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The Guilford County Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Tuesday, January 8, 2008, at 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. The following board members were present: Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Deena Hayes, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns (arrived at 6:10 p.m.), 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 6:00 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence
Board Member Jeff Belton led the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.
Recognitions
A. GCS Employee of the Month for January 2008
The board recognized Acohin Thon, a teacher at The Academy at Smith, as the district’s January Employee of the Month. Board member Deena Hayes presented Acohin with a certificate of recognition. In a prior ceremony, Dr. Thon received a $50 gift card from Sam’s Club, which has partnered with GCS to support the employee recognition program.
B. GCS Volunteer of the Month for January 2008
The board recognized Page Kreager, volunteer at Erwin Montessori, as the district’s January Volunteer of the Month. Board member Amos Quick presented Page with a certificate of appreciation. Ms. Kreager received a $25 gift card from American Express, which has partnered with GCS to support the volunteer recognition program.
C. Recognition of Dudley High School State Championship Football Team
The board recognized the Dudley High School football team as the 3-AA state champions. Members of the Dudley team are: Julian Alford, Xavier Ball, Damarcus Bell, Major Bryant, William Burton, Marcus Chaney, Demetrius Dick, Devin Downey, Kalin Edwards, David Evans, Justin Ferguson, Milton Gray III, Ron Gwynn, Darius Hall, Donte Hughes, Cameron Ingram, Joseph Jackson, Dennis Jenkins, Denzell Jones, Joshua Jones, Jeremiah Kilimanjaro, Justin King, Sam Legrand, Ricky Lewis Jr., Davarris Martin, Stephen McCain, Sefield McFoy, Jermaine Moore, Dominique Neal, Sequan Nevels, Y-Miah Nie, Kenny Okoro, Kelsey Okoro, Rakeem Overby, Fred Overby, Marquez Parker, Bryant Peterson, Breon Rembert, Kelton Sheppard, Douglas Sigmon, Elijah Southern, Tavorus Stanback, Kyree Ward, Tory Warren, James Weaks and Tevin Williams. Dudley is coached by: Steven Davis – Head Coach, Marcus Alford, Leamon Cozart, Carlos Doggett, Gerald Gamble, Patrick Jordan, Antonio Kirkpatrick, Luvie Lesane, Nicholas Michael, Ken Page, Reggie Robertson and Christopher Wilder.
Public Comments
Chairman Duncan called on members of the public who requested an opportunity to address the board.
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.
Motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Walter Childs, to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.
Consent Agenda
Superintendent Grier presented the following consent agenda items:
A. December 2007 Meeting Minutes
The minutes of the December 4 Regular Meeting, December 10 Called Meeting and December 20 Regular Meeting were presented for approval.
B. Personnel Action Reports
The consent agenda included personnel actions as noted in the monthly Personnel Action Reports requiring board approval.
C. Second Reading – Policy JBC, School Admission
The consent agenda included a recommendation to approve for Second Reading – Policy JBC, School Admission. At its meeting on December 4, 2007, the board approved this policy for first reading. The policy has been posted on the district Web site for a public comment period per the board’s policy. No comments were received.
Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Nancy Routh, to approve the consent agenda as presented. The motion passed upon unanimous roll call vote.
Staff Reports
FLEX-GCS in ACES Program Report
Dr. Beth Folger, chief curriculum and organizational development officer, presented to the board an update on the FLEX-GCS in ACES program. During the 2007-08 school year, the district is piloting the Foreign Language Exploratory (FLEX-GCS) program in 10 After-School Care and Enrichment Services (ACES) programs. This program is designed to provide an introductory exposure to a world language. At the pilot schools, ACES students will learn about Spanish or German language and culture. The after-school lessons are taught by certified GCS foreign language teachers. The FLEX curriculum focuses on oral language development and actively engages the students in the culture with music, dance and art. This item was deferred from the December 20 meeting.
Gisela Hood, world language specialist for GCS, stated that FLEX-GCS is a one-of-a-kind program in North Carolina and that students are fortunate to have experienced and enthusiastic, highly-qualified teachers conducting the classes. The ten ACES programs providing the FLEX-GCS program are: Brightwood, Colfax, Frazier, Guilford, Jamestown, Sedalia, Southern, Stokesdale, Summerfield and Triangle Lake Elementary Schools.
Jean Reece, director of ACES, was also present at the meeting and shared comments received from parents and teachers regarding the participation of ACES students in the FLEX-GCS program.
Transportation Report – North Carolina Retread Tire Contract Information
Jeff Harris, director of transportation, presented to the board information pertaining to the North Carolina school bus retread tire contact. GCS has followed the practice of the state and a majority of the school districts by using the state-contracted provider for tires, White’s Tire. White’s Tire testing practices meet the state requirements, and many other providers do not utilize the state-specified testing. They have had an excellent safety record in North Carolina over the last 17 years. The General Assembly has commissioned a study of retread tires to provide more and updated information to school districts interested in purchasing on state contract. GCS staff continues to be focused on getting the best tire for the best value and will consider the results of the General Assembly study along with other information to determine whether to purchase tires on state contract or place for bid the supply of tires to other providers. When the state study is complete, the staff will make a recommendation to the board. Until that time, the board agreed with staff’s recommendation to continue the practice in place. Board members emphasized that safety of students will always be its first priority.
Review of Existing Magnet Programs and Magnet Grant Implementation
Tony Burks, director of magnet and choice schools, presented to the board a review of the existing magnet programs and magnet grant implementation and discussed the components to be included in a school-by-school review of the existing magnet and choice schools. He presented a proposed mission and objectives stating that the magnet and option schools and programs will be used by the district to fulfill its mission to graduate responsible citizens who are prepared to succeed in higher education or in the career of their choice and to meet three objectives:
- Provide expanded or additional educational opportunities that stimulate interests and foster academic achievement.
- Reduce minority group isolation and support diverse populations within schools.
- Maximize the use of existing school facilities.
Two different draft tools were presented by Mr. Burks to illustrate what information a summary report might contain. Board members discussed both tools in detail and provided direction regarding the specific information which should be included in the school-by-school report to the board.
Chairman Duncan requested that staff provide an update on the funding used to support magnet and high school option programs.
SCALES at High Point
Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, presented to the board a recommendation to authorize staff to continue with the procurement process for SCALES at High Point as is currently underway.
The SCALES at High Point project was advertised on November 18, 2007. A mandatory pre-proposal conference was held on November 29, 2007. On December 6, 2007 proposals were received to provide Construction Management (CM) at Risk services for renovating office space in the GCS English Road administrative office building into classroom space for SCALES at High Point.
Staff is prepared to take the proposals to the selection committee in an open meeting to rank the proposals. The selection committee’s rankings would then be brought back to the board for adoption of the three finalists. Negotiations would then begin, and ultimately the contract would be submitted to the board for approval. In response to the board’s request at the December 20, 2007 meeting, staff is preparing a presentation and information for board members on delivery methods including CM at Risk. Mr. Bobadilla stated that in order to meet the proposed schedule for this project, staff needs to continue with the process noted above.
Motion was made by Kris Cooke, seconded by Walter Childs, to authorize staff to continue with the procurement process for SCALES at High Point as is currently underway. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 6-to-4 as follows: Ayes – Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Deena Hayes, Dot Kearns, and Nancy Routh; Nays – Jeff Belton, Darlene Garrett, Garth Hébert and Anita Sharpe. Board member Amos Quick was not present for this vote.
Bond Referendum Resolution
Sharon Ozment, chief finance officer, presented to the board a draft resolution requesting that the Guilford County Board of Commissioners place a school construction bond referendum in the amount of $457,320,000 (the approved amount of $457,315,199 rounded to the nearest $5,000 at the recommendation/request of Guilford County Finance staff) on the May 2008 election ballot for approval by the voters of Guilford County. Board discussion followed. A copy of the resolution is included with the minutes.
Motion was made by Alan Duncan, seconded by Jeff Belton, to approve the proposed resolution presented to the board with the following revisions: In the third “WHEREAS” clause to change the wording from “the Guilford County Board of Education is grateful to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and the voters of Guilford County …” to “the Guilford County Board of Education is grateful to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, the voters and the taxpayers of Guilford County …”; and further to reduce the bond referendum amount to $457,315,000 by taking out $199 from the last listed project, which is Page High School athletics. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 7-to-3 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns and Nancy Routh; Nays – Walter Childs, Deena Hayes and Anita Sharpe. Board member Amos Quick was not present for this vote.
Board Discussion
Research Plan and Design: Comprehensive Study for Male African-American Educational Conditions and Academic Performance
The board discussed a study for male African-American educational conditions and academic performance. Executive Accountability and Research Officer Gongshu Zhang provided information to the board on his analysis of data and a timeframe for completion of a full report to the board.
Closed Session
At 9:38 p.m., motion was made by Deena Hayes, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to go into closed session to preserve the attorney client privilege and to give direction to our staff and attorney with regard to the proposed contract for the purchase of real property. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.
The board returned to open session at 10:39 p.m.
Board Comments
Board members were each allowed two minutes to make remarks, as they deemed appropriate.
Adjournment
With no further business, at 10:47 p.m., motion was made by Kris Cooke, seconded by Amos Quick, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.
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