The
Board of Directors of the Little Rock School District held a special meeting in
conjunction with the regularly scheduled agenda meeting on Thursday, June 9,
2005, in the Boardroom of the Administration Building, 810 West Markham Street,
Little Rock, Arkansas. President Larry
Berkley presided.
MEMBERS
PRESENT:
Larry Berkley
Micheal Daugherty
Katherine Mitchell
Bryan Day
Tony Rose
Sue Strickland
MEMBERS
ABSENT:
Baker Kurrus
ALSO
PRESENT:
Roy G. Brooks,
Superintendent of Schools
Beverly Griffin, Recorder of Minutes
I. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL
Mr. Berkley
called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Six members of the board were present at roll call; Mr. Kurrus
was absent.
II. PURPOSE
OF THE MEETING
The agenda for the special meeting listed the
following items:
A.
Tri-district
Charter School Application
B.
Personnel
Appointments
C.
Employee
Disciplinary Action
III. ACTION
AGENDA
A. Tri District Charter School Application
At the Board’s March 24, 2005 regular meeting, Dr. Watson presented a recommendation to enter into a partnership with the North Little Rock and Pulaski County School Districts, and the Pulaski County Juvenile Justice System to prepare and submit an application for a Tri-District Conversion Charter Alternative Learning Center. The Board approved this recommendation at that time.
The recommendation presented for
action at this meeting was to adopt and approve the application for final
submission to the Arkansas Department of Education for their consideration of
adoption of the Felder Alternative Learning Academy Tri-District Charter
School. Dr. Daugherty made a motion to
approve the administration’s recommendation; Mr. Rose seconded the motion and
it carried unanimously.
B. Personnel Appointments
In accordance with provisions of
the organizational audit, the Superintendent recommended the following
appointments.
- Director of K-12 Curriculum – Suzi Davis
- Mabelvale Elementary School Principal – Darian Smith
These appointments did not require
Board action.
C. Employee
Disciplinary Actions
An employee requested a hearing before the Board with regard to the administration’s recommendation to non-renew her employment contract. The reason for this action was that the employee’s position was funded through a grant which ended at the conclusion of the 2004-05 school year. The employee asked that the Board appoint her to a position for next school year.
Beverly Williams, Director of Human Resources explained the language of the contract and asked the Board to uphold the administration’s recommendation. The employee read a statement asking for the Board to consider allowing her an opportunity to continue to work for the LRSD.
Mr. Rose moved to uphold the administration’s recommendation for non-renewal of the employment contract for the employee. Ms. Strickland seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Another employee was represented by Grainger Ledbetter, Executive Director of the Classroom Teacher’s Association. She requested a hearing before the board to appeal the administration’s recommendation that her contract length be changed from a 10.25 month to a 9.25 month teaching contract. The additional time on the employee’s contract was funded through the Magnet Schools Assistance Program grant, which ended at the conclusion of the 2004-05 school year.
The employee and Mr. Ledbetter presented a summary of additional responsibilities carried by the employee’s classroom teaching position that would justify the additional contract length. Beverly Williams noted for the record that the employee was not losing her position as a classroom teacher at McClellan High School, but that her contract length was being adjusted to reflect a regular 9.25 teaching contract.
Mr. Rose made a motion to table action on the discussion until the next regular board meeting in order to allow more time for review. Dr. Daugherty seconded the motion and it failed 3-3, with Mr. Berkley, Mr. Day and Ms. Strickland voting “no.”
Ms. Strickland made a motion to uphold the administration’s recommendation and Mr. Day seconded. Mr. Rose requested a roll call vote, and the motion carried 4-2, with Dr. Daugherty and Dr. Mitchell voting “no.”
Ms. Williams and Dr. Brooks were asked to confer with the principal of McClellan to determine if there was any justification for continuing to fund the position at the 10.25 contract length. Dr. Brooks reminded the Board that it was up to the school staff and principal to plan ahead and to notify the Board and administration when and if they need additional staff or extensions to employee contracts. He agreed to discuss the issue with the principal.
V.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the Board,
the meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. on a motion by Dr. Daugherty and seconded by
Mr. Rose.
APPROVED:
06-23-05 Originals
Signed by:
Larry
Berkley, President
Katherine P.
Mitchell, Secretary