The Board of School
Trustees of the Anderson Community School Corporation met in the Auditorium
of the
MOMENT OF SILENT REFLECTION
Mrs. Lowe asked for a
moment of silence for reflection.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of
Allegiance was led by Mrs. Lowe.
Mrs. Lowe called the
meeting to order.
ROLL CALL
The following Board
members were present:
Teddy Bohnenkamp........................................................................ Board
Member
Philip T. Morgan............................................................................
Board Member
William Riffe................................................................................... Board
Member
Timothy A. Long............................................................................. Board
Member
Tobi K. Jones.................................................................................. Board
Member
Keith Millikan................................................................................. Board
Member
Irma Hampton Stewart................................................................... Board
Member
OPEN DOOR LAW
Mrs. Lowe read excerpts from the Open Door Law.
REORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD
Mrs. Lowe stated, “We do have three new board members, or returning
board members who must take the oath of office.
Clerk of the Board, Mrs. Carolyn Wilson, administered the oath of
office to the newly elected board members, Timothy A. Long, Keith Millikan and
Irma Hampton Stewart.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Mrs. Lowe asked for nominations for president.
Mr. Riffe nominated Teddy Bohnenkamp, seconded by Mrs. Jones. Motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. Lowe turned the meeting over to Mrs. Bohnenkamp as the new
president.
Mrs. Bohnenkamp asked for nominations as follows:
Vice President – Mrs. Stewart nominated Keith Millikan, but Mr.
Millikan declined due to health concerns.
Mr. Long nominated P.T. Morgan, seconded by Mrs. Stewart. Motion carried unanimously.
Secretary – Mrs. Jones nominated Bill Riffe, seconded by Mr.
Millikan. Motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. Bohnenkamp thanked Mrs. Lowe for starting the meeting and she
welcomed the two new board members. She
told Mr. Millikan that he had been here so long that he was an institution. She also thanked the people in the audience
that took the time to come and support the board meeting.
Mrs. Lowe reminded Mrs. Bohnenkamp that an assistant secretary needed
to be elected to the board. Mrs. Lowe
also recommended Kevin Brown as the treasurer and Janet Windlan as the deputy
treasurer.
After some brief discussion as to whether an assistant secretary was
needed, the nomination was made as follows: Mr. Morgan nominated Mr. Long for
assistant secretary, Mr. Kevin Brown as treasurer and Mrs. Janet Windlan as
assistant treasurer. The motion was
seconded by Mr. Millikan. Motion carried
unanimously.
2008-2009 BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES
Teddy Bohnenkamp.................................................................................
President
Philip T. Morgan............................................................................... Vice
President
William Riffe.......................................................................................... Secretary
Timothy A. Long...................................................................... Assistant
Secretary
Tobi K. Jones.................................................................................. Board
Member
Keith Millikan................................................................................. Board
Member
Irma Hampton Stewart................................................................... Board
Member
BOARD MEETING DATES
Mrs. Lowe made a
recommendation to the board to approve the board meeting dates for the
2008-2009 school year as follows:
The Board of School Trustees for the
Anderson Community School Corporation will meet the second Tuesday of each
month at
Mrs. Jones moved for approval of the board meeting dates, seconded by
Mr. Millikan. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Mrs. Lowe said there
were two additional items under the personnel report.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Mrs. Bohnenkamp
stated, “Basically, Mrs. Jones asked me to relay to you, this is acceptance of
our Conflict of Interest Disclosure. We
sign this in truth that we do not have a conflict of interest with the school
corporation.”
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
(June 10, 2008 and special meeting June 30, 2008)
Mrs. Bohnenkamp stated,
“I’m asking for approval of the minutes as were submitted.”
Mr. Riffe moved for
approval, seconded by Mr. Morgan.
Mrs. Bohnenkamp
stated, “I would like to bring your attention to page number 8. I brought this to Mrs. Wilson’s
attention. It’s no big matter what so
ever. It just says Mr. Kevin, and she
forgot to put Brown on there. I think
there are too many Browns, but that correction is on page 8, and Mrs. Wilson
has been advised. So, do I have a motion
with that amendment?”
Mr. Millikan stated,
“I move we accept the minutes as corrected.”
Mrs. Jones stated,
“Madam President, I would like to make an addition to the minutes. The letter submitted to the board from Mr.
Lyon at the last month’s meeting, I have a copy of it, I would like to give to
Mrs. Wilson to put into the minutes, please.”
Mrs. Bohnenkamp said,
“There are those two amendments to the board, and the motion has been made with
those two amendments, right?”
Mr. Millikan said, “I
don’t think so. What if we go ahead and
vote with, as corrected, and then I think she wants to…why don’t you just add it
this time to the minutes?”
Mrs. Jones answered,
“Because he gave it to us last month, so I wanted it in last month’s meeting
minutes.”
Mrs. Stewart stated,
“The minutes referenced that he was leaving a letter. Are you just wanting to note that it’s public
record?”
Mrs. Jones answered,
“I was just advised that we should submit the letter as part of the minutes.”
Mrs. Bohnenkamp
stated, “Mrs. Stewart brought up the point that it is in the minutes that the
letter had been submitted, and as I understand Mrs. Jones, she is asking that
the letter, in its entirety, be added to the minutes. Now this is not the minutes of June 10th,
but the meeting before?
Mrs. Jones answered,
“No, the minutes from June 10th.”
Mr. Millikan asked,
“Let me, with my foggy mind, be reminded what’s in the letter? Why don’t you just tell us, maybe some other
board members are forgetful.”
Mrs. Jones stated,
“Mr. Lyon’s thoughts and comments concerning the board’s appointment of Mrs.
Bohnenkamp for the vacant position on the board.”
Mrs. Bohnenkamp
stated, “The chair will entertain a motion.”
Mr. Long stated, “I
make a motion that we allow Mrs. Jones to place those in as an extension of the
June 10th minutes.”
Mr. Millikan stated,
“We already have a motion, and we either have to dispose of it…a motion has
been made and seconded. I suggest that
we just dispose of that one, and then add that one.
Mrs. Jones said, “Mr.
Morgan, we retracted your motion.”
Mr. Millikan said,
“We retracted your motion, do you seconded it?”
Mr. Morgan stated, “I
was just reiterating, Mr. Millikan, what you were saying that there was a
motion on the floor and it had been seconded, so we need to retract, if we’re
going to include this document, we’re going to need to retract the motion, who
ever made the motion.”
Mrs. Bohnenkamp said,
“Mrs. Stewart brought up a comment I believe is correct, and that is, we can
amend the motion.”
Mr. Millikan stated,
“Besides having the original minutes corrected, I’ll also amend the motion to
include the letter dated May 9th from Mr. Lyon.”
Mr. Morgan seconded
the motion.
Mrs. Bohnenkamp
stated, “That is a motion to amend the motion that was on the table. We’re going to vote now to approve.”
Mrs. Stewart asked,
“Are we approving the motion to amend the main motion, or are we…did you
withdraw your motion?”
Mrs. Jones answered,
“Mr. Millikan amended his motion, so at this time we’re voting to approve the
minutes.”
Mrs. Bohnenkamp
stated, “We are voting at this time to approve the minutes. All those in favor, say I. Opposed?”
Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Kevin Brown
stated, “If I may make a clarification on the conflict of interest disclosures. Those have been prepared for six of the seven
board members. The six board members
that receive insurance benefits, and/or any other benefits from the corporation,
our attorney advised us, you folks need to disclose that to the extent there
may be a conflict of interest as collective bargaining takes place and changes
are made to those insurance plans. Each
of those conflict of interest statements do disclose any benefits you receive
from the corporation. The only one that
doesn’t have one is Mr. Long because he is not receiving any benefits from the corporation.”
PATRON COMMEMTS
Mr. Jim Lyon, 2683
E 450 N,
Mr. Lyon stated,
“It’s been one month since we met here last.
Before the clock runs out on my comments, a point of clarification and
just the recent dialog of which letter of mine should be added to the
minutes. On May 9, I submitted a letter
of interest for appointment to the school board. On June 10, I submitted a second letter which
outlines my concerns about that process.
It’s my guess, that it’s the June 10 letter that you want to include in
your minutes, if any at all.
In the month since I
submitted that letter and spoke to you, I have had not any correspondence or
contact from this school system with the exception of Mrs. Stewart who, while
she was still then a member elect, and still not in the system, did give me a
phone call to acknowledge receipt of my letter, and that she had read it, and
gave me some insight and thoughts about my concerns. No one else in the system has replied, which
brings me back here now. Once more, I
have written a letter for you. I hope
that too many more trees do not have to die before we get a response. My concerns about the appointment process of
Mrs. Bohnenkamp, now elected president of the board, are still real and
alive. Furthermore, since my last
address to you, I have been overwhelmed with an out pouring of public interest
in this subject. I believe the
credibility of this school system hinges now on this school board’s willingness
to address the questions raised in that process. I identified six in my last letter, to which
no one has replied. I have summarized
them again in this letter, and I’m hoping that in the next 30 days, maybe
someone will give me a call, and join me in a conversation or help reassure me
that my concerns are not in fact valid.
If I do not, though, in a timely way receive a reply, It’s my intention
to begin to make this an issue in public in every venue I can imagine. It will begin with the several thousands of
people I speak to routinely on Sunday, and then I will carry the message to
every service club, every hospital guild, every business association, every
community meeting to which I’m invited to speak in the next school year, and my
speaking calendar is quite busy.
I do not want to have
a public dust up, but the public is quite concerned about the way in which the school
board operates. This issue gives insight
and clarification, not just in the appointment process, but I think to address
the larger questions about the way in which our school system functions. I don’t want to believe there is anything a
foul, but when no one gets a reply, when after three letters written, after
repeated attempts to engage, there is none,
I’ve come to the conclusion I can understand how people are
suspicious. I apologize; this letter is
addressed to Mrs. Jones as the president; that was true when it was written
earlier today. I will deliver it now to
you, Teddy, and hope that you will distribute it to the board. Thanks for your time.”
Mr. Morgan stated,
“May I ask you a question, please? I did
read your letter, I read it two or three times.
I did not respond. I had a letter
of my own written back to you, but I felt that it was probably not in my best
interest to send that letter. I do have
one question I want to ask and this is just strictly for my clarification. With your letter, are you representing
yourself, sir, or are you representing your congregation, because, it was written on Madison Park stationery? I’m just asking the question.”
Mr. Lyon responded, “The
thoughts expressed are not officially engaged by the church; however, the
church has given me a license to be a voice in the community for concerns of
which I consider of merit. Thanks for
asking, and thanks for reading it.”
Mr. Millikan stated,
“Mr. Lyon, I have received no letters from you, but the board has the authority
to pick whoever they want, absolutely.
Mrs. Bohnenkamp has been a very good board member and it’s important
that we have people who get along with each other. I was not here when they asked me about
what’s going on. I said I didn’t know, but
if you’ll remember, I said if I could be there, I would vote for her. I don’t think anything was hidden from the
public. I don’t think there is any
hidden agenda. I just think more board
members wanted her back on the board.
It’s just that simple. What great
conspiracy are you looking for?”
Mr. Lyon answered,
“Mr. Millikan, I would be glad to engage in this conversation now, if I have
the permission of the board president to do so.”
Permission was
granted.
Mr. Lyon explained,
“I’m not looking for conspiracy, Mr. Millikan.
I am simply observing that the school board advertised, in the public,
for persons of interest to submit a letter of interest to be considered for
appointment. If it was the school
board’s intention to reappoint Mrs. Bohnenkamp, I could be happy with that, if it
had not solicited a public response.
But, it did so, and I, in good faith, submitted my application which in
no way has been acknowledged received.
No one said it was received, no one called or interviewed me, nobody explored
with me, and I’m not suggesting that I am the person for the job. I explained in my letter, I have no objection
to Mrs. Bohnenkamp, I have respect for her.
My quarrel is with the process. I
think that the way in which it was contextualized and presented to the public
has set up suspicions that are so unnecessary.
The suspicion that the whole process was fore ordained, that somehow the
incumbent members of the school board has already originally decided the outcome
before going through the motions of a public process. I’m not saying that’s the way it was, I’m
just saying that the way in which events unfolded that could be a reasonable
conclusion by conjecture from someone sitting on the outside. That’s certainly true for someone who, in
good faith, attempted to participate in the process. My only appeal is for the school board to
step forward and say just what you have said, absolutely not, no way Hosea, we
did not in any way intend to have a foregone conclusion, this was an above
board process. Some kind of public
statement addressing these questions, I think, is necessary to restore
confidence. In the absence of which,
there is a nine malignancy that undermines your capacity to engage the public
with confidence.”
Mr. Millikan asked
Mr. Lyon for clarification of his last statement.
Mr. Lyon said, “In
the absence of a free and open conversation about the process where questions
can be asked and answers given, just as we are doing right now. In the absence of that, I think the public
can be fairly excused for wondering if in fact, there is a conspiracy. The school board has a responsibility, I
think, to reassure the public that the course of events was in fact above
board. I’m not suggesting anything was
done outside of the law, I’m just suggesting it was not wisely done.”
Mr. Morgan stated,
“At the end of our last board meeting, I did apologize to the constituents, and
Mr. Lyon said, “I
appreciate that, and I would suggest that maybe a letter to the same be sent to
every person who took the time to submit an application pursuant to the school
board’s own invitation to do so, helping them to understand that they were not
simply dismissed or patronized.”
JIM LYON’S LETTER
Board of School Trustees
Anderson Community School Corporation
c/o Tobi Jones, President
Re: (1) Appointment Process to Fill At-Large
Seat Vacated by Robert Scott
(2) Board of School Trustees’
Response to Questions Raised
Dear Ms. Jones, et al:
One month has passed since I delivered personally a letter to the Board of School Trustees (dated 10 June 2008) and, at the same time, shared a thumbnail of my concerns in public testimony before the Trustees, regarding the appointment process implemented to fill the at-large seat vacated by Robert Scott (last April).
In that letter, I summarized the facts of the case as I understood them to be, I identified issues arising from those facts, and posed substantive questions consequent to those issues. I also contended that the Trustees have undermined public confidence in its administration of our schools and compromised its ability to serve effectively in the days ahead. Additionally, I proposed a process by which public confidence can be restored and a new course set.
To date, I have heard from no one within the Anderson Community School Corporation (ACSC), save one: late in June, I received a telephone call from then member-elect Irma Hampton Nave Stuart. She kindly explained that she had read my letter, that she concurred with my reading of events, and that she hoped I would stay constructively engaged.
Interestingly, I have been overwhelmed with response from
others in the days following (most responding to a front page report
referencing my concerns in the Herald-Bulletin
on
I am persuaded that there is a fundamental disconnect between this School Board and this community. That disconnect has been exacerbated and inflamed by the appointment process in May. The appointment of Mrs. Bohnenkamp to fill the vacant seat of Robert Scott, in a process that can best be described as suspect (after having lost her bid to serve another term as a School Trustee in the primary election just days before), has become a defining moment—a marker—in this deepening crisis of confidence.
It is popularly believed that Mrs. Bohnenkamp’s appointment was a foregone conclusion, that the appointment process was, by design, developed to guarantee that an incumbent Trustee rejected by voters at the polls would have a chance to regain a seat on the School Board anyway (in a kind of “the public be damned” scenario), that the Anderson Federation of Teachers (AFT) holds sway over the whole corporation (intimidating and manipulating key players to achieve its own ends), that politics and self-interest on several fronts trump the common good, that the School Board’s dysfunctions are replicated in the school corporation’s day-to-day administration, its personnel practices, its engagement (or lack thereof) with the public, and on and on.
I am savvy enough to know that these concerns (grounded in circumstantial evidence, hearsay, gossip, and conjecture) may be unfounded. But, my own experience with the appointment process and its aftermath has helped me to understand how someone might come to these conclusions. At many levels, “truth is what people believe”--what they believe to be true frames their relationships. The truth is huge segments of this community have lost confidence in the ACSC Trustees; they view you with suspicion and contempt; many of these negative views are held by faculty and staff employed by the corporation itself; this reality has profound implications for you as you seek to advance our community’s cause through public education.
My story is a case in point:
(1) I replied to a public invitation to be considered for appointment to the School Board.
(2) I submitted a “letter of interest,” which, by several accounts from within the system, was not even read.
(3) No contact even acknowledging receipt of my “letter of interest” was made, until my office received a telephone call on the day the appointment was to be made.
(4) No contact notice from ACSC has ever been received by me outlining the appointment process, calendar, or its outcome.
(5) When I, subsequently, objected, both in writing and in face-to-face testimony, no word has yet been received from ACSC in reply; indeed, by the testimony of multiple witnesses within the system, my last letter was not read, either.
(6) The School Trustees do not make themselves available for conversation or dialog; you have embraced a meeting framework that prohibits and discourages direct engagement; statements can be made, but no direct questions may be asked.
(7) When attempting to secure information, telephone calls to the ACSC administrative offices do not routinely result in direct and concrete replies.
(8) When attempting to secure information, logging on to the ACSC website leads the visitor to the “Superintendent’s Page” (under the heading, “Recent News”), where may be found today (08 July) a letter from the Superintendent dated in March, referring to a local news story from February … to find a roster of the School Board or its meeting schedule, the patron must abandon the “Quick Links” drop down menu and wander through links with headings like, “Parents,” or “Students.” Even then, no contact information for the School Board is given.
(9) Phone calls. Websites. Letters. Direct testimony before the School Trustees. No replies. No acknowledgement. No respect. No engagement. Period.
Is this the way to run a business? A for-profit? A non-profit? A public entity of any kind?
I have tried to imagine why my inquiries seem to have fallen on “deaf ears.” I have been able only to identify three possible answers:
(A) You are too busy and do not have time to process communication with people like me.
(B) You are ashamed of the answers you must give to my questions if you replied honestly and, alternatively, are reluctant to lie on the record, and, therefore, have chosen simply to ignore.
(C) You don’t care, thinking that I am of little consequence in the larger mission of the management of ACSC.
Of these three, of course, option A is the most
sympathetic. I know that time is
precious and that your task, as part-time advocates, is limited. The demands are great and the palate of
issues is vast. If, however, as reported
in the Herald-Bulletin, this School Board has
had nine hours to devote to closed hearings regarding the unfortunate case of
an employee at
Option B is problematic for all of us. If this be the reason you have declined to respond, no good outcome can be further achieved by delay. All of us make mistakes—even well intentioned ones—and the best solution is simply to own them and take steps to set them right. I have had to do so many times in my professional and personal life; ACSC will be strengthened (as will your own stature) if you do so expeditiously, as well.
Option C is troubling, also. And, truth-be-told, if this explains your conduct, it may be well founded. I am just one constituent, after all. You may fairly conclude that I am not a prophet or politician, that I am not a business owner or a person of influence and standing, that my approach is pretentious and that my concerns are incidental, that my voice will not be heard and may be easily dismissed. Perhaps. Time will tell.
But, make no mistake about it: I will not shut up until this School Board speaks up. This community, this city, indeed, this County (all of which is profoundly affected by the health of the Anderson Community School Corporation) has much at stake. Clarification of the appointment process can go a long way to clarifying the credibility of the whole School Board and the corporation it leads.
In my last letter, I proposed a solution to this debacle. That failing, here’s another idea:
(1) Let the School Board schedule a special meeting and open forum for the purpose confidence-building on this issue, to which the public is invited and during which direct questions can be posed to the Trustees.
(2) Because
the new school year begins in earnest on
(3) I
would be glad to open the Auditorium at the
In the absence of any feedback to this, my third letter born by the appointment process, I will begin to speak everywhere about the need for change in ACSC. I will begin with the few thousand to which I speak each Sunday in my role as pastor and then I will carry the message to every service club, senior luncheon, hospital guild, business association, and community meeting to which I am invited to speak in the next school year; my speaking calendar is quite busy.
Thanks, once more, for your consideration. I have enclosed a summary of the questions posed in my last letter, for your review and comment.
Jim Lyon
Office telephone: 765-642-2000
Office e-mail: jlyon@madisonparkchurch.org
Mailing address:
cc: Herald-Bulletin
Addendum to letter to Anderson Community School Corporation Trustees
J
Here is a summary of the questions posed in my last letter
(dated
(a) Why did the School Board set the deadline for “letters of interest” on 09 May, following the primary election on 06 May? Given the tight timeline, wouldn’t an earlier deadline have offered more opportunity to explore a thoughtful process? Or, did the “letter of interest” calendar provide a “parachute” for incumbent Board members who might fail at the ballot box? It’s hard for me to imagine such a scheme could have been hatched by design, but the train of events brings the question forward.
(b) Did the School Board have a plan for filling the vacancy at the time it announced the 09 May deadline? If so, why wasn’t the process outlined for prospective candidates in advance, so that calendars could be cleared, information prepared, and interviews engaged? If not, why not? Is service on the School Board so incidental that filling a vacancy requires little or no forethought?
(c) After twelve people submitted “letters of interest,” who developed the plan to meet at 4:00p on 20 May, interview three, and then vote at 6:00p on the same day? The Bylaws require the Superintendent to prepare the agenda for both regular and special meetings of the Board. Did she outline the course of events? Did the Board officers? Were the agendas for the meetings of 20 May delivered three days in advance to all Board members (as required by the ACSC Bylaws, section 0166)? And, if so, why were the prospective candidates not notified three days in advance?
(d) Does the School Board comprehend how compromised the whole process appears? How its credibility has been undermined? How the voices of all incumbent Board members—and Mrs. Bohnenkamp’s especially—have been diminished? How unfortunate—and unnecessary—all of this negative backwash is, just at the hour when all of us need to be pulling together to advance our community’s cause?
(e) Does the School Board understand that when it invites the public to share the burden of its most profound responsibilities (and I contend that serving as a School Trustee is one of those), that those with whom it seeks to partner and enlist as allies must be respected and acknowledged, not patronized and dismissed?
(f) Is there a way
forward from this gaffe?
Mrs. Bohnenkamp said,
“Mr. Lyon, I realize what you’re saying and I probably thoroughly agree with
the letter, however, I did make a statement to the press and Barrett is out in
the audience. That statement I made to
him was everything was fair, ethical and legal.
That should denote the fact that there was no conspiracy. The conversation I have had has been with
your wife, and I do want to thank you for saying that you do have respect for
me being on the board. Thank you and you
will find that we will reply in any way we can as long as the meetings can be
conducted in a very civil and cordial…and that’s what we need to do. Thank you for coming this evening, and thank
you for your comments.”
Thom Earl,
Mr. Earl stated, “I’m
here for “Save Our Schools” which has voted that we would like to have you
consider renaming
I’m proud to say, as
you got a letter probably two or three months ago from Carl Erskine that he
stands with myself and “Save Our Schools” in believing that the school on
Raible Avenue should be named Johnny Wilson Elementary School. We have named one school in this community
after an
I understand that
it’s been the recent policy of the board not to take action on something that’s
said at a meeting, or actually even to acknowledge what was said. But, I would hope that because of the fact
that school will be starting in August that you would take action on this in
the very near future. I believe in the
recent past there have been some things that this board has done, good or bad
that have kind of driven a wedge between this board and the minority part of
this community. I would suggest that a
positive action such as naming the school after Mr. Wilson would be a good
first step towards bringing the community together. I would hope you would agree and will take
this action. Thank you.”
Mrs. Bohnenkamp said,
“Thank you, Mr. Earl, and we do appreciate your comments and we will take that
under advisement.
I want to interject
something, even if I may be out of line.
I know Mr. Earl may remember the Post Office Café. In 1946, Johnny Wilson helped
No comments.
SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS
Mrs. Lowe introduced Mr.
Larry Quarles, principal at
Mr. Quarles said, “I
want to first thank Superintendent Lowe for her recommendation, and the board
for their approval of me being the new principal of
I felt very fortunate
to take over the reins at this time at
The addition, Mrs.
Howie, our new assistant principal who is here this evening, is a good fit for
I would like to take
the next opportunity to recognize three of our teachers for recent
achievements:
§ Mrs. Rebecca Vannatta, art teacher at
§ Mrs. Vicki Builta, our librarian, has been
accepted into the Library of Congress Fellowship program scheduled to take
place in Washington, D.C August 4 – 8 of this year.
§ Richard Ziuchkovski (Mr. Z), AP Calculus
teacher, designed a class project that exemplifies student engagement in real
life application. It was also intriguing
enough to be printed in the Herald-Bulletin back in May. The project was that his students decided to
re-design the tax code for the state of
We are very, very
proud of our teachers and we are also very proud of our students.”
Mrs. Stewart said to Mr.
Quarles, “I look forward to your efforts and seeing your success.”
Mrs. Lowe asked Mrs.
Vannatta to share information about her upcoming TV debut, and then she
publicly congratulated her.
Mrs. Vannatta stated,
“As Mr. Quarles said, I am a teacher at
I’m here this evening
to announce a great achievement for Anderson High School and the Anderson
Community School Corporation. In May,
before school year was completed, several of my students, not knowing this,
sent it an entry with my name on it for most Outstanding Giving Teacher of the
Year. They knew of my great love for
Rachael Ray. I’m not a cook, though, but
they knew how much I enjoyed her show.
There were several entries and after interviews and a visit to Anderson
High School in my class room, the representatives of the show, which were very
wonderful, commented on how impressed they were with Anderson Community School,
the facility, the favorable behavior of the students and conduct of the
students of Anderson High School, and of our teaching staff. They were elated with the AHS recent
achievement status of the Academic Progress, because I made sure that I told
them about it, which was approximately two weeks before that. A camera crew came to my classroom, and by
video technology, my students and I learned that I was selected Most Giving
Teacher of the Year. Later that week, my
husband and I were flown to
On August 4 and 5 at
the Wigwam Complex, we have…Mrs.
I want to say how
proud I am to be a part of the
Mrs. Lowe stated, “I
received an email from Vicki Builta, you heard her name mentioned awhile
ago. She is the Media Specialist at
We have been approved
to have a Fulbright Scholar Teacher Exchange Program. Mrs. Howie has actually worked on this and
will be bringing Mustafa Senal, probably, to our August board meeting. He is a teacher in
Mr. Morgan asked Mrs.
Lowe if we were sending anyone to Turkey.
Mrs. Lowe said, “We
are not sending anyone to
I also have something
from the
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Mr. Roger Shockley
stated, “I included in your board packet an update of the
Mr. Millikan asked,
“When do you expect that to be finished?”
Mr. Shockley
answered, “As Mr. Quarles said, we expect to move in to the new spaces mid
October. We expect it to be completed,
and fully occupied during the Fall Semester.”
Mrs. Jones said,
“Thank you for the update. I had been
curious, and I actually was looking forward to hearing about this, so I
appreciate your time doing that.”
Mr. Shockley stated,
“We’re making good progress. The rain
beat us pretty well, all the rain we have had this spring and summer, but we’re
pretty much under roof everywhere and shouldn’t be affected by that anymore.”
Mrs. Lowe stated, “My
last item is sort of a personnel issue you will be dealing with later, but I did
want to announce the administrative changes for 2008-2009.
There is one item
that you will take action on this evening that I will ask.
Mrs. Bohnenkamp
stated, “I would like to congratulate Mr. Quarles and all the new
administrators, especially Eric Davis.
For those of you who
may not know, Rebecca Vannatta is my daughter, I’m very proud of her. She can’t cook, but for some reason, every
evening it’s one of those 30 minute meals.
I will congratulate
PEER REVIEWS
Mrs. Farley stated,
“We have as a requirement of Title I, any of our schools that are in School
Improvement; we have three in Anderson Community Schools, Anderson Elementary,
Erskine Elementary and Robinson Elementary.
They must do an annual Peer Review.
We did those and I included in your packet, not only the schools, but
the letter that kind of explains that, but, also those Peer Review notes from
each of the schools. Anderson Elementary
did a Peer Review with Forest Hills, Erskine Elementary did a Peer Review with
East Elementary and South Madison Schools and Robinson Elementary did a Peer
Review with Petite Park in Kokomo, IN where Claudette Renfro is the principal
at Petite Park. Claudette used to be the
principal at Robinson Elementary before me.
Those Peer Reviews went very well.
We got a lot of nice suggestions.
The only two that will have to change their School Improvement Plan,
slightly, will be Anderson and Robinson, and that’s due to the new differentiated
accountability model that I’m sure you read about in the newspaper. Erskine Elementary being a focused school,
their School Improvement Plan stands as is.
Anderson and Robinson simply have to be certain that the State
requirements are included in their School Improvement Plan. So they will do that.”
Mr. Riffe moved to approve the Peer Reviews, seconded by Mrs.
Jones. Motion carried unanimously.
DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Mrs. Farley stated, “Highlighted in green, will the sub group that did
not make AYP this year. That would be
Black in English/Language Arts, and then throughout the document in green
should be highlighted any additional strategies, parental opportunities,
research items and so on that affects that sub group. We had to have the revisited District
Improvement Plan on file in my office by June 25, so if the State wanted to
come down and say, ‘show me your new revised plan, I could produce that for
them. I would also like to have that
voted on by the Board, or answer any questions that I may be able to help with
new District Improvement Plan.”
Mr. Millikan stated, “We had a fairly lengthy packet. I never got through that, and then that
booklet, I could only look it over. I
have never had the time to read it yet.
Do you think it’s very important that…could you highlight it?”
Mrs. Farley stated, “It’s extremely important that the Board
understands what we’re working on in our district schools. This will be for all schools K-12. I might suggest that the most important pages
would be the strategies that we’re going to utilize, the professional development
opportunities, as well as the parent involvement opportunities. The professional development, page 22
through 30, talks about what all the teachers will use, the different grade
levels. So, pages 22 through 28, before
that, the strategies to help improvement is basically in a chart form, and
that’s on page 20. The English/Language
Arts, continues on page 21, and then on page 21, it talks about the math. Behind pages 20 and 21, are the power words
for Math and English/Language Arts that we had the committee write. Then you get into the professional development
pages, 22 through 30. The only other
piece that I think is extremely important for you to understand, or to look at
and be aware of would be the Parental Involvement component. That starts on page 33, and goes through
36. There are also some extended learning
opportunities that are discussed in there.
But, for the most part, that’s pretty much the same as it has been. I would say pages 20 through about 36 would
be the focused points.”
Mr. Millikan asked Mrs. Farley to quickly talk about the parent
involvement aspect.
Mrs. Farley stated, “For the most part, we have always had a problem
with parent involvement, and we have got to start doing a better job and we
have got to quit giving it lip service.
Basically, in our plan, we focused on; let’s not just say we’re going to
have parent/teacher conferences. Let’s
truly do a good job of doing a phone chain, and invite a parent. We’re also requiring all ten elementary schools
to have two parents at a minimum participate in PALS, the parent academy
through
Mr. Long stated, “This last school year, at least two of the grade
schools that I’m aware of had classes where parents were willing to get
involved and help with different things, chaperoning on trips or other programs
within the school, but because of the required police checks the teachers were
put in the position of having to go and round up family or others to come in
and help because the parents couldn’t pass the police checks. How is that type of situation going to be
affecting what you’re talking about here on the parent involvement and some of
the programs you’re proposing in the booklet?”
Mrs. Farley answered, “I don’t believe so. Going on a field trip is still going to
require a criminal background check.
That’s a State requirement, that’s not an Anderson Community Schools
requirement. Any time that you have
anyone besides school personnel involved with students and chaperoning in any
way, if a parent goes on a field trip with their child, they inevitably end up
with other children in their group. So
that is a chaperone situation. We have
to continue to do that. When I was at
Robinson Elementary, for example, we held parent/teacher conferences. I called the jail and the inmate was allowed
to get on the telephone, we did a phone conference, and we counted that
parent/teacher conference. I have had
parents come to school with their ankle bracelets, and they are never turned
away for anything like that. It would
just be helping in the class room, or going on a field trip that may affect
some of those patrons. If that’s the
case, there may be some things they can do at home and send in with their child
that could help the class. They could
perhaps make some learning centers, or do some flash cards, or make some
things. Materials are sent home. The parent could work on that at home or
wherever, and those could be sent in.
Again, I also need this in the minutes of the Board, please, if you
could approve the revised District Improvement Plan.”
Mrs. Jones made a motion to approve and accept the improved, District
Improvement Plan, seconded by Mr. Riffe.
Motion carried unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Mr. Kevin Brown asked
for approval of the claims numbered 12069 through 12621, inclusive, which was
listed on page 2 of the agenda book.
Mr. Morgan made a motion for approval, seconded by Mr. Millikan. Motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Kevin Brown said,
“The next item is the report and hopefully award of the bid for Dairy Products
for the 2008-2009 school year.
Invitations were sent out to five vendors and only received bid back
from one vendor. The result of the bid
is on page 3. We did have a competitor
that declined the bid that came to the bid opening to review the bid. He did review all of the aspects of the bid
and said that they couldn’t even come close to being completive with Prairie
Farms. I also had our director of Food
Service review this and we find that the pricing is very completive with the
market place. As we have done the last
several years, we are recommending the firm unit price for the milk to Prairie
Farms for the 2008-2009 school year in the amount of $351,306, and the funding
source is the Food Service Extra-curricular Fund.”
Mr. Morgan made a motion to accept the firm unit price presented to
Anderson Community Schools by Prairie Farms, seconded by Mr. Millikan. Motion carried unanimously.
HUMAN RESOURCES REPORT
Mr. Dickerson directed
the Board’s attention to pages 4 through 6 in the agenda package. He added Eric Davis to be assistant principal
at
II.
Human
Resources
A.
Action
CERTIFIED
NEW HIRES
Fidelis Amaize – Mild Intervention Teacher –
Jamie Koch – Assistant Band Director – South Side
Middle School – Effective
Rebecca K. Littrel – Speech Pathologist – South Side Middle/Robinson
Elementary/
Effective
Daniel A. Miller – Music/Band Teacher –
Middle School – Effective
Stephan Newsom – Social Studies Teacher – Unassigned – Effective
Dustin L. Ramirez – Choral Director –
Laura Vesta – Functional Skills Teacher, grades 4-5 –
II. Human Resources
B. Action
CERTIFIED
RETIREMENT
Kathryn
L. Wilson – FACS Teacher –
Effective
immediately.
II. Human Resources
C. Action
CERTIFIED
RESIGNATIONS
Alan
Alder – Choral Director –
Effective
Dana
Hatfield – Art Teacher –
Effective
immediately.
Douglas
White – Special Education Teacher –
High School – Effective immediately.
II. Human Resources
D. Action
CERTIFIED
LEAVES
Dana
Dickerson – Elementary Teacher – Unassigned –
Effective
2008-09 School Year.
Kimberly
McClam – First Grade Teacher – Robinson
Elementary
School – Effective 2008-09 School Year.
Beth
Reed – Special Education Teacher –
Elementary
School – Effective 2008-09 School Year.
II.
Human
Resources – Additional Items
E. Action
CERTIFIED
NEW HIRE
Sarah Wickersham – Title 1 PreKindergarten Teacher –
II.
Human
Resources – Additional Items
F. Action
CERTIFIED
RESIGNATION
Katherine King – Art Teacher
– Anderson/Killbuck
Elementary Schools –
Effective immediately.
II.
Human Resources – Additional Items
G. Action
NON-CERTIFIED
RESIGNATION
Hills/Southview Elementary
Schools – Effective
Immediately.
Mrs. Jones made a motion to approve the amended Human Resources Report,
seconded by Mr. Morgan. Motion carried
unanimously.
Mr. Dickerson
recognized Mr. Scott Merkel, new principal at
NEOLA POLICIES
Mr. Dickerson said,
“NEOLA is ongoing, it’s constant, it never ends. It will be constantly updated and
revised. NEOLA Office makes
recommendations to us as to update our policies, revise our policies, or even
to add new policies. This will be your
first look at those. We will not take
action. Action is not required on those
revisions, or the addition of new policy this evening. I ask that you take those home, look over
those policies. If you have any
questions, we can bring those up at the next board meeting. I will be asking for action on those
recommendations at the next meeting.
Some of those are
recommendations, not requirements. They
are recommendations by NEOLA. Some of
those are required by law, so we will have to take action on those. I would like to take action on those at the
next board meeting.”
CONFERENCE LEAVES
Mr. Lennon Brown
asked the Board to take action on the conference leaves noted on pages 7 and 8
of the agenda.
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Mr. Riffe moved for approval, seconded by
Mrs. Jones. Motion carried
unanimously. |
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Old Business – None
New Business – Mrs.
Jones stated, “I just wanted to give the Board a really quick update. A couple of months ago, I came to you and
asked for permission to form a parent’s advisory committee, and that committee
has been formed. We have had two
meetings with a group of parents. Most
every school recommended at least one parent, and we have all gotten together
here, twice. Basically, what we’re doing
over the summer is we’re trying to figure out what the committee will do. So far, we have decided it’s going to be a parent’s
advisory committee, and that’s about all we’ve decided for sure. There are some ideas as far as how many parents
we want to be on it, and the general feel seems to going that this is going to
be a committee to talk to and listen to parents and possibly bring advisory to
the Board from time to time, take advice from the Board back to the parents,
maybe be a sounding board for parents.
If they have problems, this committee could help parents to know which
way to go and who they need to talk to.
Basically, we have
parents deciding what this committee needs to do, which is the way I think it
needs to be. Hopefully, for the August
meeting, we’ll have a final presentation of what the committee will be for the
board to approve us to go forward with the new school year.”
Mrs. Bohnenkamp
commented, “I attended both meetings, Mr. Riffe was at the last meeting and there
was a fairly good turn out. These are
parents that principals recommended. We
did have some other parents that showed up at the second meeting. It’s very instrumental, some of the parents
had their PAL shirts on. They are very
knowledgeable, and their heart is in it as far as (PAC) Parent Advisory Council
is concerned. I think it’s a right step
in the right direction.”
Mr. Dickerson stated,
“I should have mentioned when we were doing policies that copies of the
policies are available to the public, and if any body would like to have a copy
of those recommendations, I certainly will make them available. I have some here. If they don’t want to do that this evening,
there are some available in my office.”
Items for Future
Agendas - None
Adjournment: Mr. Millikan moved for adjournment, seconded by Mrs.
Jones. Motion carried unanimously.
Meeting adjourned at
BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES
ANDERSON COMMUNITY SCHOOL
CORPORATION
_____________________________________
Teddy
Bohnenkamp, President
______________________________________
Philip T.
Morgan, Vice President
______________________________________
William
Riffe, Secretary
______________________________________
Timothy A.
Long, Assistant Secretary
______________________________________
Tobi K.
Jones, Board Member
______________________________________
Keith
Millikan, Board Member
______________________________________
Irma Hampton
Stewart, Board Member