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Guilford County Board of Education |
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GUILFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION |
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Thursday, July 26, 2007 |
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The Guilford County Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Thursday, July 26, 2007, at 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina. The following board members were present: Jeff Belton (arrived at 4:24 p.m.), Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns (arrived at 4:33 p.m.), Amos Quick and Nancy Routh. Board members Darlene Garrett, Deena Hayes and Anita Sharpe were absent. Also present were Superintendent Terry Grier and Attorney Jill Wilson. Call to Order Closed Session The board returned to open session at 6:09 p.m. Moment of Remembrance and Silence Public Comments
Approval of AgendaChairman Duncan asked board members to review the meeting agenda and called for a motion to approve or amend it. Chairman Duncan asked that Staff Report Item E, Update on New Light Student Suspension Program, be deferred to the August 14, 2007 board meeting. Motion was made by Walter Childs, seconded by Amos Quick, to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote. Consent Agenda A. Personnel Action Reports The consent agenda included personnel actions as noted in the monthly Personnel Action Report and addendum requiring board approval. Motion was made by Amos Quick, seconded by Nancy Routh, to approve the consent agenda as presented. The motion passed upon unanimous roll call vote. Staff Reports Eastern Guilford High School (EGHS) Update Sharon Ozment, chief finance officer, and Dennis Cole, facilities, presented to the board an update on Eastern Guilford High School. Mr. Cole showed aerial photographs of the construction progress at EGHS. He reported that the work is proceeding on schedule for the August 20 planned opening date. Ms. Ozment presented two additional items related to this update: Contractual Agreement with Barnhill Contracting Company for Phase 2 (New Building Construction) of the Eastern Guilford High School Project At the February 20, 2007 board meeting, the board approved a contract for Pre-Construction Services at EGHS in the amount of $200,000 with Barnhill Contracting Company. At the March 29, 2007 board meeting, the board approved a contract for Phase 1 (early site phase – grading and modular village layout) of the EGHS project with Barnhill Contracting Company in the amount of $2,941,570 (Guaranteed Maximum Price or GMP #1). At the May 24, 2007 board meeting, the board approved a contract for Phase IA (modular village fit-up and site paving phase) of the EGHS project with Barnhill Contracting Company in the amount of $3,960,987 (GMP #2). On July 11, 12 and 23, 2007 Barnhill Contracting Company received bids for Phase 2 (new building construction) of the EGHS project. The GMP for this phase (GMP #3) is $40,202,475. MWBE participation for this phase is 28.03% (6.17% African American; 18.82% Women; and 3.04% Hispanic), and total MWBE for all three phases (GMP #1, GMP #2 and GMP #3) is 26.85% (6.57% African American; 17.15% Women; and 3.13% Hispanic). Facilities and purchasing staff attended the bid openings conducted by Barnhill Contracting Company. Purchasing also reviewed the bids for compliance with applicable state statutes including MWBE requirements. Bids were found to be in compliance with applicable state statutes. North Carolina General Statute 143-128.1 regarding construction management at risk requires board of education approval of the GMP. Motion was made by Garth Hébert, seconded by Kris Cooke, to award a contract to Barnhill Contracting Company in the amount of $40,202,475 (GMP #3) for Phase 2 (new building construction) of the Eastern Guilford High School Project. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 5-to-3 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Kris Cooke, Garth Hébert, Dot Kearns and Nancy Routh; Nays – Walter Childs, Alan Duncan and Amos Quick. Funding for Eastern Guilford High School At the March 29, 2007 board meeting, the board voted to use the district’s state lottery dollars and insurance proceeds to finance the construction of a replacement facility for EGHS. At the April 25, 2007 board meeting, the board voted to commit all future insurance proceeds recovered for EGHS to service and retire the debt associated with the construction of a replacement facility. At that time those decisions were predicated based on financing a Certificates of Participation (COPs) financing vehicle. The May 3, 2007 County Commission meeting included an agenda item requesting adoption of a resolution authorizing initiation of appropriate and requisite proceedings to issue financing as allowed under North Carolina General Statute 160A-20 via Certificates of Participation (COPs) or Direct Placement Tax Exempt Facilities Lease Purchase Agreement in an amount not to exceed $53 million (estimated turn-key cost of $61 million less $8 million in insurance proceeds received to date at that point in time) for the construction of a replacement facility for EGHS. The agenda item was not approved; however, the Commission approved a motion from the floor approving a continuing contract resolution and directing the financial staff of the county and the school district to work together to identify funding for EGHS from the $121 million in cash flow estimated by Guilford County Finance Director Brenda Fox to be available from existing bond funds. Commissioner Yow sought and received clarification from the motion maker (Commissioner Alston) that (a) no existing GCS bond project would incur a reduction in funds as a result of the temporary transfer of available cash flow to EGHS and (b) the funds temporarily transferred to EGHS will be restored by the county commissioners with future local school construction bond proceeds or COPS or installment financing or some other source of revenue/funding. Based on the information provided to GCS by Barnhill Construction (the Construction Management at Risk Contractor for the EGHS project), $28,714,752 is needed for construction for EGHS in fiscal year 2007-08 (see chart below). Approximately $1.3 million is also needed for soft costs. It is important to note that the $28.7 million and $1.3 million figures do not include any modular village costs as operating dollars and regular capital outlay funds will be used to finance the lease and set-up costs associated with the modular units.
GMP1 = PHASE 1 – EARLY SITE PHASE – scope includes site survey and layout, earthwork/storm drainage/erosion control/site demolition, site utilities/water service/sewer service, and geotechnical testing. GMP1 = PHASE 1A – MODULAR VILLAGE FIT-UP – scope includes electrical, plumbing, fire sprinkler tie-in, decks and ramps, concrete paving and sidewalks, asphalt paving and curb, landscaping, food service equipment, general trades, casework and furniture. PHASE 2 – NEW BUILDING CONSTRUCTION – scope includes all remaining site work and all new building construction. Staff proposed making the following temporary transfer in order to fund the $30 million in estimated construction and soft costs needed for EGHS in 2007-08: $ 28,714,752.00 2007-08 EGHS cash flow projections less modular village costs ($ 14,000,000.00) insurance proceeds Given there is still some transaction activity and/or open pending items associated with many of these projects, it is likely that these temporary transfers will need to be amended during the course of the 2007-08 fiscal year if the transaction activity and/or pending items in any of the impacted projects will generate a negative available balance. Chairman Duncan provided board members the opportunity to ask questions and share opinions in regard to this request. Motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Jeff Belton, for approval to (a) use $14 million in insurance proceeds ($8 million currently authorized via a project ordinance + $6 million in additional proceeds received); (b) use $250,000 from the Colfax Elementary School settlement; (c) temporarily transfer the funds outlined above in order to fund the balance of the $30 million in estimated construction and soft costs needed for Eastern Guilford High School in 2007-08 and (d) authorize appropriate staff member(s) to appear before the County Commission on August 23, 2007 and request approval of the project ordinance revisions outlined above. The motion failed upon tie electronic vote of 4-to-4 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Dot Kearns and Nancy Routh; Nays – Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Garth Hébert and Amos Quick. Motion was made by Alan Duncan, seconded by Garth Hébert, to authorize GCS staff to communicate to the county staff on both the staff’s recommendations with respect to this item and to report on the board’s discussion with respect to the concerns that the board has expressed in terms of the requests for how to finance the Eastern Guilford High School project. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote. Board member Walter Childs was not present for this vote. Update on Rena Bullock Property Board Attorney Jill Wilson presented to the board an update on the sale of the Rena Bullock school property. At the April 27, 2006 board meeting, the board approved the sale on a negotiated bid basis of the former Rena Bullock school property to Juanita Gladney Staton for $163,000.00, of which total property purchase price a bid deposit of $8,150.00 had already been made by Mrs. Staton. The board’s approval of this property sale was specifically contingent upon the property transfer being closed on or before June 27, 2006. During the several weeks immediately preceding June 27, 2006, Mrs. Staton said that she was experiencing delays in obtaining all the funds necessary to accomplish this property transfer closing. At Mrs. Staton’s request, the board twice extended the time within which the property transfer to her could be closed to afford her more time to complete her financing arrangements. Mrs. Staton was not able to finalize her financing arrangements by the last extended property transfer closing date of July 21, 2006. During the weeks and months which have passed since July 21, 2006, Mrs. Staton has expressed her continuing interest in purchasing the former Rena Bullock school property and of her continuing efforts to work out financing arrangements which would permit her to accomplish that objective. Mrs. Staton was advised during each of these conversations that she technically no longer has any legal right to require the sale to her of this property because the time specified for the closing of this property transfer to her had expired. In response to her request for one or more further closing extensions, Mrs. Staton was told that the request would not come back to the board on her behalf for any further property transfer closing extension(s) until she provides a cash deposit of the property purchase price balance ($154,850.00) or proof of her financial ability to actually close this property transfer if the board, in the exercise of its discretion, should grant a further closing date extension for her. On Friday, July 13, 2007, Mrs. Staton provided a BB&T official check for $34,867.00 plus a BB&T commitment letter for a loan to her of $120,000.00 to be secured by a first mortgage lien position regarding the former Rena Bullock school property. At the time this BB&T official check and BB&T loan commitment letter were delivered, Mrs. Staton requested that the board further extend the closing date for her purchase of the former Rena Bullock school property to not later than August 10, 2007. The approved property sale to Mrs. Staton was on an as-is basis, and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners declined its statutory option to purchase this property in December of 2000. Motion was made by Garth Hébert, seconded by Kris Cooke, to grant a further and final extension to Juanita Gladney Staton to purchase the former Rena Bullock school property on an as-is basis for a total price of $163,000.00 (including a 5 percent bid deposit of $8,150.00 made in March, 2006), subject to the specific condition that the closing of this property transfer be accomplished on or before August 10, 2007. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote. Update on Military Recruitment at Schools Dr. Eric Becoats, chief of staff, presented to the board an update on how military recruitment is addressed at schools and on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Beginning with the 2007-08 school year the administration will provide to the public additional information regarding the ability for students to opt out of inclusion on the military recruitment list: (1) an information piece will be presented on Channel 2, (2) a Connect-ed message will be sent to the homes of all juniors and seniors prior to the start of school, (3) an opt-out form and information will be posted on the GCS Web site. Update on Northern Elementary Split School Year for 2007-08 Gay Citty, instructional improvement officer, and Dennis Cole, facilities, presented to the board an update on the construction at Northern Elementary School as well as the opening of school on two campuses. Mr. Cole stated that the Northern Elementary project is on schedule, with delays that had occurred being made up to target the opening of school in November as planned. Ms. Citty provided an update from Teresa Richardson, Northern Elementary principal, on the opening of school on two sites in August. The students who will be coming to Northern from Summerfield and Laughlin will be housed at the Laughlin site when school opens. The address and phone number from Laughlin will be the address and phone number that will be used for Northern Elementary until the new site is ready. Stephanie Harris, assistant principal, and the treasurer will be based at the Laughlin site. Both the principal and assistant principal will be traveling back and forth to both sites frequently as will the treasurer and the SIMS operator. The students who will be coming to Northern from Monticello-Brown Summit and Brightwood will be housed at the Reedy Fork site when school opens. Denise Schroeder, Reedy Fork Elementary principal, and Teresa Richardson have been working together closely to utilize the space effectively and make a smooth transition when the students move from that facility. The art, music and physical education specials will be held there on different days in order to utilize the spaces designated to them for their particular areas. The SIMS operator and the principal will be based at the Reedy Fork site and will be traveling back and forth to both sites frequently. Parents were notified in the spring of their students’ reassignment to Northern. The Connect-ed system has been utilized to provide updates to parents. The PTA has been established and officers are meeting regularly. Students have been assigned to teachers, and they will remain with those teachers throughout the school year. The transportation staff has scheduled 10 buses to serve Northern Elementary. Until they come together at the new campus, five buses will serve the Laughlin site and five buses will serve the Reedy Fork site. The bus routes were created to minimize changes as much as possible when the students move to the new Northern Elementary campus. The bus stop assignments were made based on the site data for the past school year, kindergarten enrollment requests and approximately 200 transportation request forms which were received by the July 12 deadline. Both route schedules will be available at both Northern Elementary school campuses on August 10 and also on the GCS Web site. Update on New Light Student Suspension Program This item was deferred until the August 14, 2007 meeting. Executive Accountability and Research Officer Gongshu Zhang presented an update on preliminary ABC/AYP results that have been released from the state. Staff is continuing to verify these numbers to be sure there have been no errors in reporting of information. Update on the 2007-08 Budget Sharon Ozment, chief finance officer, presented to the board an update on the 2007-08 budget. Proposed 2007-08 Budget Reductions Superintendent Grier stated that the house and senate budget committees have reached a compromise. It is expected that there may be a vote on a state budget early next week. Ms. Ozment has identified proposed budget reductions working with a budget deficit based on the house budget proposal of $3,351,984. Below, in rank order, are listed 11 items being proposed to offset the budget deficit:
Board discussion on these proposed reductions followed. No board vote was required at this time. High School Ahead Academy Superintendent Grier presented a proposal to the board that the district create a program/school to serve middle school rising seventh or eighth graders who are two or more years older than their peer groups. The program would contain the following components:
Twilight High School Program Superintendent Grier also provided information regarding a proposed Twilight High School program. This program is for students who have been suspended three or more times during the previous year and would focus on two sets of students: (1) students suspended three or more times in ninth grade, (2) students suspended three or more times in eleventh grade who are rising seniors and are short of the number of courses needed to graduate. Unless placed in a different environment, it is likely that these students would drop out of school. This program would offer these students an alternate option to return to school and attend a twilight program from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Transportation would be provided by the district. An important component of the Twilight High School is to work with the teachers in this school to help their students get jobs during the day. Part of the teacher’s responsibility would be to visit the job site, work with the employer and serve as a mentor for the student. This program would give students who have been disruptive at school for a variety of different reasons an alternative environment to be successful. Staff advocates having a pilot program for the year. Chairman Duncan provided board members the opportunity to ask questions and share their opinions in regard to the High School Ahead Academy and the Twilight High School program. Motion was made by Walter Childs, seconded by Kris Cooke, to follow the administration’s recommendation to move forward with the High School Ahead Academy. The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 5-to-3 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan and Dot Kearns; Nays – Garth Hébert, Nancy Routh and Amos Quick. Motion was made by Alan Duncan, seconded by Kris Cooke, to direct staff to organize an implementation of the Twilight High School program as of the second semester of this school year; report to the board with respect to its organization for implementation; report to the board with an updated budget evaluation as to how the board might be most comfortable at that point in the budget year in allocating adequate funds; to study if it is possible to do a pilot program that would cover one school in the High Point area and one school in the Greensboro area starting for the latter semester. The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote. Board Discussion First Reading - Policy KI, Distribution of Materials in Schools Chairman Duncan called on board member Dr. Nancy Routh, convener of the Governance Review Committee, to lead the board in a discussion regarding the first reading of Policy KI, Distribution of Materials in Schools. Motion was made by Garth Hébert, seconded by Walter Childs, to accept Policy KI, Distribution of Materials in Schools, for first reading and direct the administration to receive input per the board’s adoption policy (BD). The motion passed upon unanimous electronic vote. Chairman Duncan called on board member Dr. Nancy Routh, convener of the Governance Review Committee, to lead the board in a discussion regarding the first reading of Policy KG, Use of School Facilities. Allen Bailey, assistant direct of maintenance, provided information to the board regarding the procedures currently being followed regarding the use of facilities. Motion was made by Garth Hébert, seconded by Nancy Routh, to accept Policy KG, Community Use of School Facilities, for first reading and direct the administration to receive input per the board’s adoption policy (BD). The motion passed upon majority electronic vote of 7-to-1 as follows: Ayes –Jeff Belton, Walter Childs, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Garth Hébert, Amos Quick and Nancy Routh; Nays – Dot Kearns. Reports from the Chairman Chairman Duncan called on board member Dot Kearns, convener of the Legislative Committee, to share comments on behalf of the committee. Budget Conference Report There is no specific designation for school construction. Though more money will be available at the local level without such a designation, trust would have to be placed in the counties to provide the funding. Fifty percent of any new revenue source should be designated for school construction. Since it is becoming clear a school construction bond will not happen this session, she emphasized the importance of voicing an opinion to legislators to ensure adequate funding is provided for school construction needs. HB 1740 School Board Fiscal Accountability Board Comments Board members were each allowed two minutes to make remarks, as they deemed appropriate. Closed Session At 11:33 p.m., motion was made by Nancy Routh, seconded by Walter Childs, to go into closed session to preserve the attorney client privilege and to discuss student matters protected by state and federal laws. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote. The board returned to open session at 1:01 a.m. on Friday, July 27. Adjournment With no further business, at 1:02 a.m., motion was made by Kris Cooke, seconded by Amos Quick, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed upon unanimous voice vote. |
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In compliance with federal laws, Guilford County Schools administers all educational programs, employment activities and admissions without discrimination because of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, color, age, military service, disability or gender, except where exemption is appropriate and allowed by law. Refer to the Board of Education's Discrimination Free Environment Policy AC for a complete statement. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the Guilford County Schools Compliance Officer, 120 Franklin Boulevard, Greensboro, NC 27401; 336.370.2323. All Guilford County Schools facilities, both educational and athletic, are tobacco-free learning environments. © 2008 Guilford County Schools, 712 North Eugene Street, Greensboro, NC 27401 336.370.8100 |
