The Pocahontas County Board of Education met in special session on Wednesday, September 4, 2013, at 7:00 PM at the Board of Education Conference Room with the following members present:

Emery G. Grimes, President
Kenneth E. Vance)
Janet E. McNeel)MEMBERS
Hanna G. Sizemore)
Cheryl M. Beverage)

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On motion of Mr. Vance, seconded by Dr. Sizemore, the Board unanimously approved a call for an Executive Session to discuss consideration of Board-Superintendent relations, to include goals and objectives for the Superintendent as required by West Virginia Code 18-4-6. The Board went into Executive Session at 7:00 PM and, at the conclusion of the Executive Session, on motion of Mr. Vance, seconded by Ms. McNeel, the Board unanimously agreed to return to the agenda at 7:58 PM

CONSIDERATION OF BOARD-SUPERINTENDENT RELATIONS…

On motion of Mr. Vance, seconded by Dr. Sizemore, the Board unanimously approved consideration of Board-Superintendent relations, to include goals and objectives for the Superintendent as required by West Virginia Code18-4-6.

AGENDA

On motion of Ms. Beverage, seconded by Ms. McNeel, the Boardunanimously approved the Agenda.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Superintendent Lesterinformed the Board that Pocahontas County High School held their open house for staff and parents. From the reports he received it was a huge success. Mr. Lester also noted that Mr. LaBounty, principal of Pocahontas County High School, did a radio interview recently and it is his understanding there will be more in the future. Mr. Lester stated that he has heard nothing but good things about Mr. LaBounty so far.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Superintendent Lester gave the following report:

  1. He plans to meet with AVG Architecture Group to discuss the need for air conditioning in the schools and submitting the project plan to the School Building Authority at their meeting in the near future.
  2. Mr. Beam will present the Board with a list of proposed early dismissal dates once they are finalized.
  3. The county’s financial statement is due in Charleston by September 30, 2013; Sherry will have the financial statement at the September 9 Board Meeting or the September 23 Board Meeting.
  4. He stated that heand Mr. McKenney examined the annex building at Pocahontas County High School as a possible alternative to the existing central office building. He said, in his opinion, the annex building has plenty of space and would make a very nice central office.
  5. Mr. Lester provided the Board with an accountability system form from Ms. Bland, and said that Ms. Bland would provide further information in the near future.
  6. Mr. Lester reminded the Board that Mr. Vance enquired about AP classes at Pocahontas County High School and why students were not taking the final classes. Mr. Lester stated that he looked into this concern and the reasons appear to be 1) the high cost of the exam and 2) the students are only taking the class because the weighted grade increased their GPA. Mr. Lester said that he was looking into the possibility of the county paying a portion of the cost for the exams.

PERSONNEL

On recommendation of the superintendent and motion of Dr. Sizemore, seconded by Ms. Beverage, the Board unanimously approved the following professional and service personnel:

Hillsboro Elementary School:
REQUESTED TRANSFER: / CALEB J. BARKLEY, from custodian III at Pocahontas County High School (shift 2:00 PM – 10:00 PM, Monday - Friday) to custodian III (half-time) at Hillsboro Elementary School (shift 2:30 PM – 6:00 PM, Monday – Friday), effective September 6, 2013, for the remainder of the 2013-2014 fiscal year, term of employment: 193 one-half days. (note: Term of employment shall be 220 one-half days each year thereafter)
RESIGNATION: / KATHRYN KOLONAY, due to retirement, as itinerant teacher of special education/autism/multi-subjects at Hillsboro Elementary School, retroactive to the end of the day September 3, 2013.
Pocahontas County High School:
EMPLOYMENT: / CAROLYN A. LESTER, as at-risk interventionist at Pocahontas County High School, retroactive to August 19, 2013 until May 9, 2013, at $20 per hour, 15 hours per week, not to exceed $7,500.
EMPLOYMENT: / NICOLE ROSE-TAYLOR, as Teacher of GED Option at Pocahontas County High School, at state basic salary based on degree and experience, effective September 5, 2013 for the remainder of the 2013-2014 school year, term of employment: 184 days. (NOTE: Term of employment shall be 200 days each year thereafter.)
Pocahontas County Schools:
REQUESTED TRANSFER: / SILAS SATTLER, from school bus operator for Pocahontas County Schools as follows:
Morning Run: Beginning at Marlinton Middle School, travel Route 219, turn left on to Seebert Lane, turn bus at Jack Horner’s Corner, travel left off of Seebert Lane onto Rose Road/Puffenbarger Road, turn bus at end of road, return to Seebert Lane, turn left on to Seebert Lane, at intersection with Route 219, turn left toward Hillsboro, load students at Hillsboro Elementary School, then travel Route 219 to Marlinton Middle School, unload/load students, then travel Route 219, turn right on to Route 39, turn left on to Route 28, unload passengers at Pocahontas County High School. School bus operator then rides shuttle bus back to Marlinton Middle School. Afternoon Run: Reverse of morning run.
To school bus operator for Pocahontas County Schools as follows:
Morning Run: Beginning at Pocahontas County High School, turn right on to Route 28 towards Dunmore, turn left on to Route 92, turn left on to Route 66 at Cass intersection to Big Springs of Elk, turn right on to Route 219 to Dry Branch Road, turn left on to Dry Branch Road, turn the bus at the Mary Jane Moses residence, travel out of Dry Branch Road, turn right on to Route 219 to Big Springs of Elk, turn left on to Route 66, turn bus at the Ralph Beckwith residence return to Route 66, turn left on to Route 219, travel to Marlinton Elementary School, then on to Pocahontas County High School.
Afternoon Run: Reverse of morning run.
Effective September 6, 2013 for the remainder of the 2013-2014 school year.
EMPLOYMENT: / Of the following as mentor teachers, effective for the 2013-2014 school year.
Thomas W. Sanders – mentoring Dr. Donald Bechtel - $1,000
Courtney Curran – mentoring William Brown - $1,000

MATTERS FROM THE BOARD

Mr. Grimes provided Mr. Lester with a copy of the publication from State Treasurer John Perdue indicating Pocahontas County Board of Education had unclaimed property being held by the State Treasurer’s Office.

Mr. Lester assured Mr. Grimes that he would look into it as soon as possible.

Mr. Vance asked if the school buses transporting students after athletic games made any stops other than Pocahontas County High School. He noted students living in the southern part of the county would be required to ride the bus to the high school then drive back or their parents would be required to pick them up.

Mr. Lester stated that if the school bus, for instance, was traveling from the Richwood area on Route 39 and parents were waiting for their children at Mill Point, the bus driver would release the students to parents at that location – or other common places along the route.

Ms. McNeel provided the Board with information from Greenbrier County on the school levy. She indicated that it had very good information and suggested Pocahontas County develop something similar. She noted that several people she spoke to, who were against the levy, are not in support of the levy.

Dr. Sizemore stated that, while talking with a colleague at NRAO, the possibility of the county adopting ‘snow routes’ in which the school bus drivers are not required to traverse the secondary roads in inclement weather situations, they would simply travel the main roads to pick up students and those students who could not reach the main road would not be required to attend school. She said this seemed like a solution to avoid making up snow days.

Mr. Grimes reminded Dr. Sizemore that a certain percentage of students must be in school for the day to count as an instructional day.

NEXT BOARD MEETING

The next Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, September 9, 2013, at 7:00 PM in the Board of Education conference room.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On motion of Ms. Beverage, seconded by Dr. Sizemore, the Board unanimously approved a call for an Executive Session to discuss a personnel matter. The Board went into Executive Session at 8:33 PM, and at the conclusion of the Executive Session, on motion of Ms. Beverage, seconded by Ms. McNeel, the Board agreed to return to the agenda at 9:05 PM.

ADJOURN

On motion of Mr. Vance, seconded by Ms. Beverage, the Board agreed to adjourn.

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PresidentSecretary