But their first order of business was to elect new officers. New officers are as follows: Ty Harber was elected Chairman, replacing Bill Willis; Kyle Chadwell was elected Vice-Chairman; Eleshia Fields was elected Clerk; Kathy Burgan and Barbara Hines were elected Deputy Clerks; Mark Carter and Kathy Turner were elected to give signatures in the Superintendent’s absence; and Kyle Chadwell and Donnie Brooks were elected to serve on the Budget Committee. The date and time of meeting were kept the same, as were the rules of order.
Before the Board got down to business, Kyle Chadwell offered his congratulations to Coach Ronald Skeen, who was honored earlier this month when the Thomas Walker Basketball Court was named in his honor.
“I want to thank the School Board... and the entire Thomas Walker Community” for putting on the event, said Chadwell.
Donnie Brooks said the ceremony went “really well.”
The President of the Lee County Education Association, Debbie Jessee, addressed the Board during delegations. She asked for an extension to the early retirement incentive offered at the end of last year. Jessee said that Gov. Kaine plans to slash education by 9.2 percent, meaning $1.2 million less money from the state than last year. She said that there would not be enough money to fund 35.85 positions. Because of that shortfall, Jesse asked the Board to extend the early retirement deadline and requested Option 4 be utilized.
The Board voted to extend the deadline for the early retirement incentive until Monday, Feb. 2.
At the last meeting, a parent criticized the school system for not having a physical therapist, explaining that her developmentally delayed child, who attends Flatwoods Primary School, should be receiving physical therapy from someone at the school, according to her child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). Superintendent Fred Marion made it clear at this meeting that a physical therapist will be hired within the next couple of weeks.
Marion presented the Region VII SOL scores and 2008-09 Accreditation Status and Passing Rates of Lee Co. Schools. Lee Co. scored average or above in the performance of English, Math, Science, Writing, and History. Lee Co. shined, especially in English and History, scoring second place in both categories for the region. However, Lee Co. came in at the very bottom for its attendance rate — lowest in Region VII.
The Secondary School scores, for Lee High School and Thomas Walker High School, were relatively comparable in the five subject areas. However, Lee High did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and suffered with a graduation rate of 60 percent, meaning 4 out of every 10 students at LHS do not graduate; Thomas Walker scored 72 percent. As a Division, Lee County’s Graduation rate was 62 percent, compared to the Virginia average of 81 percent.
All schools, except LHS, made AYP. All schools received state accreditation.
Newly elected Chairman Ty Harbor asked LHS Principal Ron Early why his school had such low attendance.
Principal Early said the “biggest problem is accountability,” getting the parents of students to make their kids go to school. Early said that ultimately the choice is up to the parents to send their parents to school. Early also noted that, from his experience, the parents are not afraid of the legal consequences.
Some Board members discussed ways to curb falling attendance. Board member Chadwell said he and Board member Brooks had wondered if giving incentives to the kids could help keep them in school.
During the Enrollment report, Marion said that enrollment had dropped 59 from this time last year, and 15 from this time last month.
The Board voted to schedule the public hearing for the 09-10 budget for Feb. 10, at 6:45 in the school board office (the regular board meeting place).
The Board approved the following:
•09-10 School Calendar. “Winter Break” was changed by Harber upon request from Brooks to “Christmas Break.”
•District Wide Family Involvement Policy
•ERIP Plan 4, which is another retirement option giving 15 percent of final contract salary. Retirees must meet the following requirements: be eligible to file for a Virginia Retirement System Option; have 20 years of total employment (the last 10 of which must be with the Lee Co. School Board); be between the ages of 50 and max. social security age; currently employed and in good standing with the Board.
•A new class for the Vocational School called Medical System Administration. The class will be Dual College Credit through Mountain Empire Community College and will prepare students for work in a medical office.
The Board went into executive (closed) session to consider discipline of a student and personnel. Dorothy Zentz was hired. Lorrie Peters was transferred.
The following resigned: Patti L. Wood, Mary Ann Eldridge, and Bridget Wallen.
The following retired: Richard Stapleton, Patricia Welch, Linda Bledsoe, Wanda Anderson, Diane Smith, Rebecca Jessee, Charlotte Fish, Martha Elizabeth Barron, Larry D. Brown, Gary B. Johnson, Robert Hathaway, and Nell Newman.
Vickie Brown is taking a leave of absence.
Stephen Woodward is a Staff Writer for the Daily News. He may be contacted at swoodward@middlesborodailynews.com.
CUTLINE: THE PIC IS A GRAPH of Accreditation Status.
Accreditation Status / NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) / Passing Rates of Lee Co. Schools
Post a Comment
