OFFICIAL MINUTES FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING OF THE
The Board of Trustees for the
Present: *Dr. Douglas Watson, Chairperson, Henrietta Williams, Vice-Chairperson; Andrew Tolbert, Board Member; Beth Gray, Board Member; Johnny McGehee, ASB Parent Representative; Jim Hill, ASB Superintendent; Dr. Marcella Dalla Rosa, ASD Superintendent; Katie Becker, Zania Musteen, Interpreters; Amy Ford, Office of the Attorney General; Members of the Deaf Community; Members of the Blind Community
*Dr. Watson was present teleconference
07-B-018 Motion to Approve Consent Items
Dr. Watson asked for a motion to approve the August Board Minutes and the August Financial Statement. Mr. Tolbert made the motion to approve and Ms. Gray seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
07-B-019 Motion to Approve Personnel Items
Mr. Hill reviewed the Personnel Items listed on the Agenda. Dr. Watson asked for a motion to approve the personnel items. Ms. Williams made the motion and Mr. Tolbert seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Action Items
None
Discussion Items
Yearly Report to the Public
Mr. Hill said the yearly report to the public was made September 15 and he reviewed the report for the board. Mr. Hill referred to the achievement and test scores and asked Ken Fowler give the board a report on the test scores. Mr. Fowler said the school realizes math is an area that needs improvement but overall the school is pleased with the improvement. Almost all of the portfolio students scored above the state average; 100% were listed at proficient or above. The scores for the End-of-Course literacy were not as good this year, but the problem in that area has been identified. Mr. Fowler discussed the scores in detail. He said that the school is going through the released items heavily to see if there are any changes that need to be made in instructional presentation and if there are ways to minimize the overall structure of some of the questions.
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Superintendent’s Report
Mr. Hill said the school’s Deaf Blind program will not be
funded next year. This will be a loss of about $178,000 for the school. Mr.
Hill said he understands that the Department of Education is having some
difficulties with their federal funds. He said the Outreach Program has been
away from the school a considerable length of time and the program has been put
into a position that they are not very effective in giving services to blind or
visually impaired children. Mr. Hill said that they no longer give direct services;
they charge for everything they do; they cannot contact the school district;
and severe restrictions have been placed on the ability of outreach programs to
be effective in the State of
There are 70 babies in the Birth-3 year program. Mr. Hill
said this is a critical program for blind and visually impaired children and
the school will continue to push for expansion of the program so those children
are not left out. There will be a parent meeting on September 23 in Maumelle
and another meeting in
Mr. Hill said he received some good ideas on improving the school’s program at a North Central Association meeting. North Central Association will be re-evaluating the school soon.
The school’s Health Committee submitted a report as part of the Report to the Public. Mr. Hill said the school is trying very hard to encourage parents to become familiar with healthy diets. Students can buy chips and drinks at The Stand, which is the recreational meeting place for students in the evenings. Healthy foods and drinks have also been purchased to sell in the stand and will be sold at a cheaper price. Mr. Hill said he hopes the cheaper prices will be an incentive for the students to choose the healthy snacks.
The school received an invitation to send an administrator
to
Mr. Hill said that he, Sharon Berry, Ken Fowler, and James
Caton will be attending the annual APH meeting and COSB meetings October 9-13
in
The track team traveled to
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Mr. Hill invited the board members to attend the Martin Luther King, Jr. 2008 Salute to Greatness Gala and Awards, which will be held in January, 2008. Dr. Watson said he would like to go to the event.
07-B-020 Motion to Adjourn
There being no further business, Dr. Watson asked for a
motion to adjourn. Mr. Tolbert made the motion and Ms. Gray seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at
_________________________________ Dr. Doug Watson, Chairperson
__________________________________
Secretary (vacant at this time)
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