Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education
Work Session Meeting
January 12, 2009
Minutes
The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education met on January 12, 2009 at the Long Street Administrative
Office with the following members present: Dr. Jim Emerson, Mrs. W. Jean Kennedy, Mrs. Linda Freeze,
Mrs. Patty Williams, Ms. Karen Carpenter, Mr. Bryce Beard and Mrs. Kay Norman. Also present were Dr.
Judy Grissom, Mr. Gene Miller, Dr. Walter Hart, Dr. Becky Smith, Mrs. Delores Morris, attorney Don
Sayers and Mrs. Bonnie Holder, Clerk to the Board.
Call to Order / Roll Call
Dr. Grissom called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance/Meditation
Mrs. Kennedy officiated the Pledge of Allegiance and Mrs. Norman had an opening meditation.
Adopt Agenda
Dr. Emerson requested to move the discussion of high school academies to the first item on the agenda.
**Ms. Carpenter moved to adopt the agenda as amended. Mr. Beard seconded. Unanimously approved
(7:0).
Discussion Items
Review of High School Academies
Dr. Grissom asked the high school principals in attendance to join the table for discussion. Those
principals were Dr. Don Knox of South Rowan, Mr. Jamie Durant of West Rowan, Mr. Rodney Bass of
North Rowan and Mr. Henry Kluttz of Carson. Also introduced were Mr. Alex Reynolds, Fine Arts teacher
at Carson and Jr. ROTC instructor Col. Hafer of South Rowan. Ms. Kathy McDuffie stated that East Rowan
was not represented because they will not be implementing an academy this year, and that Salisbury
High was not in attendance because they have already begun the Math and Science Academy.
Ms. McDuffie said there has been a lot of discussion in the state to move toward academies in the high
schools. Therefore, she and the administration have been looking at the academy approach. She said
the principals had looked at the strength of various programs, and the strength of their students in their
respective attendance area. Ms. McDuffie said the discussion for this evening will not be reflective of
true academies, but the principals will be presenting their proposals of looking at
academy/concentrations.
Ms. McDuffie advised that the principals have developed specific programs for their schools after
surveying the middle school students in their areas. Many of the courses that are going to be offered at
the academies can be offered at the other schools, but the school offering the academy approach will
have a focused concentration placed in their programs.
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She noted that SRHS is proposing a Jr. ROTC Academy; WRHS is proposing an Agriculture Academy;
North Rowan will present a Health Sciences Academy and Carson is looking at a Fine Arts Concentration.
Dr. Emerson asked to clarify what is meant by the specific academies/concentrations, but that most of
the same courses may be offered at every school. Ms. McDuffie explained that some of the courses
could be offered at other schools. She gave the example of Salisbury High and stressed that many of
those courses can be offered at other schools, but in Salisbury’s program, more opportunities are given
to the students and a concentrated focus is part of the program
Dr. Emerson said he was concerned with the student transfers that come into place because of
academies being offered. Dr. Grissom said she had asked the principals to think about the student
transfers, the athletic wait policy and transportation.
Dr. Knox distributed information regarding his school’s academy program. He said his staff looked at the
survey of students from the middle schools, and there were three areas of interest – Allied Health, FFA
and Jr. ROTC. Dr. Knox stated that all were very close. However, when they began to develop the
interest, they decided on the Jr. ROTC Academy Concentration. The Board reviewed the distributed
material. Dr. Knox felt that this program would not only prepare students for a future in the military, but
also for college. He said that he realizes there are some drawbacks and areas to address before they
can begin.
Mrs. Norman asked how many Jr. ROTC instructors there are at SRHS. Dr. Knox answered, “Three.”
She asked if the school would be able to add the academy without change in staff. Col. Hafer said they
would change, but they are planning to change each year. He said there would be a robust curriculum
to keep the students for eight semesters. Col. Hafer said they had every intention to raise the bar before
the discussion began on the academy. One of the drawbacks is because it will require change; the
lesson plans will have to be changed. If an honors program is adopted, it will be across the board so
that any of the other three high schools’ Army ROTC’s would be teaching consistently. He said that the
program is almost no cost to the school system, because the army provides funding at almost $600.00
per cadet. Col. Hafer stressed he felt the academy will be seamless for the faculty and staff, but not to
the students because of the increase in curriculum.
Mrs. Williams asked if the advanced level courses will place the student in a higher rank in the military.
Col. Hafer said the student that stayed in the program all three years will enter the military as an E3,
whereas the rank for entry level is E1. If the student gets into the academy, the emphasis would be on
going to college.
Ms. Carpenter asked how many students SRHS would anticipate participating. Col. Hafer said he had
been asked how flexible the course would be. He said ROTC would continue to be offered to every
student regardless of the path they intend to choose. He said they began this year with 170 cadets, but
now have approximately 150. He said they usually lose some freshmen students to other classes. Col
Hafer noted that when they lose the Carson cadets once that school has its own program, they may be
down to 80-100 cadets. Ms. Carpenter asked how many would participate in the academy. Col. Hafer
said he expected around 30%.
Ms. McDuffie stressed that the academies would be filled by their home school first, and there will be a
limit to the number involved because of the staffing issues.
Mr. Durant distributed his proposal. He said they looked at the number of students that could use
additional support. West Rowan chose an Agriculture Academy. Mr. Durant said that if students are
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leaning toward dropping out of school, they will have an opportunity to gain the skills to learn a trade.
He said he felt they would be putting together a cluster of approximately 30 students to begin with.
The students will be clustered together with the current agriculture classes. Mr. Durant said the English,
Math and Science classes will be asked to take on an agricultural theme.
Mr. Durant said he felt there would be an increased attendance in the core courses. Dr. Emerson asked
about the difference in academy biology and the current biology. Mr. Durant said they would cluster the
students together, and will continue to follow the standard course of study, but with an agriculture spin.
He said the students would have to do a supervised co-op program off campus. He noted that WRHS
has one of the largest FFA’s in NC.
Mr. Durant said with the Agriculture Research Station and the Kannapolis Biotech industry, he felt this
program would offer a lot of opportunities for his students.
Mrs. Norman said she believed that it would be a plus for the curriculum to have some honors courses.
Ms. McDuffie said WRHS is using their academy as a drop out prevention. Mr. Durant said it would be a
mix.
Mr. Durant said that if he has a student wants to transfer to WRHS in order to attend the academy, his
opinion is to allow it, if it keeps them from dropping out of school. He said is does not have a problem
with the students not having an athletic wait period because being involved in sports allows the student
the entire high school experience.
Dr. Grissom noted that the student would have to remain in the academy. She explained that the
student will not be able to come out of the academy, but stay in that school.
Mr. Bass of North Rowan distributed his proposal. He said their school is going to undertake an Health
Sciences Academy. He said want to vamp up their existing courses to match the sciences to prepare
students to attend a four year college. However, at this time when students graduate, they are able to
begin work at a hospital or doctor’s office. He noted that the Allied Health course at NRHS is very
successful.
Dr. Emerson asked how their day would differ. Mr. Bass said much like WRHS where many of the other
courses would work closely with the Allied Health teacher.
Mr. Kluttz said JCHS would like to offer a Fine Arts Concentration. He reviewed the document he
distributed.
He said he now has a very strong Fine Arts program, and has tried to build it. He has looked at it from
an approach of keeping students in school. Mr. Kluttz said he feels many of his students that take on the
fine arts are the ones where this course really peaks their interest. He noted that he wants a program
that the students can focus on their electives. He said in this program students would take four Fine Arts
courses, and the important part is to have kids to build a portfolio with all of their work that will help
them move to the next level after high school.
He said he was not calling it an academy, but a concentration. Dr. Emerson asked if the arts courses are
state recognized. Mr. Kluttz said that they were.
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Dr. Emerson said the main problem he sees is transportation. He doesn’t see the system being able to
provide the transportation. Mr. Kluttz said he didn’t believe that would be a problem because they will
probably fill their program with their students, and each school is going to have additional opportunities.
Mr. Kluttz said he feels it goes back to people not being honest as to why they want to transfer. He
asked the Board not to let the 2 to 5% drive the final decision on what we do for our kids.
Dr. Emerson asked the Board if they had any questions or concerns regarding the presentations. He
said he felt the Board could deal with the transfer policy. Ms. Carpenter said she would encourage the
principals to fill their slots with students on their campus.
The board took a five minute break at 6:37 p.m.
The Board reconvened at 6:46 p.m.
Dr. Emerson introduced Ms. Maggie Blackwell, the new education reporter for the Salisbury Post.
He asked the permission of the Board to move the Central Office Update discussion item as the next item
to be discussed since County Commissioner Chairman Carl Ford was present. The Board agreed.
Central Office Update
Mr. Miller advised the Board of the feasibility study done by SC Hondros. The cost was $3.83 million, a
little under $60 per square feet. He said that would not leave any room for storage or growth. Mr. Miller
noted that if there is an addition of a 2nd story of 16,000, it would give the central office room for growth
and storage. He said that would be a little over 4.8 million. Mr. Miller noted that the $4.8 million does
not include purchasing the property, which would put the total at approximately $7.3 million.
Mr. Miller said after the feasibility study was done, a county commissioner asked him to consider another
option, which was to put the central office at the bus garage on Old Concord Road where we now own
land. He said he did researched this suggestion, and hepresented some slides to the Board of what
would happen if we considered that option. He explained that the Board owns 21.76 acres on Old
Concord Road with approximately 4 acres available to build a central office, but it would be tight.
However, there is a house adjoining our property which is owned by the county. The commissioners
asked if had that property became available to us, would that make the feasibility better. Mr. Miller said
adding that property would give us 5 acres, which would work. Mr. Miller said Mr. Burgin said we
could build a two story building at 60,000 sq. feet. Mr. Miller said since we already own the property,
this option would cut approximately $2 million. However, the cost of brand new construction is more per
square foot, and this option would cost $7.5 million. Mr. Miller said he feels there is no better time to bid
this project. Bids are coming in low and the interest rate is very low. The downside is that this is brand
new construction, and the cost may be anywhere from $110 to $120 per sq. foot.
Ms. Carpenter asked if we are looking at what is best for the school system, and are we better located on
Old Concord Road or Jake Alexander Boulevard? Mrs. Norman said she believes the ideal place to be is
where we can put all of our facilities such as the maintenance facility, and where the transportation
department already is.
Mrs. Williams asked about a turn lane on Old Concord Road, and would the school system have to pay
for this. Mr. Miller said yes, but it was figured into the cost he just provided.
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Mr. Ford asked if the property on Old Concord Road goes any further north so that it could be connected
with the intersection of Heilig Road.
Dr. Emerson asked if the Board was in agreement with a new building on Old Concord Road. Mr. Beard
said we are in the need of an education center.
Dr. Grissom reviewed the next steps to move forward with this project. Mr. Ford said he was in
attendance on his own, and he said he thinks the education center should have been done a long time
ago. He said he would like to see it done sooner than later, but it is a Board process.
Review of 2009-2010 Budget Cuts/Reversions
Mrs. Trexler said she attended a meeting with DPI with the Finance and Services Division, and the news
was not good. She said the state is waiting to see what the 2nd qtr. sales tax earnings will be, but the
information should be coming over the next couple months. Mrs. Trexler said next year’s predictions are
that we will receive less than in years past, and creative solutions will be used to balance our budget.
She said the LEA’s have been asked to looked at scenarios of cutting 3%, 5%, and 7%. She said a 7%
cut would be 70 teachers. Other items cannot be touched such as the EC dept. Mrs. Trexler said our
enrollment will also play a part in cuts. Mrs. Trexler said that on the local level, she spoke with the
county finance officer and she is waiting on an answer about predictions on commissioner funding.
Dr. Grissom said that the budget hearings would not take place, but she has asked the principals to send
in programs they would like to see expanded if we do have any money.
Mrs. Trexler said the state does have fuel money of approx. $35 million that they may use to help offset
the cuts.
Ms. Carpenter said she would not be opposed to a hiring freeze unless it is a classroom teacher.
Mrs. Williams said her only concern when you say hiring freeze, is it gets very scary. She explained that
if she lost a custodian due to retirement and another may be in an accident, you are put in a very
precarious position. Dr. Grissom replied that she is only asking that we put a hold on positions until we
hear from the state.
Ms. Carpenter said she agreed it should be left up to the administration to decide what is an essential or
non-essential position.
Board Staff Development
Dr. Emerson distributed a board compensation comparison report. He said he felt there needed to be a
discussion out front. He said the Board should establish some type of criteria on attending national
conferences.
Mrs. Trexler said that the $1000.00 for staff development and the $1000.00 for travel could be pooled
together.
Mrs. Kennedy said when she added up how much the approximate cost would be to attend the national
conference, she felt it was too much money. It was not that she did not want to attend. However, she
feels that it important to continue to learn.
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Dr. Emerson said that he felt it would be good to send two to attend, and to begin a rotation. Mrs. Norman
said that almost everyone is a member of an organization, and it is always expensive to attend a national
conference. She said the rotation is a good idea, but it should go first to someone who has never been.
Ms. Carpenter said they don’t make a lot of compensation, and in the past the national conferences were
looked at as a form of compensation to the board members. She said she feels board members earn that.
She does support a rotation, and feels that would work best.
Mrs. Freeze said that the conference is held usually when she is off work, and she is able to attend.
Dr. Emerson asked Mrs. Holder to see what funds are available. If money is available, we will send two
members. He suggested putting enough money in the budget next year to send two board members to a
national conference.
Dr. Emerson discussed Board compensation. He said he felt compensation should be given for attendance
to sub-committee meetings. Mr. Beard said anyone that serves on the Appeals Committee should get at
least $100 because it is twice as much work.
Dr. Emerson asked if a compensation of $50.00 to attend sub-committee meetings would be feasible. Mrs.
Williams and Ms. Carpenter disagreed. They both felt that it was their obligation to attend meetings that
are a part of their duty on the Board. Mrs. Williams noted that she felt the Appeals Committee assignments
should rotate.
Dr. Grissom said she would like to have a decision on the amount of staff development fund for Board
members so that it could be included it in the budget talks.
Board Sub-Committees for 2009
Dr. Emerson noted the only change was that Mrs. Kennedy would like to be added to Personnel. Ms.
Carpenter agreed to be placed as an alternate on the Appeals Committee.
Dr. Grissom gave an update on Becky Kepley-Lee, principal at Cleveland Elementary.
Announcements
1/19
Martin Luther King HOLIDAY/Schools and Offices Closed
1/20
Board of County Commissioners Mtg.
J. Newton Cohen Bd. Rm.
7:00 p.m.
1/26
BOE Meeting
Long Street
5:00 p.m.
2/9
Chamber Business After Hours
Horizons
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
**Hosted by Rowan-Salisbury Schools and Piedmont Natural Gas
Adjournment
**Mrs. Norman moved to adjourn at 8:00 p.m. Mr. Beard seconded. Unanimously approved. (7:0)
Dr. Jim Emerson, Chairman
Dr. Judy S. Grissom, Ed. D., Secretary
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