Guilford County Board of Education
Board Meeting
June 12, 2007

GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
REGULAR MEETING
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

The Guilford County Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Thursday, May 24, 2007, at 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. The following board members were present: Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Deena Hayes, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns, Amos Quick (arrived at 8:25 p.m.), Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe (arrived at 6:44 p.m.)  Also present were Superintendent Terry Grier and Attorney Jill Wilson.

Call to Order
Chairman Duncan called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance
Board member Darlene Garrett led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Moment of Remembrance and Silence
Chairman Duncan led the board in a moment of remembrance and silence in honor of students who have tragically lost their lives during this school year.

Recognitions

National Merit Scholarship Recipients
The board recognized two GCS recipients of the National Merit Scholarship. Larsen Jones from Grimsley High and Angela Pratt from The Early College at Guilford are among the 2,500 distinguished scholarship winners nationwide. The National Merit Scholarship, worth $2,500, is based on standardized test scores, academic records, contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay describing interests and goals and a recommendation written by a high school official.

Mentor of the Year and Finalists

The board recognized the six finalists for the Martha A. Sharpless Mentor of the Year Award and announced Cathy Spencer of Alamance Elementary as the overall winner.  The finalists included: Doreatha Amouzou, Parkview A+M Magnet Elementary; Tracey Janetta, Guilford Primary; Phil Smith, Southeast Guilford High; Tom Soth, Northwest Guilford High; Jane Williams, Pleasant Garden Elementary.

Public Comments

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

Sharon Johnston, 3014 Redford Drive, Greensboro, NC 27408
Natalie Strange, 4672 Glen Garry Circle, Greensboro, NC 27401
Curtis Pickard, 500C Mystie Drive, Greensboro, NC 27406
Johnny Cook, 307 Martingale Drive, Gibsonville, NC 27249
Robert Owens, 4100 Duffers Lane, Greensboro, NC 27407
Bryon Rudy, 3517 Henderson Road, Greensboro, NC 27410
Mark Jewell, 210 Lindell Road, Greensboro, NC 27403
Pat Bowling, 1320 Ember Oaks Avenue, High Point, NC 27265
Sandy Allen, 4024 Baytree Court, High Point, NC 27265

Approval of Agenda

Chairman Duncan asked board members to review the meeting agenda and called for a motion to approve or amend it. The request was made to move staff report item C. Approval for Naming of the Original Historic Building at Oak Ridge Elementary School and item D. Approval of Advanced Learner Plan before item B. Consideration for Naming of Reedy Fork Area Elementary School.

Motion was made by Kris Cooke, 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 and addendum requiring board approval. 

B.  Budget Amendments and Transfers

The consent agenda included State, Local, Federal, Capital Outlay and After School Care Enrichment Services (ACES) budget amendments/transfers for the 2006-07 school year as follows:

      State Public School Fund Amendment #6 reflects:

• the receipt of substitute reimbursement for March, 2007 ($20,393)
• the transfers due to site-based requests and year-to-date expenditures

Local Current Expense Fund Amendment #6 reflects:

• the receipt of Medicaid Direct Services Reimbursement Program reimbursements received from July, 2006 through April 11, 2007 ($462,445)
• the receipt of More at Four reimbursement for February, 2007 ($148,555)
• the receipt of High Schools That Work reimbursement for HSTW Technical Assistance Visit at Grimsley High School March 20-22, 2007 ($2,000)
• the receipt of registration fees for Large City Schools Superintendents' (LCSS) Conference to be hosted by GCS June 27-30, 2007 ($6,700)
• Eastern Guilford High School (EGHS) donations ($11,025)
• the transfers due to site-based requests and year-to-date expenditures

Federal Grant Fund Amendment #6 reflects:

• the transfers due to site-based requests and year-to-date expenditures

Capital Outlay Fund Amendment #5 reflects:

• the transfer of available funds within the Northern Middle School project from construction to furniture/equipment in order to purchase technology equipment 

After School Care Enrichment Services (ACES) #5 reflects:

• the receipt of additional revenue due to spring break session at Hunter Elementary School
• the transfers due to site-based requests and year-to-date expenditures

C.  Second Reading – Policy IN, School Improvement Teams

The consent agenda included a recommendation that the board approve Policy IN, School Improvement Teams. At its meeting on April 26, the board approved for first reading Policy IN, School Improvement Teams. This policy has been posted on the district Web site for a public comment period per the board’s policy.  Six comments were received.  The comments have no effect on the policy, but will be taken into consideration as the procedure is reviewed.

D.  Application for State/Federal Funding of Career and Technical Education

The consent agenda included a recommendation that the board approve the application for state and federal funding of career and technical education programs for fiscal year 2007-08. In the Improvement Plan, data for Performance Indicators 1-7 will be populated in the plan by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction after ASSET scores, VoCATS end-of-year post-test assessments and other end-of-year information has been uploaded to the state by local school districts. The application must be submitted by May 25, 2007.

Following discussion of Policy IN, School Improvement Teams, and Administrative Procedure IN-P, Chairman Duncan asked that consent agenda item C. Second Reading – Policy IN, School Improvement Teams, be deferred to allow further review. It was requested that the Governance Committee submit this policy for approval at a later date.

Motion was made by Walter Childs, seconded by Kris Cooke, to approve the consent agenda as amended. Consent agenda item A passed upon majority roll call vote of 9-to-1 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Deena Hayes, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns and Nancy Routh; Nays – Anita Sharpe. Consent agenda item B passed upon majority roll call vote of 9-to-1 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Deena Hayes, Dot Kearns, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe; Nays – Garth Hébert. Consent agenda item C was deferred until a later date. Consent agenda item D passed upon unanimous roll call vote.

Staff Reports

Eastern High School Update

Kevin Lear, chief operations officer, presented to the board an update on Eastern High School.

Contractual Agreement with Barnhill Contracting Company for Phase IA for the Modular Village Up-fit of the Eastern Guilford High School Project
At the February 20, 2007 board meeting a contract was approved by the board of education for pre-construction services at Eastern Guilford High School in the amount of $200,000 with Barnhill Contracting Company.

At the March 29, 2007 board meeting a contract was approved by the board of education for Phase I (grading and modular village layout) of the Eastern Guilford High School project with Barnhill Contracting Company in the amount of $2,941,570.

On May 21, 2007 Barnhill Contracting Company received bids for Phase IA of the Eastern Guilford High School project. Phase IA is for the modular up-fit and site asphalt for the new building. The Guarantee Maximum Price (GMP #1A) is $3,892,413.

As required by General Statute 143-128.1 regarding construction management at risk, the board of education is required to approve the GMP.

Facilities and the purchasing staff attended the bid opening conducted by Barnhill Contracting Company. Purchasing also reviewed the bids for compliance with general statutes including MWBE requirements. Bids were found to be in compliance with general statutes.

Motion was made by Kris Cooke, seconded by Jeff Belton, to award a contract to Barnhill Contracting Company in the amount of $3,892,413 for Phase IA of the Eastern Guilford High School project. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Duke Energy Carolinas Right-of-Way Agreement, Eastern Guilford High School
The consent agenda included a recommendation that the board approve a right-of-way request by Duke Energy Carolinas affecting 30 and 20 foot strips to permit the installation of primary electrical wiring to feed two transformers on the Eastern Guilford High School campus. These transformers will serve the POD village, sports facilities and the new high school. The requested rights-of-way would have a width of 15 feet on each side of a centerline for overhead wiring and 10 feet on each side of a centerline for underground wiring. The centerlines would be determined by the centerline of the electrical facilities to be installed. Duke Energy Carolinas would be permitted to construct, maintain and operate underground lines and conduits with other apparatus and appliances, either above ground or below ground, to include transformers and service connections, for the purpose of transporting electricity and for the communications purposes of GCS. For overhead wiring, Duke Energy Carolinas would be permitted to construct, maintain and operate with poles, crossarms, wires, guys, anchors, cables, transformers and other apparatus and appliances, overhead lines for the purpose of transporting electricity and for the communications purposes of the Guilford County Schools and regulated telephone utilities.

Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to approve the rights-of-way requested by Duke Energy Carolinas, as described herein, affecting the Eastern Guilford High School property. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Approval for Naming of the Original Historic Building at Oak Ridge Elementary School

Kevin Lear, chief operations officer, presented to the board a recommendation to approve the use of the name Thomas F. and Carolyn C. Brown Wing as proposed on the nomination form and supporting documentation. If the name is approved, staff will contact the principal of the school to review the plans for any signage that will be provided. The principal of Oak Ridge Elementary, on behalf of faculty, staff and student body, has requested that the original historic building, including the media center and gallery be named in honor of two distinguished individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Guilford County Schools, as well as the greater Guilford County community. The recommended name was posted on the district Web site for a period of public comment and feedback. Two comments were received both in support of the proposed name with one recommending that the middle initials ‘F’ and ‘C’ be removed from the name.

Motion was made by Darlene Garrett, seconded by Dot Kearns, to approve the use of the name Thomas F. and Carolyn C. Brown Wing as proposed on the nomination form and supporting documentation and direct staff to contact the principal of the school to review the plans for any signage that will be provided. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Approval of Advanced Learner Plan

Dr. Mack McCary, chief academic officer, and Lee Ann Segalla, executive director, elementary curriculum and instruction, presented to the board a recommendation to approve the Advanced Learner Plan. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction requires regular revisions and updates to the district plan for addressing the needs of academically gifted (AL) students in compliance with Article 9B. Board discussion followed with questions directed to staff members.

Motion was made by Kris Cooke, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to approve the Advanced Learner Plan as presented.

A substitute motion was made by Deena Hayes, seconded by Walter Childs, to delay voting on the Advanced Learner Plan until board members have received answers to all questions asked regarding the plan and to take a closer look at the Project Bright IDEA plan. The motion failed upon majority electronic vote of 6-to-4 as follows: Nays – Jeff Belton, Kris Cooke, Darlene Garrett, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns and Anita Sharpe; Ayes – Walter Childs, Alan Duncan, Deena Hayes and Nancy Routh.

A vote on the original motion to approve the Advanced Learner Plan as presented followed. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 7-to-3 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns and Anita Sharpe; Nays – Walter Childs, Deena Hayes and Nancy Routh.

Board member Amos Quick arrived at 8:25 p.m.

Consideration for Naming of Reedy Fork Area Elementary School

Kevin Lear, chief operations officer, presented to the board a recommendation that the board study and support the proposed name Reedy Fork Elementary School and, following a period of public comment, consider approval of the nomination or direct the administration to request the project team to provide any further information as may be required by the board in order to more fully consider the request and to make a decision.  Pursuant to the procedure on the naming of schools (FDCA-P), the project team working on the new Reedy Fork Area Elementary School has received input from the community about an appropriate name for the new school.  The community submitted numerous names for consideration.  Following a full review of suggested names and the criteria for selection, the project team has reported out a recommendation of Reedy Fork Elementary School.  

Chairman Duncan called on members of the public to share comments regarding their support of proposed names. Two people spoke in support of the name Reedy Fork Elementary School, five people in support of the name Ronald McNair Elementary School, one person in support of the name Randall Jarrell Elementary School and one person in support of the name D.M. Chrismon Elementary School.

Motion was made by Garth Hébert, seconded by Walter Childs, to name the Reedy Fork area elementary school Ronald McNair Elementary School.

Board discussion regarding the proposed names of Reedy Fork Elementary School and Ronald McNair Elementary School followed.

A substitute motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Jeff Belton, to study and support the name Ronald McNair Elementary School at Reedy Fork and, following a period of public comment, consider approval of the nomination or direct the administration to request the project team to provide any further information as may be required by the board in order to more fully consider the request and to make a decision. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 7-3-1 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Dot Kearns and Amos Quick; Nays – Garth Hébert, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe­­­; Abstained – Deena Hayes.

Contracts for Pleasant Garden Elementary School Additions

John Mann, purchasing officer, presented to the board a recommendation to award contracts to Morlando-Holden Construction, Inc. for general construction in the amount of $3,986,000 and to Ken-Nect Communications, LLC in the amount of $45,490 for technology construction. Seven bids were received on May 8 for additions at Pleasant Garden Elementary School. The construction budget for this project is $4,334,584 which includes a budget of $260,000 for a fire sprinkler system.  Bids will be received during the week of June 4 for the fire sprinkler system.

Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Nancy Routh, to award contracts for Pleasant Garden Elementary School additions to Morlando-Holden Construction, Inc. for general construction in the amount of $3,986,000 and to Ken-Nect Communications, LLC in the amount of $45,490 for technology construction. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Change Order to Contract for Construction at Guilford Elementary School Site

Kevin Lear, chief operations officer, presented to the board a recommendation to approve a change order to a contract for construction at the Guilford Elementary School site totaling $143,750 for the cost of additional work as submitted to date by the contractor, J.H. Allen, Inc.  The funds for this change are currently in the budget under project contingency. At the time this project went out for construction bids, the district learned that its proposed driveway plans for Ballinger Road were not approved and this scope was removed from the project.  Further negotiations with the City of Greensboro resulted in the district’s acquisition of property to the south of the school and an approval driveway permit at Stagecoach Road and Wagon Wheel Drive.

On May 11, 2007, J. H. Allen, Inc. submitted a request for a change order to cover the cost to construct the roadway and sidewalks for the Wagon Wheel Drive entrance to the school.  This work is required according to the City of Greensboro Technical Review Committee.

Motion was made by Darlene Garrett, seconded by Walter Childs, to approve a change order to cover the cost to construct the roadway and sidewalks for the Wagon Wheel Drive entrance to the Guilford Elementary School site and provide payment to the contractor, J. H. Allen, Inc., in the amount of $143,750. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Approval of Proposed 2007 Bond Referendum

Joe Hill, facilities, led the board in a discussion regarding the proposed 2007 bond referendum projects.

Chairman Duncan stated that the Guilford County Board of Commissioners asked that the board include the Eastern Guilford High School construction project in the 2007 bond referendum. The board discussed comments and requests received from members of the community at the April 25 and April 30 public forums as well as through other communications from the public, most specifically in regard to the Southeast High and Southeast Middle School area.

Mr. Hill stated that the proposal included in the April 10 list provided for expansion of Southeast High School to accommodate approximately 1,400 students, to build a new Southeast Area Elementary School for approximately 700 students and to renovate and add on to Alamance Elementary School for a capacity of approximately 700 students. The proposal for Southeast Middle School was to expand the media center and cafeteria and add an auxiliary gymnasium. It did not add additional capacity to Southeast Middle. One proposal that was discussed during the hearings was to convert the existing Southeast High School for use as a middle school, build a new high school to replace it and convert the existing middle school to an elementary school. The community suggested that the board consider turning the middle school into a ninth-grade academy, combining the current high school and middle school into a larger high school and build a new middle school as well as a new elementary school.

Superintendent Terry Grier said that the staff has serious trepidations about continuing to build large schools. Board members presently have concerns about safety issues, gangs and violence in the schools and yet discussion continues about building larger schools. He believes building these larger schools is an absolute recipe for those kinds of problems and that GCS is seeing this in some of the larger schools in the district now. He suggested having a small high school and a middle school that would be a Weaver-type school where students could opt to take part of their vocational courses as opposed to creating a mega high school that would not be educationally sound and would be inviting trouble.

Mr. Hill stated that in either scenario the board would have to look at the Alamance attendance area because the decision was made not to build Alamance back to the capacity that it currently uses since it is already a large elementary school. Therefore, if a new elementary school is built, whether at a new location or at the current Southeast Middle School site, the Alamance attendance area would need to be balanced.

Superintendent Grier said that staff’s recommendation would be to continue with the renovations and build a new elementary school as had been proposed and, if it is decided to move away from that, staff’s thoughts are to build a new high school and renovate the other two facilities.

Mr. Hill stated that the proposal to convert the high school to a middle school, build a new high school and convert the middle school to an elementary school would in all probability cost somewhere in the range of $10 million more than the proposal that currently exists on the April 10 bond list.

Chairman Duncan talked about the importance of finalizing these decisions in order to submit the list to the county commissioners in the very immediate future. In that regard, he suggested the following proposal:

• Eliminate New Airport Area Middle School.
• Eliminate Hunter Elementary School Renovations – Chairman Duncan stated that he believes there is sufficient land on that site and a new school can be built there for approximately $2 million more than originally proposed. He further stated that the present school is sufficiently well situated to carry it to the next bond proposal.
• Eliminate Craven Special Education Center – Chairman Duncan said he is not yet satisfied that the board is completely gelled around a specific use on that site. As a result, he is not comfortable spending the money at this time.
• Eliminate $800,000 from the Northwest High School athletic facilities.
• Eliminate $1 million from Simeon Stadium.
• Eliminate the Page High School athletic facilities.
• Add classrooms to Southeast Middle School by building a new media center and dividing the present media center, or the dining room if better suited, into some classroom space.
• At the new airport high school, pick up the autism seats which were lost with the middle school.
• Attempt to purchase sufficient land with the new airport area high school and acquire the land at this time, not just for the high school, but for a middle school to be built in the future. As a result, that number will increase somewhat.
• Add a few classrooms at Northwest Middle School in addition to the auxiliary gymnasium, particularly in light of the new airport area middle school.

Chairman Duncan said that his proposal takes out about $80 million to $82 million and adds back some dollars.

Additionally, he proposed the following:

• Add in some classrooms at McLeansville
• Add back in the tracks and tennis courts, as they are needed and have wide appeal around the county. They are not tremendously expensive and are used for extracurricular activities as well as physical education classes.
• Add the Eastern High School construction cost which is not covered by insurance in the amount of $45 million.

Further discussion ensued in regard to Craven and how to best serve autistic students. Mr. Hill also answered board members’ question about the Gateway Phase I and Phase II projects.

Board member Walter Childs asked that the board consider the possibility of utilizing extra space at Andrews High School to house students before making a decision to build new facilities.

Board member Darlene Garrett stated her opposition to cutting Northwest High School athletics from the bond list. She believes that, instead of cutting this project, money should be added to it to make improvements to the driveway and to increase parking capacity at the school.

Chairman Duncan stated that the board must present the final 2007 bond referendum to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners in June. The goal is for the total to be $450 million or below and to change priorities on a few projects.

Chairman Duncan asked board members for their thoughts regarding the inclusion of the Eastern Guilford High School construction project in the bond and also asked if this figure should simply be added to the number earlier talked about or tailor it to include the Eastern number. The consensus of the board was not clear regarding inclusion of Eastern into the bond, but there was general trepidation about going above the $450 million total.

Chairman Duncan will work together with Mr. Hill to create a revised project list which will be submitted for approval at the June 12 board meeting.

Board Discussion

Proposed 2007-08 Board of Education Meeting Schedule

Superintendent Grier led the board in a discussion of the proposed 2007-08 Board of Education meeting schedule. This schedule follows the same format of the meeting schedule for the current year in that two meetings are scheduled each month, generally the second Tuesday and fourth Thursday. Some meetings have been moved from the normal practice of the second Tuesday and fourth Thursday so as not to have meetings scheduled for back-to-back weeks or to avoid conflicts with conference dates. Dates for the fall and winter retreats and budget meeting are included in the proposed schedule.

Motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to approve the proposed 2007-08 Board of Education meeting schedule as presented and direct the staff to properly notify the community of the approved schedule. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Discussion of Abstention Vote

Chairman Duncan began a discussion regarding abstention voting by board members. Attorney Jill Wilson suggested that this topic be examined by the Governance Review Committee for clarification in regard to the effect abstentions have on a motion’s passing or failing.    

Personnel Action

Renewals and Non-Renewals of Licensed Probationary and Contracted Employees
The board addressed personnel action requiring board approval.

The administration presented its recommendations for contract renewals of probationary teachers effective for the 2007-08 school year. Motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to approve the renewals and non-renewals of licensed probationary and contracted employees as submitted on May 24, 2007. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote.

Board Comments

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

Closed Session

At 10:36 p.m. motion was made by Deena Hayes, seconded by Walter Childs, to go into closed session to preserve the attorney client privilege and to discuss the lawsuit encaptioned Guilford County Board of Education v. Sigma Construction et al. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.

The board returned to open session at 11:05 p.m.

Adjournment

With no further business, at 11:06 p.m., motion was made by Anita Sharpe, seconded by Kris Cooke, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote.