December 15, 2022 at 6:00 PM - GMSD Board Business Meeting

Rationale:  Swearing in of Newly Elected Board Members by Judge Robert M. Brannon Jr.

Position 2 - Dr. Daniel Chatham - Newly Elected
Position 4 -  Mrs. Angela Griffith  - Re-Elected

Rationale:  The Board recommended the following amendment to the agenda after their discussion during the 12.15.22 Board Work Session,
MOVE " Board Action item 9.A Revision of Policies -Adopt after one reading"
TO " Consent Agenda item 8.C Revision of Policies - First Reading" 
The second reading for this agenda item will be done during the January 2023 Board Business Meeting.
 

Rationale:  Financial Reports for period ending November 30, 2022.

Rationale:  Minutes from the 11.29.22 Board Business Meeting

Rationale:  Rationale for Revision of GMSD Policies 11.29.22 Board Business Meeting
Revisions are recommended for the following;
First Reading - 11.29.22
Second Reading - 12.15.22
*The Board recommended the following suggestions in Italics after the discussion during the Work Session on 11.16.22

1. Revision Policy 2.200 Annual Operating Budget - The language in the first paragraph of policy 5.116 was convoluted and had nothing to do with the balance of the policy and did not properly reflect the law on the subject of the budget as it relates to the statutory authority of the Superintendent or the Board; therefore, we recommend extracting that language from policy 5.116 and include a proper reflection of the statutory authority of the Superintendent and the Board in this policy 2.200.  

Edit Page 1 / Lines 4 & 5 to change to "Germantown Board of Education" for consistency.
 

2. Revision Policy 2.400 Revenues, Gifts, and Bequests - We recommend replacing "Board" with "Germantown Board of Education" in order to be consistent with similar recent changes the Board has made to other policies.  Superfluous language has been removed.  Language regarding "online payment" has been added to bring the policy into more contemporary practice.  The word "administrator" has been removed under the "Excluding School Support Organizations" because Principals should review all such donations, gifts and sponsorships to ascertain the appropriateness of same.  Phrases like "best interest", "school is required to meet conditional provisions", etc. have been removed because those terms are too obscure to have value in a policy.   We recommend removing the "release" language because such a requirement makes the gift giving more complicated and it too cumbersome enforce. Citations have been updated and footnote numbers removed to reflect current practice.

Edit Page 3/ Lines 2, 4 and 6 to add "grants" after "sponsorships" for consistency.
Remove Page 3 / Lines 8 and 9.

 

3. Revision Policy 2.500 Deposits of Funds -Recommended changes reflect recommendations of the Tennessee Internal School Uniform Accounting Manual.  Citations have been updated and footnotes removed to reflect current practice.

Edit Page 1/ Line 2 to change "Board" to "Germantown Board of Education" for consistency.
Edit Page 1 / Line 9 to change "should" to "shall".
 

4. Revision Policy 2.703 Audits - We recommend replacing "Board" with "Germantown Board of Education" in order to be consistent with similar recent changes the Board has made to other policies. The language regarding submission to the Commissioner of Education reflects statutory requirements.  The revision regarding the contract date for the CPA was made because the existing language is too restraining in that circumstances sometimes dictate that the contract is approved on differing dates.  Citations have been updated and footnotes removed to reflect current practice. 

 

5. Revision Policy 5.116 Reductions in Staff (formerly Staff Positions) - This policy presently pertains primarily to staff reductions.  We recommend changing the name of the policy to read, "Reductions in Force" such that users can more easily locate this subject matter.  Additionally, the language in the present policy does not reflect the correct state of the law on the subject of reductions in force; the recommended changes better reflect the law on this subject.  In regard to the modification to the first paragraph of this policy, see the rationale for "Revision Policy 2.200".  Citations have been updated and footnotes have been removed to reflect current practice.

Edit Title to change "Reductions in Force/Staffing Positions" to "Reductions in Staff"
Edit Page 1 / Line 8 to change "Reductions in Force" to "Reductions in Staff"

 

Rationale:  Rationale for Revision of GMSD Policies 12.15.22 Board Work Session & Business Meeting

Revisions are recommended for the following policies:
First Reading - 12.15.22
Second Reading - January 2023

1. Revision Policy 2.4021 Investment of Idle Funds - Revisions are recommended in order to update citations and to bring the policy into compliance with the Tennessee Internal School Uniform Accounting Policy Manual.              
2. Revision Policy 3.202 Emergency Planning - Revisions recommended to update citations, comply with State law, and update best practices.
3. Revision Policy 4.207 English Language Acquisition - Revisions recommended to update citation and comply with recent State Board Rule revision.

4. Revision Policy 4.605 Graduation Requirements - Revisions recommended to update citations and comply with State law and recent State Board Rule revisions.

 

Rationale:  Announcements:
Friday December 16 -  Half a day for the students
Monday January 2 - Staff return after the winter break 
Monday January 2 - Houston Middle Addition Ribbon Cutting 1 - 4 pm
Tuesday January 3 - Students return after the winter break
Tuesday January 25 - Next Tentative Board Work Session
Tuesday January 31 - Next Tentative Board business meeting