June 18, 2018 at 6:30 PM - GMSD Board Meeting

Chairman Betsy Landers called the meeting to order at 6:31 pm

There were two amendments to the agenda for approval,

• Chairman Landers said that after the Work Session, the Board discussion on placement of Agenda item "Superintendent Contract", she requested Ms. Speakman for clarification.
  Ms. Speakman clarified that it could be placed as the "First voting item"  which she thought was the intended interpretation of the State Law. Hence, seeing no further objection, Ms. Landers recommended the amendment to move Item 5. Renewal of Superintendent's Contract to Item 9., placed after the Citizens to be heard.
• Board member Amy Eoff requested to remove Revision of Policy IP 4.203.1 – Honors, AP, DE, and DC Courses after second reading from the Consent Agenda and add it under the Board Action items as 10.E.

Chief Financial Officer Kevin Jones reported the Total Assets and Total Liability and Fund Balances ending 5.31.18

• SCHOOL OPERATING FUND: BEP payments from the TN Department of Education are not received in May and in July.  Sales tax revenues are projected for the year at $6.6 million, up $200K over last year.  GMSD paid the City $296K for a technology loan payment and $142K for GMSD’s share of the bond payment.
• CAFETERIA FUND: Projected increase in fund balance is $60K at year-end after district expenditures.
• OPEB TRUST AND HEALTH INSURANCE FUND: The OPEB Trust reimbursed the health insurance fund $124K for six months of retiree claims.

Superintendent Jason Manuel said that the recent Board Retreat was very beneficial and important in highlighting the summary of the phenomenal success of the Strategic Plan and the achievement of the goals set forth by the Board.

He shared a Power Point presentation, on Highlights from the Strategic Plan Annual Report. He summarized on the various goals and their metrics, ACT and data aligning with the Board established Indicators like,

Goal 1: Maximize Student Potential, and

Goal 2 : Recruit, Develop and Retain Exemplary Staff

Superintendent Manuel also reported on the concerns about bullying in our schools and outlined on the huge initiative he has undertaken to address these concerns. 

Chauncey Bland, Executive Director of Student Services and Karen Dodd gave a Power point presentation on what has been done so far about bullying and what plans have been laid out for the future. They informed about the purpose of the Bullying Task Force Committee and it is expected to help the Students, Teachers, Administrators and the Community to get educated on bullying and to the necessary steps to deal with this concern.

Chairman Betsy Landers informed the public of the updated Board procedure for the Citizens to be heard process.

The following citizens voiced their concerns on Policies and Procedures regarding Bullying in the School District,

Samantha Schmidt; 1555 Miller Farms, Germantown, TN  38138

Lori Vincent; 2090 Allen Court, Germantown, TN  38139

Katherine Kitzmann; 1571 Brookside Drive, Germantown, TN  38138

The following citizens voiced their appreciation of the School District and the Superintendent,

Carla Christian; 9574 Drayton Hall Lane, Germantown, TN  38139

Heather Fisher; 1701 Fiddlers Elbow, Germantown, TN  38138

Teresa Price; 3131 Saddlegait Cove, Germantown, TN  38138

Lorrie Tingle; 9948 Westwood Manor, Germantown, TN  38139

Chairman Betsy Landers presented the Germantown Municipal School District Board of Education Evaluation Report of Jason Manuel, Director of Schools for 2017-2018 school year as follows,

"The community has expressed concern over the listing of the Superintendent’s contract discussion being listed prior to Citizens to be Heard.  Under State Law, TCA 49-2-203, (14)(C), the consideration of the contract must be the first item on the agenda.  It states:  “. . . .The proposed action shall be published as a specific, clearly stated item on the agenda for the meeting.  Such item, for the convenience of the public attending the meeting, shall be the first item on the agenda.” 

It should also be noted that Board legal counsel has been involved in all aspects of the contract consideration, ensuring we are adhering to both state law and district policies.

It is the duty of the school board to annually evaluate the superintendent in the following areas:  job performance, student achievement, relationships with staff and personnel, relationships with board members, and relationships with the community. 

Earlier this month the district staff hosted a retreat to update the Board on Strategic Plan goals and accomplishments for the 2017-2018 school year. The success of our district continues to grow.  The data shared in the different departments’ presentations proved how fortunate we are to have a school district of this caliber for the benefit of our children.  As a Board we could not be prouder  of our school district’s year-end results.

The evaluation used this year was developed through Board input and based on a 4.0 scale.  In addition to the Board’s completion of the evaluation, evaluations are completed by members of the District Cabinet, as well as a self-evaluation done by the superintendent, which does not figure into this overall evaluation.  Results are based on weighted averages – the Board Observational Data at 35%; the Cabinet Survey at 20%; and Achievement of Board Goals/Strategic Plan at 45%.

The weighted results of the Evaluation of the Superintendent for 2017-2018, by area, are as follows:

·      Relationship with the Board:  Highly Effective or 4.0

·      Community Relations:  Highly Effective or 4.0

·      Staff Relationships:  Highly Effective or 4.0

·      Business and Finance: Highly Effective or 4.0

·      Student Potential: Highly Effective or 4.0

·      District Results: Highly Effective or 4.0

The Superintendent has demonstrated the highest level of effectiveness in all individual domains, for an overall rating of 3.9 out of 4—which is considered highly effective.

Additionally, the Board developed specific goals and indicators from the Strategic Plan.  These goals were scored by the School Board only.  District results in this area:

Goal 1:  Objective 1:1 Ensure academic programing that differentiates to meet the various student-learning styles.  (the aligned indicators and metrics can be found in the Strategic Plan 

                     Score:          4.0

Goal 2:  Objective 2:2 To develop all staff through our performance evaluations and professional development opportunities

                     Score:          4.0

Goal 3:  Objective 3:5 Establish community partnerships with local civic and business leaders, church offices and/or social service agencies with the express goal of creating programs that respect diversity, career exploration and student well-being.

                     Score:          4.0

The Board unanimously scored the Superintendent, and by extension the District, as Highly Effective,  the highest level for success in meeting and exceeding the indicators detailed in our Strategic Plan. Again, this component accounted for 45% of the Superintendent’s overall effectiveness score.

Based on the evaluation and scores, the Chair and the Superintendent have identified the following two (2) areas for growth:

1.    Self-Improvement- increasing the Superintendent’s professional development opportunities

2.    “Visibility”- increasing the number of the Superintendent’s regular school visits

Additionally, the Superintendent and the Chair  have also identified two (2) areas of strength based on his highest scores:

1.    District Results on the Germantown Board of Education Strategic Plan

2.    Staff Development—increasing opportunities for professional development

Per the Board discussion during the work session and consultation with the Legal Counsel, we are able to move this to be the first item on the voting agenda this evening, as required by TCA 49-2-203, (14)(C) is the superintendent’s contract renewal. "

She asked if there were any amendments to the contract before making the main motion.

The Board members made six (6) amendments to the main motion out of which two (2) failed.

Hence, the main motion was voted with four (4) amendments made to the contract.

The following amendments were made to the main Superintendent Contract;

Amendment #1

Section # 3 : In line 3, "the Public schools of Tennessee changed to the public schools of the Germantown Municipal School District"

Amendment # 2

Section # 6:

In Line 11, strike "as well as those listed in the job description for Director as adopted by the Board or as may be from time to time amended during the term of this Agreement. Such job description, as so amended, is hereby incorporated in this Agreement by reference as if fully stated herein."

In Line 15, strike " specified in the job description" and replace with "specified above" 

Section # 18:

In Line 9, strike " the Director's job description as set forth from time to time in the adopted rules of the Board" 

In Line 12, add "GMSD Policy" after "from time to time by state law,"

Amendment # 3

Section # 16 : After the second sentence, add " The Director shall inform the  Members of the Board in writing prior to undertaking any of the aforementioned activities."

Amendment # 4

Section # 19.D: In Line 5, add "excluding, "Automobile and Mileage Allowances," set forth in numbered Paragraph 9 and "Other Benefits" set forth in numbered Paragraphs 11.B through 11.D.,"

(Note: A friendly amendment was made by Board Member Lisa Parker to exclude section 11.A and was accepted by Board member Amy Eoff)

Amendment # 5

Section # 2, change the ending date from June 30, 2022 to June 30, 2021.

Amendment # 6

To table the Superintendent Contract till January 2019

Chairman Landers announced the following

• The Germantown Board of Education is not scheduled to meet in the month of July, the next tentative Board meeting will be announced later.
• The first day of school for the upcoming school year is Monday August 6, 2018
•  Happy and Safe July 4^th