October 5, 2015
MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
MINUTES
October 5, 2015
The Montgomery County Board of Education convened in its regular monthly meeting on Monday, October 5, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. Board members present were Steven W. DeBerry – Chair, Tommy Blake – Vice Chair, Bryan Dozier, Jesse Hill, Ann Long, Shirley Threadgill and Sandra Miller.
Chairman DeBerry called the meeting to order and moved to adopt the agenda as shown. With a motion by Jesse Hill and a second from Ann Long, the agenda was adopted as presented.
Chairman DeBerry opened the meeting with a devotional by reading from the book of Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold firmly to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what he promised. One cold Saturday morning in January, in a small Wisconsin town on the southern shore of Lake Superior, an annual dog sled derby was about to begin. The course had been staked out by little fir trees secured to the ice. The racers were all children –from large boys with several dogs and big sleds to one little boy who had only a small sled and one small dog. On the signal, the sled took off and the little fellow was soon so far behind he hardly seemed to be in the race. About halfway through the course, the second place team tried to move into first place. The sleds came too close and the dogs began to fight. As each sled came upon the fight, more dogs became involved. The scene was soon one big, seething knot of kids, sleds and dogs. All thoughts of racing had vanished from the minds of the racers. However, the one little fellow and his small dog managed to skirt the others and went on to win the race! Part of any success is refusing to become distracted. Always keep your eyes on the finish line.
Chairman DeBerry called upon Mt. Gilead Elementary students to lead the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. Participating students were Cameron Vanness and Ellie Almond.
Chairman DeBerry presented a Resolution of Esteem to the family of Francelle Harris Freeman. Francelle was a substitute teacher with Montgomery County Schools. The Resolution reads: WHEREAS, our Heavenly Father, in His infinite love and wisdom, saw fit to call home Marion Francelle Harris Freeman on May 27, 2015 and WHEREAS, her services as a substitute teacher with Montgomery County Schools were a living testament of her integrity and skill, and WHEREAS, her loss will be deeply felt not only by those with whom she served, but also throughout her entire community and county. NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Montgomery County Board of Education goes on record in expressing a sense of real loss and regret in her passing; that a copy of this resolution be conveyed to her family as an indication of our deep sympathy; and that a copy of the same be filed as a part of the permanent minutes of the Board of Education.
Chairman DeBerry also presented a Resolution of Esteem for Michael Edwin Caudill. It reads: WHEREAS, our Heavenly Father, in His infinite love and wisdom, saw fit to call home Michael Edwin Caudill on September 5, 2015 and WHEREAS, his services as a teacher with Montgomery County Schools for twenty-seven years were a living testament of his integrity and skill, and WHEREAS, his loss will be deeply felt not only by those with whom he served, but also throughout his entire community and county. NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Montgomery County Board of Education goes on record in expressing a sense of real loss and regret in his passing; that a copy of this resolution be conveyed to his family as an indication of our deep sympathy; and that a copy of the same be filed as a part of the permanent minutes of the Board of Education.
Dr. Ellis recognized schools who exceeded or met growth for the 2014-2015 school year. Schools who exceeded growth included Green Ridge, East Middle and East Montgomery. Meeting growth was Candor, Mt. Gilead, Page Street, Star and West Middle. Dr. Ellis commented, “Eight of the ten schools met or exceeded growth. I am proud of the staff and the good job they are doing of making kids successful”.
Chairman DeBerry asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda as submitted. With a motion by Sandra Miller and a second by Tommy Blake, the board approved the consent agenda unanimously. The following items were approved:
1) Board Minutes from September 1st and 14th; and
2) Personnel and Auxiliary Reports as follows:
a. Upon the recommendation of the principal, approval of the following additions to the
substitute teacher list:
Certified Recommended By Record Check
1) Ernesto Robledo Mesha Cameron Yes
2) Terran Greene Donnie Lynthacum Yes
Non-Certified
1) Latoya Huntley Sharon Castelli Yes
b. Upon recommendation, approval of the following interim contracts for the 2015-2016 school year as provided by General Statute 115C-325:
1) Nora Beasley Mt. Gilead & Page Street Yes
9/28/2015 Instructional Tech. Specialist
c. Report of the following transfers:
Transfer/
Effective Date From To Replacing
1) Tiffany Smith Green Ridge Green Ridge Tawanda White
9/28/2015 Child Nutrition Sub Child Nutrition/PT
2) Tawanda White Green Ridge Green Ridge Jacqueline Ward
9/28/2015 Child Nutrition/PT Child Nutrition/FT
d. Upon recommendation of the superintendent, approval of recommendation for employment of the following non-certified personnel:
Employee/ School/ Record
Effective Date Assignment Check Replacing
1) Stephanie Harrington West Middle School Yes Nellie McCreedy
10/1/2015 One on One/PT
2) Tiffany Walz West Middle School Yes9/15/2015 One on One/PT
3) Annie Pemberton Central Office Yes
9/22/2015 Child Nutrition Sub
4) Melvin Fleming East Montgomery High Yes Wesley Maynor
9/29/2015 Custodian/ PT
5) Kenny Young West Montgomery High Yes Frederick Dumas
9/21/2015 Custodian/PT
e. Upon recommendation of the superintendent, approval of recommendation for employment of the following bus driver/sub drivers for the 2015-2016 school year that are not dual employees:
1) Michael Britt Bus Driver Yes
2) Nikeri Smith Bus Monitor Yes
f. Upon recommendation, approval of the following coaches for the Spring sports season:
1) Kenny Young-Basketball/West Montgomery High School
Upon recommendation, approval of the following
overnight trip is requested.
October 12-14, 2015 – West Montgomery High School to Charlotte for National Beta Club Leadership Conference
April 19-21, 2016 – East Montgomery and West Montgomery High School to SkillsUSA State Conference, Greensboro, NC
Mt. Gilead Elementary School Principal John Beard and teacher Allison Vanness, presented classroom management and Office 365. Mrs. Vanness uses an app with her students called “DoJo”, that she says has completely changed her classroom management. Dojo encourages students through participation, teamwork and perseverance and is customized to work for each student. Students and parents can see a timeline of the child’s progress, by logging into the app on to any phone, laptop or tablet. Mrs. Vanness says she “awards” points for being on task. She randomly sends points to the student’s laptops while they are in center rotations. She does not have to stop and reign the kids back in because they want to get those award points. Parents who may not have internet access are kept up to date with a weekly log to sign and send back. Students also love the fact that they can set up their own “monster” icons. Mr. Beard discussed Office 365. The program is used to keep parent contacts up to date, see teacher lesson plans and as an interactive notebook for teachers.
Next, Dale Smith with Anderson, Smith and Wike presented the audit results for the 2014-15 school year. Mr. Smith stated that the audit “went smoothly and there were no issues”. He also complimented new Chief Financial Officer, Mitch Taylor. “This is the first audit with the school system for Mr. Taylor”, Mr. Smith said, “With no school experience, Mitch has done a terrific job. Things have transitioned seamlessly”. When asked about the audit at the school level, Mr. Smith noted no issues.
First Health nurse, Gina Smith gave an update on the School Health Centers. Six thousand, four hundred and forty-two people used the health center last year. There were over three thousand nursing visits, one hundred, sixty-four medical visits, three hundred, twenty-nine mental health visits and 590 nutrition visits. The school centers also saw four hundred, twenty-two Montgomery County School staff members. Seven hundred eight sports physicals were completed. The staff also completed immunizations, flu shots and dental screenings. In 2015-16, the center will strive to provide comprehensive, quality healthcare to students regardless of their ability to pay, continue to provide required immunizations, address childhood obesity, address mental health issues and continue to seek funding opportunities to promote sustainability. In the next school year, First Health will continue to partner with Montgomery County Schools to graduate life-ready, globally competitive citizens and support students in being healthy and responsible, thereby promoting academic achievement, decreasing absenteeism, suspensions and teen pregnancy.
For his remarks, Superintendent Ellis stated that the last five or six years have been very difficult due to budget constraints. As the budget tightened, people needed to be protected. Montgomery County Schools has been very fortunate with different allocations of money, to keep staff instead of losing them. The county will always be dependent upon the state and legislature in Raleigh. With that being said, there is a bill coming up in April to keep our money from going to Charter schools. Please email your legislators, and let them know it is unfair to give our money to Charters. He also commented how thankful he is to work with a prudent board. “Taxpayers need to know how frugal our board is in making decisions that affect our staff and students”.
Chairman DeBerry then asked for a motion to adjourn and move into closed session. With a motion by Bryan Dozier, and a second from Shirley Threadgill, the board unanimously approved going into closed session to discuss personnel.
After returning from closed session, Chairman DeBerry asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. With a motion by Shirley Threadgill and a second by Bryan Dozier, the meeting was duly adjourned.
The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, November 2, 2015 at 6:30 pm.
Steven W. DeBerry, Chairman Dale Ellis, Ed. D., Secretary