School Board of the City of Norfolk
Minutes of the School Board Meeting
May 16, 2007

EXECUTIVE SESSION—CLOSED

The School Board convened the executive (closed) session at 3:40 p.m. in the School Administration Building, located at 800 E. City Hall Avenue, in Norfolk, Virginia.  Present were:  Chair Bishop, Vice Chair Rhodes, Mr. Cook, Mr. Driggers, Dr. McCluney, Dr. Tonelson, and Dr. Wright.  Superintendent Jones, Chief Academic Officer Boone, Chief Operations Officer Spencer, and Clerk Rhodes were present.   Mr. Cloud and Mr. Mungo were present from the City Attorney’s office.   

A roll call vote was taken on the motion and it was approved unanimously.

The Board came out of closed session at 5:10 p.m. and the School Board recessed for a dinner break. 

FORMAL OPEN SESSION

A. CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME

Mr. Bishop called the formal session of the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in Room 1202 of the School Administration Building. Present were Chair Bishop, Vice Chair Rhodes, Mr. Cook, Mr. Driggers, Dr. McCluney, Dr. Tonelson, and Dr. Wright.

B. RESOLUTION CERTIFYING AN EXECUTIVE CLOSED SESSION

It was MOVED and seconded that whereas, the School Board of the City of Norfolk convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance   with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; and whereas, Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the School Board of the City of Norfolk that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law; now, therefore, be it resolved by the School Board of the City of Norfolk:

That the School Board of the City of Norfolk hereby certifies that, to the best of each member’s knowledge, (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification resolution applies, and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by the Board.

A roll call vote was taken on the motion and it was approved unanimously.

C. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mr. Bishop led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

D. CHANGE AWARD PRESENTATION

Dr. Jones and Dr. Tonelson represented the administration at Dreamkeepers Academy when the school received the National School Change award and Dr. Doreatha White, principal of Dreamkeepers and Dr. Lou Smith, Director of the National School Change Award at Fordham University, Graduate School of Education, attended the board meeting given to outstanding six schools across the country.  Norfolk is the only district in the country which has won it three times (Rosemont Middle, Norview High, and Dreamkeepers).  The award represents perseverance, courage, effort, and dreams

E. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

The Superintendent reported:
 
1. The Broad Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation are hosting an invitation-only summit on May 23 and 24, 2007. During this time, district leaders will have the opportunity to focus on how to best use data to inform educational and organizational practices in order to improve the performance of school districts. In addition, the foundations are interested in funding work in the area of performance management and will use this meeting as an opportunity to begin a funding proposal process.  Over the past several years, MSDF and TBF have worked with large urban districts to put systems in place that assist districts in becoming high performing organizations.

Norfolk was invited to participate in the summit and submitted an extensive self-evaluation document and an outline of our strategic plan.  A select number of those invited to attend will be asked to make presentations to the Broad and Dell Foundation staff at this summit.  Decisions on which districts will present at the Summit are made by the foundations based on a district’s ability to self-assess its current situation and to articulate a concise vision of the future state of its performance management system.  The Superintendent was pleased to announce that we have been selected to present at this summit.

While there are no guarantees of funding, this is outstanding recognition of our progress and our focus. With past partnerships from these organizations ranging to several million dollars, this also may be an excellent opportunity for us to further our strategic goals with assistance from these foundations.

2. Due to a problem with Pearson’s servers, some of our students were unable to complete or begin SOL tests in mid-May.  This issue impacted all our middle and high schools causing problems for a few hundred students.  The issue was resolved and testing proceeded smoothly. We will reschedule students to take or retake tests as soon as possible. The Superintendent commended our staff and, most importantly, our students for remaining calm and taking these difficulties in stride. From reports he received, students were well behaved and observed appropriate testing procedures.  

3. Our final LAP institute was quite successful.  Several staff members traveled to New Orleans to continue developing and refining our strategic plan.  We are pleased to have identified a discrete number of performance measures that will help us gauge our progress and that will drive future reports to the Board on key programs and actions. I look forward to later in the meeting when Mr. Driggers and Dr. Tonelson will provide a more detailed report on LAP.

4. New Panasonic Foundation President, Skipp Orr, along with Executive Director Larry Leverrett and consultant George Perry visited the district yesterday. They met with employee organization leadership, board members, and district staff to discuss the partnership and its value to Norfolk Public Schools. They also visited two of our schools Campostella Elementary and Granby High School. Orr and Leverrett expressed their thanks for having the chance to visit and reaffirmed their commitment to the partnership between the foundation and NPS.

F. ITEMS OF INTEREST

1. Charlotte Lowe, a fourth grader at Willard Elementary School won highest honors in this year’s WordMaster Challenge, a national language arts competition entered by over 225,000 students annually. 

This competition challenges students to solve analogies based on relationships among words they have learned, and it draws these analogies from special vocabulary lists which they only have two weeks to study before each of the 3 meets held throughout the year. Charlotte earned a perfect score in this year’s second meet, held in February.  In the entire country, only 124 fourth graders earned perfect scores.  

2. The Priority Automotive Community Group believes a scholar is to be praised and honored for their work in the community as well as in school.  That’s why they recently awarded Darelle Anderson of Lake Taylor High School the winner of the Priority Automotive Community Scholarship Award for his superior achievements in both academics and sports.
           
3. Each year The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States honors a Social Studies teacher for their work with students in the classroom.  This year, the honor went to Paula Williams of Azalea Gardens Middle School.  The Veterans of Tidewater Post 4809 & the Ladies Auxiliary honored Ms. Williams at the 42nd Annual Community Activities Awards Program.

G. INTRODUCTION OF NEW ADMINISTRATOR

Mr. Michael Spencer, Chief Operations Officer, introduced to the School Board members Kimatha Joyner who was promoted from Informational Systems Specialist to Business Information Systems analyst.

H. TEACHER APPRECIATION RESOLUTION FROM THE CITY

WHEREAS, a strong, effective system of free public education for all children and youth is essential to our democratic system of government; and

WHEREAS, teachers open children’s minds to the magic of ideas, knowledge, and dreams while helping mold them into future citizens through guidance and instruction; and

WHEREAS, society expects public schools to provide quality education services to all children, regardless of their backgrounds or abilities, and our community recognizes its teachers are providing those services; and

WHEREAS, teachers continue to influence us long after our school days are only memories; and

WHEREAS, teachers in Norfolk Public Schools are to be commended for the district’s recent accomplishments; and

WHEREAS, the many outstanding teachers in Norfolk Public Schools are leading the school system to world class and bringing much recognition to the City of Norfolk;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PAUL D. FRAIM, Mayor of the City of Norfolk, do hereby proclaim the week of May 6-11, 2007, as “TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK” in the City of Norfolk, and encourage all citizens to pay tribute to our public school teachers for a “job well done.”

Given under my hand this 8th day of May 2007.

I. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS AND STATEMENT

It was moved by Mr. Cook and seconded by Mr. Driggers to receive and file the financial highlights and statement for April.  The motion was approved.

J. CITIZEN COMMENT ON AGENDA/NON-AGENDA ITEMS

K. DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL FO THE CONSENT AGENDA

The Consent Agenda was presented for approval and contained the items listed below.

1. The minutes for the April 12 and April 30 School Board meetings;
2. The April 2007, Bills and Payroll Report;
3. The Personnel Report
4. The Pupil Personnel Docket for May 16, 2007, with the following items:   the Suggested Long-term Suspensions with Special Conditions report, the Long- term Suspension Report for the month of April, and the Out-of-District Report for April 1-30, 2007;
5. The April Use of School Facilities Report;
6. A school rental request from New Life House of Prayer Community of Faith Church for a six-month extension from the original date of October 2006-April 2007 to September 2007, for the use of Ingleside Elementary School for religious services;
7. Resolution Title I, Part A—Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged
8. Resolution, Title I, Part D—Programs for Neglected or Delinquent Children or Youth
9. Resolution Title II, Part A-Preparing, Training, and     Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals
10. Resolution Title III, Part A—Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students
11. Resolution Title V, Part A—Innovative Programs
12. A resolution authorizing Dr. Melinda Boone or Yvonne Young to sign all Virginia Department of Education correspondence, reports, documents, requisitions, and other official correspondence in the absence of the superintendent for a period beginning July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2008.

L. 2007-2008 PROPOSED PAY SCALES

It was moved by Dr. McCluney and seconded by Mrs. Rhodes to receive and approve the pay scales for teachers. The motion was approved. The proposed teacher pay scales provide employees of Norfolk Public Schools a step increment and cost of living adjustment that totals 4%. The senior step on teacher pay scales will be receiving the cost of living adjustment only.  

It was moved by Mrs. Rhodes and seconded by Mr. Cook that a one-time incentive for hard-to-fill teacher positions (math, speech pathologists, and school psychologists), in an amount not to exceed $2,000.00 per new teacher. This incentive is to be paid (50%/50%) at the completion of the first semester and the close of the school year. This incentive is anticipated to cost approximately $250,000.

M. 2007-2008 CHANGES TO ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS (OPEB)

The School Board received the report from Mr. Schmitt regarding changes to eligibility for other post employment benefits (OPEB).  Mr. Schmitt explained the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), in statement number 45, changed the way in which all governmental entities must account for post employment benefits. Currently, most entities treat the annual expenses for health insurance as a cash item during the year in which the payments were made.  For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, the School Board of Norfolk must disclose the long term liabilities associated with all future payments linked to offering benefits to retired employees. Using the accrual method, the total liability is $74.5 million with an annual liability of $9.2 million.

The proposed changes to NPS policy will significantly reduce the costs and liabilities for   NPS while preserving most of the benefit for retired employees. There are three changes recommended by an expert consultant: (1) Changing eligibility to 50 years of age, and 15 years of service, (2) Placing a cap on the implicit subsidy at twice the current level and (3) Eliminating the spousal subsidy.

The Board agreed to vote on this matter at the June 20, 2007, School Board meeting.

N. SCHOOL UNIFORMS FOR COLEMAN PLACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Mr. Cook moved and Dr. McCluney seconded to approve the school uniform proposal from Coleman Place Elementary School.  After researching the impact of uniforms on students’ performance and discipline and after numerous meetings whereby the parents and staff could discuss their concerns, the principal, staff, and parents of Coleman Place Elementary are in agreement that the school should require uniforms beginning in the fall of 2007.  All meetings and surveys were conducted in the required time frames.  According to the surveys, 91% of the parents are in agreement.

The department of School Governance has received and reviewed the school uniform proposal from Coleman Place Elementary School and found all requirements were met.

O. TECH PREP REPORT        

Denise Wiggins, Senior Director of Career and Technical Education gave a report for information to the School Board members regarding the Tech Prep program.  Tech Prep is a program of study that is carried out under an articulation agreement between the participants in the consortium.  It links secondary schools with a two-year post secondary education in a sequential course of study, designed to lead to an associate’s degree or a post secondary certificate in a specific field.

Norfolk Public Schools Career and Technical Education offerings are part of the Tidewater Community College Consortium and Articulation Agreement.

Benefits to students include:

• Meets academic standards developed by the state
• Leads to an associate or baccalaureate degree or a postsecondary certificate
• Provides technical preparation in specified career fields
• Links high school, college, and career preparation with business and industry standards and competencies
• College credit awarded

P. NORFOLK SCHOOL BOARD SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS FOR 2006-2007

            1.         Kristen Robertson—Granby
            2.         Courney Gross—Norfolk Collegiate
            3.         Townes Culpepper-Alltop—Norview
            4.         Zachery Miller—Granby
            5.         Justin Mejia—Granby
            6.         Jessica Powell—Granby
            7.         Chelsea Woodhouse—Norfolk Collegiate
            8.         Mario Fields—Booker T. Washington
            9.         Tamara Davis—Maury
            10.       Christina Penrod—Lake Taylor

Q. ODU/NPS ARCHIVE PROJECT

Mr. Vince Rhodes told the board members that Norfolk Public Schools had been approached by Dean Graves of Old Dominion University’s School of Education and a library representative regarding archiving NPS records for historical purposes and as a resource.  A possible agreement may be crafted in the future for board approval.

R. OTHER SCHOOL BOARD MATTERS

                        1.         LAP III Report
                        2.         CUBE/NSBA Conference Report
                        3.         Committee Reports
 
The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Minutes approved by the School Board:  June 20, 2007