May 22, 2003
The
Board of Directors of the Little Rock School District held its regularly
scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, 2003, 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
Sue Strickland
MEMBERS
ABSENT:
None
ALSO
PRESENT:
T.
Kenneth James, Superintendent of Schools
Beverly Griffin, Recorder of Minutes
I. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL
Ms. Magness called the meeting to order
at 5:30 p.m. Six members of the Board
were present at roll call; Dr. Daugherty arrived at 5:40 p.m. Margaret Regnier, teacher ex officio
representative from Mitchell Elementary School, and Kristian Henderson, student
representative from Central High School, were also present.
II. PROCEDURAL
MATTERS / WELCOMING COMMENTS
Ms. Magness welcomed the audience and
asked Dr. Mitchell to assist with the citations and presentations.
Kathy Farley, the EAST lab instructor at Mabelvale Middle
School and several students from MMS presented to the Superintendent and Board
members framed photographs taken from the international space station as part
of the EAST lab instruction.
III. REPORTS/RECOGNITIONS/PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Dr. James named the five student artists who were selected as winners of the annual District art competition: Latarsha Burns from McClellan High School; Jeff Fuell, Parkview Magnet High School; Cynthia Garcia from J. A. Fair High School; Layet Johnson from Central High School; and Adriana Manzanalez from Hall High School. Each of these students received a check in the amount of $200.00, and their artwork will hang in the administration building for public viewing.
The Duke University Talent Program identified thirty-eight seventh grade students from the Little Rock School District who achieved top scores on the ACT or SAT test. These students will be recognized at the state ceremony and three will be recognized at the national ceremony for scoring among the top two percent in the nation. These students are Stacy Coonce, Peter Liu and Anne Ye. Dr. James asked these students to step forward and receive a certificate in recognition of their achievement:
Melody Chang, Dylan Frost, Megan Jackson, Scotty Lankford, Peter Liu, Linsey Miller, Cameron Murray, Melissa Nichols, Hanna Roher, Hannah Smith, Russel Viegas, Sam Whitehorn, Anne Ye, and Elaine Zhou from Dunbar Magnet Middle School;
Jamie Coonce, Stacy Coonce and Sasha Ray from Forest Heights
Middle School.
Geoffrey Jackson and Sarita Robinson from Henderson Magnet Middle
School.
Kelicia Hollis and Victoria Kreie from Mabelvale Magnet Middle School.
Cyrus Bahrassa, Jillian Carroll, Samuel Clark,
Maura Conder, Elizabeth Cox, Abigail Dobson, Patricia Graves, Dillion Hupp,
Grace Nam and Jillian
Peterson from Mann Magnet
Middle School.
Sarah Ball, Ellen Barber, Colton Koehler, Miles
McCullough, Colin Rockefeller, David Steward and
Kathryn Tull from Pulaski
Heights Middle School.
The
Dunbar Magnet Middle School Odyssey of
the Mind team will
represent Arkansas at the OM World Finals at Iowa State University next
week. The team members were presented
with citations in recognition of their achievement. The students are: Lindsey
Aloway, Amanda Cazort, Ike Ferrell, Douglas Forrester, Carrie Hunt, Rebecca
Rahn, and Tyler Ray.
Their coaches are Susan Cazort and Donna Hunt.
Dr. James introduced the members of
the Central High School Fed Challenge team.
This team recently won the state championship, beating the two-time
defending champions. The Fed Challenge
competition researches the status of the national economy and makes
recommendations for action as if they were the actual Board of Governors for
the Federal Reserve System. Team
members were presented citations in recognition of their achievement: Kevin Luneau, David Mitchell, Jessica
Marshall, Chris Burks, Shep Russell, and Daniel Liu. Their sponsor is Sam Stueart.
The Gibbs Magnet Elementary School Voyager After School Program was recognized for volunteering over 50 hours of reading and learning at Catherine’s House. The students selected books and read them to the children who are served at Catherine House, a local outreach program for young and single mothers. The students are Tej Anand, Dylan Arnall, Cody Baggett, Tristan Bethea, Catherine Grant, Brendan Oman, Nia Robinson, Malika Toney, Aya Williams, and Trevor Wine. Their sponsor is Sara Case.
Dr. James called the members of the Central High School Lady Tigers varsity women’s soccer team to the front. These students won the women’s 5-A state soccer championship last weekend, playing their final game against Rogers High School. The team members are: Anne Claire Allen, Caroline Allen, Jamie Bandy, Lindsey Barron, Kate Burnett, Lauren Cloud, Camille Cook, Allison Corbin, Sally Cunningham, Riley Duke, Sheffield Duke, Stephanie England, Lizzy Gray, Elizabeth Harrell, Marissa Hayes, Cara Janton, Elizabeth Jones, Jessica Jones, Whitney Maloney, Kendall Polansky, Stephanie Rogers, Megan Russell, Lindsey Short, Rosalind Smith, Becca Vehik, Robin West, and Claire Wetzel. Their coach is Keith McPherson, and David Duke is the assistant coach and manager. The team’s physical therapist is Bill Bandy.
The Central High School men’s and women’s tennis teams also won this year’s state 5-A championships. The women’s team members are: Ashley Batchelor, Dovie Dockery, Ashley Driver, Barrett Jones, Lauren Karney, Jessica Marshall, Holly McGetrick, Nancy Mitchell, Collins Speed, and Presley Thomas.
The men’s team members are: Matthew Anglo, Scott Bacon, Nick Clifford, Andrew Crone, Alex DePriest, Brock Dial, Andrew Humphrey, Daniel Krupitsky, Kevin Luneau, Sam McSpadden, David Mitchell, Jay Murphy, Blake Ross, John Shults, and Peter Thomas. The team coach is Joy Thompson, and the team manager is Megan Heard.
The final superintendent’s citations were presented to the ex-officio representatives for the month of May; Margaret Regnier, teacher at Mitchell Elementary School, and Kristian Henderson, student at Central High School.
Ms. Magness presented Dr. James with a plaque in recognition of his accomplishments and in appreciation for his service as superintendent for the past two years. It was announced that this would be Dr. James’ final LRSD board meeting. He was applauded for overseeing the District during the achievement of unitary status in all but one area, for engaging the community as active partners by the establishment of the Public Education Foundation of Little Rock, for leading with consistency to improve student achievement, for taking bold and innovative steps in the areas of curriculum and instructional reform, and for implementing the SREB initiative in all five high schools and four middle schools.
B. Remarks from Citizens
Claudius Johnson stated concerns with schools in Southwest Little Rock. He described instances where students in elementary school are not learning to read, and expressed his belief that there is a wide variation in the quality of education in the elementary schools in Little Rock. He noted that the enrollment at Cloverdale Middle School and McClellan High School is nearing 90% Black and he is concerned that the attendance zones are drawn to disadvantage students who live in that part of Little Rock.
Henri Jean Carey, Vice President of the National Dunbar Alumni Association, asked for additional space at Dunbar Magnet Middle School for display of a traveling exhibit and the permanent collection of Dunbar memorabilia. She stated concerns about the construction and renovation projects at Dunbar and wanted the Board to be aware that they didn’t want to get “lost.”
Anita Boone, parent of students at J. A. Fair and Mabelvale Magnet Middle School, stated concerns about services available to students whose parents are terminally ill. She has been ill, and has had a difficult year trying to obtain educational services for her 504 and special education students. She asked the Board to make provisions to help students whose parents are ill.
Alma Viscarra works for a bicultural newspaper. She stated that Hispanic students have been prevented from enrolling at Rockefeller Elementary School in the 3- and 4-year-old programs. She asked for consideration to allow 3 and 4 year olds to attend schools with their older siblings and to provide more classes for 3 and 4 year old children.
No
report.
D. Joshua
Intervenors
No report.
IV. REPORTS
AND COMMUNICATIONS
Dr. Mitchell reported that
she had attended the Adult Education graduation ceremony on Saturday. She commended Paulette Martin and the Adult
Education staff for the hard work they do and congratulated the adult graduates
for their perseverance in completing the GED program. Dr. Mitchell had also attended the kindergarten graduation at
Rightsell Academy. She expressed
sadness that Dr. James is leaving and stated that we will miss him, but
encouraged him to continue to do good work for children.
Mr. Kurrus thanked the parents who
volunteer in our schools and expressed appreciation for our patrons - - the
families who entrust us with their children.
He remarked on personal, positive experiences with Fulbright Elementary
School, Forest Heights Middle School and Central High School. He noted that even though the District has
had several superintendents over the past few years, the stability at the
school level in building administration and teaching staff is remarkable.
Dr. Daugherty stated that we are
fortunate to have quality teachers in our District, noting that the current
ex-officio Board member, Ms. Regnier, had taught his son in elementary school.
Mr. Babbs was present, but did not have a report or comments.
Dr. Stewart reviewed the current financial status of the District, noting that we remain fairly close to the predicted ending balance for this school year. He noted the recent announcement of additional state budget cuts in excess of $800,000, which will affect our overall bottom line and operations for next year. We have received figures from the assessor’s office, which will allow us to more accurately predict revenue. As has been noted previously, Dr. Stewart stated that we expect to experience “zero growth” as a result of fewer property assessments and other factors which will result in a negative impact to our budget.
Mr. Goodman presented his report and thanked Dr.
James for the opportunity to work with him.
In addition to the monthly summary, Mr. Goodman turned to Doug Eaton for
a status report on individual construction and renovations projects. Mr. Eaton provided a summary report on the
Wakefield School reconstruction project, and briefly brought the Board up to
date on other on-going projects. It was
noted that several major projects will be undertaken over the summer months and
it is hopeful that the community will take note of the status of current
projects.
Mr. Becker was present, and his report was part of the Board’s agenda.
A.
Minutes
Minutes from the regular meeting of the
Board of Directors held on April 24, and from a special meeting held on April
28, 2003, were presented for review and approval. Mr. Berkley made a motion to approve the minutes as presented;
Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion and it carried
unanimously.
B.
Personnel Changes
Routine personnel changes were printed
in the Board’s agenda. In addition, a
slip-sheet requesting approval of an employee resignation was included for
consideration and approval. Mr. Rose
moved to approve the changes as presented; Mr. Kurrus seconded the motion and
it carried unanimously.
Lucy Neal and John Ruffins
presented their request for approval to extend the contract with the District’s
technology consulting firm, EDS. EDS
has assisted the LRSD staff in developing the technology plan and implementing
a wide range of services including installation and operation of the wide area
network, the telephone system, cabling, media retrieval systems, and assistance
with the e-rate applications. The
current contract expires on
June 30, 2003, and a one-year extension was requested for the purpose of
maintaining and supporting the current levels of service. During the final year under the contract,
District personnel will receive training to gradually take over the duties that
have been performed by EDS staff.
Mr. Berkley moved to approve the one-year extension of the EDS contract. Mr. Kurrus seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Dr. James provided a written status report on plans for completion of
required program evaluations. Dr. Steve
Ross will continue to work with Dr. Ed Williams and PRE staff to evaluate the
District’s literacy programs to satisfy requirements of the federal
courts. Additional information will be
provided as it becomes available.
Linda Austin and Lucy Neal presented a request to submit a Technology
Grant application through the Arkansas Department of Education. The Enhancing Education Through Technology
Grants are made available through the U.S. Department of Education No Child Left
Behind legislation.
The one-year grant would provide up to $506,552.00 to provide tri-district
professional development activities, purchased professional development and
technical services, UALR tuition and laptop computers for 23 Cyber teachers and
a computer lab for Woodruff and Dodd Elementary schools.
Dr. Mitchell moved to approve the submission of the grant application. Mr. Rose seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
D.
Art, Music and Drama Textbook Adoption, Grades 6 - 12
The Art, Music and Drama Textbook Committee submitted their recommendations for the 2003-2006 textbook adoption cycle. Mr. Fletcher was present to review the selections, and requested the board’s approval. Mr. Kurrus made a motion to approve the selected textbooks. Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Linda Watson presented the recommended revisions
to the 2003-2004 student handbooks, which were submitted by the District-wide
Handbook Committee. The Handbooks will
be printed and provided to each student when they return to school in
August. Dr. Mitchell moved to approve
the recommended revisions, Mr. Rose seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
A.
Annual Audit Report and Extension of Audit Services Contract
Mr. Milhollen provided a brief summary of the
District’s Annual Financial Audit for the 2001-02 fiscal year. The audit, prepared by Thomas & Thomas,
Certified Public Accountants, was presented for the Board’s review at the
May 8 agenda meeting. At that time, Mr.
Don Smith, managing partner at Thomas & Thomas, reviewed the full report
and responded to questions from the Board.
Mr. Berkley made a motion to accept the annual report as presented. Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
B.
Resolution: Sale of Fulbright
Elementary School Property
St. James United Methodist Church made an offer
to purchase a portion of the property near Fulbright Elementary School. The Board was asked to approve a resolution
authorizing the administration to sell the property as excess and once that was
approved, approve the sale.
Mr. Berkley moved to approve the resolution
declaring surplus property on the site of Fulbright Elementary School. Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. A copy
of the resolution is attached to these minutes.
An offer and acceptance for the Fulbright
Elementary School surplus property was presented for the Board’s review and
approval. St. James United Methodist
Church offered to pay $250,000 for the property, which will be placed in the
building fund of the District. Dr.
Mitchell made a motion to approve the offer and acceptance. Mr. Berkley seconded the motion and it carried 7-0.
C.
Donations of Property
The Board was asked to approve acceptance of
recent donations to the District.
Kristian Henderson, student representative from Central High School,
read the listed donations. Mr. Rose
made a motion to accept the donated items;
Dr. Mitchell seconded the motion, and it carried
unanimously. The donations are
listed in the following chart:
DONATIONS
|
SCHOOL/DEPARTMENT |
ITEM |
DONOR |
|
Cloverdale
Magnet Middle School |
$2,000.00
cash to be used for achievement awards and a school marquee |
Baseline
Wal-Mart Store |
|
Jefferson
Elementary School |
Various
food items, for use in pancake breakfast fundraiser for playground
improvements |
Finkbeiner
Food Service ($75.00) Kroger,
1900 N. Polk ($60.00) Kroger,
14000 Hwy 10 ($25.00) Harvest
Foods ($50.00) |
|
McClellan
Magnet High School |
$1,000
cash for boys baseball program; $250.00 cash for football program; $1,000
bonus grant to be used to benefit the student body |
Wal-Mart
Foundation |
|
Williams
Magnet Elementary School |
$15,484.00
cash to be used for various projects and events |
Williams
Magnet School PTA |
IX.
SCHOOL SERVICES DIVISION
The agenda was reordered to allow the Professional Teacher Appraisal
System presentation to be conducted earlier in this agenda. Sadie Mitchell, Lloyd Sain, and members of
the PTAS committee were present and reviewed the evaluation system and
documentation. The Board previously
approved the Track I system in April 2002, and probationary teachers have been
evaluated using this instrument and process during the 2002-03 school
year. Training sessions have been
conducted during this school year, and principals and assistant principals have
all had an opportunity to receive sufficient instruction on the use of the new
system. Ms. Mitchell, Dr. Sain and
the committee recommended the Board’s approval for implementation of the new
appraisal system.
Dr. Mitchell made a motion to approve the implementation of the
PTAS. Mr. Rose seconded the motion and
it carried
unanimously.
Beverly Williams and Johnny Johnson presented an evaluation document for the District’s athletic coaches, and asked for the Board’s review and approval. A committee of coaches and other District administrators developed the document as required by Article 21, Section H of the PN agreement. Mr. Rose moved to approve the document as presented. Mr. Kurrus seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
X.
CLOSING REMARKS
Dr. James reminded the Board that high school graduations were scheduled
for next week, Tuesday through Thursday.
He commented briefly on the ACC graduation program which had been held
earlier this week, and commended the graduates for their hard work in
completion of their high school course requirements.
XI.
EMPLOYEE HEARINGS
Employee hearings had
been scheduled but were cancelled prior to the meeting.
XII.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
On a
motion by Mr. Rose, seconded by Dr. Daugherty, the Board convened an executive
session for the purpose of discussing personnel issues. They were to continue the review of
applications for the position of Superintendent of Schools.
The Board returned from
executive session at 8:50 p.m. and reporting no action had been taken.
XIII.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business. Dr. Mitchell
moved to adjourn at 8:50 p.m.
Mr. Berkley seconded the motion and it carried
unanimously.
APPROVED:
_ 06-26-03 __ Originals
Signed by:
Judy
Magness, President
Larry Berkley, Secretary