WAKE CO BOARD MEETING MINUTES “The Recommendation To
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WAKE CO BOARD MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Board Members Present Staff Members Present Patti Head, Chair Superintendent Bill McNeal David Holdzkom Carol Parker, Vice Chair Del Burns Jo Baker Lori Millberg Mark Winters Danny Barnes Beverley Clark Mike Burriss Chuck Dulaney Rosa Gill Donna Hargens Maurice Boswell Eleanor Goettee Michael Evans Don Haydon Horace Tart Jonibel Willis Bev White Susan Parry Kathy Chontos Ron Margiotta Linda Isley Toni Patterson Janice Shearin Board Attorney Present Lloyd Gardner Ann Majestic Patti Head called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. Everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance. INFORMATION Chair’s Comments Patti Head, along with many of the other Board members, attended Pieces of Gold on March 8. Nine hundred students from 29 schools participated, and Superintendent McNeal was honored at this event. He received a beautiful “Wizard of Oz” rocking chair that had been hand painted by the students. Ms. Head gave kudos to all the teachers who brought out the incredible performances of these students. She also personally thanked Elizabeth Grimes-Droessler and Bill Brown for orchestrating this wonderful event. It was a special evening and truly a “gift of gold” for all who attended. Ms. Head attended the NSBA site visit opening reception last week. Ms. Head brought greetings from the Board at the Design Studio that took place last week, and she thoroughly enjoyed spending time with this group. On March 14, there was a meeting of the Blue Ribbon Committee. Ms. Head reported that the committee discussed water issues and open space. On March 15, there was a joint meeting of the Board of Education and County Commissioners. Ms. Head gave an audit update report to the County Commissioners of the successful audit with Summerford Accountancy. She shared the details of the very thorough assessment of all departments as well as some of the recommendations Summerford made to WCPSS and the Board of Education. Ms. Head shared a direct quote made by Tony Gurley, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, at the joint meeting: “The recommendation to need more auditors is good because if a person has an expectation that they are going to get caught, they are less likely to commit fraud in the first place. You’ve got to build that expectation among employees and I hope we have that in the county as well. 2 We resisted calls for the Board of Commissioners to get involved in this and I will tell you now, that after looking at this audit, you have done everything that we would have done if we had become involved, and I respect you having taken this step and applaud you, and I think this is a big step in helping to build public confidence so that we can go to the public with a bond this year. There was an incident. You took every precaution to find it and now taking precautions to prevent it from happening in the future, answered questions (whatever those were), and have done everything we would have done.” Ms. Head felt that this was a very positive statement from the County Commissioners, and she applauded the Board and staff. Patti Head shared that she was not able to be present at the Student Reassignment Public Hearing on March 20 due to the birth of her granddaughter and thanked Carol Parker for presiding in her stead. Other Board members shared the following comments: Beverley Clark shared that she and other Board members attended the Teacher Forum hosted by the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Council on March 16. Ms. Clark reported that the forum was very productive in that teachers were able to voice their concerns but at the same time offer solutions as well. On March 9, Beverley Clark attended a breakfast at Hunter Elementary with Mr. and Mrs. Ransome, who were featured in the News and Observer today. Mr. Ransome is an illustrator and Mrs. Ransome is an author of several children’s books. Carol Parker shared her excitement in seeing the coverage of Forest Pines Elementary School in Sunday’s News and Observer. Carol Parker attended the North Carolina School Boards Association meetings on March 17. The first meeting was on development for Board members, and the second was on conference planning. She provided Board members with a handout of a new service for online training. This allows Board members to take courses online and is very reasonably priced. Ms. Parker encouraged Board members to take advantage of this opportunity. Carol Parker shared that the North Carolina School Boards Association Annual Conference will be held in Greensboro on November 13, 14, and half day on November 15. Ms. Parker brought up the issue of adding the Teacher Working Conditions Survey to the annual conference agenda. Susan Parry attended the International Festival at Broughton High School last week. It was a wonderful event with lots of informative displays. Susan Parry attended the first of a series of video conferences at Enloe High School as part of an international partnership being developed with Turkey, and Ms. Parry shared her excitement with this fascinating project. Eleanor Goettee participated in the IB site visit at Farmington Woods this past week. She applauded the efforts of the principal and staff. Horace Tart was invited by the assistant principal at Broughton High School to do an interview on teacher retention as part of her doctoral program, and Mr. Tart thoroughly enjoyed his visit. Patti Head continued her report on the joint meeting with the County Commissioners. The Board shared with the County Commissioners its tentative plans on renovations and auxiliary facilities needs. Both boards agreed to go forward with an independent advisory committee to assist the boards in deciding about some of these issues and looking at individual construction items as schools are built. Ms. Head requested that Board members submit to her or Tony Gurley the names of individuals interested in participating in this independent advisory capacity. The Board supported the County Commissioners hiring a consulting firm, paid for by the County Commissioners, who will also be a source of information for the school board, the County Commissioners, and the independent advisory committee. Ms. Head clarified that both boards will be making decisions regarding the independent advisory committee. 3 Superintendent’s Report Magnet Schools of America will recognize 11 Wake Schools at its national conference in Omaha, Nebraska, in April. The schools are: - 9 Schools of Excellence: Combs, Brooks, Broughton, Bugg, East Millbrook, Farmington Woods, Ligon, Powell, and Washington - 2 Schools of Distinction: Centennial Middle and Lincoln Heights Four of the top seven schools taking part in the AMC-8 math tests this year were Wake schools: Ligon was tops for the 3rd year in a row. Martin and Lufkin Road tied for 2nd place. Carnage finished 7th. Daniels and Davis Drive Middle tied for 16th place. Marshall Lochbaum, a Martin Middle 7th grader is the only NC student in the past two years to achieve a perfect score on the exam. 9,324 NC students from 94 NC schools (65 public, 29 private) submitted results on the AMC-8 tests. Carnage Middle JV Team took first place and the varsity team placed 2nd at the Science Olympiad Regional Competition held in February at Wake Tech. The varsity team earned an invitation to the state championships to be held in April. Eleven Wake teams competing in the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Competition have advanced to the state finals to be held on April 1st at Appalachian. The teams are from Apex Middle, Davis Drive Elementary, Hunter Elementary, Lead Mine Elementary, Morrisville Elementary, North Ridge Elementary, Partnership Primary, Salem Elementary, Salem Middle, Southeast Raleigh High, and Wakefield High. Wake has 11 middle schoolers who have qualified to participate in the NC State Geography Bee: William Laney – Davis Drive Middle Beth Tabor – Reedy Creek Middle Michael Mondou – Wakefield Middle Peter Alfredson – Martin Middle Mat Meyer – Holly Ridge Middle Matt Koch – Salem Middle Daniel Braden – Apex Middle Sam Carter – Durant Road Middle Stephen Zevgolis – Centennial Middle Nathan Holtzman – Ligon Middle Thomas Wu – Carnage Middle Wake County hosted one of the three annual site visits sponsored by the National School Boards Association from March 12-14. Approximately 50 participants from around the country joined us for the visit. The participating schools were: Combs Elementary, Turner Creek Elementary, Timber Drive Elementary, Jeffreys Grove Elementary, Carroll Middle, Salem Middle, Centennial Middle, Southeast Raleigh High, Sanderson High, and Garner Magnet High. Participants also saw partnerships between WCPSS and local universities and corporations (Friday Institute and SAS). The site visit was a tremendous success and participants were impressed not only with WCPSS’ use of technology but with the quality of the people in the Wake County Public School System. Wake County Public School System hosted its third Design Studio last week. It was a three-day event that brings high school teams from around the nation to visit school districts that are making significant progress in the high school redesign process. Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School and Wake Forest-Rolesville High School were the featured schools, presenting their design and implementation of freshmen transition, school-wide advisory programs, and small learning communities. School teams from California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Kentucky, and South Carolina attended the Design Studio, with a total of 43 participants visiting Wake County. Superintendent McNeal had the opportunity to speak with them, and he shared that they were impressed with our schools, students, and staff. Mr. McNeal was asked, “What is your secret?” Mr. McNeal responded, “Our secret happens to be our people.” Superintendent McNeal shared his pride in the numerous outstanding athletic achievements of schools in Wake County.