THE SCHOOL BOARD OF
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA
MINUTES, NOVEMBER 18, 2005
The School Board of Escambia County, Florida, convened in Workshop Meeting at 9:00 a.m., in Room 160, at the J.E. Hall Educational Services Center, 30 East Texar Drive, Pensacola, Florida, with the following present:
Chairman: Mr. Gary L. Bergosh
Vice Chairman: Mrs. Patty Hightower
Board Members: Mrs. Cary Stidham
Dr. Charles E. Glover, Sr.
Mr. Pete Gindl, Sr.
School Board General Counsel: Mrs. Ellen Odom
Superintendent of Schools: Mr. Jim Paul
I. CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Bergosh called the Regular Workshop to order at 9:00 a.m.
For the record, Mr. Bergosh advised that he would be leaving the meeting at 12:00 p.m.
A. Open Discussion
FSBAPrints
FSBAPrints: A new full-service fingerprinting system from the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) which enables school districts to comply with the Jessica Lunsford Act; all equipment (i.e., fingerprint machine and software) and training, provided at no cost to school districts.
Upon inquiry by Mrs. Stidham, Mr. Shawn Dennis, Assistant Superintendent for Operations, indicated that staff was aware of and looking into how this new FSBA program compared with the way the District was currently structured and would bring a report back to the Board in the near future.
Upon inquiry by Mrs. Stidham, Mr. Kevin Windham, Director of Risk Management, confirmed that there had been no changes to the prescription drug plan; only a change in the provider (vendor) administering the plan.
Substitute Teacher Requirements
(NOTE: The following discussion refers to the District’s “practice” of allowing alternate substitute teachers in the north-end of the county. This “practice” was in effect due to the difficulties in obtaining regular substitute teachers willing to travel the distance to that area. An alternate substitute teacher was required to have a high school diploma with a minimum of 500 hours of volunteer or aid work in a classroom setting and a principal’s recommendation.)
Mrs. Hightower noted that while not specified in Board policy, there was a long-time “practice” in the north-end of the county of allowing alternate substitute teachers. She questioned whether it would be possible to expand that “practice” to the rest of the county. Dr. Alan Scott, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resource Services, suggested that the issue be presented to a committee, comprised of principals and other professionals in the District, for development of recommendations on whether or not this “practice” would be feasible throughout the entire county.
II. COMMENTS FROM SUPERINTENDENT
The Superintendent listed the additions, deletions, amendments and/or corrections to the
November 22, 2005 Regular Meeting agenda.
The Board agreed to schedule the following meetings:
December Regular Workshop – December 9, 2005, at 9:00 a.m.
December Regular Meeting – December 13, 2005, at 5:30 p.m.
Both meetings to be held in Room 160, at the J.E. Hall Educational Services Center
The Regular Workshop recessed at 10:05 a.m. and reconvened at 10:20 a.m., with all Board Members, the Superintendent and Mrs. Odom present.
III. TIME CERTAIN ITEMS
No items submitted.
IV. PROPOSED ADDITIONS OR REVISIONS TO SCHOOL DISTRICT RULES
Notice of Intent to Adopt Emergency Amendment to School District Rule 6Gx17 – 2.05(3) – Tutoring (Item II.A.2 on November 22, 2005 Regular Meeting agenda)
Notice of Intent to Advertise Amendment to School District Rule 6Gx17 – 2.05(3) – Tutoring
(Item II.B.1 on November 22, 2005 Regular Meeting agenda)
Mrs. Odom explained that the purpose of this rule amendment was to exempt instructional personnel providing supplemental educational services pursuant to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act from the prohibition on tutoring on School Board property.
“Instructional personnel providing supplemental educational services (SES) pursuant to an outside contract with an authorized SES provider shall not be precluded from providing such services to students on School Board property for a fee provided that such fee is paid solely by the SES provider. Instructional personnel who are hired to provide SES shall not render such services to students currently enrolled in their regular classes, or for that portion of the day in which the instructional personnel are under contract with the School Board of Escambia County.”
V. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Curriculum and Instruction
7. No Child Left Behind of 2001 Supplemental Educational Services Contractual Agreements
Mrs. Stidham noted that the costs of tutoring sessions and amount of sessions provided varied from one SES (Supplemental Educational Services) vendor to another. She questioned whether parents were made aware that by choosing a vendor charging more per hour, their child would receive fewer sessions, whereas, by choosing a vendor charging less per hour, their child would receive more sessions. Mrs. Marcia Nowlin, Director of Title I, explained that parents were provided a brochure containing all the information needed in order to make an educated decision; however, the District was unable to advise parents as to whether or not they would receive better or more service by selecting one vendor over another. At the request of Mrs. Stidham, Mrs. Nowlin indicated that she would provide each Board Member with a copy of the brochure that was provided to parents.
10. Charter Approval between the School Board of Escambia County, Florida and White Hat Management d.b.a. Life Skills Center, Escambia County
Mrs. Laura Shaud, Director of Budgeting, responded to questions posed by Mrs. Stidham regarding the various financial aspects of the charter submitted by White Hat Management (Life Skills Center).
B. Finance
No discussion was held.
C. Human Resource Services
1. Instructional/Professional
g. Special Requests
4. Approval of revised job description for Special Center Principal (Dixon Educational Center)
Upon inquiry by Mrs. Stidham, Dr. Alan Scott, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resource Services, explained that this revision would transform the very “generic” job description for a Special Center principal into a very “specific” job description for the principal at Dixon Educational Center and would “put it in line” with the job descriptions for all other Special Center principals which were specifically tailored to each individual school (i.e., Escambia Westgate, A.V. Clubbs).
D. Purchasing
21. Bid Award: West Florida Technical High School Lighting of Baseball and Softball Fields
Mrs. Stidham questioned why this project was being prioritized over the renovations that were supposed to occur in the current year for Pensacola High School’s (PHS) athletic fields. Mr. Ron Peacock, Director of Facilities Planning, explained that this was not a case of prioritization, but rather that this project had been in process prior to Hurricane Ivan (September 2004); and having somewhat recovered from hurricane damage, the District had now begun to re-engage in pre-Ivan projects.
E. Operations
1. Facilities Planning
B. Miscellaneous
1. Sales Tax Budget Increases
Mr. Shawn Dennis, Assistant Superintendent for Operations, and Mr. Ron Peacock, Director of Facilities Planning, informed the Board of the various factors contributing to increases in the sales tax budget. (NOTE: This information was outlined in the backup documentation for this item and in a position paper submitted by the Facilities Planning department.)
F. Student Transfers
No discussion was held.
G. Internal Auditing
No discussion was held.
VI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Adopt the Superintendent’s student calendars for the years 2006-07 and 2007-08
(previously appeared as Item V.C.1.f.10 on September 20, 2005 Regular Meeting agenda)
Board Members and staff engaged in general discussion regarding the following issues related to the Superintendent’s proposed student calendars for the years 2006-07 and 2007-08:
§ Results of the parent surveys regarding school calendar issues
§ Issues related to bargaining and the Omnibus Settlement Agreement
§ Placement of paid days off (i.e., Fall Break, Winter Break, Spring Break, etc.)
§ Paid holidays
§ Possibility of including Easter holiday in Spring Break
§ Possibility of including the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as a paid holiday
§ Starting and ending dates
§ Financial aspects
§ Early release days
The Board requested that the Superintendent and his staff (along with input from the Union), taking into account all of the issues discussed during this meeting, develop several different student calendars (for the years 2006-07 and 2007-08) from which the Board could choose at the December Regular Meeting. Mr. Bergosh requested that information regarding the financial impact of each of the different student calendars also be included. At the request of the Board, the Superintendent indicated that he would delete this item from the November 22, 2005 Regular Meeting agenda.
VII. NEW BUSINESS
A. Items from the Board
1. School Board Members Salaries for 2005-2006 as recommended by the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA)
Board Members indicated that they would reject the School Board Members salary increase for 2005-2006 that was recommended by the FSBA.
B. Items from the Superintendent
No discussion was held.
C. Items from the General Counsel
No discussion was held.
(NOTE: Mr. Bergosh left the Regular Workshop at 12:00 p.m.)
VIII. COMMITTEE/DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
1. Status of Educational Support Personnel (ESP) Job Study
[NOTE: The Educational Support Personnel (ESP) Job Study was approved at the April 20, 2004 Regular Meeting (Item V.D.4).] Dr. Alan Scott, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resource Services, briefly reviewed a memorandum provided to the Board regarding the status of the Educational Support Personnel (ESP) Job Study.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the Regular Workshop adjourned at 12:05 p.m.
Attest: Approved:
________________________________ ________________________________
Superintendent Chairman