SCHOOL BOARD OF THE CITY OF NORFOLK

Minutes of the Monthly School Board Meeting
June 20, 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, Mr. Cook, Mr. Driggers, Dr. McCluney, Dr. Tonelson, and Dr. Wright.  Mrs. Rhodes was absent.  Superintendent Jones, Chief of Staff Young, Chief Academic Officer Boone, Chief Operations Officer Spencer, and Clerk Rhodes were present.   Mr. Cloud was 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 4:50 p.m. and the School Board recessed for a dinner break. 

OPEN SESSION

 A.        CALL TO ORDER

Mr. Bishop called the formal session of the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. in Room 1202 of the School Administration Building.   Present were Chair Bishop, Mr. Cook, Mr. Driggers, Dr. McCluney, Dr. Tonelson, and Dr. Wright.   Mrs. Rhodes was absent.

Also present were Superintendent Jones; Chief Officers Young, Boone, Spencer, Schmitt, and Sullivan, and Executive Directors Jones, Lassiter, O’Konek, and Thomas; and Clerk Rhodes.   

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.        SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

1. The Superintendent congratulated Mr. Barry Bishop, Mr. Billy Cook, Mr. Jim Driggers, and Dr. Lillian Wright for their reappointment to the School Board for another two-year term.  Their selection signals a vote of confidence from City Council and other community members on our Board’s leadership and direction.  We have been blessed to have serious, committed Board members and blessed with stable leadership. This has allowed us to make significant progress in our journey to world-class status. We look forward to making continued progress under the Board’s leadership.

2. Norfolk Public Schools raised a total $156,465 during its recent Relay for Life at Norview High School.  This exceeded our initial goal and is a tremendous show of support for the American Cancer Society and its mission to find a cure. This is the second year we have had a Relay here in Norfolk and he was pleased to participate in this exciting event for the second time.  The superintendent continues to be amazed by the generosity and commitment of our employees, students, and parents. He gave a  special "thank you" to Norview High School's faculty and staff for hosting the Relay for Life event and to all of our students, staff, and families for making this program a huge success.

3. The superintendent reported that our graduations were well attended last week. Nearly 1,500 students participated in the graduation ceremonies of our five high schools and those students were congratulated by the superintendent.  We already have begun working on a common graduation site for next year and are in negotiations with the Ted Constant Convocation Center to find appropriate dates and times. We hope to have those plans finalized soon.

4. The superintendent reported summer school will start at Norview High School  Monday, June 25th, and run through Aug. 2nd.  Summer school runs from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and is designed for students who want to take a course for the first time for acceleration purposes or to re-take a course that was not successfully completed for the purpose of staying on track for graduation.  Courses range from English 9-12 to Algebra I and II to Chemistry to U.S. History.  Currently, we have approximately 800 students enrolled and sign up will continue this week.

Our elementary schools and middle schools offer five-week summer programs designed to provide students with intensive instruction in communications skills, math, history, and science.  We anticipate about 4,200 students will participate in these programs.

Norfolk Public Schools also offers a variety of summer enrichments programs starting on June 24 and ending sometime before August 2nd. These programs include: our Advanced Placement Summer Academy, Summer Art Academy, our Getting Ready for Algebra program, Middle School Summer Instrumental Music Camp, Junior University, our PreKindergarten Summer Program, and Elementary Summer Enrichment.

E.       ITEMS OF INTEREST

1. Bayview Elementary School is proud to announce that four of Maryanne Quinn's fifth-grade students won first place in the Virginia Future Problem Solvers Competition in Richmond this past April.  Bailey Brubaker, Carolyn Butler, Danielle Rodgers and Essence Thomas’ winning entry consisted of a six-part booklet that identified and solved a problem related to the topic of “Caring for the Elderly.” The students have been developing problem-solving skills all year under the direction of Jessica Grell, their coach and gifted resource teacher.
2. Michael Porter, a first grader also at Bay View, won the Virginia Council on Economic Education’s "Color the Concepts" Calendar Contest for the 2007-2008 calendar year. Michael's entry was selected for its creativity and artistic ability to describe an important economic concept.  Michael won a $50 savings bond.
3. James Wright, an eighth grader at Lafayette-Winona Middle School, composed a piece of music for string instruments that recently won first place on the school, district and regional levels for the Reflections Competition.   This Advanced Orchestra Member has made it to Jr. Regional Orchestra, first chair in the All-City Orchestra, third chair in the String Orchestra of Bay Youth, and first chair in the Jr. Strolling Strings. 
4. Cherrelle Allen, a Norview High School senior in Catering II at Norfolk Technical Center, participated in the 15th Annual Careers for the Culinary Arts Program Scholarships Competition in March, at the Culinary Institute of Virginia.  Cherrelle won a four-year, $46,700 scholarship to Monroe College in New York.  She is also the recipient of a $1,500 scholarship from International Food Service Executives Association.
5. Norfolk Public Schools is excited to recognize Arlene Frango, an Executive Secretary in School Governance, as the Virginia Educational Office Professional of the Year. She was also honored as Norfolk’s 2006 Office Professional of the Year.  She has been with our district since 1992.
6. Beth Hazelette, Senior Coordinator for Music, was named the AEOPN Administrator of the Year. Mrs. Hazelette has been with the school system for 26 years and has been honored for her many contributions to our music program.
7. Charlene Thomas, an Office Manager at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, was crowned Norfolk Public Schools’ Office Professional of the Year. Ms. Thomas has been with the district for 15 years and contributes countless hours of her time to volunteer and church work, as well as a tutoring program for first graders.
   

F.         INTRODUCTION OF NEW ADMINISTRATORS

Mr. Michael Spencer, Chief Operations Officer, introduced to the School Board members Frank Thompson, elected Business Manager, Child Nutrition Services and Tiffany D. Robinson, elected Grants Accountant in Accounting

G.       CITIZEN COMMENT ON AGENDA/NON-AGENDA ITEMS

H.          DISCUSSION AND APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA

It was moved by Dr. Tonelson and seconded by Dr. McCluney to approve the consent agenda as presented.  The motion was approved.

1. The minutes for the May 16 School Board meeting, the May 30 work session, and the June 11 work session.
2. The May 2007 Bills and Payroll Report;
3. The Personnel Report for June 20, 2007, the list of Personnel Retiring July 1, 2007, the Summer School Elections Supplement, and the Supplement to the Personnel Docket.
4. The Pupil Personnel Docket for June 20, 2007, with the following items:   the Suggested Long-term Suspensions with Special Conditions report and the Long-term Suspension Report for the month of May;
5. The May Use of School Facilities Report;
6. A school rental request from Bread of Heaven Ministries for the use of Ruffner Academy for religious services; and,
7. 2007-08 Proposed Tuition Rates.

I.         FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS AND STATEMENT

Mr. Schmitt and Mrs. Pellegrino reported that Final State allocation numbers have been promulgated by the Virginia Department of Education and the numbers shown reflected the best information available.  As of May 31, 2007, we have encumbered or expensed $273,618,894 or 88.3% of budget funds against the revised budget estimate.  This compares to 96.4% at the same time last year and 84.5% in 05.  It is anticipated we will be at 99.8% at year end.
 
It was moved by Mr. Cook and seconded by Dr. Tonelson to receive and file the financial highlights and statement for May.  The motion was approved.

J.        APPROVAL OF 2007-2008 SCHOOL BOARD BUDGET

It was moved by Mr. Cook and seconded by Dr. Wright to receive and approve the Final FY 2008 Budget based on ordinances approved by the City of Norfolk. 

The City Budget reflects a decrease in the amount requested by $4,500,000. However, in addition to the basic ordinance of $314,707,700, the city re-appropriated funds from our Fund Balance in the amount of $2,200,000. As part of the CIP ordinance the city pushed back the implementation of Crossroads Elementary. This delay will allow Norfolk Public Schools to realign lottery and school construction grants funding into our facilities plan. The overall re-appropriation and realignment will provide NPS with the necessary operational funds for FY 2008. In addition to the operational budget the Capital Improvement Plan for deferred maintenance in the amount of $2,500,000 and $54,662,588 for Grants were also approved.

• City Ordinance 42,662 dated 5/09/07 for $314,707,700 for Operations of NPS
• City Ordinance 42,664 dated 5/09/07 for $2,200,000 for Operations of NPS from fund balance
• City Ordinance 42,663 dated 5/09/07 for $ 2,500,00 for Capital Improvements

K.        APPROVAL OF 2007-2008 CHANGES TO ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS (OPEB)

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.

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

Mr. Schmitt, Michael Spencer, Vizel Townsend, Patricia Dillard, and Allison Myers recommended that the School Board receive and approve the changes to eligibility for Other Post Employment Benefits.  The changes have been discussed in detail with employee groups during special session of the Meet & Confer process.

It was explained that 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.

It was moved and seconded to approve the motion.  It was approved on a 4 to 2 vote.

M.        REPORT ON MIDDLE SCHOOL AFTER-SCHOOL SUSPENSION RECOVERY PROGRAM

Dr. Melinda Boone, Dr. Cathy Lassiter, Mrs. Kenyetta Goshen, Mrs. Jeanne Kruger, and Dr. Andrea Tottossy presented the report on the Middle School After-School Suspension Recovery Program for information to the board members.

The volunteer "suspension recovery" program was piloted by three schools, Northside Middle, Ruffner Middle and Rosemont Middle.  The program was designed to allow students on short term suspensions to "recover" lost days and missed assignments.  At the winter LAP session in Colorado Springs, the superintendent expressed support for the pilot and committed $36,000 for the volunteer schools.  Each school received $12,000.  A fourth school, Lafayette-Winona, also expressed interest.  The principal tried to get the city to add the funds as part of the After-the-Bell Program at the school.  This did not work out; therefore, the Executive Director allocated $6,000 from the MSQEP budget so that LWMS could run an abbreviated program.  Each of the three original programs began operation the week of March 19 and ran through the first week in June.  The LWMS program ran from May until June. 

Staffing: Each school used a respected staff member to coordinate the program, supervise the exchange of assignments to teachers, and facilitate esembler adjustments for the recovery of absences.  Teachers in the program were paid the summer school rate of $28.00 per hour.  Security staff were hired on an as-needed-basis.

Recovery Guidelines: Students attended the after school program on a one to one match with the number of suspended days.  Instruction and guidance were provided to students to help them complete their work.  Classroom teachers counted all assignments at full credit.  Students attended on average 3.5 hours per day and 4 hours on Saturday. Principals had the autonomy to decide which students were eligible to attend based on the severity of the offense and the involvement of others.

Transportation: Parents provided transportation to the school in the afternoons. Regular school late busses were provided for transportation home.
 
Preliminary Results Data:  403 students were invited to attend the program; 200 students attended; 3 students were removed due to poor behavior while in attendance; 447 absences were recovered; 600 assignments were turned in and graded

N.        MGT FACILITIES STUDY PRESENTATION

Mr. Michael Spencer, Chief Operations Officer, Norfolk Public Schools and Mr. Joe Clark, Consultant, MGT of America, Inc. presented the report for information to the board members.

Norfolk Public Schools contracted with MGT of America to conduct a comprehensive facility study.  Phase 1 of this study was to conduct a physical assessment of each school facility.  Phase 2 of the project was to provide a program capacity study of each school and merge that assessment with the physical assessment to determine the relative “value” of each school in meeting the educational goals of our school district.  Included in this phase was to determine what resources would be required for each school to maximize its potential.   The third phase of the project was to develop a master facility plan.  This plan would include recommendations for possible school closings, boundary changes, capital improvement projects, and program consolidations.

It was recommended that the School Board receive the plan from MGT as information and establish a future work session to consider its recommendations.

O.       SCHOOL BOARD MATTERS

• The members of the School Board discussed the time/format of School Board meetings.
• It was noted that board members should have the opportunity to input on school board recognitions.
• One major presentation should be done at each monthly meeting relating to the four targets.
• Committee reports were received from various board members.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.