News from the December Board Meeting of the Wicomico County Board of Education

The Wicomico County Board of Education at its Dec. 14 monthly meeting:

Public Comments

Heard from a community member interested in how the school system handles disruptive students. He told the Board the issue must be addressed if the rest of the students are going to get the education and training they need to succeed beyond high school. (Please look below for information on the Connections program for persistently violent and disruptive youth, and the Choices alternative program.)

Heard from a community member that the Board of Education and school system should have a clear policy on naming things other than facilities (such as the current community-generated proposal to name the field at Wicomico County Stadium for the late Charles R. Berry) so that requests could be addressed according to policy. In his Superintendent’s Report (below), Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Fredericksen said the question of whether to name the field at County Stadium the Charles R. Berry Field, after the late coach and athletic supervisor, is an administrative and not Board member because a field is not a facility and is not covered by the Board’s policy on naming facilities. Through Dec. 20, comments on this particular naming proposal, as well as the practice of naming places such as fields, gyms, etc. for individuals, are being taken by voicemail message at 410-677-5251, by email at comments@wcboe.org, and by mail to the superintendent’s attention at Wicomico County Public Schools, PO Box 1538, Salisbury, Md. 21802. Dr. Fredericksen said he isn’t counting votes, but does want to hear people’s thoughts on naming.

Superintendent’s Report

Heard from Superintendent Dr. Fredericksen that:

The school system’s budget team planned to meet as long as necessary after the Board meeting to draft a response to a legislative proposal on teacher pension costs. Dr. Fredericksen said the proposal for the state to pass 50 percent of teacher pension costs to counties could lead to an additional $7 million in cuts to the school system budget, on top of cuts already anticipated. The financial impact of this proposal would be “monumental” on the school system, he said. The school system anticipated the possibility of having to pick up 5 or 10 percent of pension costs, but 50 percent is “huge.” Board member Ronald Willey emphasized that while the 50 percent proposal is alarming, it is at this time only a proposal from one legislator.

Wicomico’s Race to the Top plan submitted in November generated only one question from the state, and Wicomico is now awaiting word on approval of its plan, which details how $3.1 million in federal Race to the Top funds would be spent to improve Wicomico schools over the next four years.

The $825,000 the school system was told it would receive from the Education Jobs Bill may shrink to $80,000, as the state looks at using about 80 percent of the funds to help address state budget woes. The jobs bill money is to be used for class-size reduction and prekindergarten programs.

Work continues on the school vehicle contract, with a closed meeting on the Board next week to consider final details. A new school vehicle contract will be ready for a Board vote before the end of the 2010-11 school year.

A public comment last month about whether the cost of the Magnet Program is lower than the cost of other programs has been checked, and Dr. Fredericksen said it cost an additional $344,000 last year to provide the program and $224,000 this year, because there are fewer students enrolled. The school system has not realized any overall savings from the decrease in the size of the third-grade Magnet class, however; the $120,000 difference in the program cost from last year to this year is now allocated elsewhere in the budget, for teaching positions needed where the students are being served. Comparisons of the cost of the Magnet Program to Title I and the Choices alternative program are not valid, he said, because federal and state laws require the school system to provide those programs. The school system has examined the third-grade cohort again to ensure that no student who should have been provided the opportunity to participate in the Magnet Program was overlooked, and be believes no student was left out who should have qualified. Dr. Fredericksen said the school system believes there is a high degree of value to the Magnet Program, and that it is a “wonderful program and opportunity” for students who qualify and take advantage of the opportunity. The program also has a high degree of parental satisfaction and support. He said he believes the school system made the right decision when it raised the eligibility standard from the 85th percentile to the 90th percentile to make sure the program has only the students who will most benefit from the challenging activities.

The school system is continuing the process of seeking the full funding amount requested from the state for the Bennett Middle replacement project. In the first round of funding recommendations, the state was looking at not fully funding the request. Wicomico will appeal for full funding in January, as it is critically important to move forwarded on the project, keep Wicomico’s position in the funding line, and complete the replacement Bennett Middle so that the James M. Bennett High project can also be completed.

The City of Salisbury is planning additional meetings on the Onley Road/Division Street/Bateman Street intersection improvements.


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