Notes From Spt. 8 Meeting Of The WBOE

Notes from the Sept. 8 Meeting of the Wicomico County Board of Education
The Wicomico County Board of Education at its Sept. 8 monthly meeting:

Kilgore Tribute

Paid tribute [attached] to former Board member Brian Kilgore for his six years of service to Wicomico County Public Schools as a member of the Board of Education. Kilgore said serving on the Board involved a great deal of work and many challenges, but, "The easiest part of serving was knowing that every single person had the best interests of the children at heart. It was an honor to have served."

Superintendent's Report

Heard from Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen in his monthly report that:

Wicomico had a very successful opening of school starting Aug. 31, and that preliminary enrollment numbers show slightly higher enrollment again this year, though the official count will not be known until Sept. 30. The federal stimulus funds are finally becoming available, and the first orders have been placed using some of the funds.

Wicomico is still awaiting word from the Maryland Attorney General's Office about the school system's Maintenance of Effort plan, and is still waiting to hear from the governor's office on appointments to fill two vacancies on the Wicomico County Board of Education.

Several committees are continuing to work this fall. The School Climate Committee is preparing a presentation to the Board on a survey that could be done in November. A number of agencies are examining ways of handling persistently violent and disruptive students, including providing anti-gang programs. The dress code team has finished a first draft of its proposal, which will be given to the Board to review. A committee studying the possibility of changing the required minimum GPA for participation in extracurricular activities will meet again Sept. 14 as it puts the final touches on its recommendation. Mary Ashanti, president of the Wicomico County Chapter of the NAACP, told the Board in Public Comments that she was disappointed that a recommendation to raise the minimum GPA hasn't been made already. A Web Site Committee is continuing to explore improvements to the school system's web site at www.wcboe.org and to school web pages; check the web site for school system information. Board member Ron Willey said he spent some time on the new www.wcboe.org web site and found it more user friendly than the former site, though some schools need to bring their pages up to date.

Monthly Reports

Approved the monthly personnel report for certificated employees [attached] and budget transfers for June 30, 2009, and September, and received for information the monthly personnel report for classified employees [attached] and the monthly grants report. Recently funded grants include $234,072 from the Perkins Fund and $75,833 from the Lower Shore Workforce Alliance for Parkside CTE programs, $255,421 from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) for GEAR-UP at Wicomico High, $99,873 from MSDE for the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) pilot at Salisbury Middle, $322,000 from MSDE for the Judy Center Partnership/Wicomico Early Learning Center/Pemberton Elementary/Beaver Run Elementary, $6,550 from Wor-Wic Community College for a STEM Summer Camp for Kids, and $30,264 from MSDE for $30,714 for Maryland Model for School Readiness professional development.

Fiscal 2011-2016 Capital Improvement Plan

Approved the Fiscal 2011-2016 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), detailing funding plans for projects in Wicomico County Public Schools. The CIP must be submitted to the County Executive and to the Maryland Interagency Committee on Public School Construction. Once the CIP has been posted on line at the Facility Services page of www.wcboe.org in about three weeks, the public will be able to view the CIP to see that the school system has a plan for school construction that shows what the priorities are and where the money should be spent, Board Vice President L. Michelle Wright said.

Approvals

Approved the 403(b) Plan Document with Lincoln Financial Services, the 2009-2010 list of Persons-in-Charge of each school when the principal and assistant principal(s) are absent, and the 2009-10 Parent Advisory Committees for schools.

CTE House Project

Approved the 2009-10 contract with Salisbury Neighborhood Housing for the house that Parkside CTE students will build. Board member Willey hailed the project as an outstanding hands-on learning opportunity for CTE students, and Board President Mark Thompson said the CTE houses have been a wonderful part of the improvements made on Rose Street on Salisbury's west side.

Bus Contract

Approved the transfer of the contract for Bus 116 and paid spare bus 285 from Marie E. and Herbert W. Lowe to Marie E. and Herbert W. Lowe and their son, Samuel W. Lowe.

Table of Rates for School Buses

Approved the 2009-10 School Bus Reimbursement Table of Rates, with the same rates as in 2008-09. Ernie Davis, president of the Wicomico County School Bus Contractors Association, said the contractors would have appreciated knowing the approved Table of Rates before they started driving for the new school year, and asked that the dialog for next year begin now. The Board said that time was needed to analyze and discuss the Table of Rates before approving it. The Board also urged communication among all parties for next year's discussions.

Bid Awards

Voted to utilize Anne Arundel County's Baltimore Regional Cooperative Purchasing Committee's contract with C.N. Robinson Lighting Supply Co. for the bid for Lamps and Ballasts, Large and Specialty. Last year, approximately $52,000 was spent for this category.

Awarded the contract for Moving Services to Dennis Storage Co. as the evaluated low responsive and responsible bidder. Facility Services will use this contract for moving services as needed.

Budget Calendar for 2010-11

Approved a budget calendar for 2010-11, with public input sessions scheduled for Jan. 14 and May 20.

Board Member Reports

Heard from Board President Thompson that he has seen the school year get off to a great start, and that the Board appreciates the efforts of staff in holding August Code of Conduct and Bullying Policy meetings throughout the community.

Heard from Ben Brumbley, president of the Wicomico County Council of PTAs, that the WCCPTAs' annual Legislative Night with elected officials of all levels is set for Nov. 5 at Prince Street Elementary, with a social time at 6:30 p.m. and meeting starting at 7 p.m.