Minutes
MARLBOROCOUNTYSCHOOL DISTRICT
MarlboroCountyHighSchoolMediaCenter
Monday September 8, 2014 6:00 P.M.
Present:Ms. Lucy Parsons, Chair
Ms. Nan Fleming, Secretary
Ms. Deborah Peterkin, Vice Chair
Mr. Robert Goff
Mrs. Barbara Ohanesian
Mr. Jackie Branch
Mrs. Valerie McClain
Mrs. Janice Bright
AbsentMr. Jackie Branch
Mr. Michael Coachman
Recognitions
SCPASS 2013-14 Perfect Scorers recognized were Eunie Huang, BIS, Darian Ja’von Oneil, SOD, Andrea Nicole Sprattling, SOD and Brian Cade Williams, MEMS.
District & School Teachers of the Year were recognized – Rona Cue of BEMS, District Teacher of the Year and Teachers of the Year were. Amanda Bullard, BIS, Brooks Liner, BPS, Katrina Bridges, Clio, Dr. Subbaiah Chowdary Valluru, MCHS, Lucille Schauer, McColl, Bonnie Stillwell, SOD and Diane West WEMS.
Sheriff Fred Knight and Chief Deputy Charles Lemon were recognized for their contributions in donation and maintaining trees at MCHS’ McAlpine Stadium.
Mr. Levin Lynch was recognized for allowing his property to be used for over flow parking at the football games. Mr. Lynch was not present, Coach Dean Boyd accepted the award on his behalf.
A.Call to Order: The Chairman called the meeting to order at approximately 6:00 p.m.
B. Invocation: The invocation was given by Ms. Parsons
C.Approval of Agenda: Upon a motion by Ms. Fleming, seconded by Mr. Goff the Board unanimously approved the agenda as amended. Items changed were all under individual items from board members, Dental Care was moved to the November meeting, School Law Conference Update was moved to the October meeting and PropertyAcquisitionMcCollSchool was moved to October and Dress Code would be discussed tonight under Administrative Services.
D.Notification of News Media: In accordance with the S.C. Code of laws, Section 30-40- 80(d), as amended, the following were notified of the time, date, place and agenda for the meeting: Marlboro Herald-Advocate, WBSC, The Cheraw Chronicle, WCRE, WJSG-FM, Northland Cable, The Laurinburg Exchange, The Morning News, The Community Times, WEGX-FM, WLMC, WEWO/WAZZ and Chesterfield County Shopper.
E. New Business
Open Session:
Approval of Minutes for August 4, 2014: Upon a motion by Ms. Fleming, seconded by Mr. Goff the Board unanimously approved the minutes of August 4, 2014 regular monthly meeting and July 14, 2014 special called meeting as written.
Individuals or Groups who wish to Appear before the Board:
Mr. Tim McNeil a parent shared his concerns that the Blenheim School Hub was done away with and each child is picked up from their homes. He said with the change his son spends 1-1/2 hours on the bus each morning and another 1-1/2 hours in the afternoon. He asked the board to develop a policy that would require connector buses whenever there is forced busing.
Mr. Franklin Harley, representing Clio concerned parents and community members presented each board member with four major areas of concern. The four areas are safety, security, instructional needs and building improvement. He listed under each topic the areas and specific ways they should be addressed.
Mrs. Harriett Hunt, a former employee expressed her opinion as it related to circumstances regarding her reassignment at a school.
Individual Items from the Members of the School Board:
Complete review of the transportation program: Ms. Parsons brought up the issue of transportation and bus schedules. After a lengthy discussion Mrs. Ohanesian made a motion, 2nd by Mr. Goff to have a Public Forum to discuss schools start time, end times and transportation in general on Monday, September 22, 2014 at 6:00 pm at the high school.The vote passed (4-3), those voting in favor were Ms. Parsons, Mr. Goff, Mrs.Ohanesian and Ms. Peterkin; Ms. Fleming and Mrs. McClain opposed and Mrs. Bright abstained. Mr. Coachman and Mr. Branch were absent.
Administrative Services
Update on School Projects: Dr. Rippin McLeod, Deputy Superintendent presented a PowerPoint showing updates on school projects which included the well-manicured grounds at the high school and a ditch that had been cleaned at Marlboro County High School, exploring the idea of tiling some of the ditch. The band room at the high school has been painted and looking at replacing the carpet in the band room; also the InfinitySchool has had four class rooms painted. A road has been put in at the WallaceSchool for use of pick up and drop off of students. Trees and trunks are being removed to get ready to start the new school foundation; pictures of buses with a new paint job were shown.
Dress Code: Dr. Secaida Howell provided various student dress code policies from around the state; as well as Marlboro County’s School Districts Dress Code Policy. The board asked that he bring back an updated policy for review.
Finance Financial report as of August 26, 2014:Wes Park, Chief Financial Officer presented the financial statement as of August 26, 2014. The District’s cash and investmentbalances onhand for the four primary operating accounts were $3,795,487. As of August 26, 2014 the District had expended $2,612,207of a $30,542,335 budget or 8,55% of budget.
Adopt Agreement and Resolution for 403b plan with ADMIN Partners,LLC:
Upon a motion by Mrs. Ohanesian, 2nd by Mr. Goff the board unanimously approved to authorize the board chair to sign the board resolution which includes amendment numbers 1and 2and authorizesWes Park to act on the board’s behalf to maintain and operate the plan in a compliant manner; as long as it permits exchanges and incorporates beneficiary designation in the event a participant is deceased, as long as it continues to be of no cost to the district.
Authorization to acquire new AT&T District Telephone System: Upon a motion by Ms. Peterkin, seconded by Mrs. Bright the Board unanimously approved the district to purchase AT&T phone system as proposed for a cost not to exceed $100,000 from district general obligation bond proceeds.
Wallace School Construction Project Financial Update:Mr. Wes Park, Chief Financial Officer gave a financial update on the Wallace School Construction Project reporting since the last update August 4,2014 when project costs were anticipated to be $21,810,032, , estimated costs have increased by $246,000. District cost for architectural and engineering have increased by $271,000 based on original estimate as provided by Tim Brown. The original estimate was based on project cost as bid without design cost for the alternates that have not been included in the project for construction. The budget for third party inspections have been reduced by $25,000 based on the proposals for the project. Mr. Brown was available to discuss the changes with both estimates.
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment: Summer Robotics Camp : Karina Liles a Marlboro County High School graduate, currently a PhD student at the University of South Carolina gave a presentation about a four day Summer Robotics Camp she led which served 75 Marlboro County students and trained six teachers and student interns. The camp’s goal was to get teachers comfortable with, and expose students to, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).
School and District 2013-14 Testing Results: Ms. Teresa Battle, Executive Director, Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment presented a PowerPoint on test results for school year 2013-2014.
Clio and Blenheim Challenge to Achieve Ms Teresa Battle shared Clio and Blenheim Elementary Middle Schools’ Challenge to Achieve plans developed in conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Education Priority Team assigned to MarlboroCountySchool District
Human Resources AdvancEd Accreditation Progress Report:Dr. Henry Cobb, Executive Director of Public Relations and Human Resources gave an update on the status of the AdvancEd Accreditation Progress Report, stating the Marlboro County School District provided responses to each of the Quality Assurance Review (QAR) team required actions in the Accreditation Progress Report(APR) on May 1, 2014. The APR was read by an AdvancED reader in the regional office who reviewed the district’s response to determine if the required action had been met. The reader provided his/her assessment of the progress and offered comments to the district.
Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Tillar reported that this year’s school opening was smooth and staff and students were eager to get this New Year started.
During the 2014 school year emphasis will be placed on working to help all students achieve sustained maximum performance in Academics, Athletics, the Arts and Extra Curricular Activities.
On August 15, 2014 the a Annual District Convocation was held, followed by lunch and concluded with an Instructional Fair held all Marlboro County High School
McColl students returned to school on July 10th and all other schools in the district returned on August 18th.
Marlboro County High School held its third summer Commencement Ceremony on August 13th. This ceremony was held to honor eight seniors who completed their requirements for graduation during the summer.
To date the district’s current enrollment is 4,286. This count is slightly lower than last years, which was 4,315 a difference of 29 students.
On August 2, the district’s Third Annual Parents’ Day/Back-To-School bash was held, it was a huge success.
Schools will be incorporating several activities to commemorate September 11th.
September 22-26 the district will be observing Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. The purpose of this week long observance is to raise awareness of the critical role adult education and family literacy play in our countries economy, and the nation’s wellbeing.
Thanked the Bennettsville Bojangles Restaurant and Wal-Mart for their continuous support and generous donation of gift cards for our teachers and schools.
On August 29, the district’s new activity buses arrived.
The system for notifying parents when buses are delayed is up and running. Bus bulletin notification system is to notify parents, students and school administrators when buses are delayed or have encountered schedule changes. Marlboro County is the second school district in South Carolina to use this new system that aids with communication of vital transportation related information.
F.Executive Session
Upon a motion by Ms. Fleming, seconded by Mr. Goff the Board unanimouslyentered into executive session to discuss personnel, student & contractual matters.
Open Session
Upon a motion by Mrs. Ohanesian, seconded by Ms. Peterkin the Board reconvened in open session.
Upon a motion by Ms. Fleming, 2nd by Mrs. Ohanesian the board unanimously approved seven elections and one resignation.
Elections
- Jasmine Covington, Dance, SOD
- Anita Gardner, Grade 3, MEMS
- Allison Holland, Reading Coach, MEMS
- Janet Long, Grade 4, BIS
- Jennifer Grainger, PreK, BPS
- Wayne McRae, Exceptional Children Self Contained, MCHS
- Sunitha Valluru, Math, MCHS
Resignations
- Tonette H. Jones, Media Specialist, BPS
Approval of 29 Petitions
Upon a motion by Mrs. Ohanesian , 2nd by Ms. Peterkin, the board unanimously approved 29 petitions for high school diplomas that fall under Act 155, the new law associated with the elimination of the high school exit exam. The petitions will now go to the State Department of Education.
Wallace School
Wallace Principal Janice Henson delivered to the board members that the school experienced growth in student population this year and is short one classroom, and at least two classrooms should be added to accommodate current needs and future growth. After board discussion, the board asked Mr.Tim Brown to gather more information and report back on the costs associated with adding two classrooms, adding four classrooms and adding skylights that had also been deleted from the original design.
2014-2015 Revised Board Meeting Schedule:
Upon a motion by Mrs. Ohanesian, seconded by Ms. Peterkin the board unanimously approved the revised board meeting schedule to include some of the board meetings to be held at the different school locations. The board unanimously approved.
No Action Taken on Executive Session Items
Adjournment: Upon a motion by Ms. Ohanesian the Board unanimously adjourned the meeting at approximately 10:45 p.m.
APPROVED:______
Nan Fleming, Secretary
______
Lucy Parsons, Chairman
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