newton county board of education

NEWTON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
DRAFT MINUTES OF COMBINED WORK SESSION/MONTHLY MEETING
Covington, GA
December 17, 2013
The Newton County Board of Education held their combined December work session and regular monthly meeting
on Tuesday, December 17, 2013, in the Board Room of the Central Office Administrative Building. The following
Board members were present: Board Chair Ms. Abigail Coggin, Mr. Eddie Johnson, Mr. Jeff Meadors, and Ms.
Shakila Henderson-Baker. Board Member Mr. Almond Turner was not in attendance. On a motion by Ms.
Henderson-Baker and second by Mr. Johnson, the Board voted unanimously to enter Executive Session at
6:00 p.m. to discuss personnel matters, land acquisition and potential litigation.
With a motion by Mr. Johnson and second by Ms. Henderson-Baker, the Board voted 3-0 to return to open session.
WELCOME
Following the welcome by Board Chair Ms. Coggin, Mr. Austin Aldridge gave the invocation and led the Pledge
of Allegiance.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Twenty-one students were recently selected to represent the NCSS in the Georgia Music Educators Association’s
Statewide Elementary Honor Chorus on November 8, 2013 and November 9, 2013 in Jonesboro, Georgia. Only
500 students from across the State of Georgia were selected to participate. The Honor Chorus was divided equally
amongst two choirs – the Vivace Choir and the Allegro Choir and all NCSS students participated in the Vivace
Choir. Fairview Elementary students were; Kayla Bowe, Julian Crockett, Sarah Faulkner, Kopeland Gates, Dayla
Lockett and Seth Martin. Heard Mixon Elementary students were; Tyasia Barkley, Emmi Breeden, Savannah Cox,
Abigail Mendoza, Jakira Walker, and Chase Wilson. Mansfield Elementary students were; Ariyana Brown, Stevon
Campbell, Andrew Gutierrez, and Clemisha Russ. Middle Ridge Elementary students were; Andres Allen,
Nevaeh Haughton, Courtney Hood, Mason Parker and Arianna Thomas. Music teachers, Will Schmidt from
Fairview Elementary, Amy Rains from Heard Mixon Elementary, Sarah Latimer from Mansfield Elementary and
Amy Thomas from Middle Ridge Elementary, were also recognized.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
There were no requests for public participation.
AGENDA AND MINUTES
Board Chair Ms. Coggin called for a motion to approve the agenda. Mr. Johnson made the motion to approve the
agenda as presented, with a second by Ms. Henderson-Baker. All voted in favor.
Board Chair Ms. Coggin called for a motion to approve the minutes. Ms. Henderson-Baker made the motion to
approve the November 2013 meeting minutes as presented. Mr. Johnson seconded the motion and all voted in
favor.
SUPERINTENDENTS’ REPORTS
Operations Reports Dr. Craig Lockhart, Deputy Superintendent, along with Business Manager Peggy Bullard,
reviewed the Financial Report for the month ending November 30, 2013. With 41.67% of the year complete, total
revenues are at 45.58% and total expenditures are at 40.54%.
Newton County Schools System’s November SPLOST III distribution is $836,178 - a decrease of $18,249 from
last month’s collection. Total SPLOST III received for the first forty-six months is approximately $40,108,668
averaging $871,928 per month. In comparison, SPLOST II averaged $830,490 per month of the sixty months of
those collections. The October collection of the new automobile tax is $87,358. This new tax has average
collections of $119,028 per month for the first eight months.
Property tax revenues are comparable to last year with 55.42% collected this year versus 55.41% collected last
year at this time. Expenditures are within budget and slightly better than last year with 40.54% expended this year
versus 40.71% expended last year.
Georgia law requires that the school system publish a schedule of SPLOST expenditures each year by December
31. The NCSS advertisement will be published in the December 22 edition of The Covington News, the local
newspaper.
Maintenance received 581 work orders in November 2013 with 462 having been completed. There are 119
remaining work orders in progress.
The average per gallon cost for diesel fuel purchased during November was $3.50. Fuel was last purchased in
October for $3.37. In November 2012, the average cost of fuel was $3.56.
MyPaymentsPlus revenues year to date through November 2013 were $316,822.74. This is a 15% increase over
the same period in school year 2013.
Locally grown apple varieties – Gala, Golden Delicious, and/or Red Delicious – and fresh, baked sweet potatoes
were offered to students on the school lunch menu during the month of November. Point of sale signage with
interesting facts about the produce and nutrition information was posted on serving lines in the cafeteria and on the
School Nutrition Program (SNP) webpage. Morning announcements with nutrition facts about sweet potatoes
were provided to all schools and photos of the potatoes were posted on Twitter.
Student Health Services provided the number and the listing of services provided to students by the school nurse
and clinics in the schools.
Curriculum/Instruction/Technology Report Dr. Lockhart presented the Curriculum/Instruction/Technology
report.
Approximately 5,000 walk-throughs have been conducted in the NCSS. From the walk-throughs conducted, many
of the research-based instructional strategies are being incorporated in classroom lessons. Clear Learning Goals
and Providing Feedback as well as Questions, Cues and Advance Organizers have been observed being used in
about 68% of the walk-throughs conducted.
All schools have been busy collecting evidence in support of the AdvancEd Standards for quality. The external
review will be conducted during March 23-26, 2014. The AdvancED/SACS External Review Team will visit
several schools and the district office to spend time interviewing various teacher and leader groups, system leaders,
other stakeholders and the members of the BOE.
Covington area non-profit agencies are struggling to keep up with the overload of needy families. Mr. Jerry Gee,
Attendance Officer in the Student Services Department, coordinated the NCSS annual Holiday Can-A-Thon,
benefiting the local Salvation Army food pantry and the local Community Food Bank. Several schools and the
central office participated in this event, with a total of 15,874 items being collected.
The PSAT was administered on October 16, 2013. Approximately 1,425 students in 10th grade participated.
Over forty ELL students attended the Latin American Association Youth Leadership Conference held at Emory
University.
Enrollment
Total enrollment on December 11, 2013, was 19,446. A copy of the detailed enrollment report is attached.
Board Chair Ms. Coggin called for a motion to approve the Superintendent’s Reports. On a motion by Mr.
Johnson and a second by Ms. Henderson-Baker, with all voting in favor, the Curriculum/Instruction/Technology
and Enrollment Reports were approved.
OLD BUSINESS
The following item, Item A, of Old Business, was presented by Dr. Lockhart. After being on the table for review for one
month as required, the item was approved on a motion by Mr. Johnson, with a second by Ms. Henderson-Baker and all
voting in favor:
Requested Board Action Relative to Adoption of NCSS Policy JGFGB Approval recommended for the
adoption of NCSS Policy JGFGB; Concussion Management. Public and private schools that provide youth
athletic activities are required to provide information to parents on the nature and risk of concussion and head
injury. This policy was provided by the Georgia School Board Association.
NEW BUSINESS
The following item, Item A, of New Business was presented by Dr. Sheila Thomas, Director of Federal Programs.
After discussion and review, Board Chair Ms. Coggin called for a motion on the item. The item was approved on a
motion by Mr. Johnson, second by Ms. Henderson-Baker, with all voting in favor:
Requested Board Action Relative to FY 14 Title I Budget
Approval recommended for the 2013-2014
Title I Budget. The federally funded Title I budget is used to support educational services to all Title I schools
by providing services that are over and beyond what the system is providing to all students. The NCSS has 21
Title I schools; 3 elementary, 15 middle and 3 high schools. Local approval is needed after GaDOE approval.
The following item, Item B, was presented by Ms. Jan Loomans, Director of Operational Services. After discussion and
review, Board Chair Ms. Coggin called for a motion on the item. The item was approved on a motion by Mr. Johnson,
second by Ms. Henderson-Baker, with all voting in favor:
Requested Board Action Relative to Renewal of Contract for Maintenance and Repair of Kitchen
Equipment Approval recommended for annual renewable contract to be awarded to Beam Enterprises, LLC
of Newborn, Georgia, for maintenance and repair services on kitchen equipment be renewed for an additional
contract period. The vendor has performed satisfactorily, met all contractual requirements, and has agreed to
continue their service under the current terms and conditions of the contract, with no price increase. The
effective date of the contract will be December 19, 2013 and the expiration date will be December 18, 2014.
The estimated annual contract value is $180,000.
The following item, Item C, was presented by Mr. Mike Barr, Director of Support Services. After discussion and
review, Board Chair Ms. Coggin called for a motion on the item. The item was approved on a motion by Mr. Johnson,
second by Ms. Henderson-Baker, with all voting in favor:
Requested Board Action Relative to Contract for Comprehensive Custodial Services
Approval
recommended for the annual renewable contract for a comprehensive custodial program be awarded to JanPak
Incorporated of Austell, Georgia. Proposal documents were reviewed, evaluated, and scored via a multi-stage
process by teams of school system stakeholders and procurement personnel. In the final analysis, the proposal
offered by JanPak received the highest score and was deemed the overall best value to the school system. After
best and final negotiations were completed, JanPak was also the lowest overall price. The effective date will be
January 15, 2014 and the expiration date will be January 14, 2015. The estimated contract value is $463,140.
The following item, Item D, was presented by Mr. Mike Barr, Director of Support Services. After discussion and
review, Board Chair Ms. Coggin called for a motion on the item. The item was approved on a motion by Ms.
Henderson-Baker, second by Mr. Johnson, with all voting in favor:
Requested Board Action Relative to Surplus Property
Approval recommended for declaring items as
presented as surplus as they are no longer serviceable to the school system. The motion also authorized the
appropriate disposal of these items through a salvage company or other proper disposal method.
Executive Session Dr. Craig Lockhart presented the Superintendent’s personnel recommendations that had been
discussed in Executive Session. Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve the list of recommendations, with a second by
Ms. Henderson-Baker and all voting in favor. A copy of the personnel report is attached.
With there being no other matters for discussion, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:25 p.m. on a
motion by Ms. Henderson-Baker, second by Mr. Johnson, and all voting in favor.
________________________________________
Superintendent, Newton County Schools
________________________________________
Chair, Newton County Board of Education