VIRGINIA: At a regular meeting of the Tazewell County School Board held at Tazewell County Career and Technical Center on October 7, 2013 at 5:30 p.m.
PRESENT: Michael Dennis, Chairman
Steve Davis, Vice Chairman
Randy Conn, Member
James H. Jones, Member
David Woodard, Member
Dr. Michaelene A. Meyer, Division Superintendent
James Kade, Deputy Clerk
ABSENT: Jammie Lester, Clerk
Pursuant to Section 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia, motion was made by Mr. Conn, seconded by Mr. Jones and passed to convene to an executive session for the following specific purposes.
· Personnel – Discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining or resignation of specific public officers, appointees or employees as authorized by Section 2.2-3711 A 1 of the Code of Virginia.
· Students – Discussion, or consideration of admission or disciplinary matters concerning a student(s) as authorized by Section 2.2-3711 A 2 of the Code of Virginia.
· Legal Advice – Consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members, consultants or attorneys, pertaining to actual or probable litigation, or other specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by counsel as authorized by Section 2.2-3711 A 7 of the Code of Virginia.
The Tazewell County School Board voted to move to executive session.
The Board returned to open session. In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, a roll call vote was taken in which all members affirmed that only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meetings, as identified in the motion for executive session, were heard, discussed, or considered by the Board.
Chairman Dennis opened the meeting and called for a moment of silence. Mr. Conn said a prayer and Mr. Davis led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Unscheduled Agenda Items
Mr. Davis made the motion to add under the topic of Recognitions and Instructional Focus letter (D) Response to Tazewell County Commonwealth Attorney’s Press Release on October 6, 2013 and under the topic of New Business add letter (K) Board Approval for Authorized Signer on all School Board issued checks. Mr. Jones seconded the motion and the Board approved.
Recognitions and Instructional Focus
A. Dr. Michaelene Meyer, Division Superintendent, presented the Student Liaisons to the School Board for the 2013-14 school term. These four students were recommended by the principals of each high school based on their credentials. The liaisons will serve in an advisory capacity to the Board and will only attend regular sessions of School Board meetings. The liaisons are as follows: Graham High School, Sarah Pauley; Richlands High School, Caleb Cruey and Kyle Cruey; and Tazewell High School, Jonathan Stilwell. They will be meeting with Dr. Meyer later this month to learn more about the role of a student liaison.
B. Dr. Michaelene Meyer, Division Superintendent, recognized Mr. Rodney Reid, a long-term educator, for the Superintendent’s Above and Beyond Recognition. Mr. Reid is a native of Tazewell and a graduate of Pocahontas High School. The majority of Mr. Reid’s tenure has been in serving the students and community of Tazewell. Dr. Meyer recognized his dedication and impact on Tazewell County estimating that in his career he has directly or indirectly impacted well over 5,000 students. Dr. Meyer thanked Mr. Reid for his years, applauded him for the impact he has made, and wished him the best in the years to come. Mr. Dennis congratulated Mr. Reid and expressed his appreciation to him for his dedicated career.
Dr. Meyer has appointed Mrs. Cynthia Beavers as the lead administrator in the building at this time. She will be supported by Mr. George Brown during the next several weeks. Dr. Meyer will be seeking an experienced secondary principal to serve as interim principal until we have time to study our needs, put together a profile for a new principal, prepare formal announcement, review the applications and conduct a formal interview process leading to a recommendation to the Board for the appointment. The division will be seeking input from all key stakeholders during this time including students, parents, teachers and the community at large. Formal posting for the position is anticipated for early March with a formal recommendation to the Board at the April 14, 2014 School Board meeting. Community support for the school is needed during this transition time
C. Dr. Meyer presented the Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) Academy Awards. The School Board members put in many extra hours in terms of learning what their role and responsibilities are as members of the Board. VSBA recognition certificates were presented to Mr. Dennis and Mr. Davis, and a VSBA honor award certificate and a gold pin were presented to Mr. Woodard.
D. Mr. Dennis presented the Response to the Tazewell County Commonwealth Attorney’s Press Release on October 6, 2013. Mr. Dennis stated that on Thursday, October 3, 2013 Dennis Lee, Commonwealth Attorney, released information regarding the investigation into the discovered irregularities in the School Board Activity Fund at Tazewell Middle School May 2013. The Virginia State Police (VSP) immediately stepped in to investigate the matter. The VSP had subpoenaed bank records dating back to 2006 from an individual and announced that there was an estimated $300,000 taken from this account over this time period. When it was reported to us by the prior superintendent, this Board immediately took action to direct the School Board attorney to contact Mr. Lee to request the investigation be opened. This matter is taken very seriously and necessary measures have been discussed with the superintendent in terms of how to best examine the events that may have contributed to the ability of an employee within our finance department to have access to such opportunities to embezzle funds. Dr. Meyer has taken action to secure our financial records and to begin an internal review of our policies and practices in order to ensure that we have all necessary protocols in place to eliminate such an occurrence in the future. We will be working with an external agency and consultant over the next several weeks to conduct a full review and analysis of our practices. School Board policy and the Code of Virginia place the responsibility of the management of school funds with the superintendent and his/her designee. It is the responsibility of the superintendent to administer the division budget in accordance with Board policies and applicable state and federal regulations and laws and to ensure that appropriate fiscal planning and management methods are in place and modeled after the best accepted business practices. Dr. Meyer fully accepts the fiduciary responsibility that comes with her appointment and has established a solid plan for reviewing, analyzing, and bringing necessary changes in policy and regulations to the School Board for formal action as quickly as possible. Dr. Meyer anticipates providing a full report to the Board and community once the internal review is completed. Dr. Meyer has contacted the Virginia School Board Association and other agencies to assist us in being sure that we set protocol and practices to determine how this was allowed to occur and to be sure that this does not occur again in the future.
Dr. Meyer has received several recommendations and has started making phone calls to see which option will work best for Tazewell County Public Schools. She will work with the state department in helping us rethink school law and school budget. We will be examining our current policy and practices to see if we need to do anything differently to make sure we are safeguarding the taxpayer’s money and looking at ways to rebuild credibility for the school system in terms of our fiscal management. School Board Policy and the Code of Virginia place the responsibility of management of school funds directly in the hands of the superintendent. Dr. Meyer takes this very seriously and will be spending a great deal of time examining this to make sure it does not happen again. A report will be provided when the process is completed in terms of any changes or recommendations. We will report to the public, and we will be transparent with it as quickly as we can.
New Business
A. Dr. Meyer presented the Approval of the Budget Planning Calendar for 2014-15. The Budget Planning Calendar consists of various dates throughout the school year for meetings, work sessions, and deadlines pertaining to the development of the following school year’s budget. Mr. Davis made the motion to accept the Budget Planning Calendar for 2014-15 as presented. Mr. Jones seconded and the Board unanimously approved.
B. Dr. Meyer presented Appointment of two Board members to serve on the 2014-15 Budget Planning Committee. Mr. Woodard made the motion to appoint Mr. Davis and Mr. Conn to the 2014-15 Budget Planning Committee. Mr. Jones seconded and the Board unanimously approved.
C. Dr. Meyer presented Citizen’s Budget Advisory Planning Committee Applications. In order to ensure community input into the school budget planning process, Tazewell County School Board is seeking individuals who desire to serve on a Citizens’ Budget Advisory Planning Committee. Members of this committee will work collaboratively to review the revenue resources provided to the division, examine recommendations from various school personnel as it relates to potential expenditures, and make recommendations to the Board.
The Committee shall consist of: one individual selected by each Board member;
one individual selected to represent Special Education; one individual selected to represent Career and Technical Education; and one individual to represent Gifted Education. The application will be posted on the division webpage. Interested citizens are encouraged to apply directly to Jammie Lester, Clerk of the Board, by November 1, 2013.
Each board member should be thinking about a person they would like to recommend. Mr. Dennis stated in the past the citizen input has been very vital to some of the budget issues and some of the citizens who have served have expressed good feelings of understanding the budget process. Citizens are encouraged to apply if they have an interest.
D. Dr. Meyer presented Support for Virginia’s High Stakes Testing Resolution. The Virginia Association of School Superintendents believes that there is room for improvement within our current educational system that will give us balanced assessments, a more complete picture of student learning, and allow for expedited retakes and local control of the testing windows among other items.The Virginia School Board Association Board of Directors is in agreement with and supports this resolution for School Board consideration. Across the State of Virginia, School Boards are looking at this to address the high stakes testing situation that we are in right now and ask the state legislature to take a broader look at this.
Mr. Davis read the following proposed resolution aloud:
RESOLUTION CONCERNING HIGH STAKES
STANDARDIZED TESTING
OF VIRGINIA PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS
WHEREAS, the over reliance on standardized, high stakes testing as the only assessment of learning that really matters in the state and federal accountability systems is strangling our public schools and undermining any chance that educators have to transform a traditional system of schooling into a broad range of learning experiences that better prepares our students to live successfully and be competitive on a global stage; and
WHEREAS, we believe our state's future prosperity relies on a high-quality education system that prepares students for college and careers, and without such a system Virginia’s economic competitiveness and ability to attract new business will falter; and
WHEREAS, there is little research upon which to base the state’s assumption that by taking and passing thirty-four criterion-referenced tests between grades three and eleven, Virginia’s students will be better prepared to succeed in their careers and college; and
WHEREAS, there is clear evidence that high stakes standardized testing can create debilitating test anxiety among children; and
WHEREAS, there is little research verifying Virginia’s method of applying criterion-referenced test results as valid and reliable measurements of authentic growth in student achievement; and
WHEREAS, the system that Virginia employs for high-stakes education accountability at both the state and federal level is based on the state’s method of configuring criterion-referenced standardized tests, growth measures, and performance indicators, all of which lack any solid research foundation; and
WHEREAS, there is abundant feedback from Virginia teachers that they feel pressure to cover a wide range of content and teach to the state standardized tests, which stifles their creativity and ability to engage their students and prevents them from cultivating the 21st Century skills necessary for their students to become successful in college and their careers; and
WHEREAS, the real work of designing more engaging student learning experiences requires changes in the culture and structure of the systems in which teachers and students work; and
WHEREAS, what occurs in our classrooms every day should be student-centered and result in students learning at a deep and meaningful level, as opposed to the superficial level of learning that results from the current over-emphasis on that which can be easily tested by standardized tests; and
WHEREAS, Our vision is for all students to be engaged in more meaningful learning activities that cultivate their unique individual talents, to provide options for students that are designed to respect how they learn best, and to embrace the concept that students can be both consumers and creators of knowledge; and