School Board of Henry County Minutes
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SCHOOL BOARD OF HENRY COUNTY MINUTES Regular Monthly Meeting June 3, 2004 The School Board of Henry County convened for the regular monthly meeting in the Main Board Room of the County Administration Building in Collinsville, Virginia. The following Board members were present: Mr. J. Kelly Cecil Mrs. Terri C. Flanagan, Vice Chair Mr. James L. Franklin, Jr. Mr. Milton H. Kendall Ms. Mary S. Martin Mr. Curtis R. Millner, Sr., Chairman Mrs. Kathryn S. Wickline Dr. Sharon D. Dodson, Superintendent Mr. George A. Lyle, School Board Attorney Mrs. Melinda D. Overby, Deputy Clerk CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. No Board member was absent. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Cecil made a motion to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Ms. Martin and carried unanimously. CLOSED SESSION Mr. Cecil made a motion to go into Closed Session to discuss appointments and separations of personnel under § 2.2-3711(A)(1) of the Code of Virginia and legal matters under § 2.2- 3711(A)(7) of the Code of Virginia. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Wickline and carried unanimously. RETURN TO REGULAR SESSION Mr. Kendall made a motion to return to Regular Session at 7:20 p.m. The motion was seconded by Ms. Martin and carried unanimously. CERTIFICATION OF CLOSED SESSION Dr. Sharon D. Dodson, Clerk, read the Certification of Closed Session and certified by roll call vote that to the best of each member’s knowledge, (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed, and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered by the Board. The Board roll call: Mr. Cecil – Yes Mrs. Flanagan – Yes School Board of Henry County Minutes–June 3, 2004 Page 1 Mr. Franklin – Yes Mr. Kendall – Yes Ms. Martin – Yes Mr. Millner – Yes Mrs. Wickline – Yes INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mr. Cecil offered the invocation and Mrs. Flanagan led in the Pledge of Allegiance. PUBLIC HEARING – DISPOSAL OF REAL PROPERTY A public hearing to receive comment on the proposal to declare Bassett Middle School, Fieldale Elementary and Spencer-Penn Elementary School surplus property pursuant to Virginia Code § 22.1-129 began. Three speakers addressed the Board. 1. Ed Drady identified himself as a real estate investor and expressed interested in acquiring one of the school properties. 2. J. E. Pigg, representing the Spencer-Penn Ruritan Club, stated the Ruritan Club has already submitted a letter of interest in the Spencer-Penn School property. 3. Tammy Rakes from Day Star Ministries submitted a proposal for the acquisition of Bassett Middle School. The Chairman thanked the speakers and declared the public hearing closed at 7:26 p.m. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR Welcome of Visitors The Chairman welcomed visitors. Instructional Highlight The Board recognized Campbell Court Elementary School student Josh Duncan for winning third place in the Virginia School Boards Association Regional Art Contest. Josh was accompanied by his mother and Ms. Susie Lucas, his art teacher. The Chairman congratulated Josh and presented him with his framed art work and a certificate of recognition. Speakers from the Floor The Chairman opened the floor for speakers. He asked that a three minute time limit be followed and that speakers refrain from public abuse of School Board members and personnel. Melissa Young spoke on behalf of Henry County bus drivers and submitted a petition asking for equal benefits across the board for all bus drivers. A copy of Ms. Young’s comments is included with the minutes. Carol Stone spoke regarding the Bassett Middle School property. She asked the Board to consider a legal easement for property owners to continue to use the school driveway at the back of the school to access their property. Paula Burnette from the Board of Supervisors spoke about the PSA water project that includes Magna Vista High School and the surrounding community. She asked for the Board’s favorable consideration of the project. School Board of Henry County Minutes–June 3, 2004 Page 2 The Chairman thanked the speakers for their input. To the bus drivers present, he stated it would have been timelier for them to have addressed the Board before the budget was approved. He asked the administration to look into the matter presented on behalf of the drivers and prepare a recommendation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of meetings held on May 6 and13, 2004, were distributed to Board members for review prior to the meeting. Mrs. Wickline made a motion that the minutes be approved. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Flanagan and carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF PERSONNEL REPORT Mr. Cecil made a motion that the personnel report with addendum be approved. The motion was seconded by Mr. Franklin and carried unanimously. Dr. Dodson noted that with the approval of the report, Mrs. Deborah Nemec was appointed as principal at Mt. Olivet Primary and Ms. Ann Wade appointed assistant principal at Fieldale- Collinsville Middle School. Ms. Wade was present and recognized by the Chair. PAYMENT OF BILLS The Board received preliminary accounts payable warrant reports dated May 11, 18, and 28, 2004. Mr. Cecil made a motion that the bills be paid as recommended and that warrants be issued as listed on the attached pages which become a part of the minutes of the meeting for a total of $5,643,227.01. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Flanagan and carried unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Approval of Professional Leaves and Absences Regulations – Licensed Staff Sick Leave Bank Ms. Martin made a motion to approve professional leaves and absences regulations – licensed staff sick leave bank. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kendall. A lengthy discussion ensued. Mr. Franklin stated he would rather see the Board put money toward teacher salaries to help retain teachers and make the salary scale more competitive with surrounding divisions. He stated opposition to committing funding to a sick leave bank. Ms. Martin stated some surrounding school divisions offer a sick leave bank to teachers and she personally feels the Board should offer Henry County teachers this benefit. She said she does not expect the plan will be abused by teachers; if abuse occurs, the policy can be changed. She also noted that she and Mrs. Flanagan met with the committee and had an in-depth discussion on the pros and cons of the plan. Ms. Martin’s motion to approve professional leaves and absences regulations – licensed staff sick leave bank carried. Mr. Franklin opposed. School Board of Henry County Minutes–June 3, 2004 Page 3 Approval of Proposal Relative to Surplus Property Mr. Cecil made a motion to declare the following properties surplus property: Fieldale Elementary School, Spencer-Penn Elementary School, Bassett Middle School, except such portions of the middle school property as is necessary to maintain ownership and access to the school’s athletic fields. The motion was seconded by Mr. Franklin and carried unanimously. Mr. Cecil made a motion to transfer ownership of the surplus real property to the Henry County Board of Supervisors effective July 1, 2004; and prior to the transfer of the property at Bassett Middle School, the Board directs that the School Board Attorney facilitate the execution and recording of an easement for adjoining land owners so they continue to access their property across school lands. The motion was seconded by Mr. Franklin and carried unanimously. Reconsideration of Support for Public Service Authority (PSA) Project to Provide Public Water Service to Magna Vista High School Ms. Martin made a motion to commit to support the PSA water project at Magna Vista High School. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kendall. Mr. Clay Watlington reviewed additional pertinent information he obtained since the School Board approved endorsement of the Public Service Authority’s (PSA) effort to provide public water service to Magna Vista High and the surrounding area at the meeting on May 13, 2004. The complete background information is included with the minutes of the meeting. Monthly Water Rate Based on a projected occupancy of 1,350 (1,250 students and 100 employees), the monthly cost of PSA water has been estimated by the PSA at $1,500, resulting in an annual cost estimated at $18,000. Earlier estimates ranging from $24,000 to $36,000 annual cost included normal charges for PSA sewer service, which will not be required at Magna Vista High. The PSA informed Mr. Watlington that their calculation of this estimate was based on a standard issued by the Virginia Department of Health of 20 gallons of water per day per occupant. The PSA also based their calculations on the projected occupancy noted above being at the school 300 days per year. When Mr. Watlington pointed out to the PSA that greater than 99% of the occupants are there only 180-200 days per year or less, they agreed to recalculate monthly water and sewer charges for all schools based on projected occupancy levels for 2004-2005 and a more realistic number of days of occupancy per year. He stated that as he understands it, current monthly charges for all schools are based on 1991 occupancy numbers. As an example, he stated in 1991 Campbell Court had a student enrollment of 667. Today, that enrollment is 375 students. Mr. Watlington referred to a copy of a work sheet with monthly recordings of the actual volume of water used at Magna Vista from September 2001 through April 2004. He noted these recordings are taken from a water meter on the main line in the well house.