RECORD OF BOARD PROCEEDINGS
(MINUTES)
Georgetown, Ky., January 28, 20 14
The Scott County Board of Education met at Great Crossing Office Complex at 6:30 o'clock P.M. on the 28th day of January , 20 14, with the following members present:
(1) Rebecca W. Sams (2) Dr. Roger A. Ward 3) Jo Anna Fryman
(4) Jennifer Holbert (5) Robert H. Conway
Regular Board Meeting
(Meeting #4)
1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chair Dr. Roger Ward.
2. WELCOME: Dr. Ward welcomed everyone on a chilly evening.
3. VISION STATEMENT – Dr. Ward read, “We exist to ensure the best education for every student in Scott County Schools and to create a collaborative culture to ensure student learning.”
4. APPROVE AGENDA: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Ms. Holbert and seconded by Mr. Conway that the Board approve the agenda as presented.
Motion carried unanimously.
5. SPOTLIGHT: Stephen Chu, principal of sister school in Hong Kong:
Superintendent Putty shared for many years we have enjoyed a cultural exchange partnership. Twice a year we are privileged to have students, parents, and educators visit our school district from various schools in Hong Kong. Each spring we send some of our students to visit their schools and country. We are glad to have Stephen Chu back with us again this year. Mr. Stephen Chu said it is an honor to be here. Mr. Chu introduced his Vice Principal and a parent. It is cold here but hearts of students and parents are warm and we’ve had a great welcome. Amanda Waldroup, Paul Staker and Dale Stowe have been very helpful. They visited 9th grade school and high school yesterday and were at GMS today. This is the ninth year that Stephen Chu has visited Georgetown. He is expressed excitement that next year will be our 10th anniversary and hopes it will be special.
Superintendent Putty added over the years we have exchanged ideas and shared with each other instruction and curriculum. Mr. Chu presented a gift to Mrs. Putty and a small souvenir to each board member. Mrs. Putty thanked the Hong Kong visitors for coming to the board meeting.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT:
a. Carol Landry – addressed the board on agenda items #8 and #15 for clarification.
7. Discussion and possible action on the tax referendum and recall PETITION:
Dr. Ward read the following statement and motion:
“On November 12, 2013, this Board took a courageous step. We voted unanimously to levy a tax rate of 57.84 cent per 100 dollar valuation. This was an increase of 10.64 cents over the rate we set in August. This increase is the amount we need to fully fund bonding for construction of the new high school and extra-curricular facilities to be open as early as fall of 2016. The students in this district need a new high school, and we have been working as a board to make this a reality as quickly as possible. Our community supports this need. Even the leaders of the petition drive agree that we need a new high school.
On January 17, 2014, we were notified that the County Clerk certified the petition as containing sufficient signatures to place the levy before the voters. In order to make decisions in the best interest of all, we examined the petition through an open records request. This review yielded several concerns with the petition. For one, there are multiple pages where information appears to have beenadded and photo copied though the statute requires signatures to be in ink or indelible pencil. There were multiple omissions ofaddresses and birthdates, and there were signatures of those who signed more than one time. The clerk certified a number "more than 2081" and stated that she did not review all signatures. Finally, the petition contained the wrong statute that was printed on every page of the petition. KRS statute 160.597 corresponds to utility and other forms of tax increase, but does not refer to the property tax increase. In her certification, the clerk certifies the document based on KRS 132.017 and does not reference the incorrect one used throughout the petition. Based on these concerns, we held a closed session to discuss possible litigation over the validity of the petition and certification. After the closed session, no motion was made to initiate litigation, and no challenge to the Clerk's certification has been initiated.
But our goal is not to take the county clerk to court, to invalidate a petition because of these errors, or to bring the county to a showdown vote over a tax increase for a new school.When we held our forums last year more than 90% of the responses we received urged us to raise the tax sufficient for a new school and athletic fields. And so we did. But this last week we received the petition containing approximately 3800 signatures, including those with errors. This number exceeds the combined total of individuals who attended meetings on the facility planning process, the public forums on the new high school, and the work sessions at which we reviewed the current budget line-by-line.We acknowledge there are many people who may support the high school but are concerned or opposed to an increase this size in tight economic times. Through this process we have found that there are very different ideas about the willingness of Scott County citizens to finance the new high school. But just saying no to the tax will not solve our basic problem: with our expanding population we must, and we will, have a new high school. So what we have to do is find the way to do this that fits with the desires of our citizens. What we want, as a board, is to make decisions about building a new high school in such a way that we can all move forward together. We don't want to fight and we don't want to sue. We want to do what we can to get a high school for our students as quickly as possible, and with as much community support, buy-in, and agreement as possible. A spirit of cooperation is what we most desire because our students learn from what we do as much as what they hear in the classroom. We want to build a new high school, but how we do it is as important as when we do it.
For this reason, and following the guidance set out in KRS 132.017, I am moving tonight that the board reconsider the 10.64 levy we voted for in November. I motion that we amend the tax rate to a rate which will produce no more revenue from real property, exclusive of revenue from new property as defined in KRS 132.010, than four percent (4%) over the amount of revenue produced by the compensating tax rate defined in KRS 132.010 from real property. This action will eliminate the need to place this item on the ballot in November. This allows us to spend our efforts on moving forward with the process of designing and planning the high school with funds we currently have available. Do I hear a second?”
The motion by Dr. Ward was seconded by Ms. Sams.
Motion carried 3/2 (Fryman & Holbert).
8. APPROVE ARCHITECT FOR THE LPC BUILDING EVALUATION AND INVENTORY: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Ms. Holbert and seconded by Mr. Conway that the Board approve the proposal from Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects, in the amount of $8,000, with the provision the fee be credited back to the District on the next major building project undertaken by SCBOE for which Sherman Carter Barnhart is selected as the architect, should this occur;
Authorize the Board’s designee to issue a Purchase Order for the services; and
Authorize staff to facilitate these services for coordination with the Local Planning Committee procedures.
Motion carried 3/2 (Conway and Holbert).
9. CONSENT ITEMS FOR MINUTES: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Mr. Conway and seconded by Mrs. Fryman that the Board approve Consent Items for Minutes A) - C) as submitted.
Motion carried unanimously.
A) APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR BOARD MEETING #1 (1-14-14)
B) APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR SPECIAL BOARD MEETING #2 (1-16-14)
C) APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR SPECIAL BOARD MEETING #3 (1-23-14)
10. CONSENT ITEM FOR COMMON CARRIER: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Ms. Sams and seconded by Mrs. Fryman that the Board approve Consent Item for Common Carrier A) as submitted.
Motion carried unanimously.
A) APPROVE COMMON CARRIER TO TRANSPORT SCOTT COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SWIM TEAM TO RUSSELL SPRINGS, KY: : Recommendation: Board approve the use of common carrier services (Bluegrass Tours) to provide transportation for SCHS Swim team, to and from Russell Springs, Kentucky on February 14, 2014, due to the distance of the trip and the departure and return times.
11. CONSENT ITEMS FOR DONATIONS: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Ms. Holbert and seconded by Mr. Conway that the Board approve Consent Items for Donations A) - G) as submitted.
Motion carried unanimously.
A) APPROVE DONATION TO ROYAL SPRING MIDDLE SCHOOL: Recommendation: Board approve the donation in the amount of $250.00 from Georgetown College to be used toward the Backpack Program at Royal Spring Middle School.
B) APPROVE DONATION TO GIFTED & TALENTED PROGRAM: Recommendation: Board approve the donation in the amount of $255.00 from Jack & Bethany Wise to be used toward the Gifted & Talented Program KUNA trip.
C) APPROVE DONATION TO GIFTED & TALENTED PROGRAM: Recommendation: Board approve the donation in the amount of $255.00 from Gary & Denise Phillips to be used toward the Gifted & Talented Program KUNA trip.
D) APPROVE DONATION TO STAMPING GROUND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Recommendation: Board approve the donation in the amount of $1123.99 from the Box Tops for Education program to be used to supplement the cost of field trips and provide educational supplies.
E) APPROVE DONATION TO ROYAL SPRING MIDDLE SCHOOL: Recommendation: Board approve the donation in the amount of $300.00 from Dr. Horace Hambrick to be used towards the Grand Titan Scholarship Award.
F) APPROVE DONATION TO GARTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Recommendation: Board approve the donation in the amount of $250.00 from Georgetown College to the benefit of the Art Club at Garth Elementary.
G) APPROVE DONATION TO SOUTHERN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Recommendation: Board approve the donation in the amount of $180.00 from Kiwanis to be used towards to the benefit of Southern Elementary School.
12. CONSENT ITEMS FOR FUNDRAISERS: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Mr. Conway and seconded by Mrs. Fryman that the Board approve Consent Items for Fundraisers A) - C) as submitted.
Motion carried unanimously.
A) APPROVE SCOTT COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOL CHEER TEAM FUNDRAISER: Recommendation: Board approve the SCMS Cheer Valentine Dance fundraiser to be conducted February 14, 2014 for the benefit of the SCMS Cheer Team.
B) APPROVE LEMONS MILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FUNDRAISER: Recommendation: Board approve the 5k Walk/Run fundraiser to be conducted April 25-26, 2014 for the benefit of Lemons Mill Elementary.
C) APPROVE SCOTT COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL FUNDRAISER: Recommendation: Board approve the SCHS Softball team fundraiser to be conducted February through June 2014 for the benefit of the SCHS Softball Team.
13. CONSENT ITEM FOR GRANTS: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Ms. Holbert and seconded by Mr. Conway that the Board approve Consent Item for Grants A) as submitted.
A) APPROVE PROJECT LEAD THE WAY ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE GRANTS: Recommendation: Board approve the Project Lead the Way Grants up to the amount of $15,000 per grant, per school to the benefit of Elkhorn Crossing School, Royal Spring Middle School, Scott County Middle School, and Georgetown Middle School per the attached.
Motion carried unanimously.
14. PROJECT LEAD THE WAY CONTRACT FOR 2014-2015: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Mr. Conway and seconded by Ms. Holbert that the Board approve the PLTW Contract for 2014-2015 as submitted.
Motion carried unanimously.
15. APPROVE OFFER OF ASSISTANCE FROM SCHOOL FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Mr. Conway and seconded by Mrs. Fryman that the Board approve the SFCC Offer of Assistance for FY 2014 in the amount of $232,703.
Motion carried unanimously.
16. APPROVE THE STUDENT FEE FOR U.S.A./ HONG KONG EXCHANGE PROGRAM: Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, it was moved by Ms. Holbert and seconded by Mrs. Fryman that the Board approve the implementation of a $2000.00 fee for Scott County High School students participating in the Exchange Program trip to China.
Motion carried unanimously.
17. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF SCHOOL NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN DISTRICT: Assistant Superintendent Matt Thompson presented Scott County School District Nutrition & Physical Activity Report. There was a forum at 5:30 p.m. today to share the report with the community. Scott County Schools are dedicated to helping our students reach proficiency by ensuring nutrition and physical activity opportunities are offered in all schools. The Scott County School District Nutrition and Physical Activity Reports are in the Healthy Minds and Healthy Bodies brochure.
Mr. Conway encouraged everyone to visit our cafeterias and let the staff know how much care for what they do for our students.