PITT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
POLICY MINUTES
June 11, 2012
The Policy Committee of the Pitt County Board of Education met at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 11, 2012 in the Third Floor Board Room of the Pitt County Office Building, 1717 West Fifth Street, Greenville, North Carolina.
Present were Worth Forbes, Chair; and committee members: Benjie Forrest and Billy Peaden. There was a quorum present. Also in attendance were Board Member Barbara Owens, Associate Superintendent of Operations Aaron Beaulieu, Athletic Director Ron Butler, Director of Student Assignment Kay Weathington, Director of Student Services Dr. Pokie Noland, Media Instructional Coordinator Tim DeCresie and Administrative Assistant Loretta Grice.
Chair Forbes called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone. The May 14, 2012 Policy Committee minutes were presented for approval. Mr. Forrest made a motion, seconded by Mr. Peaden, to approve the minutes as presented. The minutes were unanimously approved.
First item on the agenda was Public Comment. No one had comments.
Second item discussed was New/Revised IT/Social Media Policies. Mr. DeCresie discussed the need to have a policy regarding Social Media and employees. The proposed policy outlines what an employee can or can’t do regarding Social Media. The policy does not prohibit the use of Social Media, it spells out the guidelines for use. Mr. Forbes made a motion to send the draft of the new policy to the full Board for 1st Reading and discussion. The motion did not receive a second. Mr. DeCresie discussed the Revised Acceptable Use Policy for employees and students. Both policies are already in place, the revised policies spell out Pitt County Schools can’t require an employee or student to bring in and use personal electronic devices. Mr. Forrest made a motion, seconded by Mr. Peaden, to send Policy 7.028 to the full Board for 1st Reading. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Forrest made a motion, seconded by Mr. Forbes, to send Policy 10.213 to the full Board for 1st Reading. Motion carried unanimously.
The third item discussed was Student Code of Conduct. Dr. Noland discussed the changing of the discipline data collecting method used by Pitt County Schools. We will use NC Wise site instead of Fulcrum. In order to use the NC Wise to collect discipline data, some changes had to be made to our Code of Conduct regarding grouping of categories. No action was required.
The fourth item discussed was Naming Schools And Ancillary Facilities. Mr. Beaulieu explained the concern for looking at the policy to determine a process that may quantify the community support piece. Mr. Beaulieu stated his preference would be to send the request to the Board for a 1st Reading and maybe let the request sit for a period of time to allow time for the entire community to have an opinion. This would allow time for all the positives and negatives to be shared. Mr. Forbes expressed the concern of “what” could actually be named has been an issue. Mr. Forbes asked Mr. Sonnenberg to get with Mr. Forbes and Mr. Butler to discuss more specifics such as what can be named, tenure/position of individual being honored, and etc and bring the information back to the committee.
The fifth item discussed was Driver’s Education Requirements. Mr. Sonnenberg stated there was some discussion at the last meeting about the possibility of attendance being factored into the eligibility of a student to enroll in Driver’s Education. Mr. Butler stated that any student that is 14 ½ can enroll in Driver’s Education. A student must be passing 70% of their classes before they can be granted an Eligibility Certificate. If a student misses more than 7 days they can’t pass that course. Indirectly attendance is already incorporated in student driving eligibility. Mr. Sonnenberg and Mr. Butler will research the matter further.
The last item discussed was Non-Resident. Mr. Sonnenberg stated the administration has recently received a request from a parent (soon to be non-resident) for their child to be accepted as a non-resident of Pitt County Schools. Mrs. Weathington stated, in the past when non-resident students were accepted, students were assigned to outlying schools. When NCLB took effect, the Board decided not to accept non-resident students. The few students that were already here were “grandfathered’ into the system. Mr. Forrest made a motion, seconded by Mr. Forbes, to allow staff to revise current policy to reflect that we do not accept out of county residents. The committee voted with the “ayes” being Mr. Forrest and Mr. Forbes. The “nay” was Mr. Peaden. The motion carries.
Mr. Forbes asked for Public Comments. Ms. Owens shared she was disappointed the request to hear the case regarding the non-resident student was denied. She further stated that this parent is a resident off Pitt County, and the student is already enrolled in one of our schools. The parents are moving outside of the county and want their child to finish the last two years of school in Pitt County. Mr. Peaden made a motion, seconded by Benjie Forrest, to have the full Board read the written request in closed session at the next Board meeting.
Mr. Peaden made a motion, seconded by Mr. Forrest, to adjourn the meeting at 6:10 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.