 p.m.

Personnel Action

Chairman Duncan presented goals for the Superintendent for the 2005-2006 school year as agreed upon by the Board.

• Articulate a clear and focused vision for the system in conjunction with the Board and communicate this vision effectively to students, teachers, parents and citizens.
• Improve the measurable performance of the system as measured by:
• Increase graduation rate based on cumulative index.
• Decrease or maintain current dropout rate.
• Increase average score and participation in SAT.
• Continue to make progress to close the achievement gap in grades 3-8 in math and reading.
• Increase in number of schools that meet AYP.
• Formulate a plan and bring it to the board for implementation for the coming year to increase the number and tenure of highly effective teachers in our most impacted schools.
• Increase visibility in the community and interaction with community groups that desire greater opportunity for the chance to communicate directly with the superintendent about their educational concerns at least eight times. The Board will assist with the identification of the groups.
• Develop a strategic plan that outlines goals for MWB/E in conjunction with the Board and institute measures aimed at increasing participation.
• Focus on employee morale by creating an instrument to measure and assess working conditions for all staff.
• Increase community and school personnel familiarity with new senior administrators by providing periodic reporting on their interactions with the community and staff.

In reference to goal number three, Superintendent Grier noted that he currently meets with a variety of groups throughout the county. He asked the Board for specific groups with whom it felt he should meet.

Motion was made by Darlene Garrett, seconded by Anita Sharpe, to adopt the Superintendent’s goals as read by Chairman Duncan. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 8 to 3 as follows: Ayes – Nancy Routh, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Anita Sharpe, Susan Mendenhall, Deena Hayes, and Darlene Garrett; Nays – Dot Kearns, Marti Sykes, and Amos Quick.

Resolution with City of High Point

Board member Susan Mendenhall read a resolution relating to a potential land swap with the City of High Point. (copy of resolution included in the minutes) Motion was made by Susan Mendenhall, seconded by Kris Cooke, to approve the resolution as read. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Board Comments

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

Adjournment

With no further business, at 11:11 p.m., motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Deena Hayes, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.