Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2014 23:34:50 -0500
From: Mia Munn
Subject: My notes from the Monday December 1, 2014 school board meeting
Agenda with files
http://board-of-education.district.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/group_pages.phtml?gid=3618610&nid=468880&sessionid=04e715066ad5141f39e1f861d74b1bfb
Meeting started shortly after 4pm. Several community members were attendance for the swearing in of new members. Angela Millsaps and myself were there for the whole meeting.
Judge Beverly Scarlett swore in Jane Allen Wilson, Gary Leonard, and Del Turner.
Reorganization. Del Turner nominated Gary Leonard as chair. There were no other nominations and he was accepted by acclamation. Del Turner nominated Jane Allen Wilson as vice chair. There were no other nominations and she was accepted by acclamation.
Public comment was made by a Northwood junior, Hunter Koch. She had previously sent an email to a number of people. She was unable to read her entire comments from the email (with some updated numbers) because of the 3 minute time limit for public comment, but here is the entire text:
Northwood High School’s current enrollment is approximately 1,300 students. The original building was established in 1973 and went through additions of mobile classrooms within the last decade and an arts wing expansion in 2010.
The arts program, which includes fine arts, dance, theatre, vocals, marching band, jazz band and performance band, utilizes an auditorium that cannot hold one half of the school.
The auditorium at Northwood High School has a capacity of 600.
Northwood has received twice The John F. Kennedy Center School of Excellence Award, of one of the most prestigious calibers and given to only five schools in North Carolina. Northwood was one of only two high schools to receive this honor. Art teacher Leslie Burwell had over four hundred students sign up to take her Beginning Arts class last school year—she was booked with overcrowded arts classes, some of which had 37 students. There was a shortage of stools for students to sit on, materials to use, and Burwell’s time. She also taught a small honors arts course during her planning period.
The student to faculty ratio, according to the last count in 2014, was 17:1.
This school year, she has her small office to use during her planning period as there is another teacher—a “floating teacher†holding class. This is due to the fact that Northwood does not contain enough rooms to teach students in.
The lunchroom is used by approximately 150 students during four separate 25-minute lunches. A number of students at Northwood buy lunch from the cafeteria every day and have to stand in a ten to twenty minute line to do so. By the time lunch is over, some students have not consumed their food.
The lunchroom had to be expanded previously, but now the capacity is capped at 428.
There are approximately 300 students in the current freshman class alone, and predictions have the school growing and being forced to support even more students than it is now.
The hallways don’t fit enough people. There are seven minutes to get to our classes and in the bus lobby, an expanse of open space, five or six minutes is spent attempting to make a path through the throngs of people packed shoulder to shoulder. Students have been stuck in the bus lobby for the full seven minutes on multiple occasions.
The library can fit a maximum of 100 people comfortably, although there are, on most mornings, double that trying to use the space as a quiet study spot or to print assignments and check out books. There are not enough chairs, tables, or floor space to accommodate the volume of students wishing to study. For that reason, it becomes crowded, loud, bustling, and busy in a matter of mere minutes.
The student parking lots continue to be a problem for students whom drive themselves and their siblings to school. There is a main paved lot, a secondary, smaller lot reserved for seniors, and two makeshift gravel lots for students to park. Nevertheless, there is always a shortage of spaces and a lengthy waiting list for parking passes, even with 40 new spaces added at the beginning of this school year.
Class size continues to grow at our school. In extremely crowded classes, there can be numbers upwards of 35. Some faculty members teach extremely high volumes of students in order to satisfy the needs of the curriculum and large enrollment at the school. Roddy Story, a social studies teacher, taught 110 combined students in his classes last school year.
So what is the problem? The auditorium is too small. The lunchroom is too small, the hallways are too small, the library is too small, the parking lots are too small, *our school is too small. *Northwood High School has *never *seen this many students, not in 41 years of existence, and Chatham County is only expanding in size and population. Projected numbers have 60,000 people moving to the area in the next 40 years.
The problem is *no one will listen to us. *Northwood’s Student Council spends 30 to 45 minutes, on average, at each meeting discussing the topic of capacity. Who will listen to us? Who do we have to talk to? Who must we write? What must we say?
*Before something is done. *At what point does someone step up and raise their voice, crying out for the students who don’t have time to eat? For the ones who are turned away from the library at 7:30 am and have to sit in the hallway to study? For the art students that must draw on their lap, or fight for a chair to sit in?
If not now, when? If not now, when will the health and well being of Chatham County’s students be put in the spotlight? Why can’t we care about the students of Northwood High School? Why is it that some people at my school spend seven minutes getting through 3 square feet of space and we have to have 4 separate assemblies because we can’t fit in our auditorium and why is it okay for our school to be ranked #3 in the state of North Carolina and #6 nationally but still have math classes in a mobile trailer? Why is it acceptable to send a Morehead Cain Scholar to UNC-Chapel Hill but have kids that don’t eat their lunch because by the time they’ve made it through the massive line, 25 minutes is up?
When will things change? That’s what I’m asking for. That is why I am at this meeting, speaking for everyone who attends my school. We may be small by some standards, or microscopic by others. We *need help. *We need money, we need teachers, classes, space, buildings, classrooms, and we need it now. If there is not a new high school built in the next couple years, please help this one. There is a student every day at our school that does not receive the attention needed to succeed because their class is too big or the library simply too small.
You, you the human listening in this room tonight, have been chosen. You have been elected to represent the people that have a voice. You swore an oath to perform your job to the best of your abilities, to say what is needed to be said and work for the betterment of tomorrow. The students of Northwood High School are desperately reaching out to you, for your help and aid to make sure no student goes unnoticed in their struggle and journey to receive an education.
Bring attention to our issues. Contact the people who can make a difference, *be *the difference. There is no time more valuable than right now.
Thank you for your attention and action.
Recognitions – Dr. Jordan thanked Karen Jordan (who was sworn in to the county commissioners after the break in the school board meeting below). Karen Jordan said she originally ran for school board to help her kids, but realized that she wanted the same things for all kids in the district. She thanked the great school district staff.
Barb Chapman from the NC School Board Association (had been the trainer for the CCS board last year) presented a special award to the board for exemplary training. Ed Dunlap, the chair, does not normally send a representative to present the plaque in person. All (four) board members were recognized at the state meeting for completing 12 hours of training last year. The board’s admin assistant (Sheila Talley) was also recognized. The CCS board is the only board in the state to receive level 3 training, and Dr. Chapman could only remember one other board earning that level since 2006.
The new cleaning contractor, Unifirst, presented the first (of five) clean schools award of the year to the janitorial staff at Pollard Middle School.
2013/14 Audit report
http://board-of-education.district.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/gwp/2394738/3618610/File/2014-2015%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/2014-12-01%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/CCS%202014%20Final%20Required%20Auditor%20Communications.pdf?43b53f&43b53f&fc11bf&fc11bf&fc11bf&fc11bf&3292b0&3292b0&3292b0&ec4abd&ec4abd&ec4abd&1c577a&1c577a&1c577a&1c577a&1c577a&bb80e7&49d4d5&7ce171&14ed26&sessionid=04e715066ad5141f39e1f861d74b1bfb
The auditor presented the audit report for last school year. There were no issues of any kind with any fund. The fund balance decreased $1.3M, ending at $6M. This is consistent with what has happened in many other districts. The child nutrition program ended with $1.2M fund balance. Dr. Jordan recognized the excellence work of the finance department.
Financial statements
http://board-of-education.district.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/gwp/2394738/3618610/File/2014-2015%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/2014-12-01%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/CCS%202014%20Final%20Financial%20Statements.pdf?43b53f&43b53f&fc11bf&fc11bf&fc11bf&fc11bf&3292b0&3292b0&3292b0&ec4abd&ec4abd&ec4abd&1c577a&1c577a&1c577a&1c577a&1c577a&bb80e7&49d4d5&7ce171&14ed26&sessionid=04e715066ad5141f39e1f861d74b1bfb
Resolution Supporting Local Control of School Calendars
http://board-of-education.district.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/gwp/2394738/3618610/File/2012-12-03%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/Resolution%20on%20Local%20School%20Calendar%20Authority.pdf?1c577a&bb80e7&49d4d5&7ce171&14ed26&sessionid=04e715066ad5141f39e1f861d74b1bfb
The board approved the resolution 5-0.
The meeting recess for an hour to allow the board and administrators to attend the swearing in of Karen Howard as a county commissioner. When the meeting reopened, there were only 4 members (the application process to fill Karen Howard seat is open until noon of Friday, December 19, 2014).
Resolution regarding state proposal to assign letter grades to each public school
http://board-of-education.district.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/gwp/2394738/3618610/File/2012-12-03%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/Resolution%20Regarding%20State%20Proposal%20to%20Assign%20Letter%20Grades%20%28December%2C%202014%29.pdf?bb80e7&49d4d5&7ce171&14ed26&sessionid=04e715066ad5141f39e1f861d74b1bfb
Dr. Jordan said the state accountability program that will assign letter grades to schools and districts is flawed and the impact hasn’t been studied. The letter grades will provide misleading evidence to indict the effectiveness of public education. The program will weight student growth 20% and performance 80%. During the development the ratio was reversed (80% on student growth). The grades won’t be released until February. Accountability is good, but it needs to account for variables. A number of boards have adopted this resolution (attorney said recently Durham, Pender, and Chapel Hill-Carrboro). Dr. Jordan said he hadn’t heard of any district board’s supporting the program. David Hamm asked how many districts were supporting, because it will have less impact if not nearly unanimous. Dr. Jordan didn’t know. School boards should not be partisan, but this issue is. Some boards may not take a stand either way. Gary Leonard said the issue is the % split, not accountability. Teachers are evaluated on student growth. The resolution was approved 4-0.
Emergency Epi-pen Policy
http://board-of-education.district.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/gwp/
2394738/3618610/File/2014-2015%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/2014-12-01%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/5024-6127-7266%20Emergency%20Epineprhine%20Auto-Injector%20Devices.pdf?14ed26&sessionid=04e715066ad5141f39e1f861d74b1bfb
State has required every school to keep two epi-pens for emergency use. The policy is taken directly from the NC School Boards Association recommendation. The school system will get the prescriptions for the epi-pens from the county health department. The state is paying for this year. The pens are good for one year, so next year, the districts will have to pay, at a cost of $109 per school per year ($1,893 for the district per year). All staff will be trained on recognizing anaphylactic shock, and two people in each school will be trained to administer the injection. Each school will have a plan for this emergency. David Hamm asked if this would be added to the substitute teacher training, and it will be. Approved 4-0.
Waiver of Facility rental fees
http://board-of-education.district.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/gwp/2394738/3618610/File/2014-2015%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/2014-12-01%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/Agenda%20Item%20form%20-%20Waiver%20of%20Facility%20Rental%20Fees%2012-01-14.pdf?49d4d5&7ce171&14ed26&sessionid=04e715066ad5141f39e1f861d74b1bfb
For the county Council of Churches to JM auditorium for the MLK day celebration. Approved 4-0.
County Heads up document on the 2015/16 budget
http://board-of-education.district.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/gwp/2394738/3618610/File/2014-2015%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/2014-12-01%20Board%20Meeting%20Files/Heads%20Up%20Document%20for%20County%202015-2016-Final.pdf?sessionid=04e715066ad5141f39e1f861d74b1bfb
The county funding has not kept up with the school system growth. Per pupil funding has decreased 138.83 since 2010-2011. This represents $1,291,119 for the current school year population. This includes charter school students (since local per pupil funding is sent to charter schools based on the school’s student population from the county). This year there are 898 charter students from Chatham County. The district expects to ask for a total increase of $2.83M for next school year. This will cover:
Affordable Care Act payments for part-time employees ($50k – 9 employees met the threshold this year before the board put a cap on hours in place – there can be exceptions to the cap for things like long-term subs).
Changes to eRate funds for technology. If the district has <50% students eligible for Free and reduced lunch (currently 49.44%) then the county would need $137K (91k if >50%)
Restoring World Languages at the middle school ($435K) – 330K for 6 teachers and 105K for materials. (daily classes; eventually students could earn credit for HS language course in middle school)
Drivers Ed (no longer funded by the state next year) 175K
Increased funds to charters (due to increased per pupil funding) $90K
Local supplement increases for teachers and classified staff (increase at 5year increments) $875K (supplement is in the middle of the adjacent districts. Some districts use a % of salary, so state salary increases also increase the local supplement. May be asking for additional increases in future years. Additional $250 for each 5 years experience for teachers and $100 for classified staff.
Unfunded (understated in previous budget requests) local supplements $356K
David Hamm said he was glad that the budget includes the performance plan put in place for this school year. (original posted version did not have this included). Dr. Jordan said the district didn’t want to tell the commissioners how to fund the additional needs. They may come back and say they need to eliminate the performance pay program ($700K). The board may also need to discuss the performance pay program. The state is asking each district to propose a plan, but the state is stressing performance, not growth like our local plan. (No other district has a local performance plan this year.) The performance pay checks will go out before the break. All 17 schools receive them. (More difficult to calculate than expected, due to teachers split between schools.) Forecasted that only half of the schools would meet or exceed growth expectations. David Hamm said he understands the importance of World Languages, but the K-3 teachers are dying trying to do all of the required testing. They need relief. District cut TAs to handle state budget cuts, then there were state cuts to TAs. (fortunately no one had to be fired due to retirements). Need to look at how to help. Dr. Jordan said that TAs won’t help with testing, since teachers have to do the testing. Approved doc 4-0
Dr Jordan asked board members to send the chair items they would like to discuss at the January retreat, which will be held at the courthouse.
The board adjourned to closed session at 6:40 pm
Mia Munn
Candidate for Chatham County (NC) School Board District 3
Email me your school or campaign concerns at Mia4Chatham at gmail.com
My campaign website is Mia4chatham.com