06 20 11 BOE Regular Meeting Minutes
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WESTFALL LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION REGULAR MEETING JUNE 20, 2011 The Westfall Local School District Board of Education met in regular session on June 20, 2011 at 6:30 p. m. in the elementary school cafetorium. Members present answered by saying “Aye.” Mr. Larry Carfrey Aye Ms. Peg Reiterman Aye Mr. Darrell Caudill Aye Mr. Mark Ruff Aye Ms. Kristen Earich Aye PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Board President PRESENTATIONS 1. Retirees: Teachers - Ms. Debra Gaskill, Miss Jo Hawkes, Ms. Karen Jarvis, Ms. Cindy McCoy, Ms. Cynthia Metzger, Mr. Gerald Mudd, Mr. Randy Pontius and Ms. Lisa Rugh Mr. Jim Brady, Superintendent – Thank you to Ms. Rugh, Ms. Jarvis and Mr. Mudd for coming tonight. Mr. Pontius is sorry he cannot be here, but he is out of the state; Ms. Jarvis has 33 years with the district, Mr. Mudd has 31 and Ms. Rugh has 30 years here; The bios that each of you have returned will be on the web; Mr. Mudd is a graduate of Paint Valley High School and graduated from Ohio University and the University of Rio Grande; Ms. Jarvis began teaching at Teays Valley High School, then was a teacher in Florida before coming to Westfall in 1978; Ms. Rugh is a graduate of the Ohio State University and began her teaching career here at Westfall. Ms. Jarvis - It has been a great pleasure to work here and I have made many great friends; I am looking forward to an enjoyable retirement. Ms. Rugh– I have worked here for 30 years and made lots of friends and met many great people; Thank you to everyone. Mr. Mudd - I started in April and when Mr. Massie tried to get me to say I would continue at Westfall, I told him I wouldn’t be staying; He said we’ll just have to convince you to stay and they did; Mr. Caudill was on the board when I started. Ms. Reiterman – I did not have the privilege of having any of you as my teacher, so you are really young; Some of the most important things you have experienced are the friendships, but look at how many students lives you have touched; We really appreciate your service. 633 2. Ms. Cara Riddel – New Superintendent, Westfall Local Schools – Ms. Peg Reiterman, Board President Ms. Reiterman – I would like to introduce our new superintendent, Ms. Cara Riddel. Ms. Riddel– Thank you; I have been spending the last three weeks in the district driving the roads and becoming familiar with the area; My husband and I are in the process of making an offer on a house in the district; I am excited to be here and would like to meet any of you who would like to come in; Give Ms. Davey a call to schedule an appointment; I have asked the Board to give me three to five names of people they would like to have meet with me; I am looking forward to getting to know all of you. Ms. Reiterman– You will be our 8th superintendent; We are pleased to have you and we are glad we can have Mr. Brady here to help with the transition; I would like to recognize our county superintendent, Mr. Ty Ankrom; He, Mr. Grooms and Mr. Brady served our district by searching through the information of 35 applicants; We would like to recognize all of them for the time taken to interview and select the candidates you presented to us; Thank you all very much. 3. Mr. Ty Ankrom, Pickaway County Superintendent of Schools: Thank you to Mr. Brady and to Mr. Jake Grooms for all of their help in the superintendent’s search. PUBLIC COMMENTS 1. Ms. Dena Redman – I was here this time last year and asked to have the board meeting on a different night that wouldn’t be during the fair; Some of us are missing things at the fair in order to be here; So, in January when you set the calendar for meetings I would like to suggest changing the meeting night in June to some other date not during the county fair; The fair always begins the weekend of Father’s Day and runs through the next week. Ms. Earich – This was brought up at the January meeting this year and I cannot remember the discussion; But, it was discussed. 2. Mr. Barry Barnes – Are we going to discuss random drug testing for athletes? Mr. Brady – This is the first time I have heard this suggestion; This issue can be a “Catch 22,” in regards to who is tested; Is testing done on band members and other extra-curricular activity participants; Do we have to have parental consent; One thing we tried to do this year was to have a search of the buildings using the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Department and drug dogs; Deputy Thomas asked when would be the best time to come; I requested it not be done during state testing; It was scheduled on a Friday in all of the county schools on a day that we were out on in-service; The Sheriff’s department did find that students were calling and texting friends in other districts to let them know that the dogs were 634 coming; The next time the Sheriff’s Department does a search they will most likely do each school on different days; It would be a board decision to begin this kind of testing; May be a good deterrent; False positives would be a concern. Mr. Barnes – The football team had a meeting, why not meet with the other students? Mr. Brady – Coach Keller had Deputy Thomas come to just give information to the team about things you can and cannot do; I talked to Mr. Koker and the meeting was held to have Deputy Thomas give them advise on making good decisions; According to Coach Keller, Deputy Thomas did state he would recommend the district to have testing. Mr. Barnes – I know it is different for each school; I think it would be something the board should look at implementing. 3. Ms. Emily Nelson – I have questions about the two line items that were for the WEF and for the Brandon Leist Scholarship; Has this been checked out; The WEF would like to see if that money can be moved to the WEF for scholarships? Mr. Hiles – We have about $1,600 between the two funds and they have asked that we consider that amount to be transferred to the WEF. 4. Ms. Emily Nelson – On behalf of the WEF I would like to announce that there will be a “meet and great” to welcome the new superintendent and treasurer to the district sometime in August; Information will follow. CORRESPONDENCE DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. Wellness Policy – Ms. Becky Shaw, Food Service Coordinator Ms. Becky Shaw – The Wellness Policy is a result of Senate Bill 210 to promote healthy children; We must go by the guidelines. Ms. Earich – I have a child that eats a lot, a football player, is he going to get enough food in one of the meals at lunch? Ms. Shaw– Students can always purchase extras; As long as we have a meal that is healthy, an extra can be purchased; We have to watch calories in the lunch served as well as in the different drinks that can be purchased; We are checking into other healthy choices for drinks. Ms. Earich– Is breakfast served for the high school? Ms. Shaw - Yes; The number of students eating breakfast is picking up at the high school and middle school; A favorite breakfast is sausage and muffins. Mr. Ruff – Is Berger Hospital working with the schools? Ms. Shaw– They have a nutritionist that works with us; We can also call the State for help, but Berger is local and will help us purchase food at a lower cost; I would like Ms. Riddel to go with me to a meeting in July regarding the wellness policy; We are looking at our lunch prices at this time. Ms. Earich – I know that Logan Elm is raising lunch prices. 635 Mr. Hiles – They may need to raise prices. Ms. Shaw– Teays Valley raised the price to $2.60. Ms. Earich – The way I read the guidelines, we are required to raise prices. Ms. Shaw – After Mr. Hiles and I checked we found it was not mandated. Mr. Carfrey – I thought it was mandated. Mr. Hiles – It is not; We have no other need to raise prices at this time. Mr. Carfrey – I would like breakfast to be free for all students. Ms. Shaw – As long as we would have the finances to do so that would be okay. Mr. Carfrey – I thought the data proved the children do better if they have breakfast; I think we should do this as a service. Ms. Shaw – We have been asked if we can sell candy during school hours; No, after school is okay, but not during school hours. Ms. Earich – Are the Coke machines on during the school day? Ms. Shaw – No, they are turned off during school day; The machines in the teacher’s lounge are on, but no student access. Mr. Carfrey – Are students allowed extra salt and ketchup? Ms. Shaw – We are following the Federal guidelines and we have to be very strict on this and how much is allowed. Ms. Reiterman -Thank you, Ms. Shaw. 2. Retire/Rehire – Mr. Gerald Mudd, High School Math – Mr. Tom Lehman, High School Principal Mr. Hiles – The retire/rehire process is a 3 step process; There is public notice of intent to rehire; Then the board must have a public hearing (during the regular meeting); with the last step being a resolution to rehire the retiree; The announcement of intent to rehire must be sixty (60) days before hire with thirty (30) days between the public hearing and the resolution to hire; We will get the information out on the web and in the Herald; We are announcing the intent to rehire tonight; Do we have an official hire request? Mr.