August 21, 2017 at 6:30 PM - GMSD Board Meeting

Discussion:  Chairman Linda Fisher called the meeting to order at 6:40 pm. She welcomed Mr. Mark Hansen, Collierville school Board Chairman and Ms. Cathy Messerly, Collierville School Board member who were in attendance to evaluate the Germantown Board of Education for the TSBA Board of Distinction Award.

Discussion:  Chairman Linda Fisher called in for a moment of silence.

Discussion:  Board member Ms. Betsy Landers led the Pledge of Allegiance

Discussion: 

The Board recommended to amend the agenda as follows;

1. Move Consent item 8.E to Board action item 9.B

Review/Revision of the following Policies after First reading,

IP 4.600 Grading

IP 4.700 Testing Programs

IP 4.203.1 Honors, Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment and Dual Credit Courses

IP 4.602 Honor Roll, Awards and Class Ranking

IP 4.402 is being deleted per TSBA recommendation

Revision of Policy HR 5.200 Separation Practices for Tenured Teachers

Revision of Policy HR 5.201  Separation Practices for Non- Tenured Teachers

2. To Move Consent item 8.F to Board action item 9.C

Approval of Nomination for TSBA School of the Year Award for Excellence in Architectural Design/ Riverdale Addition by A2H

3. To Move Consent item 8.G to Board action item 9.D

2017-18 School fees and activity costs

4. To Move Consent item 8.H to Board action item 9.E

Miscellaneous FY 2017-18 Budget Amendment # 7 & 8

 

Discussion: 

Student Recognitions:

Clare Jordan, who has recently represented GMSD at the National Youth Leadership Forum for Engineering and Technology at Georgia Tech.

Staff Recognitions:

Department of Exceptional Student Education was recognized for,

 The community support garnered around their annual Community Conversations, Increasing Employable Outcomes for Individuals with Disabilities, and the belief that the district should lead by example has earned our school district several awards in 2017 most recently,

• Being named one of the nation’s Districts of Distinction in District Administrator Magazine. 

• Earning the 2017 The Arc Inclusive Employer Award

• And, the Step up for Down Syndrome Partners in Progress Award

 

The awareness Germantown Municipal Schools is creating around these important issues is hard work—and tonight we’d like to honor some or our employees who are going above and beyond the classroom to make a difference in our students’ lives.

Sarah Huffman, Caryn Daugherty, Zac Percoski, Elissa Stratton, Anne Quinn,

Gina Evans, Melissa Steinbach, and Cathy Jones we thank you for your tireless efforts.

 

Discussion: 

Board Members Betsy Landers and Lisa Parker and Board Secretary Vijaya Subramani attended the Summer Law Institute in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

July 21 – July 22, 2017

Board member Lisa Parker briefed on the following Topics;

Legislative Update on the 110th General Assembly

Bills that did not pass

• Voucher Legislation
• Elected Superintendents
• Partisan School Board Elections
• Seat Belts on School Buses
• A-F School Grading System

New Laws regarding the following;

• School Counselor Referrals
• Influenza Notifications
• Adrenal Insufficiency
• Physical Activity
• Campaign Funds
• Incarcerated Students
• ESSA Changes
• Teacher Evaluation Changes
• Exclusionary Discipline Study
• Broadband Expansion
• Open Records Changes
• Open Records Exception
• Opioid Overdose Medication
• Student Attendance
• Retired Teachers and TCRS
• School Transportation
• IEA Legislation
• Charter Schools
• Intruder Drills
• Teacher Bill of Rights
• Progressive Truancy Intervention
• Audit Findings
• Money for Instructional Supplies
• Liability Protections
• Bid Threshold
• Early Postsecondary Credit Courses
• Fire Drills
• Tennessee History
• K-12 Funding

Project Guardian: Keeping Children Safe Online- Education and Prevention, presented by Special Agent Jonathan Hendrix with the Cybercrimes/ Child Exploitation Investigations, United States Department of Homeland Security.

Board member Betsy Landers briefed on the following;

Tinker vs Des Moines

 

       Had the unique privilege to have Mary Beth Tinker as our speaker.  Ms. Tinker is a free speech activist known for her role in the 1969 lawsuit against the Des Moines Independent School District. At the time, she was just 13. The case set a precedent for student speech in schools.

 

How Custody Orders and Custody Issues Affect Schools

 

       Went into depth on Custody versus Rights, explaining the important difference between custodial parents and non-custodial parents. Covered the Tennessee Parental Bill of Rights (TCA &36-6-101) and how it applies to records created by the District related to a student.  Touched on FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), the federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

 

Staying Out of the Doghouse

 

       Presentation dealt with the recent Supreme Court decision on IDEA, primarily on IDEA’s Exhaustion Requirement.  In Fry vs Napoleon Community Schools, the student’s family filed suit when the school District denied the family’s request to allow their daughter’s service dog to accompany her during the school day. Also, covered what districts should know and what they can do to “stay out of the legal doghouse.”

 

DCS Reporting

 

       Covered the mandatory reporting laws and best practices for districts to employ.  Specifically discussed the Ooltewah High School case and the fallout from the case around the state.  Districts are being encouraged to review their policies and procedures on reporting child abuse, which includes student discrimination, harassment, bullying, including cyber-bullying, and hazing

 

ESSA Implementation

 

       Discussed the implementation of ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, with regards to district and school accountability, and accountability indicators

 

        Under ESSA, states must meaningfully differentiate schools on an annual basis.  Last year, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law requiring all schools be awarded a summative letter grade A-F.

 

         Tennessee’s ESSA Plan have five major priorities:   Early Foundations and Literacy; High School and Bridge to Post-secondary; All Means All (providing individualized support and opportunities for ALL students); Educator Support; and District Empowerment.

 

 Early Foundations and Literacy – building skills in early grades to contribute to future success

 

High School and Bridge to Post-Secondary – preparing significantly more students for postsecondary completion.

 

All Means All - providing individualized support and opportunities for ALL students

Educator Support – support the preparation and development of an experienced educator workforce

District Empowerment – providing districts with the tools and autonomy they need to make the best decisions for their students

Discussion: 

Board member and TLN Representative Suzanne Jones presented the following report to the Board;

• The Chairman and I attended Kevin Vaughn’s swearing in as House Representative of the 95^th District last Tuesday.  Mr. Vaughn is also on the Collierville School Board.   
•  

• This Fall we will be working with all of our State Legislators to have them visit our District and allow us to show them our great schools, but also allow us time to let them know where we need help from them in Nashville.

   

• We will be working with other Districts in Shelby County to show our opposition to the Voucher Bill (HB 126) which will be first on the calendar  of the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee in the 2018 session.

   

   

• Our Board, along with our Administration are working on a list of Resolutions and Position Statements which TSBA will take to the Legislators in the 2018 Session.  These will be submitted in September and then reviewed along with all other Districts’ submissions at our November TSBA meeting in Nashville.

   

•  The 111^th Session will reconvene on January 9, 2018. 

 

Discussion: 

Chairman Linda Fisher presented as follows,

Riverdale Celebration

 

This past Saturday, the district celebrated the replacement of portables with brick and mortar with tours of the new Riverdale addition for the public.  A dinner and tours were also held for the city officials and commission members who contributed to the process of building the new 64,000 square foot addition. Thank you to the teachers, administrators, students, GMSD PTO, Riverdale PTO, district staff and our superintendent led by Kate Crowder and her committee of parents and teachers who made the Riverdale celebration a  great success!

 

3GS

 

The opening of our school district has been a catalyst for new families moving to Germantown. The growth has created the need for a K-5 elementary school. Our interest in obtaining the 3GS, though, has been a priority and our desired course of action. An offer of $25 million was proposed to Shelby County Schools this past April.  The Shelby County School board and Superintendent choose to not even come to the table to negotiate. Since 2014, GMSD has been reaching out to Shelby County Schools asking them to give serious consideration to the sale of the three Germantown schools. We cannot continue to place our future and fate in the hands of decision makers at Shelby County Schools. We have developed goodwill with SCS board members and the district leadership and the conversation will continue on acquiring our three heritage schools. In the meantime, GMSD will be taking steps to design and construct a new K-5 elementary school.

 

Discussion: 

Chief Financial Officer Kevin Jones presented the Financial Reports, which included the Balance Sheet, Revenue and Expense Statement as of 6.30.2017. He updated on the various Budgets- General Fund, Federal Project, Cafeteria, Capital Projects, Health Insurance funds, OPEB Trust, and General fixed assets. 

Superintendent Manuel briefed on the main highlights of the Fiscal side of the District as follows,

GMSD is the only Municipal district in which the cost of the Health Insurance Premium for the employees have remained the same without an increase since the inception of the District.

Apart from the big investment in the OPEB Trust for the Employee Retirement, there is approximately a 11-12 million in the Reserve which was expected to be reached only after a few years

He appreciated  and thanked the hard work of Kevin Jones, the Chief Financial Officer and said that  the above are a few examples of how the District is fiscally successful.

Discussion: 

Superintendent Jason Manuel began with a briefing on the success of the new Riverdale school expansion. He said that this was a physical, tangible example of local control and partnership with the City of Germantown, the funding body. This project changed the feel of the school after almost 20 years of having 23 portable classrooms, turning it into to a 21st century classroom school. He thanked Kate Crowder, GMSD Communications Coordinator and the entire team who were involved in the process, for making the Riverdale Ribbon Cutting ceremony a grand success. He said that this was a real example of what we can do at Germantown Municipal School District.

Josh Cathey, Chief of Operations, presented the Operations Update with highlights and slideshow of the summer and ongoing projects.

Chauncey Bland, Director of Student Services, thanked Board Attorney Debra Owen for the 504 Training she had organized.

He presented the Enrollment Update with a Power Point slide show.

Discussion:  There was no Citizen to be heard at this time.

Discussion: 

Chief Financial Officer Kevin Jones briefed on the School fees and Activity costs for 2017-18 and informed that this document will be updated per changes at the school level.

Discussion:  Board member Suzanne Jones requested that the Negotiating Team issue a statement regarding Shelby County Schools' conclusion on the 3 G's, as it relates to the next steps the District should make.

Discussion: 

Superintendent Jason Manuel thanked the Germantown Education Foundation for their commitment to help support the teachers in all the GMSD schools, with their significant amount of grants. He invited all families to the Friday GMSD Football night where the GEF will be recognized for their hard work of fundraising for the schools.

Chairman Linda Fisher announced the following upcoming events;

• Friday August 25 - Blackout Night at HHS Football game
• Thursday August 31 - Board Work Session at GMSD Office PD Room
• Monday September 18 - Board Meeting at City Hall
• Monday September 25 - TSBA Fall District Meeting at Bartlett High School

Discussion:  The meeting was adjourned with consensus at 7:55 pm