HOXIE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

PREFIX

A.PHILOSOPHY

We believe: As an agency of society, the primary function of the Hoxie School system is to provide an opportunity for students to acquire basic knowledge and skills. The educational program is intended to assist students to develop interests, appreciation, ideas, and attitudes essential to the proper conduct and development of a democratic society. The responsibility for the educational program is shared with the family, church, and community with the role of the school subordinate to that of the parents.

We believe: The educational program must be derived from knowledge of the needs of the students and community to be served. Methods of instruction should be consistent with needs and characteristics of youth and the best knowledge available. In order that each student may reach his highest level of achievement, a wide variety of integrated experiences must be offered.

We believe: A quality educational system is dependent upon the professional staff. Free exchange of ideas and opportunity to participate in decision making are important aspects of a democratic school organization. Ethical conduct on the part of the personnel at all levels is essential. The relationship to each segment of school organization must be one of mutual respect and trust.

We believe: The administration of the school system is a cooperative venture involving the community, board of education, school administration, teachers, and students in their areas of competence and jurisdiction. The educational program must merit public support. Research and critical evaluation on a continuing basis is imperative.

We believe: That if we are to meet the challenge of the future, our public school program must not be less magnificent in scope than the society which it sustains.

This philosophy is used as a guide in developing an adequate educational program to meet the needs of the youth and community to be served.

B.STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT BY SUPERINTENDENT

AND BOARD OF EDUCATION

We hereby commit the necessary time, personnel, facilities and resources to provide for the implementation of actions identified by our faculty and community members through the Creating Opportunities for Excellence process. We understand this plan will better enable us to improve in areas which have been identified as correlates of an effective school and serve to guide us through the next five years.

Dennis Truxler, Superintendent

School Board:

Lonnie Smith, President

Wes Gates, Vice-President

Jeff Worlow, Secretary

Mike Hart, Member

David Dobbs, Member

C.SIX YEAR GOALS

1.The Hoxie School will maintain the standards as established by the Standard for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and accreditation by N.C.A. for all levels K-12.

2.The Hoxie School shall assist students to become proficient in the basic skills in order for them to meet or exceed the requirements for mastery on the Minimum Performance Test.

3.The Hoxie School shall develop an appropriate and productive staff development program.

4.The Hoxie School shall strive to have all students score at the 50 percentile level or better on achievement tests.

5.The Hoxie School shall develop a plan to communicate the basic philosophy and goals of the school to the parents and community and to increase parent involvement in the school.

6.The Hoxie School shall strive to expand student/staff recognition in the areas of academic performance and attendance.

001.THE SCHOOL DISTRICT

001.1The Legal Status of the School District:

The Hoxie Consolidated School District # 46 of Lawrence County, Arkansas, is a consolidated school district formed under the laws of the state of Arkansas. It shall conform to all requirements of law, and unless otherwise specified, the policies and procedures in effect in this district shall apply to all district functions and activities.

001.2The Name of the School District:

The name of the school district shall be the Hoxie Consolidated School District #46. It is in this name that the district conducts all of its business; titles its contracts, signs letterheads, and publications; enters into contracts; sues and is sued; holds and conveys property.

001.3District Boundaries:

The district boundaries of the Hoxie District include the cities of Hoxie, Sedgwick, Minturn, Clover Bend, and certain other sections of Lawrence County including Lauratown, Arbor Grove, and Coffman. A map of all boundaries of the Hoxie School District shall be maintained by the superintendent.

001.4 Crisis/Terrorism Response Plan:

On October 18, 1999, the Hoxie School District adopted a Crisis/Terrorism Response Plan.

Amended 8/11/03

001.5—DISTRICT WEB SITE

The Hoxie School District shall maintain a web page to provide information about its schools, students, and activities to the community. This policy is adopted to promote continuity between the different pages on the district web site by establishing guidelines for their construction and operation.

The Hoxie School District web site shall be used for educational purposes only. It shall not create either a public or a limited public forum. Any link from any page on the District’s site may only be to another educational site. The web site shall not use “cookies” to collect or retain identifying information about visitors to its web site nor shall any such information be given to “third parties.” Any data collected shall be used solely for the purpose of monitoring site activity to help the district improve the usefulness of the site to its visitors.

Each school’s web page shall be under the supervision of the school’s Web Master and the District’s web site shall be under the supervision of the District’s Web Master. They shall have the responsibility for ensuring that web pages meet appropriate levels of academic standards and are in compliance with these guidelines and any additional administrative regulations. To this end the District and School Web Masters shall have the authority to review and edit any proposed changes to web pages to ensure their compliance with this policy. All such editing shall be viewpoint neutral. District and school web pages shall also conform to the following guidelines.

a.All pages on the District’s web site may contain advertising and links only to educational sources.

b.The District’s home page shall contain links to existing individual school’s web pages and the school home pages shall link back to the District’s home page. The District’s home page may also include links to educational extracurricular organization’s web pages which shall also link back to the District’s home page.

c.Photos along with the student’s name shall only be posted on web pages after receiving written permission from the student or their parents if the student is under the age of 18.

d.The District’s web server shall host the Hoxie District’s web site.

e.No web page on the District web site may contain public message boards or chat rooms.

f.All web pages on the District web site shall be constructed to download in a reasonable length of time.

g.The District’s home page shall contain alink to a privacy policy notice which must be placed in a clear and prominent place and manner.

h.With the exception of students who may retain the copyright of material they have created that is displayed on a District web page, all materials displayed on the District web site are owned by Hoxie School District.

i.Included on the District’s web site shall be:

  1. Local and state revenue sources;
  2. Administrator and teacher salary and benefit expenditure data;
  3. District balances, including legal balances and building fund balances;
  4. Minutes of regular and special meetings of the school board;
  5. The district’s budget for the ensuing year;
  6. A financial breakdown of monthly expenditures of the district;
  7. The salary schedule for all employees including extended contract and supplementary pay amounts;
  8. Current contract information (not including social security numbers, telephone numbers, personal addresses or signatures) for all district employees;
  9. The district’s annual budget;
  10. The annual statistical report of the district;
  11. The district’s personnel policies.

The information and data required in 9) above shall be the actual data for the previous two school-years and the projected data for the current school-year.

Legal References:A.C.A. § 6-11-129 ADOPTED: 8/14/12

20 U.S.C. § 1232 g

15 U.S.C. § 6501 (COPPA)

002.THE SCHOOL BOARD

002.1The Legal Status and Authority of the Board:

Every School District, unless otherwise authorized, shall be under the control of a board of education (80-502). The board of the Hoxie School District is Titled: The Board of Education of the Hoxie Consolidated School District #46.

The board of education is the governing board of the Hoxie School District. Its legal authority is determined by the state constitution, the statutes of the state legislature, regulations of the state board of education, and that authority conferred by the school district elections.

002.2The Role and Purpose of the Board:

  1. To select and employ a Superintendent of Schools who meets all the qualifications established by law, the State Department of Education, and the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
  2. To employ a competent faculty upon the recommendations of the school superintendent.
  3. To provide the staff it employs with the academic freedom, funds, and support to develop an efficient educational program.
  4. To develop and adopt sound practices and policies for the operation of the school.
  5. To see that the business administration is efficient and economical.
  6. To provide adequate buildings and facilities.
  7. To study and make plans for future needs.
  8. To insure equal opportunity for all pupils, and to see that pupils, patrons, and school employees are fairly treated.
  9. To see that accurate and efficient records are kept.
  10. To represent and express the views of the school community as a whole.
  11. To prepare, approve, and make public the school budget of receipts andexpenditures sixty days before the annual school election.
  12. To set themileage rate to be voted upon by the qualified electors of the schooldistrict at the annual school election.
  13. To determine priorities among the different educational needs and allocate resources in accordance with the urgency and importance of each need.
  14. To provide for a school system and establish policies in keeping with the wishes of the community and the requirements of state law.
  15. To hold a public meeting to discuss the school’s progress on its six-year plan, in both high school and elementary school.
  16. The Hoxie School Board shall appoint the Superintendent to be a representative to the Cooperative’s Board of Directors according to Act 398 of 1999.
  17. Act 581 of 2001 requires Board Members to visit classrooms annually in the district which they serve.

002.3By-Laws of the Board:

002.31Membership on the Board:

The Board of Education is composed of five members. One member shall be elected each year at the annual school election held at such time as the General Assembly so prescribes. Each member elected shall serve for a period of five years.

Amended 6/13/05

002.32Qualifications:

To be eligible for membership on the Board, in accordance with state law, a school director shall be a bonafide resident and qualified elector of the school district in which he serves. According to Act 898 of 1999 if any member of the board of directors of the a school district no longer resides in the school district, a vacancy shall exist and the vacancy shall be filled as provided by law.

According to Act 1172 of 1999, all persons who are elected members of a school board or who are candidates for a position on a school board must file financial disclosure statements.

002.33Officers of the Board:

The Board shall elect a president, vice president, and secretary at the first regular meeting following the later of the certification of the results of the annual September school election orif there is a runoff election, at the first regular meeting following the certification of the results of a run-off election runoff election. Officers shall serve one-year terms and perform those duties as prescribed by policy of the Board. The board shall also elect one of its members to be the primary board disbursing officer and may designate one or more additional board members as alternate board disbursing officers.

If there is an unforeseen circumstance, such as a Board officer's serious health condition, call to active military duty, or other compelling circumstance, the Board may elect another member to replace the absent member untilthe following year's normal election of officers. In the case of the newly elected officer having held another Board officer position, that position shall also befilled by election of the Board. This provision does not permitsuch an election for any other reason than the unforeseen absence of a previously elected officer of the Board.

002.34Conduction of School Business:

At any board meeting there must be a quorum of three present to conduct any official business. A majority vote shall be necessary. In the event of a divided vote the ayes and nays shall be recorded.

002.35Committees of the Board:

The president will appoint temporary committees at the request of the Board. These committees will be dissolved when their purpose has been accomplished. The board president will be an ex-officio member of all temporary committees.

002.36Resignation:

When a vacancy occurs, the remaining members of the Board have the authority to appoint a resident of the school district to serve as School Director until the next regular school election, at which time the electors of the school district elect a board member to fill out the unexpired term. If several vacancies occur and only a minority of directors remain, or if the remaining directors fail to fill a vacancy within thirty days, then the vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the County Judge.

002.4Method of Operation:

  1. The Board of Education is the policy-making body of the school district; in establishing policies, it acts with the advice and assistance of the Superintendent of Schools.
  2. No member of the Board may use his position to exercise administrative responsibility with respect to the schools.
  3. The authority of a School Board member exists only when acting as a Board of Education legally in session. The Board shall not be bound in any way by any statement or action on the part of any individual Board member or employee, except when such statement or action in pursuance of specific instructions by the Board of Education.
  4. Amendments made by School Board Policies shall require a majority vote of all members of the Board present at a regular meeting. A Board policy can be changed only at a regular session when placed on the agenda for consideration.
  5. All meetings of the Board shall be open to the public, except when the Board adjourns to executive session as prescribed by law. The local press and radio shall be encouraged to attend.
  6. Any citizen may address the Board by contacting the superintendent prior to the close of the school day on Friday before the Board meeting on the second Monday night of the month and asking to be placed on the agenda. The request must be in writing with the purpose clearly stated. If a citizen who is not on the agenda wishes to address the Board, the Board may grant permission by a majority vote to allow the citizen a hearing which will not exceed ten minutes in length.

002.41Adoption of Policies:

The Board affirms through its policies and its policy adoption process, its belief that: (1) the schools belong to the people who create them by consent and support them by taxation; (2) the schools are only as strong as an informed citizenry and knowledgeable school staff allow them to be; (3) the support is based on knowledge of, understanding about, and participation in the efforts of its public schools. The following shall be the guidelines for policy adoption for the Hoxie School District.

General Policies

Policies which are not personnel policies may be recommended by the Board or any member of the Board; by the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, any other administrator or employee of the District; committee appointed by the Board; or by any member of the public. Policies adopted by the Board shall be within the legal framework of the State and Federal Constitutions, and appropriate statutes, rules, and court decisions.

When reviewing a proposed policy (non-personnel), the Board may elect to adopt, amend, refer back to the person proposing the policy for further consideration, take it under advisement, reject it, or refuse to consider such proposal.

Licensed and Classified Personnel Policies

Personnel policies (including employee salary schedules) shall be created, amended, or deleted in accordance with State law:

(1) Board Proposals:

The Board may adopt a proposed personnel policy by a majority vote. Such policies may be proposed to the Board by a Board member or the Superintendent. The Board may choose to adopt the proposal, as a proposal only, by majority vote.

Following the adoption of a proposed personnel policy, the proposal must be presented to the appropriate Personnel Policy Committee (PPC). Such presentation shall be in writing, to all members of the Committee.