Guilford County Board of Education
Board Meeting
October 9, 2007

GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
REGULAR MEETING
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

The Guilford County Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Thursday, September 13, 2007, at 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. The following board members were present: Jeff Belton, Walter Childs (arrived at 8 p.m.), Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Deena Hayes, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns, Amos Quick, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe. Also present were Superintendent Terry Grier and Attorney Jill Wilson.

Call to Order
Chairman Duncan called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence
Board member Jeff Belton led the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.

Recognitions

GCS Employee of the Month for September 2007
The board recognized Cindy Kernodle, office support for district relations, as the district’s September Employee of the Month. Board member Dot Kearns presented Cindy with a certificate of recognition. In a prior ceremony, Ms. Kernodle received a $50 gift card from Sam’s Club, which has partnered with GCS to support the employee recognition program.

Recognition of Visiting Chinese Educators
The board welcomed Chinese educators Wu Aixia, Xia Oyang and Cao Hong to GCS from China. GCS is among a select number of school districts nationwide to offer a Mandarin Chinese curriculum. These three educators will spend the next two years teaching the language, culture and lifestyle to GCS students. These teachers were chosen through a highly selective process administered by The Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) and the College Board. Board member Garth Hébert and Gisela Hood, coordinator of international language programs, presented them with certificates of recognition.

Public Comments
Chairman Duncan called on members of the public who requested an opportunity to address the board.

Susan Hodnett, 2200 Gate Post Drive, Greensboro, NC 27455
John Armor, Box 243, Highlands, NC 28741
Yvonne Hunt-Perry, 3904 Hobbs Road, Greensboro, NC 27410
Laura Farrell, 5002 Angler Lane, Greensboro, NC 27455
Takima Hoy-Hines, 403 Stewart St., Greensboro, NC 27401
Debbie Lumpkins, 4059 Southview Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407
Joe Stafford, 4604 Forest Village Drive, Greensboro, NC 27406

Approval of Agenda
Chairman Duncan asked board members to review the meeting agenda and called for a motion to approve or amend it. He requested that Consent Agenda items C. Consideration for Naming of Oak View Elementary Wing and D. Consideration for Naming of New Northwest High School Gymnasium be moved to become the first two items under Staff Reports and also that Board Discussion items A. Third Reading – Policy KG, Use of School Facilities and B. Third Reading – Policy KI, Distribution of Materials in Schools be moved as the third and fourth items under Staff Reports. Board members agreed.

Motion was made by Nancy Routh, seconded by Anita Sharpe, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.

Consent Agenda
Superintendent Grier presented the following consent agenda items:

A.  August Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the August 14 regular meeting and August 30 regular meeting were presented for approval.

B.  Personnel Action Report

The consent agenda included personnel actions as noted in the monthly personnel action report requiring board approval.

C.  Revised 2007-08 Calendars

The consent agenda included a recommendation that the board approve modified 2007-08 calendars for Hampton Elementary, Oak Hill Elementary and The Middle Colleges. The three 2007-08 calendars contained miscalculations with optional teacher workdays that did not meet the 215-day requirement for 10-month employees. This error occurred as a result of an extra holiday added to this year’s calendar as required by state law – if Christmas falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, an extra holiday is to be added to the calendar. The extra paid holiday should be offset by a reduction in optional teacher workdays to maintain the contracted 215-day requirement.

Chairman Duncan requested that a paragraph in the August 30 regular meeting minutes which concerns the inclusion of the word “easement” in the Duke Energy Carolinas Right-of-Way Agreement at 319 Stage Coach Trail and the Duke Energy Carolinas Right-of-Way Agreement at Grimsley High School be revised to add the underlined words shown below. Board members agreed with his suggestion.

Chairman Duncan stated his objection to the inclusion of the word “easement” in the Right-of-Way Agreement documentation for consent agenda item B. Duke Energy Carolinas Right-of-Way Agreement at 319 Stage Coach Trail and consent agenda item C. Duke Energy Carolinas Right-of-Way Agreement at Grimsley High School. He stated that the documentation should be amended to either delete the word “easement” or to contain an accompanying statement from the utilities that they do not claim a property right or interest, or, if they do claim a property right or interest, then the utilities should pay what is typically paid for easements. Board members were in agreement.

Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Kris Cooke, to approve the consent agenda as amended. The motion passed upon unanimous roll call vote.

Staff Reports

Consideration for Naming of Oak View Elementary Wing
Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, presented to the board information regarding the proposed name Doris T. Davis Hall for the Oak View Elementary Wing. Pursuant to the board’s procedure on the naming of schools (FDCA-P), a nomination form and accompanying support documents have been turned in for review and consideration regarding naming the wing. Ms. Janet Curlee, on behalf of the project team, has requested that the wing be named in honor of Doris T. Davis.

Chairman Duncan called on members of the public to share comments regarding their support of the proposed name. Two people spoke in favor of the name Doris T. Davis Hall.

Motion was made by Darlene Garrett, seconded by Dot Kearns, to study and support the name Doris T. Davis Hall and, following a period of public comment, consider approval of the nomination or direct the administration to request further information as may be required by the board in order to more fully consider the request and to make a decision. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Consideration for Naming of New Northwest High School Gymnasium
Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, presented to the board information regarding the proposed name Roger L. Nelson Gymnasium for the Northwest High School Gymnasium. Pursuant to the board’s procedure on the naming of schools (FDCA-P), a nomination form and accompanying support documents have been turned in for review and consideration regarding naming the new gymnasium. Mr. Stan Morgan and Mr. Randy Hunter, on behalf of the Northwest Gymnasium Committee and surrounding community, have requested that the new gymnasium be named in honor of Roger L Nelson.

Chairman Duncan called on members of the public to share comments regarding their support of the proposed name. Two speakers spoke – one in favor and one against the name Roger L. Nelson Gymnasium.

Motion was made by Darlene Garrett, seconded by Anita Sharpe, to study and support the name Roger L. Nelson Gymnasium and, following a period of public comment, consider approval of the nomination or direct the administration to request further information as may be required by the board in order to more fully consider the request and to make a decision. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Third Reading – Policy KG, Use of School Facilities
Chairman Duncan called on board member Dr. Nancy Routh, convenor of the governance review committee, to lead the board in a discussion regarding the third reading of Policy KG, Use of School Facilities. This policy was posted on the district Web site for an additional public comment period per the board’s direction.

Dr. Routh recommended that the board approve Policy KG, Use of School Facilities, as approved by the board on August 30, 2007 with no additional changes to that policy and that staff make any necessary adjustments to the accompanying procedure as required to implement Policy KG and to clarify anything that would come into question in the procedure.

Motion was made by Nancy Routh, seconded by Deena Hayes, to adopt Policy KG, Community Use of School Facilities and to direct staff to make appropriate changes to the accompanying procedure. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Third Reading – Policy KI, Distribution of Materials in Schools           
Chairman Duncan called on board member Dr. Nancy Routh, convenor of the governance review committee, to lead the board in a discussion regarding the third reading of Policy KI, Distribution of Materials in Schools. This policy was posted on the district Web site for an additional public comment period per the board’s direction.

Dr. Routh recommended that a change be made to item 4 in the second paragraph of the policy which reads, 4. community sports or cultural activities (non-profit) to be revised as follows:

4. community sports or non-profit youth activities

No other changes were recommended to the policy. Dr. Routh asked that staff make any necessary adjustments to the accompanying procedure as required to implement Policy KI and to clarify anything that would come into question in the procedure.

Motion was made by Nancy Routh, seconded by Deena Hayes, to adopt Policy KI, Distribution of Materials in Schools with the slight wording change as noted above and to direct staff to make appropriate changes to the accompanying procedure. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 6-to-4 as follows: Ayes – Alan Duncan, Deena Hayes, Garth Hébert, Amos Quick, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe; Nays – Jeff Belton, Kris Cooke, Darlene Garrett and Dot Kearns.

Horizon Training Program Update
Martha Snavely, executive director for induction and success/professional development, and Rhonda Copeland, Fairview Elementary School principal, presented to the board an update on the Horizon Training program.

Report on the Opening of Schools and Teacher Reassignments
Dr. Eric Becoats, chief of staff, and Dr. Peggy Thompson, chief human resources officer, presented to the board a report on the opening of schools and teacher reassignments.

Following board discussion, Chairman Duncan recommended consideration of a study group to look at two different issues with respect to foreign languages, music, art and physical education at all levels.

The first issue to be examined is the option of extending the school day by some number of minutes, particularly at the middle school level, that would better allow accommodation of the electives while increasing the core class time in a way that is needed to accomplish all of the board’s goals. There is a certain level of need also at the elementary and high school levels.

The second issue to consider is whether scheduling could be offered which would enable students to take advantage of classes in Spanish, art, music and physical education in a way that would allow them to choose the areas they are most interested in. Chairman Duncan asked staff to study this and come back to the board with ideas and recommendations.

Bond Referendum Update
Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, and Joe Hill, facilities, presented to the board an update on the bond referendum projects. Following board discussion, Chairman Duncan asked that this item be deferred until the September 22, 2007 board retreat.

Change Order to Contract for Construction at Southern High School
This item was deferred until the September 22, 2007 board retreat.

Reports from the Chairman
Chairman Alan Duncan discussed the board’s fall retreat.

Closed Session
At 10:20 p.m., motion was made by Deena Hayes, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to go into closed session to preserve the attorney client privilege, to preserve student confidentiality in accordance with state and federal law and to give instruction to our attorney and staff with regard to price or other material term to be included in a contract for the purchase of real property. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.

The board returned to open session at 10:56 p.m.

Proposed Right-of-Way for Turn Lane at Northern Guilford Middle/High Schools
Motion was made by Darlene Garrett, seconded by Nancy Routh, to authorize staff to dedicate a permanent right of way, with payment not to exceed $5,000.00, to install turn lanes at Northern Middle and High Schools. 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 11:13 p.m., motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Kris Cooke, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.