The
Board of Directors of the
MEMBERS
PRESENT:
&=
nbsp;
Robert M. Daugherty
Bryan Day
Larry Berkley
=
;
Tony Rose
Sue Strickland
MEMBERS
ABSENT:
None
ALSO
PRESENT:
=
; Roy G. Brooks,
Superintendent of Schools
Beverly
Griffin, Recorder of Minutes
I. &= nbsp; CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL <= o:p>
Dr. Daug=
herty
called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. All members of the Boa=
rd
were present at roll call. In
addition, Jennifer Newborn Thomas, ex officio teacher representative from <=
st1:PlaceName
w:st=3D"on">Carver
II. =
PROCEDURAL MATTERS / WELCOMING COMMENTS
Dr. Daugherty welcomed the audience and ask=
ed Dr.
Brooks to proceed with the citations.
III.&=
nbsp; REPORTS/RECOGNITIONS/PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Dr. Brooks announced that the installation of the software and equip=
ment
for NovusAgenda was complete and noted that this was the first active
electronic board meeting. Tra=
ining
for board members was provided at the January agenda meeting; employees cre=
ated
January agenda items and submitted them electronically as part of their
training. The Board was shown=
how
to use the electronic voting keypad which provides the ability to record vo=
tes
electronically. Heather Holla=
nd, the
Novus representative, Sharon Dowdy, the District’s technology consult=
ant,
and Pam Neal, information services specialist, were present to provide
technical assistance as needed.
Dr. Brooks asked for a moment of silence in honor of Jane
Mendel. Ms. Mendel pa=
ssed
away last week and a memorial service was held over the weekend to celebrat=
e her
life. She was a founding memb=
er of
the Women's Emergency Committee, which was instrumental in reopening Little
Rock High schools after the desegregation crisis of 1957. She devoted her life to improving =
public
education and was a founding member of Volunteers in Public Schools. =
The Superintendent asked Associate Superintendent Junious Babbs to st=
ep
forward; he recently received the F=
our
Pillars Award in Education from 100 Black Men of Greater Little Rock. T=
he
Four Pillars include Youth Mentoring, Health and Wellness, Education, and E=
conomic
Development.
Later in the meeting, during the Personnel section of the agenda, Dr.
Brooks recommended Cindy Dees as the new Assistant Principal at
A check in the amount of $19,000 was
presented to
=
;
The ex officio representati=
ves to
the Board for the month of January, Jennifer Newborn Thomas, teach=
er at
Debbie Milam presented seve= ral new school and business partnerships for the Board’s review and approval.=
Transamerica Works=
ite
Marketing
Terry Elementary – represented by Becky Ramsey, Eloise Booth and Teresa
Gray in partnership with Arkansas Heart Hospital – represented by Mary Willis and Charlie=
Smith
Katherine Wright Knight thanked Dr. Brooks and members of the Boar=
d for
their support of the National Board Certification process. She promised that the funds provid=
ed by
the LRSD would be put to good use in assisting as many teachers as
possible.
IV. &n=
bsp; REPORTS
AND COMMUNICATIONS
Dr. Brooks thanked Ms. Strickland for her comments and for the support
she provided during his first year in
Ms.
Strickland’s family was present:&nbs=
p;
her husband, Terrell Strickland; daughter, April Harrell; and
granddaughter, Abby Harrell. =
In
addition, members of the
Sadie
Mitchell made remarks on behalf of the district’s administration and
building principals; Lillie Carter, principal of
Dr.
Daugherty presented a hand blown glass bowl on behalf of the LRSD Board and
administration. Each member o=
f the
board related their own fond and personal memories of Ms. Strickland’s
years on the Board and their time with her.
Mr.
Kurrus acknowledged the passing of Jane Mendel. She served as an inspiration to ma=
ny people
by going the extra mile to make sure that others did good work on behalf of=
children.
Mr. Heller’s next quarterly update =
will
be scheduled in April 2006, but he offered to meet with Board members as a
group or individually anytime over the next few weeks and months.
Inform=
ation provided
in the Board’s agenda explained the
Mr.
Milhollen made a brief PowerPoint presentation of the projects included on =
the
inventory list required by the state’s Phase I master plan, including=
a listing
of projects and a spreadsheet of expenditures by election zone. Approximately $60.5 million was rep=
orted
as required for operations, with the estimate for capital outlay approximat=
ely
$41.5 million. One required c=
omponent
of the submission included an inventory of expected infrastructure needs, a=
nd a
projected estimate of maintenance and facilities costs for the next three y=
ears.
The
District is required to accept public comment and the public was invited to
address the board or submit questions and concerns to the administration.
SUSPENSION OF THE RULES
Mr. Kurrus moved to suspend the rules in order to reorder the agenda =
and
allow action on the Arkansas Facilities Master Plan at this point in the
agenda. Mr. Rose seconded the
motion and it carried unanimously. &n=
bsp;
The vote will be reported under Section VI. A.
Dr. Brooks reported that this was the first week of open enrollment =
for
students who are new to our District or those who are interested in applying
for a magnet school assignment. Dr.
Watson was present but had no formal report.
Mr. Milhollen was present, = but made no formal report.
Mr. Becker’s report w= as printed in the agenda.
The monthly Construction Re= port was printed in the Board’s agenda. There was no additional information presented.
There wasn’t a printe= d technology report this month. However, i= t was noted that completion of the on-line electronic agenda was the culmination = of almost a year of work by the superintendent’s office staff and techno= logy specialists.
Mr. Berkley requested a tec= hnology update regarding the program used for parent access to student grades and attendance (Edline).
A. =
Minutes
Minutes from the regular meeting of=
the
Board of Directors held on December 15, 2005, and from a special meeting he=
ld
on December 8, 2005, were presented for review and approval. Mr. Berkley moved to approve the mi=
nutes
as presented. Mr. Rose second=
ed the
motion and it carried unanimous=
ly.
A. =
As reported previously in th=
is
meeting, the
The administration presented=
the
proposed master plan and recommended board approval prior to the February 1
submission deadline. Mr. Kurr=
us moved
to approve the submission; Mr. Rose seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
A.&n=
bsp; =
;
Second
In December, 2005, the boar=
d gave
first reading approval to recommended revisions to Policy IKF, General
Education Graduation Requirements and accompanying regulations. The administration recommended sec=
ond
reading approval and implementation.
Ms. Strickland moved to approve Policy IKF on second reading. Mr. Day seconded the motion and it=
carried unanimously.
B. &n=
bsp; =
;
The administration requested approval=
to
submit a Teaching American History grant application to implement enhanced =
professional
development for LRSD American history teachers. The grant would provide up =
to
$1 million to improve instruction and raise student achievement. Partners in this grant application
include the
Ms. Strickland moved to approve the
grant submission. Mr. Berkley
seconded the motion and it carr=
ied
6-0-1, with Mr. Rose abstaining.&n=
bsp;
A. =
&nb=
sp;
Personnel Changes
Routine personnel items were printe=
d in
the Board’s agenda. Mr.=
Rose moved
to approve the personnel actions as presented and Ms. Strickland seconded t=
he
motion. The motion carried unanimously.
B. =
Appointment of Assistant Principal – =
=
The
administration recommended the appointment of Cindy Dees, to the position of
Assistant Principal at
A. =
&nb=
sp;
Financial Report
Mr. Milhollen presented the monthly review =
of the
financial reports which were printed in the board’s agenda. No action to approve the
reports was taken.
B. =
Donations of Property
The Board was asked to approve the acceptance of recent donations to schools and departments within the District. Ms. Strickland moved to accept the donations; Mr. Day seconded the motion. The student ex officio, Robert Ell= edge, read the donations as follows:
|
SCH=
OOL/DEPARTMENT |
ITE=
M |
DON=
OR |
|
|
$200.00 cash to purc=
hase
books for kindergarten classes. Cash donations to as=
sist
students who were hurricane victims $250.00 $100.00 $100.00 |
Kiwanis Club, c/o Mr=
. James
Thomas Target Stores, Mr. & Mrs. James=
Woods Don and April Rodger=
s, Jr. |
|
Carver Magnet |
Kroger coupons worth=
$100 to
be distributed to needy families; $300 worth of materi=
als and
school supplies; and books for the library worth approximately $120.00 |
Arti Vanzandt and Ra=
ytheon,
Inc. |
|
SCH=
OOL/DEPARTMENT |
ITE=
M |
DON=
OR |
|
|
$1,000 cash to purch=
ase
books and for student assistance $1,000 to special ed=
ucation
department at $100 to Drama Depart=
ment at |
Betty Emery Miner, <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on"> Win & Lisenne
Rockefeller Hugh Thomforde and R=
ebecca
Kilmer |
|
Fair Park Early |
Theatrical lights fo=
r the
cafetorium valued at $1,000. |
Curtis H. Stout, Inc=
. |
|
|
$400 worth of toys to
provide Christmas stockings for students $100 to be used to p=
urchase
supplies for school yearbooks |
Modern Free Grand Lo=
dge St. Mark Baptist Chu=
rch |
|
|
$600 literacy grant =
to LRSD
Adult Education program for purchase of textbooks and materials |
Harold Zimmerman / C=
ertain
Teed Roofing Products |
X. =
CLOSING REMARKS
Dr. Brooks =
reminded
board members that there would be a ribbon cutting ceremony at the
He also not=
ed that
the second Parent Involvement Workshop would be held on Saturday, February =
4, from
8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
XI. =
EMPLOYEE HEARING
The board convened an employee hearing at=
7:55
p.m. The employee requested t=
hat
the hearing be open to the public.
Attorney Ed Adcock represented the employee. Attorney Khayyam Eddings was prese=
nt to
represent the board and administration.&nb=
sp;
The employee was employed as a driver in =
the LRSD. He was injured in a work related
accident and was drug tested when he went to
Mr. Adcock restated the facts presented a=
nd
suggested that it was not appropriate under district policy to terminate the
employee. His contention was =
that
the first test was not based upon any reasonable cause and that there was n=
o basis
in fact to believe that the employee was ever under the influence of
intoxicating substances while at work.&nbs=
p;
He argued that the results of the first test formed the basis for re=
questing
the second test and that there was no evident reasonable cause for terminat=
ion. Mr. Adcock argued that under these
circumstances termination without reasonable cause would be considered an i=
nvasion
of privacy and a violation of the Constitution.
The employee adamantly testified that he =
did
not use marijuana or other drugs and that the lab results showing a positive
for THC was caused by exposure to “sidestream smoke.” He stated that he was exposed to t=
his
smoke by family members who lived in his home for several weeks. The employee admitted awareness of =
the district’s
drug testing policy and agreed that he had signed an acknowledgement that he
was aware of the drug testing policy as a condition of employment. He also admitted that he had not r=
ead
the policy.
Mr. Rose read the superintendent’s
letter of termination and made a motion to uphold the finding of fact that =
the
employee had tested positive for marijuana. Ms. Strickland seconded the
motion, and it carried unanimously.
Mr. Rose made a second motion not to upho=
ld
the administration’s recommendation for termination. Ms. Strickland seconded the motion=
, and
it carried 6-1, with Mr. Kurrus casting the no vote.
The board discussed the status and condit=
ions
of the employee’s return to work and the legality of requiring random=
drug
testing. Probationary employe=
es,
employees in the safety and security office and bus drivers are all subject=
to
random testing. Mr. Adcock ag=
reed
to waive any constitutional issues and agreed to terms and conditions of the
employee’s continued employment to drug test whenever requested by the
District.
Mr. Eddings strongly recommended placemen=
t in
a position that would not have the employee operating a district owned motor
vehicle to protect the district’s liability. He suggested that management exerc=
ise
its right to assign the employee to an alternate position. The Board took no formal vote, but
suggested that Dr. Brooks and the administration decide which course of act=
ion
would be in the District’s best interest. =
XII. =
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the =
Board,
the meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. on a motion by Mr. Rose and seconded by =
Mr.
Kurrus.
APPROVED:&=
nbsp;
02-23-06 =
&nb=
sp; =
Originals
Signed by:
=
; &n=
bsp; R.
Micheal Daugherty, President
Bryan Day, Secretary
January 26, 2006
Page 10