July 25, 2002
The
Board of Directors of the Little Rock School District held its regularly
scheduled meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, 2002, in the Boardroom of
the Administration Building, 810 West Markham Street, Little Rock,
Arkansas. President Baker Kurrus
presided.
MEMBERS
PRESENT:
Baker Kurrus
Judy Magness
Tony
Rose
Micheal
Daugherty
Sue Strickland
MEMBERS
ABSENT:
Larry Berkley
Katherine Mitchell
ALSO
PRESENT:
T.
Kenneth James, Superintendent of Schools
Beverly Griffin, Recorder of Minutes
I. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL
President Baker Kurrus called the
meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. Five
members of the Board were present at roll call; Mr. Berkley and Dr. Mitchell
were absent. Kathy Lineberger,
teacher at Forest Park Elementary School, and Queria McDonald, student at
Central High School, served as ex-officio representatives to the Board for the
month of July.
II. PROCEDURAL
MATTERS / WELCOMING COMMENTS
Mr. Kurrus made brief opening remarks
and welcoming comments.
III. REPORTS/RECOGNITIONS/PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Ex officio representatives to the Board for the month of July were presented with certificates of appreciation for their service; Kathy Lineberger, teacher at Forest Park Elementary, and Queria McDonald, student at Central High School.
B. Remarks from Citizens
None.
Ms. Kelley was
present, but did not make remarks or comments.
D. Joshua Intervenors
No report.
IV. REPORTS
AND COMMUNICATIONS
Mr. Rose discussed the past three days
of hearings in Judge Wilson’s court relating to the District’s efforts to attain
unitary status. He stated that it was
tragic that there were students in our District who felt that they were being
discriminated against, and that he is saddened that they perceived that they
had not been treated fairly.
Ms. Strickland agreed with Mr. Rose’s
comments, and stated that she was happy that this week’s hearings were
completed. She thanked the attorneys
who participated in presenting our case, and employees who helped to prepare
for the hearings. She expressed hope
that we will continue to improve and that we will provide the very best
education possible for all the kids in our District.
Dr. Daugherty echoed Mr. Rose’s
comments and said that he finds it sad that we found out in the court setting
that these children were not happy with their educational experience. He stated that Board members and District
employees work very hard to make sure that we do the right thing for all of the
children and their parents.
Mr. Kurrus also discussed the week’s
court hearings and stated that he was saddened that racism and discrimination
were brought up with every question. He
noted that although the students who testified complained of mistreatment, it
was evident that they received a good education because they had been accepted
to good colleges, i.e., Amherst and Spellman.
The student representative, Queria
McDonald, briefly spoke regarding the court hearings. She had attended the court hearing the day after the students
testified they were mistreated in the LRSD.
She stated her disappointment in the Democrat-Gazette for not reporting
that twenty-two students attended the court hearing in support of the education
they are receiving in the LRSD and at Central High School, in particular.
Ms. Magness commented that she felt
that we had received a very fair hearing.
She noted that some teachers were disappointed that they were singled
out in court and information was provided that was not correct or
justified. She noted that the young man
from J. A. Fair had received $52,000 in scholarships and that his teachers at
Fair had helped him to qualify for these scholarships. She stated that when you view “the big
picture” we are doing a good job to provide an excellent education for all the
students.
Mr. Babbs told the Board that he was also happy to have the court
hearings behind us. He noted that final
legal filings were due to the court by August 19, and that the judge had
indicated he planned to make a final decision by mid-November. In the meantime, he reported business-as-usual
in the student registration process and getting a new school year
underway. Staff development sessions
will begin next week with pre-registration for students on August 5th
and 6th.
Dr. Stewart provided a brief combined budget update and financial report. He stated that financial services staff was continuing to work to complete the year-end reports and was working on the draft budget document for the 2002-03 school year. He projected its’ completion in time for the Board to review it at the September Board meeting.
Ms. Magness made a motion to approve the financial reports as presented. Mr. Rose seconded the motion, and it carried 5-0.
Mr. Goodman reported on the construction projects
that are underway at this time and a written report was provided as part of the
agenda. Several schools are in the
midst of major renovations and some projects won’t be complete when school
starts, but the buildings will be ready for students on the opening day. Mr. Goodman referred questions on specific
school projects to Mr. Eaton, who reported that some school sites do look in
disarray, but that staff will be working up until the very last day to get the
buildings ready. They will work on Saturday
and Sunday, if necessary, to put the finishing touches on for a safe school
opening. He noted that each project has
a manager who coordinates with the building principal and that the principals
know what to expect as far as progress on the completion of on-going repairs
and improvements.
Mr. Eaton was asked about the construction
project at Mann Magnet Middle School and the perception that there is a
delay. He reported that the planning
and design specifics were approximately 50% complete and that actual work is
scheduled to begin in September or October.
The projected completion date is December 2003.
The Internal Auditors’ Report was printed as part of the Board’s
agenda.
Mr. Becker was present, but provided no additional information.
Ms. Neal briefly discussed the recent problems
with e-mail and telephone systems. Some
of these problems were attributed to the switchover to the State of Arkansas
network, and from server problems at the schools that impact the main server in
Information Services. Staff is working
to resolve these issues as they are reported.
It was also noted that a new e-mail system would begin to be phased in
during September.
It was noted that some of the technology projects
had been delayed slightly because of other construction in the schools, but
that it was hoped all phone and technology systems would be back on schedule
and working by the first day of school.
The Board recessed briefly and returned at 7:01 p.m.
A.
Minutes
Minutes from the regular meeting of the
Board of Directors held on June 25, 2002 and from special meetings held on June
13 and July 3, 2002 were presented for review and approval. Mr. Rose made a motion to approve the minutes
as presented. Ms. Magness seconded
the motion and it carried unanimously.
Dr. Lesley presented a revision to the regulations for implementation of Board policy ID, School Schedules. The additional regulations will more clearly define the requirements and make it easier for staff, students, and parents to understand the course scheduling issues. No formal Board action was required for implementation.
Dr. Lesley presented a proposal to purchase a license for use of
“Responding to Reading Through Writing.”
Annie Ross, a teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, developed these
instructional materials as a tool to prepare her fourth grade students for the
Literacy Benchmark exams. Under the
terms of Act 1599 of the State of Arkansas, the LRSD Board must approve a
resolution in support of this purchase before we can seek the approval of the
State Board of Education. The funds for
purchasing the license agreement and for other costs incurred in use of the
materials will be covered by the elementary level literacy budget for 2002-03. Ms. Magness moved to approve the resolution
as presented. Ms. Strickland seconded
the motion and it carried 5-0.
Mr. Fletcher presented a proposal for a grant application to the U. S.
Department of Education for the Professional Development for Music Educators
Program. Working with Dr. Lesley and
Linda Austin, the proposal would provide funding to implement professional
development programs designed to enhance and expand standards-based music
education programs.
The three-year request is in the amount of $1.2 million, and would partner the LRSD with the UALR Department of music, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, and Music Workshops, Ltd. Ms. Magness made the motion to approve the submission of the grant application, Mr. Rose seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
A.
Personnel Changes
Routine personnel items were provided for the
Board’s review and approval. In
addition, the Board was asked to consider a suspension of the rules to approve
the hiring of Kimmie Cleveland as the head football coach at J. A. Fair High
School.
Mr. Rose made a motion to suspend the rules for
consideration of this additional personnel item. Ms. Magness seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Ms. Magness then moved approval of all personnel
changes presented. Ms. Strickland
seconded the motion and it carried 5-0.
A.
Donations of Property
The Board was asked to approve acceptance of
recent donations to the District. Ms. Strickland read the listed donations and
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 |
|
Chicot
Elementary School |
$1,000.0
cash for literacy materials |
Kelly
Graham, Manager |
|
Forest
Heights Middle School |
Educational
materials valued at $3,192.80 |
Jennifer
Polk |
|
Little
Rock School District |
Lexmark
Winwriter 150C color Inkjet Printer, valued at $25.00 |
Anonymous |
B. Financial Report
Financial reports were reviewed and approved
earlier in this meeting.
IX.
SCHOOL SERVICES DIVISION
A.
Report: SREB Leadership Initiative
Dr. James presented a review of the SREB Leadership Initiative pilot
project, which will partner the LRSD with the SREB for a three-year school
improvement and high school reform initiative.
Initially, all five LRSD high schools and Henderson and Mabelvale Middle
schools will participate. It was noted
that SREB would underwrite the entire cost of the training for these
three-years. Dr. James reported that
the SREB has had a history of success with high school reform efforts in urban
areas and this project will impact our efforts to close the achievement gap and
improve the success of minority students.
Although this item was included on the Board’s report agenda, the Board
initiated a motion to approve the LRSD’s participation. There was no formal motion to suspend the
rules. Ms. Strickland moved to approve
the LRSD’s partnership with the SREB.
Mr. Rose seconded the motion and it carried 5-0.
X.
DISTRICT OPERATIONS
No items for report or action.
XI.
CLOSING REMARKS
Dr. James read a letter he had received from sixth grade teacher, Virginia Booth. This letter commended the staff development and curriculum staff for their efforts to provide quality pre-school inservice sessions.
In addition, he noted that progress was being made to get the Badgett building ready for Wakefield students on the first day of school. The school will be known as Wakefield-East until they are able to move back into the new building at the southwest Little Rock location.
XII.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the Board,
Mr. Rose moved to adjourn at 7:40 p.m.
Ms. Strickland seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
_08-22-02__ Original
documents signed by:
H.
Baker Kurrus, President
Tony
Rose, Secretary