October 24, 2002
The
Board of Directors of the Little Rock School District held its regularly
scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 24, 2002, in the Boardroom
of the Administration Building, 810 West Markham Street, Little Rock,
Arkansas. President Judy Magness
presided.
MEMBERS
PRESENT:
Judy Magness
Tony
Rose
Larry Berkley
Micheal
Daugherty
Baker Kurrus
Katherine Mitchell
MEMBERS
ABSENT:
Sue Strickland
ALSO
PRESENT:
T.
Kenneth James, Superintendent of Schools
Beverly Griffin, Recorder of Minutes
I. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL
President Judy Magness called the
meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Six
members of the Board were present at roll call; Ms. Strickland was absent. Christina Swindle, teacher representative
from Geyer Springs Elementary School, and Shana Reese, student from McClellan
Magnet High School, served as ex officio representatives for the month of
October.
II. PROCEDURAL
MATTERS / WELCOMING COMMENTS
Ms. Magness welcomed the audience and
noted that several UCA students were in attendance as part of a class
project. She then introduced Tyrone
Harris, principal of M. L. King Elementary School. Mr. Harris introduced the choir, directed by music teacher Mary
Zies, and the students performed several patriotic tunes.
III. REPORTS/RECOGNITIONS/PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Dr. James announced that the
National Merit and National Achievement semifinalists had attended a reception
in their honor just prior to the Board meeting. Nineteen LRSD students were named National Merit Semifinalists:
from Central High School - - Kyla B. Achard, Adva Biton, Fredrick W.
Brantley, Kevin R. Burns, David H. Gutierrez, Catherine D. Keisler, Daniel S.
Liu, Mark Mazumder, Colin McAlister, Joseph M. McDonnell, Stephanie A. Nielson,
Nadia A. Patel, Rachel Rouby, Brennan E. Taylor, and Benjamin T. Wells; and
from Parkview Magnet High School - - Alison Boland, Benjamin Carson, Jessica
Lovelace-Chandler and Lorinda Peoples.
Two students were named National Achievement Semifinalists: Everette Callaway, J. A. Fair High School, and Lorinda Peoples, Parkview Magnet High School.
Three were named National Merit Commended students: Annie B. Bauman and Mary K. Orsini from Central High School and Dori Scallett from Parkview Magnet High School.
Dr. James announced that Adva Biton, Fredrick Brantley and Stephanie Nielson received Achievement Awards in Writing from the National Council of Teachers of English.
Diane Rynders was the District’s coordinator for this year’s Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure. She provided a brief summary of this year’s race results. The participating 630 LRSD employees raised over $10,000.
As a new tradition, retiring employees will be recognized at Board meetings instead of the one-time-per-year reception that has been held in the past. The retiring employees will receive a plaque in recognition of their service. Those who were present were: Blenda Mosley, Edna Schoemaker, Barbara Thomas, Shirley Gordon, Gretchen Spinelli, and Carolyn Parson.
The October ex-officio representatives to the Board were also recognized with a certification of appreciation, Christina Swindle, teacher at Geyer Springs Elementary School, and Shana Reese, student at McClellan High School.
Ms. Magness presented Mr. Kurrus with an engraved gavel in recognition of his year of serving as Board president. She expressed appreciation to him for his leadership and for taking the lead on keeping the Board informed on current issues, especially those relating to tax increment financing and mid-town redevelopment plans.
B.
Partners in Education – New Partnerships
Ms. Milam reminded the Board members of the
up-coming reading day on November 19 and reported that reading assignments
would be mailed the first part of November.
In addition, she presented certificates in
recognition of new business / school partnerships as noted below. Dr. Mitchell made a motion to accept the new
partnerships, Mr. Kurrus seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.
The new partnerships were:
J. A. Fair Magnet High School, represented by Cassandra Norman and Katrina Jones, in
partnership with the University of Central Arkansas, College of Health and
Applied Sciences, represented by Dean Neil Hattlesdad
J. A. Fair Magnet High School, represented by Cassandra Norman, in partnership with the Audubon
Arkansas, represented by Mary & Ken Smith
C. Remarks from Citizens
Rebecca Dickson, parent of students at Hall High School
addressed the Board regarding problems she believes exist at Hall High. She stated that Hall is a great school, with
some good teachers and counselors, but that she still is concerned about
leadership issues at the school, and she asked Board members to investigate her
concerns.
Janie Allen had signed up to speak, but ceded her
time to Gloria Springer.
Ms. Springer stated that she was the Education Chairperson for the
NAACP, and that the District would be receiving a call for action related to
Judge Wilson’s recent decision to release the District from its long-standing
desegregation case. She stated that
they have numerous concerns regarding the impact of punishment, the number of
students who are disciplined in the District, placement of students in
alternative learning environments, profiling of these students, and failure to
follow 504 plans.
Frank Martin addressed the Board regarding
the formation of the Work Attendance Review Board. He noted that a provision for this committee has been included in
the negotiated contract for twenty years, but that this is the first time that
serious work has been done to get the committee established and
operational. He stated optimism that
they will be able to correct and improve the teacher absenteeism problems
across the District.
E.
Joshua Intervenors
Joy Springer sent a message to the Board that she
would be unable to attend the meeting; she sent a letter to Ms. Magness and
asked that copies of the letter be distributed to other Board members.
F.
PTA Council
Ginny Kurrus,
current PTA Council president, thanked the Board for their service to the
District and for their continuing support and commitment to the PTA. She noted the recent successes of the
District, including the Judge’s ruling, and the on-going challenges of school
funding and NCLB legislation. She
encouraged Board members and District administrators to attend PTA meetings as
a way to keep in touch with the day-to-day events in the schools and to keep
communications open with the parents who work to support our schools
IV. REPORTS
AND COMMUNICATIONS
The Board members agreed by consensus to reorder the agenda
to allow the report from the Magnet Schools Assistance Program to be presented
earlier than scheduled in the agenda.
Debbie Price, MSAP coordinator provided a brief overview of the implementation of the
grant activities. A total of $4.6
million was granted to the LRSD to provide curriculum improvements at
Cloverdale and Mabelvale Middle Schools, and McClellan and J. A. Fair High
Schools. The funding will allow
development and implementation of curriculum and professional development to
promote systemic reform and improve student performance standards. A written summary report was printed in the
Board’s agenda.
In addition to Ms. Price’s report, a representative from each school provided a brief overview of the projects and programs being implemented on their individual campuses. William Broadnax reported for Cloverdale Middle School where the curriculum focus is on economics, multimedia technology and engineering. Larry Buck, principal at McClellan, reported their emphasis is on business and finance, multimedia and graphic design, and engineering.
Judge Evans reported for Mabelvale Middle School noting that the magnet curriculum at that school is on information and communication technology, environmental science, and medical investigations. Cassandra Norman, principal at J. A. Fair reported that their magnet theme is information science and systems engineering, environmental science, and medical studies.
Ms. Norman also noted that the environmentally specific curriculum at Fair is closely related to the partnership approved earlier in the agenda with Audubon Arkansas. J. A. Fair faculty, staff and students will be collaborating with Mabelvale Middle School in several areas in an effort to provide a wider range of opportunities for students on both campuses.
Mr. Berkley made a motion to suspend the rules to consider the reading and adoption of a resolution in opposition to proposed Amendment Three. Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion to suspend the rules, and it carried unanimously.
Mr. Rose read the resolution opposing Amendment 3, and then moved for approval of the resolution. Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. A copy of that resolution is attached to these minutes.
Board members, individually and collectively, appealed to the audience and members of the community to vote on Election Day and to keep in mind that the proponents of Amendment Three are also the individuals who lobbied against our millage increase a few years back. These people are supporters of private schools and are misrepresenting their intentions by appealing to the people who benefit most from the services provided by taxes paid on food and beverages. Board members encouraged public school supporters to become active in the campaign to defeat amendment 3.
Mr. Babbs reported on-going activities of the compliance committee and
work on the transition plan which will be presented for the Board’s review in
November. He reported that all building
principals were provided inservice on the No Child Left Behind
requirements.
No report.
Mr. Goodman was present and called attention to
the summary report printed in the agenda.
He also noted that in response to a question at last month’s meeting
about prioritizing projects, he had an attachment to his report which responded
to that question.
He reported that bids had been accepted on the
construction project at Mann, and that the preliminary numbers look very
good. Reconstruction of the Wakefield
building will also begin soon, and Mr. Goodman reported that he feels very
comfortable that we will be able to rebuild a very modern facility with the
existing bond account funds, coupled with the insurance settlement.
Mr. Becker was presented and reported that his monthly update was printed
in the Board agenda.
Ms. Neal’s report was printed in the agenda. She reported that the telephone changeover
would be complete by the end of the month and that new LRSD e-mail addresses
would be activated within a few weeks.
In addition, she reported that work would begin during the next few
months to revise the District’s technology plan to be submitted to the State.
A.
Minutes
Minutes from the regular meeting of the
Board of Directors held on September 26, and from a special meeting held on
October 10, 2002 were presented for review and approval. Dr. Mitchell made a motion to approve the
minutes as presented; Mr. Berkley seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
B.
Personnel
Changes
Routine personnel items were printed in the
agenda and were submitted for the Board’s review and approval. Dr. Mitchell made a motion to approve the
personnel items as presented; Mr. Berkley seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.
Dr. Lesley provided a slide presentation of the highlights of the 2001-02 Benchmark exam results. In addition, a handout was provided for the Board’s review. Specific data was presented, indicating the strengths and areas where significant improvements were shown. Dr. Lesley noted that our goal will continue to be to move all of the students performing in the “below basic” category into the “proficient” or “advanced” category.
Dr. Lesley presented the District’s plan for supporting the
“low-performing” schools as identified by the Arkansas Department of
Education. Ten elementary schools were
on the target list of schools identified for improvement: Bale, Baseline, Chicot, Dodd, Fair Park,
Mabelvale, Mitchell, Stephens, Wakefield and Watson. In addition, three middle schools were listed: Henderson, Mabelvale
and Southwest.
Dr. Lesley indicated that there is an appeal process and that the LRSD had
until November 15 to formulate our appeal.
A process for determining priorities has been established and the
schools with greatest need will be targeted for specific assistance to insure
that students are given an advantage to performing better on the ACTAAP tests.
Policy CHCA, Handbooks, Manuals and Directives, was presented for the Board’s review and first reading approval in September. It was presented for 2nd reading and final approval at this time. The policy will provide guidance in the development of all publications so that they are aligned with laws, Board policy, and regulations. Mr. Berkley made a motion to approve the policy on second reading. Mr. Rose seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Revisions to Policy IKF, General Graduation Requirements was presented for the Board’s first reading. Changes were made to insure the policy was in compliance with current Arkansas guidelines and requirements for graduation. It also establishes senior year enrollment requirements and guidelines for designation as an “honors” graduate. Mr. Rose moved for the policy to be approved on first reading. Mr. Berkley seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
The regulations for administration of policy IKF, General Graduation
Requirements, was presented for review and comment. No official Board action was required.
Revisions to Regulation IKE were presented for the Board’s review and
comment.
Dr. Lesley responded to questions from the Board. No official action was taken.
Dr. Lesley presented
the proposed agenda for the evaluation of District programs for the 2002-2003
school year. She noted that the Revised
Desegregation and Education Plan requires us to assess academic programs each
year in order to determine effectiveness in improving student achievement. The recommended program evaluation agenda
was presented for the Board’s review and approval.
Mr. Rose moved to approve the evaluation schedule and agenda. Mr. Berkley seconded the motion and it carried
unanimously.
The Early Literacy
Program evaluation was presented to the Board in the summer of 2001. Pat Price led the evaluation team which
presented the 204-page report, The Effectiveness of the PreK-2 Literacy
Program in the Little Rock School District (1999-2000 and 2000-2001). Under the terms of the recently approved
Compliance Plan, it is required that all program evaluations be presented to
and approved by the Board. Mr. Berkley
made a motion to approve the report as presented, Dr. Daugherty seconded the
motion and it carried 6-0.
Dr. Linda Watson and
Krishna Young, the Charter School Director, presented the evaluation report of
the District’s Charter School Program to the Board in June 2001. Funding for this program was eliminated
after two years of operation due to budget constraints. However, the evaluation report must be
approved by the Board due to Compliance Plan requirements. Mr. Rose moved to accept the report as
presented in June 2001. Mr. Berkley seconded
the motion and it carried unanimously.
Dr. Gary Smith
presented a SLIVER grant application for the Board’s review and approval. The ADE funds would provide $105,000 to
continue Project Achieve at Carver and Mitchell Elementary Schools. In addition, staff development would be
provided to enhance the delivery of literacy and math instruction, and training
for speech and language pathologists.
Mr. Rose made a motion to approve submission of the application. Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion and it carried
unanimously.
No items for review / approval.
A.
Cash Flow Loan Resolution
Dr. Stewart presented a resolution for Board
review and approval. The resolution
authorizes District representatives to enter into a short-term cash flow loan
from Bank of America for up to $15,000,000.
Mr. Berkley moved to approve the resolution, Dr. Mitchell seconded the
motion and it carried unanimously. A copy of that resolution will
be attached to these minutes.
B.
Donations of Property
The Board was asked to approve acceptance of
recent donations to the District. Shana Reese, the student representative, read
the listed donations. Dr. Mitchell made
a motion to accept the donations as listed; Mr. Rose seconded the motion, and it
carried unanimously. Donations are listed in the following chart:
DONATIONS
|
SCHOOL/DEPARTMENT |
ITEM |
DONOR |
|
Brady
Elementary School |
$500.00
to help defray cost of the annual Grandparents Day celebration |
Wal-Mart
Foundation |
|
Central
High School |
A weight
machine to the athletic department at Central - - valued at approximately
$200.00 |
Frederick
L. Hodge |
|
Dodd
Elementary School |
School
supplies for 37 students and emergency items for teachers valued at
approximately $400.00 |
Office
of Federal Probation and Pretrial Services |
|
Forest
Park Elementary School |
IBM
PC, valued at approximately $1,489.00 |
IBM
Corporation |
Donations (continued)
|
SCHOOL/DEPARTMENT |
ITEM |
DONOR |
|
Fulbright
Elementary School |
$5,000
cash for miscellaneous computer equipment, printers and printer supplies,
digital camera, student incentives and school supplies |
Fulbright
Elementary PTA |
|
Geyer Springs Elementary |
$250.00
cash to purchase materials for playground /4 year old program $250.00
cash to be used for student and teacher incentives |
Law
Offices of Gary Green Waymack
Productions |
|
Jefferson
Elementary |
Playground
and PE materials, valued at approximately $50.00 |
David
and Pam Dostart |
|
Mitchell
Academy |
$150.00
cash |
Kenneth
Hill and the Mitchell Elementary class of 1952 |
|
Woodruff
Elementary |
$250.00
cash to be used to improve school grounds Office
supplies, valued at approximately $500.00 $100.00
cash to be used for student incentives |
Sam’s
Club of Little Rock Eugene
Jenkins / Cleaning with Pride Janitorial Services Wal-Mart
#126 / matching grant for volunteer hours of parent Tamela Warren |
|
LRSD
HIPPY Office |
Two
office chairs, valued at approximately $25.00 each |
Arkansas
HIPPY Office |
Mr. Milhollen briefly reviewed the budget reports provided in the
agenda. Dr. Mitchell moved to approve
the reports as presented. Mr. Kurrus
seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.
IX.
SCHOOL SERVICES DIVISION
The Magnet Schools Assistance Program report was
provided earlier in these minutes.
X.
DISTRICT OPERATIONS
No items for review / approval.
XI.
CLOSING REMARKS
Dr. James reminded the Board that the next few months would be very busy with the holidays and that a large number of items will need to be brought to them for approval. The meetings in November will be held on the 7th and the 21st.
He also reported on his visit to McClellan with Dr. Lacey. He was pleased and encouraged by his visit, experienced good interaction with the teachers in business classes, and was impressed with the activities of these classes where they run a school cookie store, from inventory and stocking to running the cash register. He stated that he would be visiting other school campuses over the next few months.
XII.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the Board,
Dr. Daugherty moved to adjourn at 8:40 p.m.
Mr. Rose seconded the motion and it carried
unanimously.
APPROVED:
_ 11-21-02 __ Original documents signed
by:
Judy
Magness, President
Larry
Berkley, Secretary