OPSB Board Business Meeting Minutes – April 15, 2008
ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD
REGULAR BOARD BUSINESS MEETING
Mc DONOGH #35 HIGH SCHOOL
1331 Kerlerec Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70119
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
5:00 P.M.
The Orleans Parish School Board convened for a Regular Board Business Meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 2008, in the auditorium of McDonogh 35 High School, 1331 Kerlerec St., New Orleans, LA. Rev. Torin Sanders, Board President, called the meeting to order at 5:07 p.m.
Tonight’s Board Meeting began with the Presentations/Acknowledgement section honoring the OPSB Students Talented in Visual Arts and the 2007-08 OPSB Teachers of the Year as follows:
PRESENTATIONS/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
· Recognition of Award Winning OPSB Students Talented In Visual Arts
Superintendent Darryl Kilbert presented the Recognition of these Students Talented in Visual Arts and introduced Dr. Rosalynne Dennis, Executive Director of Exceptional Children’s Services who announced the student winners and their art work. This presentation of the Talented in the Visual Arts Program provided in our school district, will specifically highlight the accomplishments of our district’s students. Students participating in this program meet the criteria for Talented in the Visual Arts as determined through a Bulletin 1508 evaluation. The student’s winning art work, previously on display at The New Orleans Museum of Art is showcased here tonight. The following students participated in the Cox: Our History Arts Contest and placed as follows:
K-2 Grades Category
1st Place Jolie Sciortino Hynes Charter School 2nd Grade
Krista Jurisich, Teacher Principal, Mrs. Michelle Douglas
3rd – 5th Grades Category
1st Place Tayla Celestine Hynes Charter School 5th Grade
Krista Jurisich, Teacher Mrs. Michelle Douglas, Principal
2nd Place Richard August Franklin Elementary 5th Grade
Natalie Maloney, Teacher Mrs. Charlotte Matthew, Principal
4th Place Kiara Woods Bethune Elementary 3rd Grade
Linda Villavaso, Teacher Mrs. Mary Haynes-Smith, Principal
6th – 8th Grades Category
1st Place Nhi Hoang McMain High School 8th Grade
Natalie Maloney, Teacher Mrs. Bridgette Frick, Principal
2nd Place Lionel Thomas McDonogh #35 8th Grade
Linda Villavaso, Teacher Mr. Phillip White, Principal
3rd Place Deante’ King Bethune Elementary 6th Grade
Linda Villavaso, Teacher Mrs. Mary Haynes-Smith, Principal
9th - 11th Grades Category
1st Place Kawayne Powell McDonogh #35 9th Grade
Linda Villavaso, Teacher Mr. Phillip White, Principal
3rd Place Wayne Treaudo McMain 10th Grade
Senior Category
1st Place Ralph Henry McMain High School 12th Grade
Natalie Maloney, Teacher Mrs. Bridgette Frick, Principal
4th Place Sterling Daniels McDonogh #35 12th Grade
Linda Villavaso, Teacher Mr. Phillip White, Principal
Other Winning Entries:
Muses Carnival Club Cup Design: Dat Nguyen McMain High School $1000 Award
2008 Muses Mardi Gras Cup Natalie Maloney, Teacher Mrs. Bridgette Frick, Principal
911 Emergency Poster Contest:
High School Division
1st Place Dat Nguyen McMain High School $1000 Award
Natalie Maloney, Teacher Mrs. Bridgette Frick, Principal
K- 3 Division
1st Place Graca Yaasir Hynes Charter School
Krista Jurisich, Teacher Mrs. Michelle Douglas, Principal
4th- 6th Division
2nd Place Tayla Celestine Hynes Charter School
Krista Jurisich, Teacher Mrs. Michelle Douglas, Principal
3rd Place Casie Cook
Krista Jurisich, Teacher Mrs. Michelle Douglas, Principal
· 2007-08 OPSB Teachers of the Year
Superintendent Kilbert presented the OPSB teachers of the year and presented them with a plaque of appreciation.
o Hope Lee Loughran –Hynes Charter School – Elementary Teacher of the Year
o Clyde Lawrence – Eleanor Mc Main Secondary School – Middle School Teacher of the Year
o Emily C. McClendon – Warren Easton Charter School – High School Teacher of the Year
The Singing Mustangs of McMain Secondary school sang “I Will Sing Hallelujah” in honor of Mr. Lawrence.
Board Roll call: Ms. Una Anderson, absent; Ms. Cynthia Cade, absent, Ms. Heidi Daniels, present; Mr. Jimmy Fahrenholtz, present; Mrs. Phyllis Landrieu, present, Ms. Lourdes Moran, present, Rev. Torin Sanders, present. Ex–officio Board Members: Mr. Darryl Kilbert, Superintendent, present; Mr. Edward Morris, General Counsel, present; Ms. Thelma French, Board Secretary, present.
An audio tape of this meeting is available in the Board Office.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA:
Additions
· Action Item #13 – to amend the current contract between the OPSB and Hegedus Architects to reflect the newly adjusted AFC of $18,500,000 to build Hynes Elementary based on the QuickStart Standards
· Action Item #14 – the addition of the opening of the bids & recommendations on the sales proposals for Timbers & NOCCA property
Modifications – None
Deletions
· Resolution 24-08 following the litigation report is a legal recommendation, not a resolution.
Motion to accept the additions and deletions to the agenda was made by Mrs. Landrieu, seconded by Mr. Fahrenholtz. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion to adopt the agenda as amended was made by Mrs. Landrieu, seconded by Mrs. Daniels. Motion passed unanimously
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
· Resolution 23-08 OPSB Resolution Declaring Year of the Teacher
Resolution 23-08 was read into the record by Board Secretary, Thelma French.
Motion to adopt Resolution 23-08 was made by Mrs. Daniels, seconded by Mr. Fahrenholtz.
Roll Call Vote:
Yeas: Daniels, Fahrenholtz, Landrieu, Moran, Sanders
Nays: None
Absent: Absent, Cade
Abstentions: None
Resolution 23-08 was adopted with 5 yeas and 2 absent
Vice President Daniels announced that Christina Grace Byrnes was born about two weeks ago to Board Member Una Anderson, which is why she is absent. Congratulations to the Anderson family.
Rev. Sanders announced that tomorrow, April 16, 1008, several Board members and OPSB staff will be traveling to Baton Rouge to participate in the 2008 LSBA Day At The Legislature. The focus will be to accompany colleagues from around the state and to advocate and educate the legislators on the parts of the legislative agenda that the Board has adopted to move quickly towards passage on those agenda items. The bills that OPSB is advocating to get passed were adopted two months ago and are available to anyone who is interested.
At the last Board meeting, OPSB made the official call for the election for the renewal of the millage that expires every 10 years. This is not a new tax, but merely a renewal which is to benefit all public schools and all public school children in Orleans Parish. OPSB will be educating the public to make an educated decision on this matter and meeting with various constituencies. Rev. Sanders and Vice President Daniels participated in a press conference a few weeks ago with State Superintendent Pastorek, Mr. Dan Packer, former CEO of Entergy, and Dr. Cowen of Tulane University and others on the beginning of a committee, the Public Education Progress committee, whose charge is to review the overall operations of the district, as well as RSD, to assist in looking for areas of consolidation so that we can collectively be more effective stewards of the public dollar as it relates to public education. They also have been charged with reviewing the ins and outs of the millage and also giving a recommendation to the community in terms of the need for the millage. Those meetings are also going to be held by that committee in the upcoming weeks. There is an action item today in relation to the Board’s educational campaign.
CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES
· May 16, 2007 Special Board Meeting
· May 31, 2007 Special Board Meeting
· March 18, 2008 Board Business Meeting
Motion to approve the minutes for the May 16, 2007, Special Board Meeting, May 31, 2007, Special Board Meeting and the March 18, 2008, Board Business Meeting was made by Mrs. Daniels, seconded by Mr. Fahrenholtz. Motion passed unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS/ACTION ITEMS:
· Accountability Committee: Mrs. Heidi Daniels, Chair
Mrs. Daniels reviewed the Accountability and Charter Committee Meeting that was held on April 9, 2008. The following were items discussed, presented and reviewed at that meeting:
The Committee reviewed the following Board Action Items and moves the forward to the full Board under the Superintendent’s Agenda for Board Action:
o Approval of 2007-08 School Improvement Plans[in accordance with Section 1116.(b)(3)(A)]
o Concurrent Enrollment Center Proposal [proposal not heard in Committee ,presentation to be made at Board meeting]
Mrs. Valerie Hicks, Student Support Services Director, came forward to give a verbal report on the Concurrent Enrollment Center Proposal.
The full document was presented to the Board. The first sheet is “Dual Enrollment Report”. The bulleted items are the ones that are highlighted.
· The instructors will be provided by LA Technical College at no cost to the District.
· National certification will be provided by the LA Technical College.
· Eighty (80) to one hundred (100) students will be targeted to participate.
· Students will earn Carnegie units and certification simultaneously.
· Four classrooms will be designated for instruction at the Palmyra Street building.
· Transportation costs will be provided at the rate for extra-curricular activities. This price had to be negotiated because the regular cost was a lot higher than this. It was negotiated to get the extra-curricular activity rate for these students so that it would be more cost effective for the District.
· Supervision and support will be provided by a Teacher-in-Charge
· Resources and materials will be provided by Carl Perkins funding with some District support.
· Approximately five students per high school campus will be targeted to participate in additional Dual/Concurrent enrollment opportunities at SUNO, DelGado, UNO. Discussions will be held during the summer to other universities and colleges for fall enrollment.
The classes that are going to be offered fall within two areas of concentration:
1) Carpentry and Construction training with NCCER Certification; and
2) Patient Care Technician with Certification in Nursing Assistant and Phlebotomy.
There was a question regarding discussions that were under way with Ochsner for providing some instruction. Ms. Hicks stated that this is still on the table. Ochsner is going to provide a presentation for these students. OPSB staff are still trying to fine tune what will be offered for this program.
The rationale for selecting these career clusters was that after looking at what the State requires, it was found that there are 16 career clusters offered. Then career opportunities for OPSB students were analyzed and these were the areas that were in most need in our city. That was how these two career clusters were chosen.
A student can earn up to 15 college credits per cluster.
The binder with the School Improvement Plans was available for the Board to review at the meeting. This will be addressed under Action Item No. 1. This action is required by the State. Every school must submit a School Improvement Plan which includes how it will improve school performance regardless of where the performance is. All schools are included in this requirement.
· Reports for Information
o Semi Annual Professional Development Report
o Plan for Evaluation of Justice Education Program (Alternative Learning Center & Youth Study Center)
o Report on Education Programs for OPSB/NOPS Students expelled in 3rd/4th Qtrs.
o Report on OPSB Participation Common Application
o Report on Charter School Audits
o Charter School Liaison Monthly Report
Superintendent Kilbert gave some general information on the expulsion numbers. Students are recommended for expulsion at the school level. They are given due process, they have an opportunity to present their side and their information in regards to the allegation(s). In each case, the students were either returned to the school, transferred to another educational institution, transferred to the Recovery School District as OPSB is working in conjunction with them, or the student may have been transferred to a school within the school district. In one instance, the parent withdrew the child and a social worker is following up to determine if that student is in school outside of Orleans Parish or in the State of Louisiana. According to OPSB records, as of today that student’s parent has not registered that child in the state of Louisiana. Again, schools only recommend for expulsion and every attempt is made to provide an educational entity to return that student to an educational environment. In-school suspension is considered as a possible solution. The first line of defense is to not remove the student from the school and to provide an opportunity to be remediated through discipline. However, there are some instances through State and Federal law that we have to make recommendations for expulsions.
There was a question regarding the professional development opportunities that were offered to OPSB schools and charter schools. The professional development is offered, but several schools are not participating. Ms. Gail Audrict, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, came forward to address this question. Ms. Audrict stated that the professional development is offered, but OPSB cannot mandate if a school attends. If it is a professional development that is being paid for out of the General Fund, the professional development is only for our direct-run schools. If it’s professional development that is being paid for with federal funds, then it is offered to all schools – OPSB run and OPSB charter schools. She also stated that when the professional development is offered and advertised, it is stated that they do not have to pay to attend, that it is being provided for them. The training cannot be mandated, only offered. Ms. Audrict announced that there is professional development and a few conferences upcoming that the schools have responded to attending.
· Policy and Legal Committee: Mr. Jimmy Fahrenholtz, Chair
Mr. Jimmy Fahrenholtz reviewed the Policy and Legal Committee meeting that was held on Monday Morning, April 14, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. The committee first went to Executive Session to discuss some possible litigation matters along with some legislative strategies before reconvening back into the regular committee. The Policy and Legal Committee has reviewed the following Board Action Items; and recommended that they be moved forward to the full Board (these items will be addressed individually as Board Action Items).
§ Ratification of MOU with City of New Orleans, Health Department for operation of School Based Health Clinic at McDonogh #35 through June 30, 2008
§ Approval to Notify Employees of Reasonable Assurance of Employment for 2008-09 (as required by L.R.S. 23:1600)