Board Minutes for March 18, 2014

KERSHAW COUNTY BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES
BOARD MEETING
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The Kershaw County Board of School Trustees met in the District Office Board Room at 6:00
p.m. for the Board’s work session meeting. In accordance with the S.C. Code of Laws, 1976, as
amended, the following were notified of the time, date, place, and agenda of the meeting:
WPUB/WCAM Radio; Chronicle-Independent; Kershaw News-Era; Black News; The State; The
Elgin News; and Kershaw County Current.
The following were present: Mrs. Mara Jones, Mrs. Kim DuRant, Mr. Matt Irick, Mr. Ron
Blackmon, Mrs. Nissary Wood, Mr. Derrick Proctor, Mrs. Shirley Halley, Dr. Don Copley and Mr.
Louis Clyburn.
CALL TO ORDER
Mrs. Jones called the meeting to order.
PRAYER
Mrs. Jones asked Mrs. Halley to begin the work session with prayer.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Media: Haley Atkinson, Chronicle-Independent; Dave McIntosh, WPUB; Bill Rozier, Kershaw
County Current, Kate Goff, The Elgin News.
ADOPT PROPOSED AGENDA
Mrs. Jones asked if there was a motion to adopt the proposed agenda with the following
change: move honors/recognitions before public forum. Mr. Blackmon made a motion to adopt
the proposed agenda. Mr. Irick seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.
APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
Mr. Proctor made the motion to approve the consent agenda which included the March 4, 2014,
Board meeting minutes. Mr. Clyburn seconded, and the motion carried unanimously.
HONORS AND RECOGNITIONS
Dr. Morgan recognized the Superintendent’s District writing winners. In the past years, the Lt.
Governor’s office sponsored a statewide writing program to honor young authors in 5th through
8th grades. When the Lt. Governor’s office decided to eliminate the program, the State
Superintendent of Education sponsored the program. Unfortunately, that agency also gave up
the program. Our District decided to keep this program in place, expanding it to grades 3
through 8. This program is a great opportunity to encourage students to strengthen their writing
and communication skills. The District recipients of the Superintendent Writing Award were:
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3rd grade - Taylor Church – Blaney Elementary
Topic: Write a letter to persuade your principal to invite a person to your school to speak
about being a good citizen.
4th grade – Blease Campbell – Lugoff Elementary
Topic: Think about a time when you helped someone. Write an essay about the
experience explaining what you did.
5th grade – Justin McCaskill – Jackson Elementary
Topic: Imagine yourself as the school principal. If your school could have only three
rules for students, what would they be?
6th grade – Sawyer Reeves – Lugoff Elgin Middle
Topic: Write a letter to the school’s cafeteria manager telling him/her about your favorite
food and convincing him/her to put it on the menu.
7th grade – Maddie Richburg – Lugoff Elgin Middle
Topic: Think about the most important character trait you value in a friend. Write an
essay explaining why this quality is important in a lasting friendship.
8th grade – Sara Grace Wohlwinder – Camden Middle
Topic: A wealthy donor plans to build a facility that will benefit young people in your area.
Write an essay about the kind of facility you think would be best for the community.
PUBLIC FORUM
Mr. Robert Price complimented the Board, District and Mr. Billy Smith on how impressed he is in
what we do with the monies we have. Mr. Price also complimented and thanked Chairman
Mara Jones for encouraging District employees to register to vote. Mr. Price pointed out to the
Board that it is important to remind students about their voting right, civic duty and responsibility
as citizens.
NEW BUSINESS
Dr. Morgan introduced Mrs. Whitney Hinson with KershawHealth. Mr. Hinson and Mr. Joseph
Bruce approached him with a proposal of a possible partnership with KershawHealth, LiveWell
Kershaw and the University of South Carolina, School of Public Health. The partnership is a
grant funded to help provide additional health care services in the North Central area. Dr.
Morgan explained that all over the country, health services in rural areas are difficult because
people do not have the proximity to doctors, facilities, etc. Dr. Morgan introduced Dr. Lillian
Smith, USC Arnold School of Public Health, who explained the program and possible
partnership. Dr. Smith said it began when the South Carolina Department of Health and
Human Services approached LiveWell Kershaw about developing a community project in
response to the identified priority areas. The opportunity will be funded through KershawHealth,
who will work with new and existing LiveWell Kershaw partners to resolve the lack of access to
appropriate care and address the other priority issues. The project will focus on Bethune,
Cassatt, and Westville areas of the County through:
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School-based health centers (SBHCs) for the area children
Accessible care and health education for adults at convenient community-based sites
Community public health activities and resources
School-based health centers (SBHCs) would provide comprehensive care to children and
adolescents in collaboration with students’ families, primary care providers, therapeutic
specialists, and school personnel. SBHCs are located in a setting that is trusted, familiar and
immediately accessible for the children: their school. SBHCs support the school, focus on the
student and the community, provide comprehensive care, advance health promotion activities,
implement effective systems, and provide leadership in adolescent and child health.
Possible SBHC services include:
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Health and Vision Screenings
Primary Care
Mental Health Care
Substance Abuse Prevention
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Case Management
Dental Health
Nutrition Education
Health Education and Promotion
activities
Existing healthcare partners will provide the business structure and hire teams of Nurse
Practitioners (NP) and Community Health Workers (CHW). The CHWs will be area residents
trained to serve as ambassadors and health navigators in their communities. The NP/CHW
teams will provide mobile care services at locations like churches, civic organizations, homes,
and schools. SBHCs will be established at North Central High School and serve the nearby
North Central Middle School and the four elementary schools.
After discussion, Dr. Morgan asked the Board to send him additional questions so he can send
them to Dr. Smith. The Board will revisit this in a couple of weeks and if it is decided to accept
this partnership, Dr. Morgan will make that recommendation.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Mrs. Jones reported that PASS testing is going on and going well.
She also reported that the District is winding down the third quarter and has begun planning for
the next school year.
INSTRUCTION
Alternative Education Update – Dr. Alisa Goodman
Dr. Morgan explained that approximately 18 months ago, he asked Dr. Goodman to work with
stakeholders, both internal and external, to look at how we were delivering Alternative
Education. He asked the committee to make recommendations about this program within the
resources we were currently using, which was primarily based at the Continuous Learning
Center. He explained that the Board looked at the recommendations and approved the
changes. Dr. Goodman will explain the changes made to the Alternative Education Program and
how those changes are working.
Dr. Goodman thanked Dr. Morgan and the Board for the opportunity to work on the Alternative
Education Program. She explained that this has been very fulfilling work, and that she felt this
program was in the best interest of all of our students. Dr. Goodman explained that the focus of
the program has been to change behavior, or help students manage or change their own
behavior through consequences. The committee has developed a five year plan for Alternative
Education which has four components. Dr. Goodman covered 3 of the 4 components.
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The first component discussed was Virtual School. Virtual School is an alternative to the
regular classroom environment for students who require or choose other options. Middle
and high school students are using computer assisted learning in a controlled
environment. This is an opportunity for those students who cannot attend school during
the day to complete coursework or earn credits. To date, Virtual School has served 140
students.
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The Second component is Individualized Intervention. The Continuous Learning Center
serves students who need immediate individual intervention plans and provides
appropriate service to help them transition back into their home school or an appropriate
academic setting. These services are: screening, team collaboration, individual
intervention plan, interventions, monitoring, and rigorous academic instruction.
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The third component is CHOICE Academy. This is a school of choice that focuses on
career readiness and workforce employability. Students have the opportunity to receive
a high school diploma, GED Work Keys, Credentials, Dual Credit, Apprenticeships,
Internships and work-based learning opportunities. One hundred thirty two students
have been served by the Academy; 27 receiving GED’s, 3 high school Diplomas, and
66 Career Readiness Certificates.
Dr. Goodman explained that since changes were made to the Alternative Education Program,
we have had a significant drop in detentions, suspensions, expulsion hearings and expulsions.
Below is a chart with the results:
Dr. Goodman had representatives from three of the four components speak to the Board on
their experiences as well as the success of their programs. Speakers were: Dr. John
Thompson from the Continuous Learning Center, Mr. Weyland Burns from CHOICE Academy
and Mr. Duane Pate, District Hearing Officer. Ms. Dyani Rickles, a student who finished the
CHOICE Academy, spoke on her success with the academy.
Dr. Goodman explained the next steps in Alternative Education. The steps are:
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Insure the success (accountability) of students in the virtual home program.
Increase the academic and therapeutic opportunities at the Continuous Learning Center
Implementation of an introductory mechatronics class for college credit for CHOICE
Academy.
Dr. Goodman added that with the increase of new jobs in the area, a mechatronics class would
allow students to take this class at the high school level and then finish requirements for a
Mechatronics degree at Central Carolina Technical College.
Mr. Blackmon thanked Dr. Goodman for all that has been done to help students who are at risk
of dropping out of high school.
Dr. Morgan added that the principals have embraced this program and now understand that at
risk students have options. The numbers show that this revised Alternative Education Program
is working.
SUPERINTENDENT
Dr. Morgan reported that we haven’t seen numbers from the House budget, though one has
been passed. He added though the House supports education, it only raised the base student
cost $19.00. He hopes to have specific numbers at the next Finance and Facilities Committee
meeting.
Dr. Morgan reported that the state legislation says, if we use the rest of the makeup days on our
calendar as scheduled, they would forgive five snow days. Dr. Morgan recommended to the
Board that we make no additional changes to the calendar. He instructed principals to carefully
review and monitor discretionary school-based activities in order to maximize direct instructional
time prior to state testing. As the Board was aware, students attended school on March 7 as
one of the makeup days. The other scheduled makeup day in the calendar is Memorial Day.
Dr. Morgan reported that Common Core will be implemented in the fall of 2014. The legislative
mandate is requiring a review of Common Core in 2018. The state implements what legislation
calls the Smarter Balance Consortium, which will perform a common assessment for the 48
states. The legislation reads that there will be a federal report card, but will not require a state
report card for two years. Dr. Morgan explained that Legislation indicated that the General
Assembly could only approve data being shared with the federal government.
Dr. Morgan explained that there is legislation that has a good chance of passing that gives
school districts starting in the 2015-2016 school year flexibility as to when school would start.
There would be additional weather makeup days before state testing. Dr. Morgan said this
would be a good thing.
Dr. Morgan said that there will be more numerical details on the House budget during the
Finance and Facilities Committee meeting.
OPERATIONS
Dr. Morgan explained that during the three previous meetings, the Board has discussed the
various options for each part of the county (Camden, North Central, and West Wateree) for
Phase 2 of the Facilities Equalization Program. During the March 4, 2014, Board meeting, the
Board heard a presentation on the concept of a Joint Economic Development Campus, a
proposal which will have bearing on how the Applied Technology Educational Campus (ATEC)
would be addressed in a referendum. Dr. Morgan briefly discussed the Camden, North Central
and West Wateree area options which are listed below:
CAMDEN AREA OPTIONS
Camden High School:
 CHS renovation and athletic facilities upgrades on Ehrenclou site only ($7,822,000)
or
 CHS renovation, Zemp Stadium renovation, and other athletic facilities upgrades on Ehrenclou
site ($7,822,000)
Camden Elementary School:
 Replacement on former Camden Middle School site (including demolition of current building)
($18,153,000)
or
 Renovation of current building ($13,028,000)
Considerations:
 Renovate Zemp Stadium or maintain as is? Zemp is landlocked and only limited renovation
could be done. The District only owns the field and the land on which the bleachers sit. Historic
Camden owns the rest of the land and charges the District for parking at athletic events. There
is a significant emotional attachment to Zemp, especially by longer-term residents, because of
the facility’s long history.
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Fully or partially develop Ehrenclou site? This may be the only opportunity in the foreseeable
future to develop this site.
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Renovate or rebuild Camden Elementary School? A rebuilt school could be located on the old
Camden Middle School site on Laurens Street. Renovating the current building would require
the school to operate with mobiles in the back of the school. It would also require additions
such as an elevator for the two-story section and other requirements such as fire suppression,
which is difficult and costly to do in an older facility. Renovating the current facility would not
address the fact that the classrooms there are 100-150 square feet smaller than in newer
construction such as Jackson.
NORTH CENTRAL AREA OPTIONS
North Central High School:
 Renovation and athletic facilities upgrades ($6,170,000)
North Central Middle School:
 Addition with science labs and special needs classrooms ($1,920,000)
Elementary Schools:
 Combined North Central Elementary School (Capacity 500) to replace Bethune, Mt. Pisgah, and
Baron DeKalb on donated site next to North Central Middle School ($13,563,000)
or
 Combined North Central Elementary School (300 capacity) to replace Bethune and Mt. Pisgah on
donated site next to North Central Middle School ($10,493,000) with renovation of Baron
DeKalb ($4,877,000)
Considerations:
 If North Central elementary schools were consolidated, Baron DeKalb students living west of
Highway 97 would have to travel a much great distance to the new school. (Other current BDK
students would actually have a shorter trip.) An “express” bus for students west of Highway 97
might be a solution.
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If a combined school were built, it would make sense to redistrict students in and near the Town
of Bethune to Midway and students in the northern end of the current Midway attendance area
to the new school.
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Sentiment has been expressed by citizens in Bethune that a new school be built halfway
between Bethune Elementary and Mt. Pisgah Elementary, as was discussed for Phase 1.
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There is concern in the Town of Bethune about how losing its school will impact the community.
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If Baron DeKalb remained open and current students closest to the NCMS site moved to a new
school, BDK would be severely under populated.
WEST WATEREE OPTIONS
Stover Middle School:
 Renovation/addition ($2,430,000)
Lugoff-Elgin High School:
 Renovation/addition/athletic upgrades (12,091,000)
Wateree Elementary School:
 Replacement (including demolition) ($18,000,000)
Lugoff Elementary School:
 Replacement (including demolition and 25 acres of land) ($18,731,000)
or
 Renovation ($9,410,000)
Considerations:
 There was surprise in the community at the poor design and construction of Lugoff-Elgin High
School and the poor condition of Wateree Elementary School and Lugoff Elementary School.
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Wateree Elementary School could be used to house Lugoff Elementary School for a year so that
a new Lugoff Elementary School could be built on the current site? (Assumes that a new
Wateree Elementary would be built first.) This would save land costs for a Lugoff Elementary
replacement.
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Renovation of Lugoff Elementary does not address the size of classrooms, which are very small
in comparison to new construction.
Applied Technology Campus (ATEC):
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Renovation ($13,771,000)
or
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Rebuild as part of Joint Economic Development Campus ($28,045,312)
Dr. Morgan reminded the Board that renovations of ATEC have been talked about at length,
since beginning this process. Two weeks ago, the Board received a presentation of a proposed
Joint Economic Development Campus. That presentation was a broad concept verbally. Mr.
Billy Smith showed the Board a draft of what a Joint Economic Development Campus might look
like. The draft is to give you a sense of what we have been discussing. Dr. Morgan said the
two questions are: Do we renovate the current ATEC? Do we rebuild as part of the Joint
Economic Development Campus? He reminded the Board that the ATEC campus is impacted
by the Airport and in the next year of two we will have to access ATEC differently other than
Logan Road, due to the fact of lengthening of the runway at the airport.
Mr. Smith presented (below) to the Board what a Joint Economic Campus might look like,
reminding the Board that this is just a draft. Dr. Morgan added that after talking about the
possibility of a Joint Economic Campus, it would be a good idea to give the Board a visual
picture.
Dr. Morgan made a suggestion to the Board that we ask each board member at the April 1st
Board meeting, what they would like to include in a referendum.
Mrs. Jones asked if there was any feedback or questions.
Mrs. DuRant reminded the Board that she is the voice of her community, and she wants to keep
our rural schools. She added that the biggest amount of money in the North Central Area
Options is to combine the three elementary schools, closing our community schools. Dr.
Morgan said he could provide in the next packet the renovation option done previously on these
schools.
Mr. Blackmon asked why Midway Elementary was not included on the proposed consolidation
of the three elementary schools in the North Central area. He stated that Midway Elementary is
a feeder school to North Central Middle and is the closest school to the middle school. Mr.
Smith and Mrs. Jones answered one of the reasons was the number of students who attend
Midway. Dr. Morgan added that there were two reasons; one being that Midway Elementary
had a 5 million dollar renovation, and the other reason was that the school serves approximately
410 students, plus the 4K program. This number of students is probably equal to the other
three schools (Mt. Pisgah, Bethune and Baron DeKalb). Combining the four schools would
make an elementary school with approximately 900 students. Mr. Blackmon asked what about
the opportunities and recreation for the students who are not included in the consolidation. Mr.
Smith explained that students could take a shuttle bus from Midway to the new elementary
school, adding that this is done at other schools in the district. Mrs. DuRant added that
numbers was not the only reason to close the schools; it was also the condition of the buildings.
She added that the Heery recommendation was to close Mt. Pisgah Elementary and Bethune
Elementary, not Baron DeKalb Elementary or Midway Elementary. Mr. Blackmon asked how
much money was spent on the Heery report recommendations that the District didn’t follow.
Mrs. Jones responded by saying that the intent of the Heery report was to evaluate what
needed to be done and what the projected life was for the next 50 to 100 years with our
buildings. Mrs. Jones said that we have discussed many times school size and the cap for
elementary schools. Maybe this is a discussion we need to have again; what do we see as a
comparable elementary school, classroom sizes and how do we want to move forward? Mrs.
Jones suggested what it would look like to combine all 4 schools versus keeping all schools
separate. She asked Dr. Morgan to bring that back to the Board on the April 22nd meeting. Dr.
Copley stated that he would like answers to the following questions: The number of students
who live in the town or 2 to 3 miles of Bethune and attend Bethune Elementary? How would it
change debt service percentage with this bond issue? Projected millage rate changes and the
effect it would have on taxpayers? Produce a map that shows where the students are coming
from to Baron DeKalb, Mt. Pisgah, Bethune, and Midway Elementary. Dr. Morgan said that the
Board would get a finance plan on Tuesdays Finance and Facilities meeting that would answer
some of Dr. Copley’s questions. Mrs. Jones added that we can still have the discussion of
elementary school size, looking at the numbers of these schools as a whole versus stand alone.
Dr. Morgan reminded the Board that a couple of years ago he brought a school size research
which he can bring back to the Board for review. Mrs. Wood asked about the saving as far as
staff members if schools were consolidated. Dr. Morgan said that if you look at the staffing, you
might be able to trim a teacher or two, but this would depend on numbers. What you would end
up having with the consolidation would be full time music, full time art and full time guidance
counselors. There are currently two principals for the three schools, which would still be needed
if consolidated. Dr. Morgan added that the real saving in consolidating these schools would be
operations. After looking at the consolidation, the District would be saving approximately
$350,000, which is approximately a 40% savings. Dr. Morgan explained that the real savings is
not in staffing, but operational. Mrs. Wood asked Dr. Morgan to provide the Board with current
staffing in these schools versus staffing if we combined the schools. Mrs. DuRant commented
on Mrs. Jones’ statement of her constituents not being happy with the idea of consolidating
schools in her area and the size of the school, stating that her (Mrs. DuRant) constituents are
not happy with the idea of losing their community school. Mr. Blackmon added that if you want
to consolidate schools with all four elementary schools, but if you keep one elementary school
open, the Board should look at keeping all of them open. Dr. Copley said that we could possibly
look at Midway Elementary having a new school and have a new school for the Baron DeKalb
area and Mt. Pisgah. Dr. Morgan added that how we balance all of this is critical to the
referendum. Mrs. Jones suggested to the Board that if you have any questions, bring or email
questions so we can address them at the Finance and Facilities Committee meeting. Dr.
Morgan said on April 1st, we will have the answers to your questions and also we will go around
the table and see where we agree and disagree.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mr. Irick made a motion to go into executive session to discuss personnel to include
resignations/retirements, employments, and activity adjustments, and superintendent’s goals.
Mrs. DuRant seconded. The motion carried.
OPEN SESSION
When the Board returned to open session, Mrs. Jones announced during executive session the
Board discussed personnel (resignations/retirees, employments), and superintendents goals.
Mrs. Halley made a motion to accept the superintendent recommendation that employee A an
Induction contract teacher not be renewed for the 2014-15 school year for reasons set forth in a
letter dated March 18, 2014, pursuant to 59-26-40 in the SC Code of Law. Mr. Irick seconded
and the motion carried unanimously.
Dr. Copley made a motion to accept the superintendent recommendation that employee B an
Annual contract teacher not be renewed for the 2014-15 school year subject to the employee’s
rights to appeal pursuant to 59-26-40 of the SC Code of Law. Mr. Proctor seconded and the
motion carried unanimously.
Dr. Proctor made a motion to accept the personnel recommendation on employee C. Mrs.
Durant seconded and the motion carried. Mr. Clyburn obstained.
Dr. Copley made a motion to accept the 2014-2015 administrators’ recommendation packet.
Mrs. Wood seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Proctor made a motion to approve the personnel recommendations as presented.
Blackmon seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Mr.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. DuRant made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Proctor seconded and the motion carried.
Mrs. Halley closed with prayer.
Approved personnel: 4 retirees/resignations, 2 employments, 1 transfers, and 2 non renewals.
Respectfully submitted,
Frank E. Morgan, Ed.D
Secretary
cmc

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