EXECUTIVE SESSION – RFP APPEAL FOR SECURITY CAMERAS
A STUDENT HEARING WAS HELD PRIOR TO THE BOARD MEETING
JASPER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
MINUTES – APRIL 11, 2011
PRESENT: Kathleen Snook, Cathy Gardner, Michael Hubbard, Randy Horton,
Berty Riley, Priscilla Fraser (T) and Alina Hamilton-Clark (T)
ABSENT: Barbara B. Clark and Pamela Williams
1. CALL TO ORDER – Kathleen Snooks, Board Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. in the District Office Boardroom in Ridgeland, South Carolina to discuss the RFP for Security Cameras.
2. ROLL CALL & ESTABLISHMENT OF A QUORUM – 5P/2T/2A
3. NOTIFICATION OF NEWS MEDIA – The following news media were notified of the date, time, place and agenda of this meeting: Jasper Sun, Hardeeville Today, Beaufort Gazette, Savannah Morning News, The Gullah Sentinel, WSAV, WTOC and WJCL.
4. MOMENT OF SILENCE – A moment of silence was observed by the Board and audience led by Kathleen Snooks.
5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The pledge to the flag was recited by the Board and audience.
RFP DISCUSSION FOR SECURITY CAMERAS – Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss the attorney’s letter to the Board Chair regarding the RFP for security cameras. A motion was made by Berty Riley and seconded by Cathy Gardner for Executive Session. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 5-0.
THE BOARD ENTERED INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 5:03 P.M.
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THE BOARD RETURNED TO OPEN SESSION AT 5:10 P.M.
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STUDENT HEARING – Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion to enter into Executive Session to conduct a student hearing. A motion was made by Cathy Gardner and seconded by Alina Hamilton-Clark for Executive Session. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0.
THE BOARD ENTERED INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 5:30 P.M.
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THE BOARD RETURNED TO OPEN SESSION AT 6:28 P.M.
THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:30 P.M. –
6. SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS –
6.1 2011 EARTH DAY AWARD RECIPIENT – Dr. Washington recognized Angelique Liddelow as one of the state winners for the 2011 SCDHEC Earth Day Award. She shared that Ms. Liddelow is known by her principal and colleagues as an advocate for science and does many great projects with her students, particularly with recycling. She presented Ms. Liddelow with a framed certificate and gift card from the District.
7. PUBLIC COMMENT(S) – Ajene Hilliard, student from Hardeeville High School, presented Dr. Washington with flowers and a card on behalf of her support for his acceptance to the South Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts and Humanities.
Dr. Washington shared that she can see Ajene taking charge and making the District proud. She stated that the District has not had a student to attend the Governor’s school in over sixteen years.
8. *APPROVAL OF AGENDA – Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion for approval of the Agenda. A motion was made by Berty Riley and seconded by Alina Hamilton-Clark to approve the Agenda.
THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0.
9. *ADOPTION OF MINUTES – MARCH 28, 2011 – Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion for the adoption of the minutes. A motion was made by Michael Hubbard and seconded by Cathy Gardner to adopt the minutes.
THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0.
MINUTES – APRIL 11, 2011
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10. *SPECIAL HEARING – Dr. Washington stated that before they go into Special Hearings she would like to introduce Meredith Cooler, the new Executive Director of the Office of Exceptional Children. She shared that Mrs. Cooler has already been in the District working and will come on board officially on May 9, 2011.
10.1 *DISTRICT/SCHOOL RENEWAL PLANS – JOYCE GERALD, DIRECTOR OF TITLE I PROGRAM – Ms. Gerald stated that the board members were given the draft plans at the last meeting. The only changes made were some typographical corrections. She needs Board approval so these plans can be sent to the State Department of Education.
Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion for approval of the District and School Renewal Plans. A motion was made by Berty Riley and seconded by Priscilla Fraser to approve the plans.
THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0.
Dr. Washington stated that she is pleased that the plans will be submitted on time this year.
10.2 *2011-2012 SCHOOL CALENDARS – DR. ARTHUR LEE HOLMES, CHIEF OF ACADEMICS AND HUMAN RESOURCES – Dr. Washington shared that Dr. Holmes could not be present. They are recommending for approval the District’s calendars for students and employees for the 2011-2012 school year.
Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion for approval of the 2011-2012 School Calendars. A motion was made by Alina Hamilton-Clark and seconded by Cathy Gardner to approve the school calendars.
THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0.
10.3 JOB FAIR/SATURDAY ACADEMY PRESENTATION – DR. LA’TOYA THOMAS-DIXON, DIRECTOR OF PRIMARY GRADES & JOYCE GERALD, DIRECTOR OF TITLE I – Dr. Washington shared that she is proud of the Saturday Academy in which over seventy-five teachers willingly attended and also they had great success with the Job Fair. She had pictures to share with the Board and many of these will be on the District’s Website. She is proud of the Curriculum Division and the Office of Human Resources for the great job that they did. She also commended the principals for the displays for the job fair.
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Joyce Gerald shared a PowerPoint Presentation of pictures from the Saturday Academy held on Saturday, March 26, 2011.
Dr. Washington shared that she was extremely proud of the Saturday Academy because the instructors were the District’s very own Curriculum Team and it is important to know that they have the talent in-house to do some of the training needed.
Dr. La’Toya Thomas-Dixon shared a PowerPoint Presentation of pictures from the Job Fair held on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Each school had a display at the Job Fair with information for the applicants. Candidates came from Georgia, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and many other states.
10.4 SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT – Dr. Washington shared her report with the Board. She reported that she attended the Jasper on the Move 52nd Annual Installation & Awards Banquet on April 9th. There were two nominees from the Jasper County School District: Robert Huff received the Zenie Ingram Community Service of the Year Award and Cynthia Robino received the Education Partner of the Year Award. Randy Horton and his family catered the food. Jasper County was well represented at this event.
Dr. Washington announced that Ajene Hilliard, 10th grader from Hardeeville High School, was selected to attend the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and they know that he will represent the District well. She introduced Dr. Delores Young who is the Pastor of Agape Ministries and is Ajene’s pastor.
11. *CONSENT AGENDA – Mrs. Snooks questioned if there were any item(s) from the Consent Agenda that needed to be pulled for questions. No items were pulled for questions or discussion.
11.1 2011 SUMMER WORK SCHEDULE
11.2 FORT JAMES SCHOLARSHIP GUIDELINES
11.3 SPECIAL REVENUE BUDGET
11.4 BUDGET TRANSFER REQUESTS (A-B)
11.5 BEAUFORT COUNTY STUDENT TRANSFERS (A-D)
11.6 HOME SCHOOL APPLICATION
11.7 BOARD ATTENDANCE – MARCH 2011
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11.8 GRADUATION POLICIES
- IHC CLASS RANKINGS (NEW – REQUIRES 2 READINGS)
- IHFAA HONORS DIPLOMA (NEW – REQUIRES 2 READINGS)
- IHFB DUAL CREDIT (NEW – REQUIRES 2 READINGS)
- IKF GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS (REVISION – 1 READING)
11.9 PERSONNEL UPDATE
- CURRENT VACANCIES
- NEW HIRE (A)
- FMLA REQUEST (A)
- TERMINATION/RESIGNATION (A-B)
11.10 CANCEL APRIL 25TH MEETING DUE TO SPRING BREAK
Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion for approval of the Consent Agenda. A motion was made by Michael Hubbard and seconded by Alina Hamilton-Clark. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0.
12. INFORMATION ITEM(S) –
12.1 HIGH SCHOOL ASSESSMENT PROGRAM LETTER – A letter was shared with the Board to be sent to parents from Eleanor Hazel, Community Liaison/Lead Counselor/Testing Coordinator, sharing information about the High School Assessment Program (HSAP).
Dr. Washington stated that Mrs. Hazel has made extensive efforts to
send out information so parents will understand the various types of assessments.
12.2 EXTENSION OF PUBLIC REVIEW FOR INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS – Information was shared from the State Department of Education regarding the extension of the public review of instructional materials and textbooks. Dr. Washington stated that board members are welcome to review the materials.
12.3 STATE CHAMPIONS TRAVEL TO COLUMBIA – APRIL 14, 2011 –
Dr. Washington reminded the board members that the Ridgeland High School Girls’ Basketball Team will be traveling to Columbia on April 14th to be recognized by the S. C. General Assembly as the State Champions.
12.4 BOARD RETREAT – APRIL 20, 2011 – PINCKNEY HALL CHECHESSEE RIVER ROOM @ SUN CITY – 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Dr. Washington reminded the board members about the Board Retreat scheduled on Wednesday, April 20th at Sun City.
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12.5 STATE ETHIC FORMS DUE BY APRIL 15TH – Final reminder about the State Ethic Forms due by April 15th.
13. *ACTION ITEM(S) –
13.1 RECOMMENDATION FOR AUDIT SERVICES – Dr. Washington shared that a letter was included in the Board’s packet from Sandra Mack-Huff, Director of Finance, recommending a change in the audit firm (McGregor and Company) for 2011-2012. She stated that they need Board approval on this item.
Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion for approval of the change in the audit firm. A motion was made by Berty Riley to accept the recommendation from the Director of Finance for the change in audit services. Alina Hamilton-Clark seconded the motion.
Randy Horton stated that he requested at the last board meeting that Elliot Davis be asked to come explain to the Board why the audit report was late. He is not comfortable with the finance department recommending who should do the audit. He feels the Board should appoint who does the audit.
Dr. Washington reminded the Board that when Elliott Davis was present the representative explained why they were late because they were trying to go through several of the school accounts and got behind. Based on previous audits, she feels that the problem was the timing of when the audit was completed. This had a great impact on the Board’s decision regarding furloughs, knowing how much money they would have to work with, and the submission to the State Department.
Mrs. Snooks stated that even if the Finance Department brings a recommendation to the Board they can approve or deny it.
Ms. Riley asked Dr. Washington if she had the opportunity to review the audit firms who had responded to the RFP.
Dr. Washington stated that she went back and reviewed the minutes and also looked at the previous audit reports.
Mr. Horton stated that if he sits on this Board and sees something that he does not think is right he can voice his opinion. He has a bad feeling about the District wanting to change the audit firm.
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Dr. Washington stated that when you look at the various firms who responded to the RFP all of their ratings were good. Even Elliott Davis had good ratings.
Mr. Horton stated that anytime you have a new firm coming in it takes time to set up their records.
Mrs. Snooks stated that what disturbs her is that an audit firm should know when the deadlines are and the District was over two months late.
Mr. Horton requested to see the letter where it states the District would be penalized.
Mrs. Mack-Huff shared that the letter said if the District did not get their audit report in by February they would be penalized federal dollars. The audit report was submitted on February 28th which was the last day. She will make this document available to the Board.
Mrs. Snooks asked for a vote for the motion on the floor by the showing of hands.
THE MOTION PASSED 5-1.
(Ayes – Gardner/Fraser/Riley/Snooks/Hubbard)
(Nays – Horton)
(Abstained – A. Clark)
14. *FUTURE AGENDA ITEM(S) – NONE
15. *EXECUTIVE SESSION – NONE
Mrs. Snooks entertained a motion on the student hearing that was held prior to the board meeting.
Dr. Washington recommended that Student A attend the Adult
Education Program or find out through Christy Thompson, Executive Director of Middle/High School, if the student qualifies to attend the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School in Columbia.
A motion was made by Alina Hamilton-Clark to approve the recommendation from the Superintendent for Student A. Cathy Gardner seconded the motion. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0.
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Mr. Horton stated that they still need to vote on the Personnel Amendments.
Mrs. Snooks asked Dr. Washington to make sure that they get information prior to the board meeting if at all possible so the board member can have time to review it.
A motion was made by Michael Hubbard to approve Amendment 1 and 2 of the Personnel Update (11.9). Priscilla Fraser seconded the motion.
THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY 7-0.
16. *ADJOURNMENT – A motion was made by Cathy Gardner and seconded by Alina Hamilton-Clark to adjourn.
The meeting adjourned at 7:10 P.M.
Cheryl Hensley______
Recording Secretary
May 9, 2011______Kathleen Snooks______
Approval Date Board Chairperson