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The Guilford County Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Tuesday, September 25, 2007, at 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. The following board members were present: Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke (arrived at 6:05 p.m.), Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Deena Hayes (arrived at 8:05 p.m.), Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns, Amos Quick (arrived at 8:21 p.m.), Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe. Also present were Superintendent Terry Grier and Attorney Jill Wilson.

Call to Order
Chairman Duncan called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance
Board member Walter Childs led the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence.

Public Comments
Chairman Duncan called on members of the public who requested an opportunity to address the board.

Approval of Agenda
Chairman Duncan asked board members to review the meeting agenda and called for a motion to approve or amend it. Board member Dot Kearns asked for flexibility to move the Legislative Committee Update ahead in the agenda should this be needed due to an impending deadline. Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.

Consent Agenda
Superintendent Grier presented the following consent agenda items:

A. Personnel Action Reports
The consent agenda included personnel actions as noted in the monthly Personnel Action Report requiring board approval.

B. Second Reading – Policy JBC, School Admission
The consent agenda included a recommendation that the board approve Policy JBC, School Admission for second reading.

C. Sale of House Located at 608 Oak View Road, High Point
The consent agenda included a recommendation that the board declare as surplus property a house located at 608 Oak View Road in High Point, and authorize the sale of this house via public auction. Dave’s Auctions, McLeansville, NC, will conduct the auction on Tuesday, October 16, 2007. If the house does not sell at public auction, it will have to be demolished. The house must be removed from the property to accommodate the renovations and additions to Oak View Elementary.

D. Authorization to Acquire Permanent Right-of-Way Area, Northern Elementary School
The consent agenda included a recommendation to authorize the acquisition, for the benefit of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, of 0.11 AC from Jerry & Janice Nicholson for $2,893 for public roadway right-of-way purposes. The recommendation also includes that the board grant to Duke Energy (as requested by the Nicholsons’) a 15-foot right-of-way for a pole and one overhead utility line affecting a strip approximately 40 feet in length to the western line of the Northern Elementary School site, in order for Duke Energy service to be extended to a structure situated on the Nicholson property. The Duke Energy right-of-way area as requested currently extends across the surface water retention pond for the elementary school site and will not interfere in any way with educational activities at the school.

Motion was made by Darlene Garrett, seconded by Anita Sharpe, to approve the consent agenda as presented. The motion passed upon unanimous roll call vote. Board member Walter Childs was not present for this vote.

Construction Update
Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, and Joe Hill, facilities, presented to the board an update on the district’s school construction projects. Information was provided on projects occupied in August, 2007 including the Eastern High pod village, Ferndale Middle, Oak View Elementary, Southern Middle, Guilford Elementary, E. P. Pearce Elementary and Reedy Fork Elementary; projects under construction including Eastern High, Northern High, Parkview Elementary, Northern Guilford Elementary, Pleasant Garden Elementary, Academy at Smith High, Southeast High and the Academy at High Point Central High (Science Lab); and projects in design phase including Union Hill Elementary, Special Education Center West, Jamestown Middle and High Point SCALE project (English Road building).

Eastern Guilford High School Project Ordinance
On September 20, 2007 the Guilford County Commissioners approved an action adding an additional $6 million to the project ordinance for the funding of Eastern Guilford High School. Chief Finance Officer Sharon Ozment requested authorization from the board to amend that project by the additional $6 million in insurance proceeds.

Motion was made by Kris Cooke, seconded by Walter Childs, to amend the Eastern Guilford High School project by $6 million in insurance proceeds. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Change Order for Contract for Construction at Southern High School
Leo Bobadilla, chief operations officer, presented to the board a recommendation to approve a change order in the amount of $302,902 as submitted by R.L. Casey, Inc., for the addition of four tennis courts and associated work at Southern Guilford High School. Pinnacle Architecture was retained to proceed with the design and specifications for four new tennis courts. Based on this design, General Contractor R.L. Casey, Inc. submitted a change order request for the additional tennis courts and associated work at Southern High as follows:

1	New Tennis Courts (4) / Fencing / Gates	$174,160
2	Grading / Storm Drainage / Engineering	27,662
3	Resurfacing (2 existing courts)	6,200
4	Sidewalks	55,400
5	Bleachers	17,200
6	Landscaping	5,000
	Total Net Proposal	$285,622
	Contractor's Fee (5%)	14,281
	Bond Premium (1%)	2,999
Total Change Order Request		$302,902

Chairman Duncan discussed the concern of being equitable throughout the county should bleachers be included at this site. Board discussion followed with the consensus that bleachers should be removed from the change order request. Staff was asked to undertake a study throughout GCS to find out which schools presently have bleachers and which schools may have a need for them.

Motion was made by Kris Cooke, seconded by Nancy Routh, to approve the change order as submitted by R.L. Casey, Inc., for the addition of four tennis courts and associated work at Southern Guilford High School, excluding the bleachers. Staff was also asked to undertake a survey and report back to the board on the number of existing exterior bleacher at our schools, identify athletic programs where the board may want to consider adding bleachers to in the future and identify the types of bleachers that could meet this need. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic.

Action Plans for Low Performing Schools
Dr. Beth Folger, chief curriculum and organizational development officer, presented to the board an update on action plans for low performing schools. According to the state’s ABCs of Public Education, school districts must develop plans for improvement for all schools designated as low-performing. Low-performing schools are those that failed to meet their expected growth standards and have less than 50 percent of their students’ scores at or above achievement level III. Four of the district’s high schools have been identified as low performing: The Academy at High Point Central, Dudley High, Northeast High and Smith High.

GCS is committed to the improvement of student achievement at each of these schools. The Division of Academic Improvement, in conjunction with the instructional improvement officers and each school’s administration, has developed plans for action to ensure improvement. These plans are a Framework for Immediate Action for each of the schools. This framework is designed to fulfill Judge Manning’s mandated plan, as well as the state’s low-performing schools plan requirement.

Chairman Duncan introduced the principals of these schools. The Academy at High Point Central Principal Garriot Rose, Dudley Principal Phyllis Martin, Northeast Principal Anitra Walker and Smith Principal Noah Rogers spoke and answered questions from board members concerning their individual plans.

Motion was made by Nancy Routh, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to approve the Action Plans for The Academy at High Point Central, Dudley High, Northeast High and Smith High as presented. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Board member Deena Hayes arrived at 8:05 p.m.

Twilight High School Proposal
Superintendent Grier and Dr. David Roper, executive director for Saturn, presented to the board information regarding the Twilight High School pilot proposal.

Following board discussion and questions regarding the program, budgetary information was provided by Chief Finance Officer Sharon Ozment. The plan is for the Twilight High School pilot to be based at one GCS academy site, either High Point Central or Smith Academy. Concerns were expressed regarding the possibility of the state’s unwillingness to assign a school number to the Twilight High School if classes are not held in a building which is separate from an existing GCS school. Superintendent Grier said staff will continue to provide clarification to the state in an attempt to convince them to assign a separate school number. He will also look at other options for where to house the school should staff be unsuccessful in obtaining a school number. Board members asked that information be brought back to the board showing what the cost would be for a full-time social worker and counselor.

Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Kris Cooke, to (1) endorse the concept of the Twilight High School Pilot and ask staff to move forward with the planning initiative, (2) to have the board agree to go to Raleigh and express the need for having a separate school number, (3) ask staff to provide budgeting information, both with and without the school number, so the board can make a decision based on accurate cost, (4) have staff bring this information back to the board to vote on a definite number, with or without state support. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 10-to-1 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Deena Hayes, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns, Amos Quick, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe; Nays – Darlene Garrett.

Governance Committee Update
Chairman Duncan called on board member Dr. Nancy Routh, convenor of the governance review committee, to lead the board in a governance committee update.

The board discussed two proposed additions to the Guilford County Board of Education Bylaws.

The first addition is under ARTICLE 4, Section 4.3, Operation of the Board: Committees. The governance committee proposed the addition of language regarding the duration of time that committees will continue to meet with the following sentence to be added at the end of the first paragraph: The Chair and Vice Chair will evaluate the need for continuing operation of each committee when considering committee assignments following the annual reorganization of board leadership.

Motion was made by Nancy Routh, seconded by Anita Sharpe, to add the additional wording to the Guilford County Board of Education Bylaws in regard to duration of board committees as stated above. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

The second proposed additional to the Bylaws is under ARTICLE 5. It was proposed that additional wording be added as Section 5.5, Voting as follows: Only those members present at a meeting may vote. No member shall be permitted to vote by proxy. Board members shall vote on every motion to come before the Board unless they have a conflict of interest, in which case they shall inform the Board of the conflict and abstain from voting on the matter. Their vote shall be recorded as an abstention and will not count as a vote “for” the motion. All votes shall be recorded publicly, either electronically, as a voice vote, as a show or hands or by signed written ballot. Attorney Wilson also proposed that additional language be added under Section 5.4, Participation by Electronic Means immediately following the first sentence as follows: In the event that Board members are permitted to participate by electronic means, they shall be considered present.

Motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Walter Childs, to add the additional wording to the Guilford County Board of Education Bylaws in regard to voting as stated above. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Legislative Committee Update
Chairman Duncan called on board member Dot Kearns, convenor of the legislative committee, to lead the board in a legislative committee update. Letters to be sent to our representatives have been prepared for signature by board members to inform these representatives that the board strongly opposes and asks their help in correcting the regulation proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published in the Federal Register that would eliminate school-based reimbursements now paid with Medicaid dollars. This rule would eliminate services provided to special needs students including medical care plans, referral and schedule of multiple clinicians and practitioners, parent outreach to ensure that eligible children are enrolled in the Medicaid program and transportation costs to implement the program. The letter requests that our representatives support a moratorium that would prevent these CMS administrative actions against schools.

Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Kris Cooke, that board members sign the letters to our representatives requesting their support of a moratorium that would prevent CMS administrative actions which would eliminate school-based reimbursements now paid with Medicaid dollars. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Closed Session
At 9:41 p.m., motion was made by Deena Hayes, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to go into closed session to preserve the attorney client privilege and to discuss personnel matters protected by state law. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.

Chairman Duncan reported that during the closed session period, the board conducted the superintendent’s annual review. One of the requirements of this annual review, pursuant to the superintendent’s contract, is to examine and review his compensation based on the previous year (fiscal year 2006-07). This compensation is based on the 2006-07 goals set by the board. If those goals are met, his increase in compensation would be tied to that level of increase for teachers granted by the legislature during the previous year, which was 8 percent.

The board’s established goals for the superintendent to meet for 2006-07 were:

Chairman Duncan stated that the board has found that the superintendent has met the goals for the past year. He also talked about the devastating fire at Eastern Guilford High School last year and commended Superintendent Grier for the tremendous work performed by him and his staff in recovering from this disaster.

Motion was made by Alan Duncan, seconded by Kris Cooke, that pursuant to the contract that the board has with the superintendent, the board agrees to an 8 percent increase in his compensation pursuant to his contract for the fiscal year 2006-07 in meeting the goals established by the board for that year, and that further the board states that the superintendent has met these goals and that the board is looking forward to his also meeting the goals for the 2007-08 school year. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 10-to-1 as follows: Ayes: Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Deena Hayes, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns, Amos Quick, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe; Nays: Darlene Garrett.

Board Comments
Board members were each allowed two minutes to make remarks, as they deemed appropriate.

Adjournment
With no further business, at 11:32 pm., motion was made by Kris Cooke, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.