Bamberg School District One
Minutes of Regular Meeting of Board of Trustees
Richard Carroll Primary School
September 22, 2008
7:30 P. M.
Members present: Chairman Dale Padgett, Vice-chairperson Rita M. Sease, Secretary Stacey
H. Long and Trustee Tony E. Duncan.
Absent: Seat 2 – Vacant
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 August 25, 2008, were approved as presented.
4. Student/Staff Recognition
Superintendent Schwarting stated the following:
· Mrs. Teresa Alsing, Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School teacher, has been approved to receive a grant from Target in the amount of $1,000 for support of a Mobile Student Art Gallery.
· The Low Country Festival of Bands was held on Saturday, September 20, 2008, at the Leon Maxwell Stadium in Bamberg. Fifteen bands participated in the festival. It was well planned and well organized.
· Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School’s Homecoming Parade is scheduled for Wednesday, September 24, 2008, at 6:00 p. m. The Homecoming Ceremony will be at halftime of the Red Raider’s Homecoming game between Military Magnet vs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School on Friday night, September 26, 2008.
· Fall sports at this time are: Girls Tennis, Girls Volleyball, Cross Country (Boys and Girls), Football (Varsity, Junior Varsity and Middle School). The Varsity football team is 4-0 and ranked #6 in the state.
· All middle school students received a copy of the book titled The Bully from Townsend Press. The Bully, written by Paul Langan, is part of a very popular series call Bluford High. Townsend Press will also send each student a boxed set of the Bluford High series later.
5. B-E Middle School Focused School Renewal Plan – Troy Phillips, Principal
Principal Troy Phillips stated that in 2006 Bamberg-Ehrhardt Middle School received an Absolute Rating of Unsatisfactory. The Absolute Index was 2.4. This caused the school to come under the close scrutiny of the South Carolina Department of Education. The school’s mission is to improve the Absolute Rating Index to 2.7 by the year 2009. The 2007 PACT results earned Bamberg-Ehrhardt Middle School an Absolute Rating Index of 2.7 (Below Average) and all indications point to a 2008 Absolute Rating Index of 2.9 (Below Average). Currently the school has selected three student achievement focused goals. The overall goal is and always will be to continue to increase student achievement in all subject areas. Hopefully, after November 2009, the school will not be under the external review process. However, the school will continue to review and adjust their academic curriculum in order to provide a challenging curriculum to their students.
6. Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Schwarting stated the following:
· Field Trip Permission – France [Board Packet Enclosure]: The board reviewed a request from Mrs. Stephanie Roach, French teacher at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School, to take her students on a tour trip to France during the 2009 spring break. Following a discussion of the tour trip to France by the board, Vice chairperson Rita Sease moved and Trustee Tony Duncan seconded to give Mrs. Stephanie Roach and her students permission to take a tour trip to France during the 2009 spring break. The motion passed 4-0.
· Trip Request – Atlanta, Georgia – Michael Miller [Board Packet Enclosure]:
The board reviewed a band trip request from Michael Miller, Director of Bands for Bamberg School District One. Vice chairperson Rita Sease moved and Trustee Tony Duncan seconded to accept Michael Miller’s request to take band students to attend the Band of America for Atlanta Super Regionals in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 31, through November 2, 2008. The motion passed 4-0.
· Single Sex Classrooms News Report [Board Packet Enclosure]: Information by Staff Reports in an article dated August 29, 2008, on Single sex classrooms was provided to board members at the request of Vice-chairperson Rita Sease since this is the first year that a class of this type has been taught in the Bamberg area schools. Nevertheless, a class of this type was taught in Ehrhardt Elementary School last year and received favorable reports. According to the article, there are 442 schools nationwide that feature single-sex classes; half are in the Palmetto State. State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex has hired someone to help study this aspect of public education. It is believed that this is an experiment that is worth conducting.
· SC New Test (Spring 2009) PASS [Board Packet Enclosure]: The PACT test name has been changed to PASS. It will continue to test in grades 3-8 in writing, English language arts, math, science, and social studies. The writing test will be administered in March this year. All students in grades three through eight will take the writing, ELA, and mathematics tests. All students in grades 4 and 7 will take both the science and social studies tests. Students in grades 3, 5, 6, and 8 will take either the science or the social studies test. Teachers in 3rd grade will no longer be allowed to read questions to students. Students with disabilities are allowed to take the test unless their IEP or 504 Plan determine that they should take the South Carolina Alternate Assessment test. For each test, three overall performance levels will be reported: Exemplary, Met, Not Met. The questions for the majority of the tests have not yet been designed. Kelli Sanders, a faculty member, will participate on the English Language Arts writing section of the test.
· September 23, 2008, is a Staff Development Day. Teachers have a full day of work planned. [Schedule - Board Packet Enclosure]
· Election of Delegate to 2008 SCSBA Convention
Trustee Stacey Long moved and Trustee Tony Duncan seconded to elect Vice-chairperson Rita Sease as delegate in the business meeting of the South Carolina School Boards Association on December 6, 2008, in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The motion passed 4-0.
Vice-chairperson Rita Sease moved and Trustee Stacy Long seconded to elect Trustee Tony Duncan as alternate delegate in the business meeting of the South Carolina School Boards Association on December 6, 2008, in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The motion passed 4-0.
· New Election Laws – Code 7-13-180 [Board Packet Enclosure]: Bamberg County Board of Election has notified Superintendent Schwarting that they would certify Mrs. Gill Hackney on October 9, 2008, since she is the only candidate to file for Seat 2 of Bamberg School District One Board of Trustees. Mrs. Hackney could be seated on October 13, 2008, and she could be sworn in during the October board meeting. The new law eliminates the need for the district to have anything on the November General Election ballot.
According to Code 7-13-190 under Special elections to fill vacancies in office, the following is stated:
(E)(1) that a special election to fill a vacancy in an office is not required to be
conducted if fourteen calendar days have elapsed since the filing period for
that office has closed and:
(a) only one person has filed for the office; and
(b) no person has filed a declaration to be a write-in candidate with the
authority charged by law with conducting the election.
(2) In such an event, the candidate who filed for the office is deemed elected
and shall take office on the Monday following certification.
· School Operating Millage [Board Packet Enclosure]:
In 2007 the General Operating Millage was 223.9 and the Debt Service Millage was 44.0. Section 6-1-320 of the South Carolina Code of Laws establishes millage caps for local governing bodies. According to them the population of Bamberg School District One increased 1.9% from 2006 to 2007. Adding these two components together yields the millage cap of 4.7% for Bamberg School District One. Therefore, in 2008 the General Operating Millage was 10.5233 or 10.5 mills (223.9 X 4.7%). The administration issued a $200,000 Bond to reach the 8% taxing ability on the fixed assets of the district. Recently, the administration, Mr. Bob Damron, and the current County Auditor, Mrs. Margaret Meyer, discovered that the Debt Service Millage has been incorrect for many years. In order to correct the millage rate, it was necessary to add 11 mills. The increase would not have been this large if the figures had been done properly all along. Therefore, the 2008 Debt Service Millage is 55 mills which make the total increase 21 mills.
7. PACT and SAT Scores 2008
Superintendent Schwarting reviewed the district’s PACT test scores and stated that the administration is extremely pleased with their test scores. Tremendous increases are in the upper level scoring and the below basic is decreasing. African-American students test scores have decreased by 15.4%. The teachers and curriculum coordinators have done an excellent job in the improvement of test scores. A letter of thanks will be sent to these teachers, on behalf of the board, thanking them for their hard work and dedication to the students of this district. [Board Packet Enclosures]
In an email from Pete Pillow, he states that it is good that test scores are up across the board because the publication of these data will provide a teachable moment with regard to No Child Left Behind. Despite across-the-board improvements in PACT Proficient-Advanced, federal AYP ratings that were published on October 1, 2008, will be down. [Board Packet Enclosure]
SAT test scores are down approximately 20 points from last year. The score in Critical Reading was 428; Mathematics – 451; and Writing – 426. The reason for this is there are students who take the test but are not prepared.
8. Monthly Financial Report
Finance Director Devon Furr presented the Finance Report for August 2008. She stated that everything is on track. [Board Packet Enclosure]
9. Visitors’ Comments
None
10. Executive Session
Chairman Dale Padgett called for a motion to enter Executive Session. Vice-chairperson Rita Sease moved and Trustee Stacey Long seconded to enter the
Executive Session. The motion carried (4-0). The purpose for entering executive session was to discuss:
a. Student Appeal
b. Legal Advice
Open session: Chairperson Padgett declared the board out of Executive Session.
A. Student Appeal
Trustee Stacey Long moved and Trustee Tony Duncan seconded not to hear the student appeal that was requested by the mother. The motion passed 4-0
B. Legal Advice
Vice-chairperson Rita Sease moved and Trustee Stacey Long seconded to withdraw the offer to the town of Ehrhardt (Mayor Stanley’s request) in reference to the Ehrhardt Elementary School and to explore other options for the use of the school and its auditorium for district purposes. Also, to allow the district’s attorney to respond to the letter from Mayor Stanley. The motion passed 4-0
With no other business before the board, Chairman Dale Padgett adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p. m.
Minutes approved:
_____________________________
R. Dale Padgett, M.D., Chairman
_____________________________
Stacey Long, Secretary