Bamberg School District One

Minutes of Regular Meeting of Board of Trustees

Richard Carroll Elementary School Campus B    

November 26, 2007

7:30 P. M.

Members present:  Chairman Dale Padgett, Vice-chairperson Sheri Seigler, Secretary Stacey H.   

                                 Long, Trustee Rita M. Sease and Trustee Tony E. Duncan.

Absent:  None

1.         Call meeting to order:  Chairman Dale Padgett called the meeting to order and asked the audience to repeat the Lord’s Prayer. 

2.               Notice to Media:  In accordance with the S. C. Code of Laws, Section 30-4-80

(e), as amended, the following have been notified of the time, date, place and agenda of this meeting:

                                    The Times and Democrat

                                    The Advertizer-Herald

3.               Approval of Minutes

The minutes of October 22, 2007, were approved as presented.

The Board agreed unanimously to add to the Agenda under Item 12 the following:

            (b) Student Release 

(c) Parent Appeal

4.               Student/Staff Recognition

Superintendent Phyllis Schwarting announced the following:

·       Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School:

-        D’Atra Walker was named National Merit Scholar Finalist.

-        Chris Pressley was named to the North-South All-Star Football Team.  This game will be played in December in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

-         Whitley Raysor played in the North-South All-Star Volleyball game at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina, on November 17, 2007.

-        Daquan Bowers was named to the South Carolina Shrine Bowl Team; the UnderArmour/ESPN All-Star Football Squad which will be played in Orlando on January 4; Class “A” Lower State Lineman of the Year; Gator Aide Player of the Year Finalist; and the South Carolina Mr. Football Finalist.

-        The Red Raider Marching Regiment Band won first place in the State Championship Marching Band Class A.

·       Kelli Sanders, 4^th grade teacher and literacy coach, and Jeannie Knight, K-3 Reading First Coach presented at the 21^st Century Cultural Mapping: Getting to Know Our Children Beyond the School Walls” at the National Council of Teachers of English in New York City on November 16, 2007. 

·       Jill Taylor and Jamie Williams, Speech-Language Pathologists at Richard Carroll Elementary School Campus A, will be presenting at the SC Literacy Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, on December 11, 2007.  Their topic is “Speech-Language Pathologist”.

·       Lee Ashe, 4^th grade science/math teacher; Kelli Sanders, 4^th grade English-Language Arts teacher; and Amy Stembridge, 5^th grade English-Language Arts teacher, recently passed the national Board Certification process.  Teachers who have previously obtained National Board Certification are: Ann Boykin, Dottie Brown, Beth Clark, Clarice Cockrell, Dianne Dukes, Misty Duncan, and Lisa Thomas.

5.               2006-2007 Annual Audit Report – Elizabeth Inabinet, C.C. McGregor

Board Packet Enclosure:  Annual Financial Report - Year Ended June 30, 2007

Mrs. Elizabeth Inabinet, auditor from C.C. McGregor, reported that the district’s annual financial report year ended June 30, 2007.  The auditor’s report expresses an unqualified opinion on the financial statement.  Pages 6; 43-48; and 77-81 were reviewed.  Findings were as follows:

Net Assets:  The District’s Total Net Assets as of June 30, 2007, was $5,000,370.

General Fund/Fund Balance: The Principal Operating Fund and the General Fund had $10,085,338 in fiscal year 2007 revenues and other financing sources which primarily consisted of state aid and property taxes and $9,880,927 in expenditures and other financing uses leaving a surplus for the year of $204,411.  This resulted in the General Fund Fund balance increasing from $287,125 as of June 30, 2006, to $491,536 as of June 30, 2007.  This equates to approximately 5% of the district’s expenditures for the year.  For a district this size it should be at least 12% to 15%.

Debt:  The District retired $580,000 in principal on its general obligation bond and paid $136,032 in interest and other costs during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007.  The District also issued $1.3 million in general obligation bonds to finance the construction of an athletic field house at the high school.

Findings – Financial Statements [Pages 77 through 81]:  Mrs. Inabinet stated in response to Chairman Padgett’s inquiry about the district’s $10,000 in outstanding checks that have never been cleared, that this amount of money would move the Fund Balance from 4.97% to 5.0.

Vice-chairperson Sheri Seigler moved and Trustee Tony Duncan seconded to accept the 2006-2007 Audit Report as presented by Mrs. Elizabeth Inabinet from C.C. McGregor.  The motion passed 5-0.

6.               Revised Draft Policy Manual (Section J – Students) - SCSBA

Superintendent Phyllis Schwarting presented Section J – Students policies for second reading.  These policies are recommended by South Carolina School Boards Association. 

Trustee Stacey Long moved and Vice-chairperson Sheri Seigler seconded to accept Section J – Students policies as presented by Superintendent Phyllis Schwarting.  The motion passed 5-0.

7.               Revised Draft Policy Manual (Section K – School – Community – Home Relations and Section L – Education Agency Relations) - SCSBA

Handout:  Section K – School – Community – Home Relations and Section L – Education Agency Relations

Superintendent Schwarting presented and reviewed Section K – School – Community – Home Relations and Section L – Education Agency Relations Section J – Students policies.  These policies are recommended by South Carolina School Boards Association.  They will be reviewed again at the January 2008, board meeting.

8.               Report Cards

Superintendent Schwarting stated the following:

Board Packet Enclosures: Annual School Report Cards

Superintendent Schwarting reviewed the annual School Report Cards. The results are as follows:

Ehrhardt Elementary

  Absolute Ratings of Elementary Schools with Students like Ours

Excellent     Good     Average     Below Average     Unsatisfactory

       0               9               71                   25                        0

Richard Carroll Elementary

  Absolute Ratings of Elementary Schools with Students like Ours

Excellent     Good     Average     Below Average     Unsatisfactory

        0             12            72                 21                          0

Bamberg-Ehrhardt Middle

  Absolute Ratings of Middle Schools with Students like Ours

Excellent     Good     Average     Below Average     Unsatisfactory

        0              0             12                  31                         3

Bamberg-Ehrhardt High

  Absolute Ratings of High Schools with Students like Ours

Excellent     Good     Average     Below Average     Unsatisfactory

        1               6             4                   10                         4

Bamberg 1 School District

  Absolute Ratings of High Schools with Students like Ours

Excellent     Good     Average     Below Average     Unsatisfactory

        0               0             11                 12                         1

Superintendent Schwarting stated that not one district in the state of South Carolina made Adequate Yearly Progress for No Child Left Behind.  Ehrhardt Elementary School is the only school in the district that met AYP.  Personnel in the district are working on ways to improve test scores for next year.

9.               Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Schwarting reported the following:

·       Mrs. Cindy Hurst is continuing to do an excellent job on the Character Newsletter [Board Packet Enclosure].

·       The schedule for Early Release/Professional Development was reviewed.  Some of the district’s classroom teachers will give their personal feelings about the Professional Development at the next board meeting. [Board Packet Enclosure]

·       There was a school bus accident on Tuesday, November 20, 2007; however, there were no injuries.  Six or eight kindergarten children were on the bus at the time.

·       The district had a Gang Training on November 7, 2007, in partnership with Richland County Sheriff’s Department at Bamberg-Ehrhardt Middle School in the gym.  

·       The Final Perkins Standards for Career and Technology Education Report was reviewed.  The district did not meet Standards 1 and 2.  The Performance Score on Standard 1 was 57.5%.  Out of 40 students, only 27 had a 2.0 or better score.  On Standard 2 out of 8 students, one had a 0.000 GPA and the other had a 1.57.  The student with the 0.000 GPA missed too many days and did not receive any credits.  [Board Packet Enclosure]

·       Bamberg School District One was the only district in the state to meet all the requirements on the IDEA Report.  This determination means that no issues were found in the four areas mentioned. [Board Packet Enclosure]

·       Every student must now have an Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) beginning in the 8^th grade.  The district is working in conjunction with Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College to do a Web Based plan with students and parents – referred to as eIGP.  There will be some initial and continued training after Christmas at Orangeburg Technical College.

·       The district owns 4 defibrillators and needs 2 more.  The administration will pursue grants to purchase the 2 that are needed.  The estimated cost for one through the High School League is $2,500.  All coaches and principals are trained to use them.

10.            Monthly Financial Report

Board Packet Enclosure: October 2007 Financial Report

Finance Director Devon Furr presented the Finance Report for October 2007.  She stated that the Building Account is overspent because the restrooms at the football field were

not included in the budget.  Property Insurance is overspent because there wasn’t enough money budgeted in this account.  .

11.            Visitors’ Comments

Chris Wilson, parent/attorney, wanted to know if the district had an alternative plan to move forward to address the building problems since the Bond Referendum failed.

Chairman Dale Padgett responded by stating that a lot of options were looked at before presenting the Bond Referendum.  There are other considerations but none will be presented at this time because the board doesn’t feel this is a good time to go back to the people.

Attorney Wilson also stated that there are strict truancy procedures through Family Court to address attendance issues.  First time offenders are required by the Judge to be placed under an order to attend court; second time offenders will go for violating the order and the Judge will place them on probation.  If probation is violated and the offender comes in the third time, he/she is placed in DJJ.  The parent and child meets before the judge and they both are put under order.

Vice-chairperson Sheri Seigler moved and Trustee Tony Duncan seconded to continue the tradition of omitting the December board meeting which is scheduled for December 24, 2007.  The motion carried (5-0).

12.            Executive Session

Chairman Dale Padgett called for a motion to enter Executive Session.  Trustee Rita Sease moved and Trustee Stacey Long seconded to enter Executive Session.  The motion carried (5-0).  The purpose for entering executive session was to discuss:

a.      Employment Recommendations

b.     Student Release

c.      Parent Appeal

Open session: Chairman Dale Padgett declared the board out of Executive Session.

A.  Employment Recommendations:

Trustee Rita Sease moved and Trustee Stacey Long seconded to uphold the administration’s recommendation to release George McMillan, Custodian at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School, from his position.  The motion passed 5-0. 

B.  Student Release:

Trustee Rita Sease moved and Trustee Stacey Long seconded to accept the release for Joshua Stalling to attend school in Orangeburg Consolidated School District Four for the remainder of the 2007-2008 school year.  The motion passed 5-0.

C.  Parent Appeal:

Chairman Dale Padgett announced that there was no action taken on Agenda Item C – Parent Appeal.

With no other business before the board, Chairman Dale Padgett adjourned the meeting.

Minutes approved:

_____________________________

R. Dale Padgett, M.D., Chairman

_____________________________

Stacey Long, Secretary