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Adair School District Board Report, Dec. 20, 2007 meeting At the December 20, 2007 meeting:
By Ed Waggener ColumbiaMagazine.com story The Adair County Board of Education meeting Thursday, December 20, 2007, drew the largest public outpouring in recent times, as the board's announcement that it would consider, in item #23, "Budget issues such as transportation, Dental insurance, and all-day Kindergarten." It was the first item which jam packed the inadequate Adair County Board of Education conference room. "Can rumors be stopped that boosters are going to have to raise money for trips," David Martin asked when the floor was opened to public comment on the agenda item. The answer to Mr. Martin's question from Superintendent Darrell Treece was "Not this year. I can stop that rumor." The board also heard from music teacher Pam Foust on the subject, and parent Jackie Montgomery drew a standing ovation for her suggestion to the board on handling the transportation issue in light of the board's current budget crunch. "Extracurricular activities meet needs not met in classrooms for students to receive a fully-rounded education," Ms. Montgomery said. She said that the extra-curricular trips are advantages both to students and the district. "They help provide life lessons," she said. "They let students apply the knowledge they have learned. They provide a teamwork setting. Students who participate show perseverance," she said. But the benefit to the district of extra-curricular activities is two-fold, she said. "Standardized test scores go up," she said, and the number of scholarships earned also rise. Ms. Montgomery called for an even-handed approach to handling the budget crunch, to consider athletic, band, and academic teams in an equitable manner. "We as parents want to be partners, not adversaries," she said. "We want good communications, collaborative problem solving, and we want a common goal, what is best for our children, to prevail." She added, "We're all in this together. The budget constrictions affect all of us." And she said, "Let's not forget, the term fund raising is simply code for family funded. We all already know that families have bought all the candles, all the cookie dough, all the fruit, Tupperware, and wrapping paper we can afford." Superintendent Treece had, by that time, already said that dental insurance for employees is safe for this year. All day kindergarten may be on the table, though no action was taken on the matter at the last board meeting. For this year, the board is still looking for ways to trim the budget. Mr. Treece said that it is likely the district will be put on a management audit because of the difficulties. "It won't mean that the state will come in and audit us to look for stealing," he said. "What they will do is similar to what they've done with us on academic advice. They'll tell us how to handle our resources." For at least one parent, the outcome was unsatisfactory. "I think the board may be looking to have the state tell them to cut out extracurricular transportation funding," he said. "That way, the board hopes the state will be the bad guys and they won't get blamed when they cut funds and we end up fund-raising to pay for bus trips for out-town-events," David Martin said. Parent wants more notification about threats at school Michelle Foster, an Adair County School Bus Driver and a parent, presented an impassioned plea for the board to keep parents better informed about threats to student safety such as occurred with the December 10, 2007 threat at Adair County High School. Ms. Foster speaking from a prepared text contended that the administration had known about the threat from early November, but that parents were left to hear second hand information, she also called for a police person to be assigned to each of the five schools, Adair County High School, Adair County Elementary School, John Adair Intermediate School, Adair County Middle School, and Colonel William Casey Elementary School. Ms. Foster asked why downtown Columbia was evacuated when a bomb threat was made in April, 2007, but that the schools had not been when a threat was made there. Ms. Foster presented an eight point deficiency list which included calls for the school board to address needs for earlier parental notification, to provide a school night watchman, to remove students who present a potential threat earlier, to take threats more seriously, to watch for mental problems in students, and to make sure that no student would be humiliated if threats were to scare them. Superintendent Treece said that the administration and the SRO (student resource officer) are doing everything in their power to keep the schools safe. "It is a very urgent matter," he said, but added, "it will take money." He said that the board has to balance the need for safety with problems which would be caused by issuing false alarms about potential threats. "We're going to do everything in our power to protect the students," he said, adding, "Can be make a 100% guarantee? No!" He said that already, the Columbia Police Department is doing more patrols. "We want our students to be safe," he said. Board to continue, with more enforcement, cell phone rules Superintendent Treece reviewed the boards Code of Student Conduct as it relates to cell phone usage and took no action to change it except for stricter enforcement. Board Chairman Mike Harris suggested a "three strikes and you're out," amendment, but the idea was dropped after no other member commented on it. To see the Code of Student Conduct, Click Here to go directly to download options for the Code of Student Conduct at the Adair County School's website. Board drops scheduled second monthly meetings The board voted to drop the twice monthly meetings held in six months of 2007, opting instead to revert to the regular third Monday of each month meetings. Superintendent Treece said that while additional meetings are needed several times each year, the board needed more flexibility in planning them. The vote was unanimous, 5-0. The board took no action to change the place of meeting. The December 20, 2007 meeting was held under brutal conditions for the audience, with some 60 people jammed into a room which does not comfortably accommodate the two dozen or so it will seat. Many had to stand during the entire meeting. Early in the meeting, improvised fans materialized as the audience tried to reduce suffering from the inhospitable conditions. By law, Member Marsha Walker said after the meeting, the board is required to provide a comfortable place for its sessions. Chairman Mike Harris said that he would take the matter up with Superintendent Treece. Jeff Hoover re-elected as school attorney Columbia and Jamestown Attorney Jeff Hoover was unanimously re-elected to serve as the school board attorney. The vote was unanimous, following a motion by Vice Chairman Greg Willis (1), seconded by Member Marsha Walker (2), with Chairman Mike Harris (5), and Members Chris Watts (3), and Floyd Burton (4) also affirming. Board selects Architectural firm Superintendent Darrell Treece and the Board's Civil Engineer, Greg Eastham, recommended the Lexington architectural firm of Sherman Carter Barnhardt to be the boards architectural firm. The board had invited four firms to make presentations at the an early December meeting. "Two firms stood out," Mr. Eastham said, naming Ross, Tarrant and Sherman Carter Barnhardt. On a motion by Vice Chairman Greg Willis (1), seconded by Member Marsha Walker (2), the board unanimously voted to hire Sherman Carter Barnhardt. The firm was selected to design the new elementary school the school board wants to build to replace the aging Colonel William Casey Elementary School. Board members split on Kid's First PAC "It's awful," Board Member Chris Watts (3) commented when Superintendent Darrell Treece explained the idea of board members and others contributing to the Kids First PAC (political action committee). No official board action was wanted on the proposal that individual board members contribute to the fund. Board Chairman Mike Harris disagreed. "Put me down for $100," he said, but no other board member followed his example. Logo contest, with $150 prize, open to public The board voted 5-0, on a motion by Vice Chairman Greg Willis (1), seconded by Member Chris Watts (3) to open the logo design contest to the general public, with a prize of $150 going to the winner. Earlier, the contest had been open only to students, but the committee judging the contest was not fully satisfied with any of the 10-15 logos submitted. The board's action set January 31, 2008, as the deadline. The school board logo committee will select three designs, then ask the community to vote for the top choice, in a fashion similar to the method used by the Columbia Parks and Recreation Board in selecting its logo. Duo-County Telecom recognized The board presented a plaque to Duo-County Telecom recognizing the cooperative for televising school events. Chairman Mike Harris presented the award to Duo-County CEO Bill Magruder and Marketing Director Eric West. Superintendent Treece reports Superintendent Darrell Treece reported that he and School Board Attorney Jeff Hoover, who is also Kentucky House of Representatives Minority Leader, met with new Education Secretary John Draud recently in Frankfort, KY. The purpose, he said, was to make Secretary Draud aware of the severe financial crunch caused by the $900,000+ reduction in state SEEK funds for the current fiscal year. Superintendent Treece also reported that Jean Crowley, the VPAT (Voluntary Partnership Assistance Team) representative, had re-scheduled her report for the January 2008 meeting. Consent agenda approved The consent agenda, as follows, was approved 5-0: CONSENT AGENDA End consent Agenda Board authorizes issuing refunding bonds Meeting as the Adair County School Finance Corporation (ACSFC), which has the same membership, the Board voted to authorize the issuance of Revenue Refunding Bonds. The bonds would be issued to take advantages of market rate fluctuations which allow the ACSFC to save money on bonded indebtedness through refinancing. End of the report for the regular monthly meeting, December 20, 2007 Click here for November 15, 2007 regular meeting report Information About Your Adair County Schools The Adair County Board of Education holds regular monthly meetings each third Thursday, with additional meetings on the first Thursday of March, September, October, and November, at the Adair County Board Conference Room, Board of Education Office, 1204 Greensburg ST, Columbia, KY. Phone 270-384-2476 Adair County Board of Education: Chairman Mike Harris (District 5); Vice Chairman Greg Willis (District 1), members Chris Watts (District 3), Marsha Walker (District 2), and Floyd Burton (District 4). Superintendent Darrell Treece. School Board Attorney Jeff Hoover. Assistant Superintendent Brenda Mann, Instructional Supervisor Phyllis Curry; Anita Wethington, Special Education Director; Mike Akin, Title 1 Coordinator; Carla Perkins, Technology Coordinator; David Jones, Transportation Director; Ricky Bault, Maintenance Director; Carol Roy, Food Services Director; Renae Smith, Finance Officer. Becky Bailey, Public Affairs/Public Relations Coordinator Click here for Adair County Schools website Direct comments are not available. However comments, subject to editing, are welcome by sending to: ed@columbiamagazine.com or linda@columbiamagazine.com. or through Submit a Story. This story was posted on 2007-12-27 06:17:23
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