October 11, 2011

GOOCHLAND COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD
OCTOBER 11, 2011
GOOCHLAND HIGH SCHOOL

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES

CALL TO ORDER
Ivan O. Mattox, Sr., Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Present were:
Ivan O. Mattox, Sr., Chairman
James L. Haskell, Vice Chairman
Mr. Raymond A. Miller
Mr. Maxwell G. Cisne
Mr. Andrew A. Meng, III
Dr. Linda A. Underwood, Superintendent

Also attending were:
Pete Gretz, Assistant Superintendent
Tom DeWeerd, Director of Secondary Education
Dr. Steve Geyer, Director of Elementary Education
Ernie McLeod, Director of Finance and Operations
Tina McCay, Principal, Goochland Elementary School
James Hopkins, Principal, Byrd Elementary School
Andrea Erard, Legal Counsel
Diane Bennett, School Board Clerk

The Media was represented by:
Jim Fields, The Goochland Gazette

MOMENT OF SILENCE

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Deion Harwood, a 5th grader at Goochland Middle School led the Pledge of Allegiance.

ADDITIONS/DELETIONS/CHANGES TO AGENDA
Dr. Underwood presented additions/deletions/changes to agenda.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

• Elane Wadkins thanked Dr. Underwood and Mr. Gretz for a successful forum, stating staff members were very prepared.  She also stated GMS/GHS left them with a lot of information that parents need to know in elementary school for decision-making in middle school to work toward advanced degrees.  She stated that some members of her church are working with young men at BES and she feels if this continues, there will be better communication all around.

• Sekou Shabaka appreciated his conversation with the Chair regarding protocol, but felt he needed to go on the record.  He stated that when principal Gordon made her presentation she addressed him about three times and looked at him. He asked that in the future everyone be asked to address the Chair.  In response to Mrs. Gordon’s presentation, he congratulated her with the increase in reading scores of black males.  He would like to know the comparison between black and white students.  He still has a concern regarding the Academy and the physical plan.  He thinks there are national standards regarding light coming into the room, size of the classroom, the number of students in those classrooms.  He made a formal request that someone look at the buildings to see if the environments are sufficient.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/REMINDERS:

• Regular workshop:  Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at Goochland High School

CONSENT ITEMS:
The following Consent Agenda items were presented for approval:
September 13, 2011 regular meeting minutes, September 27, 2011 regular workshop minutes, and Bills and Payroll for September.

Resignations:

Katherine Bolling, Bus Driver
Kim Full, CO, Secretary-Human Resources

Mr. Miller made a motion, which was seconded by Mr. Meng, to approve the consent items as presented.  The motion was approved unanimously.

ACTION ITEMS:
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION REQUEST
Final allocations, with a few exceptions, have been announced by VDOE for 2011-2012 grants.  Carry-over funds, those funds preserved from grants appropriated during the 2010-2011 school year, have been verified. Dr. Underwood recommended that a request for supplemental appropriation in the amount of $419,656.56 be approved by the School Board and that the request be transmitted to the Board of Supervisors for a supplemental appropriation to the 025 Grants Fund of the Schools’ budget. 

Mr. Cisne made a motion, which was seconded by Mr. Miller, to approve the consent items as presented.  The motion was approved unanimously.

FACILITIES USE REQUEST
Dr. Underwood presented a facilities use request from Salem Christian School for the use of the Randolph Elementary School multipurpose room on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. through November 2011 for basketball practice with the fee waived.

Mr. Miller made a motion, which was seconded by Mr. Meng, to approve the facilities use request as presented.  The motion was approved unanimously.

INFORMATION ITEMS:
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN:  GOOCHLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Tina McCay, Principal, Goochland Elementary School, presented the school improvement plan for Goochland Elementary School.

CLASS SIZE REPORT
Dr. Underwood presented the Class Size Report as of September 30, 2011.

JOINT MEETING WITH BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Dr. Underwood presented information regarding the joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors scheduled for November 15, 2011.  Dr. Bill Bosher will facilitate the meeting.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Dr. Underwood presented information regarding the comprehensive plan in the areas of Student and Special Services, Technology, Transportation, and Nutrition Services.  The Public Hearing is scheduled for October 25, 2011.

SECOND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
None.

OLD BUSINESS:
None.

NEW BUSINESS:

Mr. Mattox read the following statement:

In response to questions and concerns that have been raised about the Superintendent’s Contract, the School Board would like to approve a contract that makes all of the terms and conditions clear. In the past, the School Board executed two Contract Addenda. What we have done is incorporated all of the terms from the original Superintendent’s Contract and the two Contract Addenda into one document. The idea is to try and make everything as clear as possible. The contract also revises the end date of the Superintendent’s contract to June 30, 2014, back from October 26, 2014.  Again it moves back from October 26, 2014 to June 30, 2014.

I hope everyone understands that this is not an extension of the Superintendent’s Contract, but rather a back up. Citizens have raised concerns about transparency and responsiveness and the School Board is committed to fairness. Contrary to the assertions of some, there are no smoke and mirrors and the School Board wants to make it clear that all of its actions are above the board and legal. I hope that the School Boards action tonight will put this issue to rest because we want to move on with the business of educating Goochland’s children.

Mr. Meng made a motion, which was seconded by Mr. Miller, to waive the notice required by Virginia Code Section 22.1-60 and to approve the employment agreement between the Superintendent and the School Board and to authorize the Chairman to sign the Contract on behalf of the School Board.  The motion was approved unanimously.  Roll Call:  Haskell-Aye, Cisne-Aye, Mattox-Aye, Miller-Aye, Meng-Aye.

CLOSED MEETING
None.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by the Chairman.