TENTATIVE MINUTES

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF BALTIMORE COUNTY, MARYLAND

Tuesday, January 9, 2001

The Board of Education of Baltimore County, Maryland, met in open session at 4:45 p.m. at Greenwood. President Donald L. Arnold and the following Board members were present: Ms. Erica A. Cohn, Ms. Phyllis E. Ettinger, Mr. John A. Hayden, III, Dr. Warren C. Hayman, Ms. Jean M. H. Jung, Mr. Michael P. Kennedy, Ms. Carolyn Ross-Holmes, Mr. James R. Sasiadek, and Mr. James E. Walker. In addition, Dr. Joe A. Hairston, Superintendent of Schools, was also present.

Mr. Sasiadek immediately moved that the Board go into closed session to discuss personnel matters and to discuss matters relative to negotiations pursuant to the Annotated Code of Maryland, State Government Article, §10-508(a)(1) and §10-508(a)(9). The motion was seconded by Ms. Cohn and unanimously approved by the Board.

CLOSED SESSION MINUTES

Mr. Grimsley provided Board members with an update on the status of negotiations with the various employee groups.

Dr. Smeallie reviewed an item that may be brought up during negotiations.

Ms. Johns discussed three personnel issues.

Mr. Teplitzky entered the room at 5:31 p.m.

Ms. Howie offered Board members legal advice with respect to one of the personnel issues.

At 6:05 p.m., Mr. Teplitzky moved to adjourn the closed session for a brief dinner recess. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kennedy and approved by the Board.

The Board hosted members of the executive board of the PTA Council for dinner.

OPEN SESSION MINUTES

The Board of Education of Baltimore County, Maryland, reconvened in open session at 7:43 p.m. at Greenwood. President Donald L. Arnold and the following Board members were present: Ms. Erica A. Cohn, Ms. Phyllis E. Ettinger, Mr. John A. Hayden, III, Dr. Warren C. Hayman, Ms. Jean M. H. Jung, Mr. Michael P. Kennedy, Ms. Carolyn Ross-Holmes, Mr. James R. Sasiadek, Mr. Sanford V. Teplitzky, and Mr. James E. Walker. In addition, Dr. Joe A. Hairston, Superintendent of Schools; staff members; members of various civic, employee, and community organizations were present as was the press.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

The open session commenced with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, which was led by Ms. Laura Nossel, President of the PTA Council of Baltimore County, and a period of silent meditation for those who have served education in the Baltimore County Public Schools.

Mr. Arnold informed the audience of the various sessions in which Board members had participated earlier that afternoon.

MINUTES

Mr. Walker requested the minutes of December 19, 2000, reflect his comments on his visit to Inverness Center during American Education Week and his dismay of the conditions of the building. Mr. Arnold requested the December 19, 2000, minutes reflect the reason for the change in time for the business meeting was snow. Hearing no further additions or corrections to the open and closed session minutes of December 19, 2000, Mr. Arnold declared the minutes approved as amended.

PERSONNEL MATTERS

On motion of Ms. Ettinger, seconded by Mr. Walker, the Board approved the personnel matters as presented on Exhibits C, D, E, F, and G. (Copies of the exhibits are attached to the formal minutes.)

SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS

On motion of Ms. Ettinger, seconded by Mr. Sasiadek, the Board adopted the resolution honoring Dr. Thomas. Dr. Thomas retired last month after serving Baltimore County Public Schools for 23 years.

Dr. Thomas reflected on the number and content of Board presentations he's made over the last five years. He encouraged the Board to keep its focus in two areas&emdash;student achievement and assistance to students in their academic endeavors. Dr. Thomas expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Board, Dr. Hairston, Ms. Johns, and the dedicated staff members, Baltimore County Public Schools will be even greater in the future.

Mr. Arnold recognized the presence of Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder who has two children at Fullerton Elementary School.

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT

Dr. Hairston informed the audience of the productive and successful Professional Development Day on January 2. The superintendent attended activities at Eastern Technical High School. Dr. Hairston commented on the many positive remarks he heard the following day, and he commended Ms. Bailey, her staff, the area superintendents, and principals who facilitated the staff development training.

Dr. Hairston announced that students returned to Elmwood Elementary School after fire destroyed a portion of the building several months ago. He recognized the efforts of Mr. Krempel and his division for their hard work in getting students back to their building in such short time. Dr. Hairston also recognized the project managers and the principal and teachers of Elmwood.

Dr. Hairston noted that two Pikesville High School students took first and second place in the Martin Luther King, Jr., Essay Contest, sponsored by the YMCA.

The Superintendent noted two recent ribbon-cutting events&emdash;Additions for Chapel Hill and Shady Spring Elementary Schools. In light of a recent newspaper article about the school system's capital program, Dr. Hairston noted that one of our state senators attending the ceremonies commented that these projects were completed on time.

Dr. Hairston thanked Ms. Flynn, Ms. Smither, Ms. Bailey, and Dr. Mazza for attending a community meeting in Granite with him last night on short notice.

Finally, Dr. Hairston and Mr. Kennedy recently visited Baltimore Highlands Elementary School and Kenwood High School. At Kenwood, they attended the IB Awards Program.

REPORTS

The Board received the following reports:

A. Report on the Proposed Baltimore County Capital Budget Request&emdash;Ms. Roddy described the proposed projects for FY 2002 and FY 2002-2007 Capital Improvement Program &endash; Baltimore County Funds only. The projects are divided into three categories&emdash;New Construction ($52,685,000), Capital Maintenance and Alteration ($212,303,000), and Requests Beyond Programmed Funds ($28,000,000).

Mr. Teplitzky shared his concern about a number of science labs that are old and in need of renovation which do not appear on the list. He feels there are labs in need of renovation that have a potential for safety problems. Mr. Teplitzky asked for information on why we are not doing repairs to labs that have been identified as necessary and serious.

Ms. Jung asked for additional information on the ADA portion of the projects. She also suggested staff look into any safety issues concerning photographic labs.

Mr. Kennedy recalled a Board discussion from about a year ago where it was suggested that secondary schools be grouped together and identified for renovation by age and need rather than looking at middle schools and high schools separately. Ms. Roddy will look into that for Mr. Kennedy.

Dr. Hayman suggested including upgrades to middle school science labs and technology areas. He expressed his hope that there are established criteria to determine how we proceed with capital requests.

With regard to Windsor Mill Middle School, Ms. Ross-Holmes reiterated her concern and interest in having ongoing updates in terms of data to ensure a 600-seat school will be sufficient to meet the needs of the community. She requested the same type of updates with respect to the addition for the Northwest Elementary School.

Mr. Teplitzky asked that science labs that are not complete or safe be added to the proposed list of projects. If it can't be done, he requested to know why as well as a time frame for when the work will be done.

Mr. Kennedy expressed his appreciation for the hard work done by Ms. Roddy and Mr. Krempel in preparing this budget.

The Board will take action on the County capital budget request at the January 23rd meeting.

Mr. Arnold announced that on Wednesday, January 31, 2001, at 7 p.m. at Ridge/Ruxton, the Board will conduct a public hearing on the proposed operating budget. The snow date will be Thursday, February 1. He also announced the Board will hold a work session on the proposed operating budget on Thursday, February 8, at 7 p.m. in the ESS building.

B. Presentation of the Proposed Operating Budget for the Baltimore County Public Schools, Fiscal Year 2002&emdash;Before reviewing the proposed operating budget request, Dr. Hairston emphasized the budget proposal is subject to modifications based on final calculations of state and local revenues available to Baltimore County. He expressed his gratitude to the County Executive and the County Council for the support Baltimore County Public Schools has received in recent years. Dr. Hairston also expressed his gratitude to the stakeholder groups who have supported the school system.

The total budget request for Fiscal Year 2002 is $803,051,541, which is an increase of 10.6% over Fiscal Year 2001. Highlights of the proposal include:

• $2.66 million for 53 additional special education teaching and 5 speech language pathologist positions
  
  
• $2.26 million for 96 instructional assistant positions in special education
  
  
• $6.9 million for upgrading technology including wireless connections
  
  
• $9.86 million to provide a personal computer for every teacher
  
  
• A request for a Grant Specialist
  
  
• $223,000 for musical instrument replacements
  
  
• $250,000 for venetian blind replacement
  
  
• $216,000 for two (2) positions for capital projects&emdash;a contract negotiator and a contract
  attorney
  
  
• 5% COLAs for teachers; 4% raise for substitutes and paid helpers.

The Board will vote on the proposed budget at the February 27th meeting.

CONTRACT AWARDS

On motion of Mr. Kennedy, seconded by Mr. Walker, the Board approved items 1-4.

1. Food Service: Equipment

2. Food Service: Serving Lines

3. Food Service: Vending Machine Products

4. Glazing Materials

BUILDING COMMITTEE

The Building Committee, represented by Mr. Kennedy, recommended approval of items 1-12. Ms. Cohn pulled item 7 for further discussion. The Board approved recommendations 1-6 and 8-12.

1. Major Maintenance Renovations &endash; Arbutus Elementary School

2. Major Maintenance Renovations &endash; Campfield Early Childhood Center

3. Major Maintenance Renovations &endash; Chapel Hill and Perry Hall Elementary Schools

4. Major Maintenance Renovations &endash; Hampton and Middleborough Elementary Schools

5. Major Maintenance Renovations &endash; Norwood Elementary School

6. Gymnasium Lighting Upgrade &endash; Dundalk and Hereford High Schools

8. Systemic Renovations &endash; Parkville High School

9. Replacement of Auditorium Seating &endash; Franklin and Pikesville High Schools

10. Replacement of Auditorium Seating &endash; Kenwood High School

11. Fee Acceptance &endash; Consultant Design Services for Recreation ADA Modifications &endash; Various Elementary Schools

12. Resolution for Community Block Grant Proposal

Item 7 &endash; Fire Alarm System Upgrade &endash; Overlea High School

Ms. Cohn asked if the upgrade would include sprinklers to which Mr. Krempel responded it would not. On motion of Mr. Sasiadek, seconded by Mr. Kennedy, the Board approved item 7.

BUS LOT LEASE EXTENSION

Mr. Teplitzky asked how long we would use this facility. Ms. Fromm responded we expect to be at this location no longer than the end of the school year. Mr. Teplitzky also noted the significant increase in rent.

On motion of Mr. Walker, seconded by Ms. Cohn, the Board approved the lease extension for the Arbutus Bus Lot at the rate of $3,210 per month.

BUDGET APPROPRIATION TRANSFER

On motion of Mr. Walker, seconded by Mr. Sasiadek, the Board approved a budget appropriation transfer in the amount of $800,000 to facilitate the ordering of brick and steel for the classroom addition at Woodlawn High School.

Dr. Hairston expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Ms. Johns, Ms. Audette, the staffs of the Budget and Accounting Offices, Mr. Goodhues, and Ms. Norman for their assistance in preparing tonight's budget presentation.

INFORMATION

The Board received the following as information:

Minutes of the Northeast Area Educational Advisory Council Pre-Budget Meeting, October 25, 2000.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mr. Arnold made the following announcements:

• The Board will conduct a public hearing on the proposed operating budget on Wednesday, January 31, 2001, at the Ridge/Ruxton School at 7 p.m. Speaker sign-up will begin at 6:15 p.m. The snow date will be Thursday, February 1.
• The Board will conduct a work session on the proposed operating budget on Thursday, February 8, 2001, at Greenwood at 7 p.m.
• Schools and offices will be closed on Monday, January 15, 2001, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, birthday.
• On Tuesday, January 16, 2001, the Northwest Area Educational Advisory Council will meet at Scotts Branch Elementary School at 7:30 p.m.
• Also on Tuesday, January 16, 2001, the Southwest Area Educational Advisory Council will meet at Westowne Elementary School at 7:30 p.m.
• On Wednesday, January 17, 2001, the Central Area Educational Advisory Council will meet at Lutherville Elementary School at 7:30 p.m.
• Also on Wednesday, January 17, 2001, the Northeast Area Educational Advisory Council will meet at Chapel Hill Elementary School at 6:30 p.m.
• The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Education of Baltimore County will be held on Tuesday, January 23, 2001, at Greenwood. The meeting will begin with an open session at approximately 5:30 p.m. After the Board adjourns to meet in closed session, followed by a brief dinner recess, the open meeting will reconvene at 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome at all open sessions.

Noting the convening of the Maryland General Assembly, Mr. Teplitzky stated that last year the Board of Education opposed the Governor's proposal to provide state funding for non-public schools. The Governor is expected to offer the proposal again this year, and Mr. Teplitzky is planning to offer a resolution to oppose the proposal. He asked his colleagues and community members to join him in his opposition.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Ms. Meghan Kotula, President of the Baltimore County Public Schools, informed Board members that BCSC will be traveling to Annapolis to discuss issues affecting students with legislators. With regard to state funding for non-public schools, Meghan noted that BCSC opposed this proposal last year and will do so again this year. She also stated that the Maryland Association of Student Councils is planning to oppose this proposal. Meghan noted that at the last General Assembly meeting, students discussed foreign language in middle school. Many students felt foreign language should start in 6th grade rather than 7th or 8th grade. There were some students who felt foreign language should be an option for elementary school students. Another topic of discussion was service learning. Students felt this should be revamped. Ms. Kotula reiterated her belief that the student Board member should have full voting rights. She urged the Board members to take a position on this issue and vote.

Ms. JoLynn Chadwick, President of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education, thanked the Superintendent for including money in the proposed budget for training teachers of G/T students. She also expressed her pleasure with the money included for Distance Learning.

Ms. Teresa LaMaster, President of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Special Education, was very pleased with the budget proposal, particularly as it relates to Special Education and the multi-year thinking. She stated the Committee has worked hard to obtain additional state funding (for Special Education) by testifying before the Thornton Commission and writing letters to the Governor about the recommendations of the Thornton Commission to increase special education funding. Now that the Commission has finished its final report, the Advisory Committee will continue writing to the legislators and the Governor. Ms. LaMaster announced Dr. Grasmick has appointed her to a three-year term to the State Special Education Advisory Committee.

Ms. Maggie Kennedy, Coordinator of the Area Educational Advisory Councils, thanked Board members for meeting with council officers last week. She complimented Dr. Hairston on the specificity of the budget and the way it was prioritized. Ms. Kennedy requested copies of the proposed budget be made available to the membership of all five councils for their review.

Mr. Stephen Crum, a member of the Southeast Area Educational Advisory Council, referenced the recent excellent holiday music programs at Kenwood High School and Parkville Middle School. He also commented on the proposed budget with respect to technology, personal computers teachers, and musical instrument replacement.

Mr. Boyd Crouse, President of the Southeast Area Educational Advisory Council, noted a recent meeting where council members received an update on elementary curriculum. He echoed Ms. Kennedy's gratitude for meeting with advisory council officers.

Ms. Kathy Beadell, a member of the Central Area Educational Advisory Council, noted receipt by Board members of the Councils' pre-budget report. She noted that Ms. Johns will be speaking at the Council's January meeting, and Dr. Hairston will be speaking at the February meeting.

Ms. Meg O'Hare, President of the Northeast Area Educational Advisory Council, was very happy with the budget presentation. She was glad to see the system follow through with the technology upgrade, the standardization of language and economic texts, and computers for each teacher. With regard to the assistant principal issue that came up at the pre-budget meeting, she suggested that perhaps a formula be created for determining how they are assigned. Ms. O'Hare also suggested mentors be assigned to new assistant principals. She hoped the budget would address the issue of assistant principals taking a pay cut in order to pursue a leadership position. Ms. O'Hare spoke of the need for additional custodians, particularly in light of the new construction taking place. She hoped that the addition of custodians would be based on square footage and usage of a facility, not just square footage.

Ms. Marcella Kehr, President of the Baltimore (County Instructional) Assistants and Clerical Employees, thanked the Superintendent for making the budget easily understood. She spoke of the important role instructional assistants play in the classroom. Ms. Kehr recognized the presence of Councilman Bartenfelder and expressed hope he would promote this portion of the budget. She also asked to meet with Dr. Hairston in hopes of starting up professional development for clericals and IAs. (Professional development for this group has been on hold this year.)

Ms. Laura Nossel, President of the PTA Council of Baltimore County, thanked Board members for hosting tonight's dinner meeting and expressed hope for more informal meetings between the two groups. She thanked Mr. Teplitzky for raising the issue about funding for non-public schools. Ms. Nossel reminded everyone that the National PTA Conference will be held in Baltimore in June. Our students will participate in the opening ceremonies. In an effort to provide quality information to parents in a consistent manner, Ms. Nossel asked the Board to explore the possibility of a systemwide newsletter.

Mr. Michael Franklin, Vice President of the PTA Council of Baltimore County, reminded Board members of the Council's January 25th meeting, where Board members will dialogue with the public. Mr. Franklin stated he was glad to see funding included in the budget for foster children.

Mr. Mark Beytin, President of the Teachers' Association of Baltimore County, thanked Dr. Hairston for including money in the budget for computers for every teacher, and he complimented the Superintendent and staff for such a complete and thoughtful budget presentation. Mr. Beytin asked, if possible, when the budget books are printed, include multiple years of actual figures. Finally, Mr. Beytin noted that final results of the Perception Survey should be sent out by the end of next week.

Ms. Patrice Ragaini, accompanied by a group of parents from Carroll Manor Elementary School, noted her group's consistent and professional efforts to secure expeditious renovations of Carroll Manor Elementary School. They feel their efforts are falling on deaf ears. Ms. Ragaini shared her disappointment that staff did not contact her and her son, as promised, following her last appearance before the Board. The principal received outdated information after making several contacts. She noted that ceilings were torn down in September, and there appears to be no work forthcoming. With classroom temperatures ranging from 60°-90°, Ms. Ragaini stated children cannot be expected to achieve in that environment. She asked Mr. Krempel to provide Carroll Manor's principal with a complete update on repairs and identify a tentative timeline before the next Board meeting.

Ms. Laurie Sneed, a Pine Grove Elementary School parent, shared with the Board her concerns about wiring for the new computers and printers. Several classrooms have safety plugs located in the middle of the room. Ms. Sneed asked how and where these wires will be located without posing safety problems for students. She also expressed concern over the delay in installation of temporary partitions due to cost constraints.

Mr. Arnold thanked Councilman Bartenfelder for attending the Board meeting and for his support of Baltimore County Public Schools.

At 10:06, Mr. Walker moved to adjourn the open meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Ross-Holmes and approved by the Board.

Respectfully submitted,

____________________

Joe A. Hairston

Secretary-Treasurer

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