MINUTES

WEST VIRGINIA BOARD OF EDUCATION

at

Board Conference Room

Capitol Building 6, Room 353

1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East

Charleston, West Virginia

January 11, 2001

I.

President J. D. Morris called the regular meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education to order at 8:31 a.m. on January 11, 2001, in the Board Conference Room, Capitol Building 6, Room 353, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East, Charleston West Virginia. Members present were Vice-President Sandra M. Chapman, Secretary Paul J. Morris, Barbara N. Fish, James J. MacCallum, Howard M. Persinger, Jr., Ronald B. Spencer, and Superintendent David Stewart. Members absent: Sheila M. Hamilton, Cleo P. Mathews, and John Thralls, Interim Chancellor, The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.

II.

Justice Joseph P. Albright administered the Oath of Office to incoming Board member Barbara N. Fish.

III.

James J. MacCallum moved approval of a resolution honoring former member Gary G. White. The motion was seconded by Paul J. Morris and unanimously approved by the Board. (Copy appended to the Official Minutes, Attachment A.)

Sandra M. Chapman moved approval of a resolution honoring former member Jim L. Mc Knight. The motion was seconded by James J. MacCallum and unanimously approved by the Board. (Copy appended to the Official Minutes, Attachment B.)

West Virginia Teacher of the Year for 2000, Donna Ream, a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Lewisburg Elementary in Greenbrier County, was recognized and addressed the Board.

IV.

Chris Stratton of Logan County addressed the Board regarding the closure of Sharples Elementary and the intercounty transfer of students to Boone County. Mr. Stratton delivered a citizens appeal to Superintendent Stewart and requested that action on the amendment to the Logan County Comprehensive Education Facilities Plan and agreement between the Boone and Logan County Boards of Education be postponed.

V.

Upon motion by James J. MacCallum, second by Howard M. Persinger, Jr., the Board unanimously approved the agenda with the following changes and additions:

Page 3, Superintendent's Information: add discussion regarding the Report

on 2001 Quality Counts

Page 6: Move Item 16 (Instructional Materials) to Reports, prior to item A.

Under New Business, add Item E. Appointment to the School Building

Authority and Item F. Executive Session

VI.

The Office of Education Performance Audits is currently in the process of conducting its tenth review of the year in Ohio County.

VII.

An on-site review of the Lewis County School System was conducted from October 25 - 26, 1999. An Education Performance Audit Team returned to Lewis County on December 14 - 15, 2000 to verify correction of the noncompliances identified during the original on-site review.

Upon recommendation of the OEPA, a motion by James J. MacCallum, second by Sandra M. Chapman, the Board unanimously issued the Lewis County School System Conditional Approval status, granted three (3) Lewis County Schools Full Accreditation status, and issued four (4) schools Conditional Accreditation status, with a May 31, 2001 Date Certain for the county to achieve Full Approval status and the schools to achieve Full Accreditation status. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment C.)

VIII.

A random and unannounced education performance audit was conducted in the Roane County School System. The Roane Jackson Technical Center was also reviewed during this time by members of the on-site review team.

Upon recommendation of the OEPA, a motion by Howard M. Persinger, Jr., second by Paul J. Morris, the Board unanimously issued the Roane Jackson Technical Center Full Accreditation status. (Copy appended to Official Minutes Attachment D.)

IX.

County boards are required to ensure that any school performing below the requirements for full accreditation status revise its Unified School Improvement Plan to increase the performance of the school to a full accreditation status level. The revised plan must include objectives, a time line, an evaluation component, cost estimates, and a date certain for achieving full accreditation. The attachment summarizes the elements of the revised Unified School Improvement Plan for Enslow Middle School in Cabell County.

Upon recommendation of the OEPA, a motion by Howard M. Persinger, Jr., second by Ronald B. Spencer, the Board unanimously approved the plan with the stipulation that the Enslow Middle School in Cabell County remain on seriously impaired status until the performance measures are met. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment E.)

X.

The Office of Education Performance Audits developed a Strategic Plan for FY2001 which was presented to the State Board at the September 14, 2000 meeting. The plan outlined the mission statement, goals, objectives, activities, and a completion date(s). The report addresses mid-year progress on each objective and activity. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment F.)

The Board requested that identified exemplary practices be posted on both the OEPA and Department of Education web sites.

XI.

House Bill 4674 amended W.Va. Code §18-2E-5 during the 2000 session of the Legislature. One of the provisions required in the Bill is a review of West Virginia's accountability system. The legislation stated that in order for the state to make improvements in its standards based accountability system, it is essential to review the system currently in place to identify areas that may need improvement.

The purpose of this report is to present a comprehensive review of the accountability system and report the findings to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability in order that the accountability system will continue to improve.

Upon recommendation of the OEPA, a motion by Howard M. Persinger, Jr., second by Paul J. Morris, the Board unanimously accepted the Review of the West Virginia Standards Based Accountability System and Recommendations for Improvement. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment G.)

XII.

Bill Luff provided the Board a report regarding the recently released "Quality Counts 2001" report that was published in Education Week. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment H.)

XIII.

Dr. Stewart requested that the Logan County Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan (CEFP) and Approval of the Agreement between the Boone and Logan County Boards of Education be removed from the agenda.

Upon motion by Sandra M. Chapman, second by James J. MacCallum, the Board unanimously approved consent agenda items as amended and as recommended. (Copies appended to Official Minutes, Attachments I-S and addenda.)

The Berkeley County Board of Education requested approval of an amendment to its CEFP as it does not provide for the use of modular structures at various schools throughout the county. The amendment serves to place in the record usage of temporary modular structures and a plan to replace these structures as the CEFP is implemented.

The Kanawha County Board of Education requested approval of an amendment to its CEFP to change the date of Belvil Elementary's closure to June 2001 (from 2004); approve the location of four (4) portable classrooms at Central Elementary; approve the location of approximately 20 double portable classrooms on the Belvil site; approve the schedule to move into the new St. Albans High School upon completion of the construction and to bring the conversion of the entire St. Albans High School feeder area to a K-5, 6-8, 9-12 grade configuration beginning the following school year.

The Pleasants County Board of Education requested a change in its CEFP to remove the closure status for St. Mary's and Belmont Elementary Schools.

The Upshur County Board of Education requested the following changes to its 2000-2010 CEFP: Goal 2, Objective 2.3 to read - "given adequate elementary facilities, Upshur County Schools will change the K-5 configuration to PreK-5; Delete from Goal 3, Objective 3.1 "Given adequate financial resources, Upshur County will continue to operate the nine currently-existing elementary schools as long as decreased student population (minimum of twenty students/grade) does not result in significant decrease in State Aid Formula dollars," the consensus of the CEFP Committee is that Upshur County does not presently have adequate financial resources to operate nine elementary schools and therefore, this objective is no longer needed; add to the present plan the option for new school construction as well as the additions/renovations recommended in the present plan.

For the Month of December 2000

Total Supplements = $147,854,458 Total Transfers = $16,704,993

Board members were provided an update on activities of the HVAC technicians. (Attachment K.)

Board members were provided an update on Education First: Our Future Depends on It. (Attachment L.)

Board members were provided an update on Project CATS: Coordinated and Thematic Science. (Attachment M.)

Board members were provided an update on Office of Healthy Schools activities. (Attachment Mc.)

Board members were provided an update on instructional technology projects in West Virginia. (Attachment N.)

Board members were provided an update on administrative technology projects in West Virginia. (Attachment O.)

The Board approved six (6) waiver requests. (Attachment P.)

As of October 23, 2000, the Department of Education had received an additional 68 applications for a total of 217 applications for Operation Recognition in connection with Policy 4355: High School Diplomas for Veterans. (Attachment Q.)

The Board approved personnel items for the West Virginia Department of Education and West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind as listed in Attachment R and the addendum.

XIV.

Gib Brown with The James & Law Company of Clarksburg, West Virginia, provided the annual report of activities as related to Instructional Materials adopted by the West Virginia public schools. The James & Law Company serves as the State Instructional Materials Depository. (Copy appended to Official Minutest, Attachment S and addendum.)

Donna Landin provided the Board a report, via videotape, regarding the IBM Reinventing Education partnership. Bunny Taylor, an IBM consultant, was recognized for her assistance in the implementation of West Virginia's grant.

Brenda Williams, Executive Director, Office of Instructional Technology, provided the Board an update on The Computer Crime Curriculum Project. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment T.)

Bill Grizzell, Superintendent of Lincoln County Schools, provided the Board an update of activities taking place in Lincoln County.

Ted Mattern, Superintendent of Mingo County Schools, provided the Board an update of activities taking place in Mingo County. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment U and addendum.)

John Hough, Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent, provided the Board an update concerning legislative initiatives and the upcoming Legislative session.

Bill Luff, Associate State Superintendent, provided the Board a report concerning goal implementation. An action plan is expected to be presented in March or April.

XV.

Karen Larry presented the ten (10) agency plans to meet professional development goals for approval of the Board.

Upon motion by Howard M. Persinger, Jr., second by Paul J. Morris, the Board unanimously approved the professional development goals as presented. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment V.)

XVI.

Policy 3234 provides for the operation of year-round schools. The policy was first effective in June 1992. The revisions proposed will allow the State Board to approve the operation of a year-round school for a period of up to three years. The policy currently provides for approval for a period of only one year.

Upon motion by James J. MacCallum, second by Ronald B. Spencer, the Board unanimously placed Policy 3234 on public comment until February 16, 2001 for action at the March meeting. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment W.)

XVII.

Jim Watts, Vice-President, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), presented the West Virginia Professional Development Study conducted by SREB. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment X.)

XVIII.

Upon the motion by James J. MacCallum, second by Paul J. Morris, the Board unanimously approved the appointment of J. D. Morris to the School Building Authority.

XIX.

The West Virginia School Boards Association has requested that a member of the Board participate on an Economic Development Panel at the SBA mid-winter meeting in March.

Due to the fact that McDowell County Schools will be on Easter break during the week of April 16, the Board decided that its April 2001 meeting would be moved back to April 12 and be held in Charleston. A visit to McDowell County will take place later in the year.

XX.

Upon motion by James J. MacCallum, second by Paul J. Morris, and in accordance with the provisions of W.Va. Code §§6-9A-1, 6-9A-3, 6-9A-4 and 6-9A-5, the Board, by unanimous vote, went into executive session.

Upon return from Executive Session at 2:21 p.m., President Morris reported that there were no deliberations and no decisions were made and no action was taken.

XXI.

The next regular meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education will be held February 8 in Charleston, West Virginia.

XXII.

Upon motion by James J. MacCallum, second by Paul J. Morris, the Board, by unanimous vote, adjourned at 2:22 p.m.

Minutes approved by the Board on February 8, 2001.

______________________________________________

J. D. Morris, President

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