BARTHOLOMEW CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL CORPORATION SCHOOL BOARD MEETING, MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2014, MINUTES

Transcription

1 BARTHOLOMEW CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL CORPORATION SCHOOL BOARD MEETING, MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2014, MINUTES The regular meeting of the Board of School Trustees of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation was held at the Administration Building M. Sue Pifer Terrace Room, 1200 Central Avenue, Columbus, Indiana on Monday, August 11, 2014, at 7:00 p.m., pursuant to notice having been duly given to the media and to all members of the Board in accordance with the rules of the Board. On call of the roll, the members of the Board were shown to be present or absent as follows: Present: Administration: School Attorney: Mr. Jeff Caldwell, President Mr. Robert Abrams, Vice President Dr. Jill Shedd, Secretary Mrs. Kathy Dayhoff-Dwyer, Member Mr. Pat Bryant, Member Mr. Rich Stenner, Member Mrs. Polly Verbanic, Member Dr. John Quick, Superintendent Dr. Linda DeClue, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dr. Vaughn Sylva, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Mr. William Jensen, Director of Secondary Education Ms. Teresa Heiny, Director of Elementary Education Mrs. Kelly Benjamin BUSINESS MEETING Mrs. Verbanic offered reflections. The business meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. President Caldwell called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGIC PLANNING President Caldwell highlighted the BCSC Mission and Vision statements. PRESENTATIONS Facilities Update (Mr. Forster/Mr. Funk) Mr. Funk, CSO Architect, shared information and pictures of completed and on-going facility improvements. Secure entry improvements have been completed at Clifty Creek, CSA- 1

2 Lincoln, Richards, Northside Middle, Taylorsville and Smith Schools. Also completed are the Columbus North stadium improvements, CSA-Fodrea improvements and the Northside Middle re-roofing project. Mr. Funk shared the scope and priorities of the projects that are currently under construction: McDowell Adult Education Center, East High School Performing Arts, Mt. Healthy improvements, Johnson HVAC & secure entrance, Southside improvements, North High School softball fields at Southside, and East High School stadium improvements. Remaining projects that will be bid by the end of 2014 are: Parkside improvements, North High School interior, Smith HVAC, Taylorsville HVAC and East High School interior. The following information was shared in response to questions from the board. In addition to the physical secure entry improvements there have also been operational changes. All doors can be locked with a push of a button at the front desk. After students enter, all but one entry door is locked. At CSA-New Tech and the R.L. Johnson Early Education Center, visitors have to be buzzed in. This system will also be in place at Parkside Elementary when that project is complete. PUBLIC DIALOGUE At 7:27 p.m. Mr. Caldwell opened the public dialogue session of the board meeting. He asked if anyone wished to address questions/concerns to the Board or Cabinet. Nichole Wheeler, Columbus East senior, shared that she attended the Indiana Youth Leadership Forum in Indianapolis in July. The forum was supported by the Indiana Governor s Council for People with Disabilities. Ms. Wheeler is hearing impaired and has a cochlear implant. She lives in Seymour but attends Columbus East so she can receive services from an Interpreter. Ms. Wheeler shared that in the future she wants to help the homeless, attend IUPUI and study culinary arts and interpreting. Her senior project will be interpreting for her church choir as they raise money for hearing aid projects. Peter Eicher, home school community representative, shared that his freshman daughter has always been homeschooled and they wanted to enroll her as a part-time student at Columbus North so she could be on the swim team. Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) states that corporations may enroll part-time students and allow them to take part in extra-curriculars. BCSC does not enroll part-time high school students. He shared his reasons as to why he thought the corporation would benefit from enrolling part-time homeschooled students and presented a handout to the board. Mr. Eicher, his wife and daughter had met with Dr. Quick earlier to discuss this. Dr. Quick noted that, philosophically, BCSC students are students first and extra-curricular activities are just that, extra. He said that BCSC would love to have his daughter as a full-time student. Student athletes represent the corporation as an eight-period a day student, and if allowed to enroll only one-period a day, the accountability for extra-curricular activities would not be equal. School vouchers have caused a competitive culture in public schools, and financially, if 2

3 part-time students were enrolled one period, the state would reimburse the corporation for oneeighth of a student. Dr. Quick has talked to many other Superintendents and they are not enrolling part-time students. He also shared that the CSA-New Tech pathway has appealed to homeschoolers and they have enrolled there full-time. Mr. Eicher shared that his daughter was now enrolled and attending Columbus North High School full-time. Club swimming is available for homeschoolers, but Mr. Eicher believes his daughter has scholarship potential and wants her to have the opportunity to be on a high school team. He is a substitute teacher and noted that the students and administrators are great at Northside Middle School and Columbus North High School. He believes if BCSC would enroll homeschooled students on a part-time basis, some would decide to enroll as full-time students. The public dialogue session ended at 7:49 p.m. STUDENT AND STAKEHOLDER FOCUS (3.0) 1) Comments of Individuals and Delegations: No one signed in to speak. 2) Board Commendations: Dr. Shedd applauded CSA-New Tech High School for being chosen, for the sixth time, as a New Tech demonstration site. MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS, AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (4.0) 3) School Attorney Report: No report was shared. 4) School Board Member Reports: No reports were shared. 5) Cabinet Report: Dr. DeClue shared that enrollment numbers are always eagerly anticipated as they are tied to dollars and staffing decisions. This report is very preliminary, but when comparing enrollment to the same time last year, there are 169 more students. The biggest increase is in the elementary schools with 113 more students. Middle School enrollment is down 18 students, but this was expected because the past sixth grade class was small and the eighth grade class moving on was large. There are 75 more high school students enrolled than this time last year. The total enrollment is 11,237, not including Pre-K students. This does include kindergarten students as a whole student. The ADM count on September 12 th counts kindergarten students as half. 3

4 Dr. DeClue noted that a first grade teacher was added at Mt. Healthy and a kindergarten teacher was added at Taylorsville. This was due to an increase of students at those grade levels. The following information was added in response to questions from the board. The largest elementary growth has been at Mt. Healthy. Southside Elementary enrollment has not increased. Around 80% of the New Tech middle school students move on to attend CSA-New Tech High School. The Richard L. Johnson Busy Bee program began August 4 th but the rest of the Pre-K students started school on August 11 th. Last year there were 428 Pre-K students attending BCSC; this year, we expect 400 students. The students at the Johnson Center attend five, fulldays a week. The state funds 50 students that are at 100% poverty. The Title I Pre-K programs are four, half-days a week. It is thought that 150 eligible Pre-K children are not attending the Title I program due to the four, half-day schedule being a barrier to families. The number of voucher students has grown. This year there are 39 at St. Peter s Lutheran School, more than 60 at St. Bartholomew Catholic School and more than 100 at Columbus Christian School. Most of the voucher students have never attended BCSC, and more than 90% of local students choose BCSC. At the high school level, 96-98% of students choose BCSC. BCSC has more middle school students enrolling from the private schools due to the high school credit offerings in math, foreign language and biology. Dr. Sylva noted that he will hold a budget workshop at the next school board meeting. The public hearing on the 2015 budget will be held at the September 8 th board meeting and a request to adopt the budget will come at the September 22 nd meeting. In response to a question from the board, Dr. Sylva shared that procurement cards are being tested at a few locations. When the coordination runs smoothly between the bank, business office, and the users, procurement cards will be issued across the corporation. Dr. DeClue shared that the School Foundation s fundraiser, Feed the Educational Need at Tre Bicchieri, will be held on August 24, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available for $

5 EDUCATIONAL PROCESS FOR BOARD ACTION (6.0) 6) Requests for Approval: (Dr. Quick) Dr. Quick reviewed the following items for the Board. a. Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of July 14, 2014 and the Minutes of the Executive Session of July 14, 2014 (attachments) b. Supplemental Contracts (attachment) c. Field Trips/Professional Leaves (attachment) d. Claims (attachment) e. To Award diesel Fuel Bids (attachment) f. Change Order for Columbus East High School (attachment) g. Change Order for McDowell Education Center (attachment) Mr. Stenner made a motion to approve the items described by the Superintendent and Mr. Bryant seconded the motion. Upon a call for the vote, the motion passed unanimously to approve the items described by the Superintendent. FACULTY AND STAFF FOCUS FOR ACTION (5.0) 7) Request for Approval of Human Resources Recommendations: Dr. DeClue requested approval of the Human Resources recommendations as presented. Mrs. Dayhoff-Dwyer made a motion to approve the Human Resources recommendations as requested and Mr. Bryant seconded the motion. Upon a call for the vote, the motion was carried unanimously. BOARD INPUT/REVIEW Dr. Quick noted Mr. Jensen s absence due to the passing of his father in Wabash, Indiana. Mr. Caldwell shared that the next school board meeting would be August 25 th, 7:00 p.m. at the Administration Building in the M. Sue Pifer Terrace Room. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Secretary Attest: President 5