February 28, 2012

GOOCHLAND COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD
February 28, 2012
GOOCHLAND HIGH SCHOOL

MINUTES

CALL TO ORDER
Elizabeth A. Hardy, Chair called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.

Present were:
Mr. Michael E. Payne
Mr. John L. Lumpkins, Jr.
Mr. John D. Wright
Mrs. Elizabeth A. Hardy
Dr. Linda A. Underwood, Superintendent

Absent:
Mr. W. Kevin Hazzard

Also attending were:
Pete Gretz, Assistant Superintendent
Thomas DeWeerd, Director of Secondary Education
Dr. Steve Geyer, Director of Elementary Education
Ernie McLeod, Director of Finance and Operations
Francie Ball, Principal, Goochland High School
Johnette Burdette, Principal, Goochland Middle School
Christin Ashman, Assistant Principal, Goochland Middle School
John Hendron, Supervisor of Instructional Technology
Diane Bennett, School Board Clerk

The Media was represented by:
Ken Odor, The Goochland Gazette

ADDITIONS/DELETIONS/CHANGES TO PROPOSED ANNOTATED AGENDA
None.

ADOPTION OF ANNOTATED AGENDA
On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Payne, the Board voted 4-0 to adopt the annotated agenda as proposed.  All Ayes:  Payne, Hardy, Lumpkins, Wright.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

• Sekou Shabaka spoke regarding student discipline and the inequalities in the process regarding people of color.  He asked the School Board to review the discipline process, see that it is fair, and not allow law enforcement to take over the school system.

• Michael McDermott spoke regarding the lack of the American flag and the Pledge of Allegiance.  He spoke about discipline problems and inequities, but stated they transcend color.  He also spoke about streaming meetings and asked the Board to be bold in their decisions.

ACTION ITEM:
RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION
Dr. Underwood presented a request for religious exemption from compulsory attendance pursuant to Virginia Code Section 22.1-24(B) and recommended approval of the request.

On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Lumpkins, the Board voted 4-0 to approve the religious exemption as presented.  Roll Call:  Payne-yes, Hardy-yes, Lumpkins-yes, Wright-yes.

VRS GROUP 3
The Board discussed VRS Group 3, individuals who have been hired for a part-time, certificated staff, non-eligible position that do not meet board policy minimum eligibility requirements. Staff recommended that teachers currently employed in part-time positions and currently receiving VRS as agreed upon at the time of the part-time employment retain eligibility for VRS benefits through a “grandfather” status.  Any teachers hired from the point of Board action forward for positions less than 30 hours per week, which is consistent with the only existing definition of full-time in Board policy, will be ineligible for VRS benefits.

Mr. Wright made a motion that teachers currently employed in part-time positions and currently receiving VRS as agreed upon at the time of the part-time employment retain eligibility for VRS benefits through a “grandfather” status.  Any teachers hired from the point of Board action forward for positions less than 30 hours per week, which is consistent with the only existing definition of full-time in Board policy, will be ineligible for VRS benefits.  The motion died for lack of a second.  This item will be brought back after further counsel review.

INFORMATION ITEMS:
EFFECTIVE SCHOOL-WIDE DISCIPLINE (ESD)
Carolyn Lamm, Positive Behavior Support Coordinator, of Chesterfield County Public Schools presented an overview of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) initiative.  This is a process of using positive tiered, collaborative interventions to correct students before sending them to the office for discipline referrals in order to increase instruction time.

SECONDARY SCHOOL-WIDE BEHAVIOR PLANS
Francie Ball, Principal of Goochland High School, Johnette Burdette, Principal of Goochland Middle School, and Christin Ashman, Assistant Principal, Goochland Middle School, presented the secondary school-wide behavior program.

AdvancED ACCREDITATION REVIEW
Pete Gretz, Assistant Superintendent, presented an overview of the AdvancED accreditation process.

ERATE APPLICATION
Tom DeWeerd and Peter Martin presented an overview of the ERate application process.  A review of potential new internet and cell phone carriers was presented.

BOARD MEMBER UPDATES
Deferred to March 13, 2012 meeting.

CLOSED MEETING
On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Payne, the Board voted 4-0 to go into closed meeting pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(2) of the Code of Virginia for the discussion or consideration of a student disciplinary matter because discussion in open meeting would disclose information from a student scholastic record.  All Ayes:  Payne, Hardy, Lumpkins, Wright.

CERTIFICATION OF CLOSED MEETING
On a motion by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Payne, the Board voted 4-0 to certify that only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered in the meeting by the Board.  Roll Call:  Payne-yes, Hardy-yes, Lumpkins-yes, Wright-yes.

ACTION ITEM
On a motion by Mr. Payne, seconded by Mr. Wright, the Board voted 4-0 to long-term suspend student no. 7-11 through the end of the first semester of the 2012-2013 school year, to permit student no. 7-11 to participate in Project Return and to authorize the Superintendent to allow student no. 7-11 to return to school as early as the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year if she deems appropriate.  All Ayes:  Payne, Hardy, Lumpkins, Wright.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by the Chair.