Fayetteville
Board of Education
Minutes of the May 23, 2002 Regular Meeting
The meeting convened at 5:00 PM in the Adams Leadership Center with President Steve Percival presiding. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by students from Root Elementary School.
The roll was called and board members Shannon McCuin, Howard Hamilton, Laura Underwood, Steve Percival, Malcolm McNair, Susan Heil, and Christine Bell were present.
Cindy Lucas received an Impact Award for her work as a surrogate parent for the district.
Rory Chamber, a ninth grade student at Ramay Junior High, received a Recognition of Outstanding Achievement Award for winning the 2002 Arkansas Scholastic Chess Championship. Rory will be the first Arkansas ever invited to participate in the prestigious Denker Chess Tournament in New Jersey this summer.
Denise Airola, Michelle Boles and Barbara Stripling received Impact Awards for their work in helping to implement the new Arkansas Consolidated School Improvement Process in which all schools are required to participate.
Marty Cale was recognized by the Board for donating his time to teach martial arts skill to elementary PE classes during the school year.
Ms. Susan Cromwell, District Technology Director, provided the board with the latest version of the Computer/Network Use Policy. She pointed out the changes in the revised version of the policy, which include defining “incidental personal use”, and the addition of two paragraphs. The final draft of the policy has been approved by the Personnel Policy Committee. Susan Heil made the motion to accept the final draft of the policy and vote on it at the June Board meeting. Malcolm McNair seconded the motion, which passed by a 7-0 vote.
QZAB/2nd Lien Bonds
Dr. Lisa Morstad, District Financial Officer, presented information regarding qualified zone academy bonds (QZABs). The Fayetteville School District has seven schools that qualify for these low or zero percent interest bonds because they have free or reduced lunch program participation percentage of at least 35%. The district has projects planned for three of the seven schools. Dr. Morstad added that approving the resolution to submit applications for the bond does not obligate the district. The district will receive notification of approval in August. Howard Hamilton made the motion to approve the resolution authorizing the submission of the application to the Department of Education for up to two million dollars in QZAB bonds. Shannon McCuin seconded the motion, which passed by a 7-0 vote.
Mr. Dick Johnson, Athletic Director, asked the Board for approval of construction of new bleachers on the visitor’s side of Harmon Field. Mr. Johnson noted that the existing bleachers have three main problems: dangerous areas due to uneven steps, inability to evacuate in an emergency, and inaccessibility via wheelchair. The low bid of $219,712 was submitted by R.J. Love Enterprises, Inc. of Little Rock. The construction will be completed by fall of 2002. Howard Hamilton made a motion to approve construction of the new bleachers at Harmon Field and accept the low bid from R.J. Love. Laura Underwood seconded the motion, which passed by a 7-0 vote.
Dr. Lisa Morstad, Chief Financial Officer, presented the financial report through April 30th, the 10th month of the fiscal year. She reported that all the district’s financial forecasts are on schedule.
The board heard a presentation from Mike Mason, principal at Holt Middle School, Edwin Strickland, principal at McNair Middle School, and two of their staff members regarding the progress at the middle schools since they opened in the Fall of 2000. The report noted that the philosophy of a student-centered focus is a key advantage when teaching middle school-aged children. Staff members added that having common planning time and flexible scheduling also enhance instruction.
Roy Karr, Associate Superintendent, reported to the Board regarding enrollment figures for the middle schools for the 2002-003 school year. Mr. Karr noted that the capacity for each school is 650 students. The projected enrollment for Holt is 549 and McNair is 701. The plan is to balance the attendance at each school to an enrollment of 625. Mr. Karr added that the new software the district purchased allows for the manipulation of boundary lines to develop scenarios for balancing the middle school population. The Board agreed to Mr. Karr’s recommendation to form a committee to study the current attendance zones. The committee will be comprised of the two middle school principals, one teacher from each school, two parents from each school, one technology specialist, Ron Jared, Mike Gray and Roy Karr. The committee will be formed immediately and will report their recommendations to the board at a special meeting in June. Meetings for families affected by the change in the attendance zones will also be scheduled. The committee will make their recommendations to the board at the June board meeting.
After citizen participation, Howard Hamilton made a motion to adjourn. Laura Underwood seconded the motion, which passed by a 7-0 vote. The meeting was adjourned at 6:35PM.
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Steve Percival, President Christine Bell, Secretary