LEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

6:00 P. M.

 

 

The Lee County School Board of Directors held its regular school board meeting.  The meeting was called to order by President Milton Hall at 6:00 p. m.  Board members present: Hall, Corkran, Waldrip, Perry, Smith and Johnson arrived at 6:05 p. m.  Board members absent: Gray.  A quorum was present.

 

A motion was made by Smith and seconded by Waldrip, to accept the minutes of August 11th and 18th, 2009.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

A motion was made by Hall and seconded by Smith, to accept the finance report of August 11, 2009.  Those for: Smith, Waldrip, Corkran and Hall.  Those opposed: Perry did not vote.

 

A motion was made by Smith and seconded by Hall, to accept the food service report of August 11, 2009.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Jeanie Helms presented the finance report.

 

Due to the absence of Doris Lewellen, Jeanie Helms presented the food service report.

 

Supt. Lusk presented and recommended that the board approve of increasing adult lunch prices from $2.00 to $3.00.

 

A motion was made by Corkran and seconded by Smith, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Supt. Lusk presented and recommended that the board approve 2009-2010 salary schedule.  Supt. Lusk stated the schedule was the same as last year.

 

A motion was made by Corkran and seconded by Waldrip, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Supt. Lusk presented and recommended that the board approve 2009-2010 personnel policies with necessary adjustments that were made in the spring.

 

A motion was made by Hall and seconded by Smith, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Supt. Lusk presented the personnel policy signature page which was a part of the salary and personnel policy schedules.  The board had previously approved these policies.

 

John Jones presented GT Program Policies.

 

Supt. Lusk recommended that the board approve the GT policies.

 

A motion was made by Johnson and seconded by Smith, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Supt. Lusk presented and recommended that the board approve The Assurances of the Elem. & Secondary Education ACT of 1965.

 

A motion was made by Corkran and seconded by Johnson, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Supt. Lusk presented and recommended that the board approve of paying TFA invoice in the amount of $30,000 instead of the total $54,000 for eighteen teachers.

 

A motion was made by Smith and seconded by Johnson, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Supt. Lusk presented and recommended that the board approve the purchase for paper in the amount of $24,690.00.  He stated this paper was for the district.

 

A motion was made by Corkran and seconded by Smith, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

D. Ingram requested permission to purchase laptops for the vocational students.  The total amount for the laptops was $15, 824.62.

 

Supt. Lusk recommended that the board approve of the purchase of the laptops.

 

A motion was made by Smith and seconded by Hall, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

L. Strickland requested permission to renew ETS (Testing Services) subscriptions for students at Strong Middle and Lee High Schools.

 

Supt. Lusk recommended that the board approve of the renewal fee of $11,250.00 for ETS subscriptions.  He also stated the cost would be paid out of the Title VI funds.

 

A motion was made by Smith and seconded by Johnson, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Under report items, Adm. Asst. Willie Murdock gave the board copies of the updated model policies for their review.

 

Also under report items, administrators and coordinators gave verbal reports on how things are going in their departments.

 

Willie Murdock, Adm. Asst. stated we currently have 239 employees this year and last year we had 255.  We were down around 16 employees and currently we have 97 certified this year, down from the 105 we had last year.  She stated we have 27 administrators this year and last year we had 24.  There were 9 TFA’s hired, 3 non-traditional teachers last year and 1 non-traditional this year.  Mrs. Murdock also stated we had all staff in place with the exception of one certified and one classified positions open at the high school.  Next, Mrs. Murdock asked for the administrators and coordinators to come forward for their reports.

 

Lori Ginn, Special Ed. Coor. stated her department had lost six students last year but gained four this year.  She also stated she was working on the budget and ASCIPP Plan.  She stated they were completing purchase orders for computers and textbooks for students.  She said currently she had eight Sp. Ed. Teachers.  She had two teachers to leave last year, and she only replaced one of those.

 

Roger Pamplin, Transportation Coor., stated all bus routes were the same as last year, and he was eliminating two routes.  He had 16 contract drivers and 18 routes with three sub drivers, four crossing guards, and two mechanics with one being full time and one part time.  Mr. Pamplin said he had 27 employees including subs.  He also stated he had 28 buses and the average age of his fleet was 10 years old. (See attachment)

 

Lillie Sexton, Principal-WES-Whitten Preschool stated she had 420 students on campus and 23 teachers.  She stated Aug 31st was Open House and it was very successful.  On Oct 21-22 they will have Swine Flu Kick-off; Sept. 23rd will be Boy Scout Round-Up.  Sept. 4th was 25 Book Campaign Kick-off.  Mrs. Sexton stated they had many positive things going on this year.

 

Carolyn Love, Principal-Strong Middle presented a short power point on positive things going on

at Strong Middle.  She stated she had 310 students, 33 certified staff and 15 classified staff.                    

She said America’s Choice was implemented in all classes, Orchard Technology in service for staff and Grade Quick for new teachers.  On Aug 31st they had the 25 Book Campaign Kick-off.

 

Shannon Lewis, Principal-LHS stated he had 389 students currently enrolled.  He said America’s Choice was in place and teachers have bought into the new programs.  The Leadership Academy was working on team building.  Lee High School had partnership with EACC, there were 16 students attending EACC.  Sept 3rd was the first Trojan Academy where they were working on testing and this was very successful.  Mr. Lewis stated they were working on various things for this new school year.  Mr. Lewis also presented a short power point on what was going on at Lee High School

 

Laura Strickland, Accountability Coor. stated the principals had stepped up to the challenges for the school year.  They were building strong relationships with staff.  She also stated they were working on testing.  Ms. Strickland stated there were many positive things going on in the district.

 

Dedrick Ingram, Vocational Coor. stated they were working on brochures and newsletters for Lee High School and he gave board members copies of the brochures and newsletters.  He stated they had two new programs: JAGG and EAST LAB, and the students and teachers were excited about these programs.  He also stated he was working on trying to bring the automotive dept. back because there were some students very interested in this area.

 

Irish Williams, ALE Coor. stated ALE was not a place for punishment, they were incorporating drop-outs (Come Back Kids) into the setting at ALE.  He said they had 12 drop-outs enrolled from ages 18-20.  They were working on a virtual school program which allowed the students to work at their own pace.  He also stated there were some other programs in place for the students at ALE, such as the JAGG Program would allow the students to be paid for working.

 

Blaine Alexander, Smart Accountability Specialist, stated they were providing training for principals, teachers, teams and school boards.  He stated everything was student centered.  He was in the process of doing walk-through with principals, and he was trying to provide whatever was needed by each school.

 

Billy Saia, Athletic Directors, stated the new schedules were finished and he had some with him.  He stated he sold ads for calendars, doing the summer.  He also stated everything was off to a good start.  He said the football games would be broadcast on radio station KAJK 105.3.  They had 18 7th grade football players, 25 cheerleaders, 30 Jr. High football players and 42 senior football players.  They also had five coaches for senior football, three coaches for Jr. High and one coach for 7th grade.

 

John Jones, GT Coor. stated he had 70 students enrolled in the Gifted & Talented Program.  They were having monthly meetings and the teachers would receive staff development hours for these meetings.

 

Supt. Lusk asked the board what they wanted to do regarding purchasing Liability insurance.

 

The board agreed to allow Supt. Lusk to look into information regarding liability insurance.

 

Supt. Lusk reported on allocation of Stimulus Funds for school improvement projects.  He stated the district was going to be awarded 3.9 million to purchase technology and do repairs to buildings etc.  He gave the board an update on construction cost which was $299,022.00.

 

At this point, Reginald Murdock, Construction Manager came forward to report on the projects.  Mr. Murdock made comments regarding the roof problems.

 

After a lengthy discussion, Mr. Murdock reported that all the projects at Lee High: bathrooms, lobby and concession area were completed.  The projects at Whitten: bathrooms, canopy and portables were completed.  He stated there was a total savings of $30,000.

 

Mr. Murdock gave the board an estimate of stimulus funds that would be used for possible construction projects: 1.5 million for roofs, $100,000 for labs-upgrade, $200,000 for security cameras, $375,000 for exterior doors, $100,000 for ALE upgrades, $7,500 for LHS library, $15,000 for Strong Middle Soffit, $6,000 for Strong Middle carpet, $85,000 for HVAC at English complex, LHS, 6% Construction Manager fees, and 10% contingency.  He stated an estimated cost of 2.5 million.

 

After a lengthy discussion, a motion was made by Corkran and seconded by Smith to keep Mr. Murdock as the construction manager for future projects.  Those for: Smith, Waldrip, Corkran and Johnson.  Those opposed: Hall.  Perry did not vote.

 

Supt. Lusk reported the enrollment count for Sept. 9th was 1,007 which was the 15th day count.

 

Supt. Lusk passed out information to the board, regarding America’s Choice.

 

There were no personnel this month.

 

Under unfinished business, Supt. Lusk stated a parent was here to appeal the board’s decision on releasing her son from the district.  He asked the parent to come forward.

 

The parent came forward and stated she just received custody of her son on July 30, 2009 which was past the deadline for her to fill out papers regarding school choice.  She also stated she had one child attending the Palestine-Wheatley school district and she wanted them to be together.  She also stated her son had multiple problems in this district.

 

After a brief discussion, Supt. Lusk recommended the board not to release the parent’s son, due to what the law stated.

 

A motion was made by Smith and seconded by Johnson, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  Those for: Smith, Johnson and Hall.  Those opposed: Corkran, Perry and Waldrip.  The motion failed, which means the original vote not to release the student remained the same.

 

After this vote, the parent stated she was going to sue the school because of discrimination.

 

Under new business, Supt. Lusk stated there was another parent requesting release of her son to attend Brinkley School District.

 

Supt. Lusk recommended the board not to release the student.

 

A motion was made by Johnson and seconded by Smith, to accept Supt. Lusk’s recommendation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Smith asked about the oversight committee.

 

Supt. Lusk stated as soon as the Personnel Policy Committee meet he would bring it back to the board.

 

Perry asked Coach Saia how was the locker room, had they cleaned up.

 

Coach Saia stated the janitor was supposed to come out every day to clean.

 

A motion to adjourn was made by Smith and seconded by Johnson.  The motion passed unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p. m.