MINUTES

WEST VIRGINIA BOARD OF EDUCATION

Mason County Career Center

Room 102

Route 1, Box 4-A

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

February 9, 2005

I.

President Barbara N. Fish called the regular meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education to order at 8:33 a.m. on February 9, 2005, in Room 102 at the Mason County Career Center, Route 1, Box 4-A, Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

The following members were present: President Fish, Vice President Lowell E. Johnson, Secretary Priscilla M. Haden, Mrs. Delores W. Cook, Mrs. Sheila Hamilton, Ms. Burma Hatfield, Mr. Ronald B. Spencer and ex officios Dr. David Stewart, State Superintendent of Schools, and Mr. James L. Skidmore, Chancellor, the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education. Members absent were: Ms. Sandra M. Chapman (present via telephone for a portion of the meeting where noted), Mr. Paul J. Morris, and ex officio Dr. J. Michael Mullen, Chancellor, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.

II.

Dr. Larry Parsons, Superintendent of Mason County Schools, welcomed the Board to Mason County.

III.

President Fish recognized Mr. Homer K. Preece, Director, Mid-Ohio Valley Center of Marshall University, recipient of the "Award of Merit", the highest honor presented by the Business Education Division of the Association for Career and Technology Education.

IV.

Ms. Brenda Adkins, Mason County parent, addressed the Board regarding physical education. Mr. William C. Totten, citizen and retired administrator of Mingo County, addressed the Board regarding the Mingo County Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan.

V.

Upon motion by Mr. Spencer, seconded by Mrs. Hamilton, the Board unanimously approved the agenda with the following modification: President Fish set a time of 1 p.m. for presentation of item VII.E. Education and Economic Development.

VI.

Dr. Kenna R. Seal, Director, Office of Education Performance Audits (OEPA), reported that an announced on-site review was conducted at Madison Middle School in Boone County on January 11, 2005. The OEPA conducted the review which was limited in scope to the performance and process standards relative to school and student achievement. The review also consisted of resource evaluation.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Seal and a motion by Mrs. Cook, seconded by Ms. Haden, the Board unanimously upgraded Madison Middle School's accreditation status to Conditional Accreditation status, continued the Boone County School System's Full Approval status and gave the school and county until September 1, 2005, to correct the high-quality standards necessary for improvement. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment A.)

VII.

Dr. Seal reported that an announced on-site review was conducted at Scott High School in Boone County on January 11, 2005. The OEPA conducted the review which was limited in scope to the performance and process standards relative to school and student achievement. The review also consisted of resource evaluation.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Seal and a motion by Mr. Spencer, seconded by Mrs. Cook, the Board unanimously upgraded Scott High School's accreditation status to Conditional Accreditation status, continued the Boone County School System's Full Approval status and gave the school and county until September 1, 2005, to correct the high-quality standards necessary for improvement. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment B.)

VIII.

Dr. Seal reported that an announced on-site review was conducted at Beverly Hills Middle School in Cabell County on December 14, 2004. The OEPA conducted the review which was limited in scope to the performance and process standards relative to school and student achievement. The review also consisted of resource evaluation.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Seal and a motion by Dr. Johnson, seconded by Mrs. Hamilton, the Board unanimously upgraded Beverly Hills Middle School's accreditation status to Conditional Accreditation status, continued the Cabell County School System's Full Approval status and gave the school and county until September 1, 2005, to correct the high-quality standards necessary for improvement. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment C.)

IX.

Dr. Seal reported that an announced on-site review was conducted at Enslow Middle School in Cabell County on December 14, 2004. The OEPA conducted the review which was limited in scope to the performance and process standards relative to school and student achievement. The review also consisted of resource evaluation.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Seal and a motion by Mrs. Hamilton, seconded by Dr. Johnson, the Board unanimously continued Conditional Accreditation status for Enslow Middle School and the Full Approval status of the Cabell County School System and gave the school and county until September 1, 2005, to correct the high-quality standards necessary for improvement. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment D.)

X.

Dr. Seal reported that an announced on-site review was conducted at Milton Middle School in Cabell County on December 14, 2004. The OEPA conducted the review which was limited in scope to the performance and process standards relative to school and student achievement. The review also consisted of resource evaluation.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Seal and a motion by Ms. Haden, seconded by Mrs. Cook, the Board unanimously upgraded Milton Middle School's accreditation status to Conditional Accreditation status, continued the Cabell County School System's Full Approval status and gave the school and county until September 1, 2005, to correct the high-quality standards necessary for improvement. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment E.)

XI.

Dr. Seal reported that an announced on-site review was conducted at Huntington High School in Cabell County on December 15, 2004. The OEPA conducted the review which was limited in scope to the performance and process standards relative to school and student achievement. The review also consisted of resource evaluation.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Seal and a motion by Mr. Spencer, seconded by Mrs. Hamilton, the Board unanimously continued Conditional Accreditation status for Huntington High School and the Full Approval status of the Cabell County School System and gave the school and county until September 1, 2005, to correct the high-quality standards necessary for improvement. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment F.)

XII.

Dr. Seal reported that an announced on-site review was conducted at Chapmanville Middle School in Logan County on January 12, 2005. The OEPA conducted the review which was limited in scope to the performance and process standards relative to school and student achievement. The review also consisted of resource evaluation.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Seal and a motion by Mrs. Cook, seconded by Mrs. Hamilton, the Board unanimously upgraded Chapmanville Middle School's accreditation status to Conditional Accreditation status and continued the Logan County School System's Full Approval status. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment G.)

XIII.

Dr. Seal reported that an unannounced Education Performance Audit was conducted in the Hampshire County Central Office January 18 - 21, 2005. The purpose of the review was to investigate the district level high-quality standards, review grant awards and their expenditure in accordance with appropriate procedures and to make recommendations on such measures as considered necessary to improve performance and progress to meet the high-quality standards required by W. Va. Code and Board policy.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Seal and a motion by Mr. Spencer, seconded by Mrs. Hamilton, the Board unanimously declared that extraordinary circumstances exist in Hampshire County Schools, issued the county Nonapproval status, directed the appointment of an improvement consultant team to make recommendations within 60 days of said appointment for correcting the emergency and gave the county six (6) months to correct the deficiencies once the recommendations of the improvement consultant team are approved by the State Board.

Dr. Johnson moved, and Ms. Hatfield seconded, that the State Board direct the State Superintendent to cause an investigation to be conducted regarding the expenditure of state grant monies in Hampshire County and to make a full report to the State Board with recommendations. The motion carried unanimously.

Dr. Johnson moved, and Mrs. Cook seconded, that the State Board direct the State Superintendent to cause an investigation to be conducted regarding the expenditure of federal funds in Hampshire County and to make a full report to the State Board with recommendations. The motion carried unanimously.

Ms. Haden moved, and Ms. Hatfield seconded, that the State Board direct the State Superintendent to cause an investigation to be conducted into the questionable hiring practices of RESA VIII, as outlined in the OEPA report on Hampshire County, and report back to the State Board. The motion carried unanimously. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment H.)

XIV.

President Fish called for a break at 10:27 a.m.

XV.

President Fish called the meeting back to order at 10:52 a.m. Ms. Chapman joined the meeting, via telephone, for all matters pertaining to Mingo County

XVI.

Dr. Seal reported that an announced Education Performance Audit was conducted in the Mingo County School System January 10 - 14, 2005. The purpose of the review was to investigate the reasons for performance and progress persistently below standards and to make recommendations to the school, school system and State Board on such measures as considered necessary to improve performance and progress to meet the standards.

XVII.

Dr. Stewart provided a report regarding Mingo County and recommended that the Board move into executive session to discuss matters involving attorney-client privilege.

XVIII.

President Fish requested a motion to move into an executive session under the provisions of W. Va. Code §6-9A-3 to discuss matters involving attorney-client privilege.

Ms. Haden moved, and Mrs. Cook seconded, that the Board move into executive session. The motion carried unanimously. The Board entered into executive session at 11:24 a.m.

XIX.

The Board returned from executive session at 12:08 p.m. at which time President Fish announced no action was taken and no decisions were made in executive session and requested Dr. Stewart address the Board regarding recommendations for Mingo County.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Stewart and a motion by Ms. Hatfield, seconded by Dr. Johnson, the State Board issued Nonapproval status to Mingo County schools based upon the report of the OEPA and declared that a state of emergency exists in the school system. The motion carried unanimously.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Stewart and a motion by Mr. Spencer, seconded by Mrs. Hamilton, the Board deferred ruling on either the appointment of an improvement consultant team or intervention in the operation of the system in order for both the State Board and State Superintendent to fully review the voluminous report and adequately reflect on the same. The motion carried unanimously.

Upon recommendation of Dr. Stewart and a motion by Ms. Haden, seconded by Mrs. Cook, the State Board referred the matter to the State Superintendent to make recommendations to the State Board at a date and time to be determined. The motion carried unanimously. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment I and addendum.)

XX.

President Fish called for a break for lunch at 12:11 p.m.

XXI.

President Fish called the meeting back to order at 1:07 p.m.

XXII.

Superintendent's Report - Personnel. Department personnel actions were provided for the Board's information. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment J.)

RESA Report. Mr. R. P. "Rick" Powell, Executive Director, RESA II, and staff members Ms. Dixie Billheimer and Dr. Terry Smith, provided an update of activities and initiatives taking place in RESA II. Dr. Parsons also addressed the Board regarding RESA II.

Board Member Reports. Dr. Johnson, Ms. Haden (distributed information), Mr. Spencer, and President Fish provided reports. President Fish named the following members to a High Schools for West Virginia's Future Task Force: Mr. Morris, Mr. Spencer, Ms. Haden, Ms. Hatfield and President Fish. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment K.)

Online Writing Assessment Update. Dr. Jan Barth, Executive Director, Office of Student Assessment, Division of School Improvement, provided an update regarding the online writing assessment initiative. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment L.)

Education and Economic Development. Dr. Stan Hopkins, Assistant State Superintendent, Division of Technical and Adult Education, distributed information and provided information and recommendations regarding the role of the public schools in economic development. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment M.)

Fitness Education. Ms. Melanie Purkey, Executive Director, and Mr. Bane McCracken, Coordinator, Office of Student Services and Health Promotion, Division of Instructional and Student Service, provided information regarding fitness education. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment Mc.)

XXIII.

President Fish recognized Mr. Bane McCracken, Coordinator, Office of Student Service and Health Promotion, Division of Instructional and Student Services, and presented him with the Board's "Attitude Is Everything" award.

XXIV.

Upon motion by Dr. Johnson, seconded by Ms. Hatfield, the Board unanimously approved items on the Consent Agenda. (Copies appended to Official Minutes, Attachments N-V.)

Meeting minutes of January 11 and 12, 2005 (Attachment N)

Budget supplement and transfer requests for the month of January 2005 as follows: total supplements = $29,126,507 and total transfers = $38,255,501 (Attachment O)

Six (6) requests for new waivers of State Board policy (Attachment P)

Two (2) requests for waivers of Principal Leadership Academy Attendance (Attachment Q)

• Closure of Gary Elementary School, McDowell County. Students in this school will move to Welch Elementary School for the 2005-2006 school year. Sixth grade students will matriculate to Mt. View Middle School

• Employment of Substitute Teachers in Areas of Critical Need policies for Greenbrier and Wirt Counties (Attachment R)

• 2005-2006 school calendar for the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (Attachment U)

113 Unified School Improvement Plans (Attachment V)

XXV.

Upon motion by Dr. Johnson, seconded by Ms. Haden, the Board unanimously approved the West Virginia Board of Education personnel items. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment W.)

XXVI.

Dr. Jack McClanahan, Assistant State Superintendent, Division of Administrative Services, presented an amendment to the Berkeley County CEFP. The Berkeley County Board of Education requested approval of an amendment to its CEFP to relocate six portables and placement of eleven additional units that do not contain restrooms. The realignment, listing the number and location of the portable classrooms are as follows:

One removed from Back Creek Valley Elementary and destroyed; three removed from Hedgesville High with two going to North Middle and one to Berkeley Heights Elementary; one removed from Musselman High and placed at Mill Creek Intermediate; and two removed from Hedgesville Middle and placed at North Middle.

Purchased and placed: one at Martinsburg High, (double classroom size), to house English and World History; and four at Martinsburg South Middle, to house Reading, Math, Language Arts and Math.

Upon motion by Ms. Haden, seconded by Mrs. Cook, the Board unanimously approved the amendment.

XXVII.

Dr. Lynn Boyer, Executive Director, Office of Special Education, Division of Instructional and Student Services, presented the response to the WVACEEC annual report for the Board's consideration. The WVACEEC Report included six recommendations in the following areas: health care concerns, access to general curriculum for students with disabilities, No Child Left Behind, IEP implementation, statewide testing and personnel preparation. The State Board's response to the 2004 Annual Report of the WVACEEC provides information on current and planned activities to address the special areas of concern identified by the Council.

Upon motion by Mrs. Cook, seconded by Mrs. Hamilton, the Board unanimously approved the response. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment X.)

XXVIII.

Dr. Boyer presented Policy 2419 for the Board's consideration. The proposed revision to Policy 2419 makes changes in language to section one of the policy. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services is requiring the state to make these changes. One comment was received during the comment period.

Upon motion by Mrs. Hamilton, seconded by Ms. Hatfield, the Board unanimously approved Policy 2419. (Copy appended to Official Minutes, Attachment Y.)

XXIX.

The next regular meeting of the Board will be held March 9-10, 2005 in Putnam County, West Virginia.

XXX.

Dr. Johnson moved for adjournment at 3:02 p.m. and the motion carried unanimously.

Minutes approved by the Board on March 10, 2005.

____________________________________________

Barbara N. Fish, President

____________________________________________

Priscilla M. Haden, Secretary

Minutes were recorded by

Virginia M. Harris

Executive Secretary

to the Board..

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