Big List Blog

School Board Meeting, Nov. 8, 2007

Before I recap the school board meeting I want to mention the wonderful City Leaders' Breakfast hosted by HPTC last Thursday morning at Riverchase United Methodist Church.   After a nice breakfast, guests were treated to a lovely celebration of the firemen and police officers who help to keep our children safe.  Students from elementary, middle and high school were involved in honoring the firemen and police officers with poems, essays and music.  I appreciate all the hard work Melinda King, Debra Taylor and many others did in planning and hosting an event that showcased some of the best things about our schools and our city.

School Board Meeting

Four Hoover citizens spoke to the School Board last Thursday evening.  Their speeches are posted in their entirety at THE Hoover Forum.  I appreciate the folks who run THE Hoover Forum obtaining the text of the speeches and posting them for the benefit of those who could not make the meeting.

After the public participation, Mr. Bolt excused himself to attend a party at his home with football players and coaches.  I urge you to read the four speeches, and then read that last sentence again.  Some in the audience literally groaned.  One woman said out loud, "Did he really just say that?"

Personnel Actions:
A Business Education teacher and an Academic Support teacher were hired for Hoover High Senior Campus.  A Spanish teacher and and English teacher were hired for Hoover High Freshman Campus.  All are replacements for teachers who resigned or retired.

There were numerous changes of status for teachers who are moving to a higher pay grade due to verification of previous experience or a higher degree.

Joseph Cordi transferred to Interim Assistant Principal at Greystone Elementary.  Mr. Cordi was previously a teacher at Spain Park High School.

Kyle McCartney transferred from Instructional Support Specialist at Crossroads to Assistant Principal at Hoover High School Senior Campus.

Helena Robinson changed from 10 month counselor to 12 month counselor at Spain Park High School.

Leaves of absence were approved for five employees.

A Physical Science teacher at Hoover High Freshman Campus resigned for personal reasons.

There are also a number of Classified Employee actions.  If you have any questions about those, feel free to e-mail me.

Business Actions:
The board approved payroll for the month in the amount of $6,859,552.70, and cash disbursements in the amount of $4,209,039.90.

Change Orders:
Three change orders were approved.  Two were deducts dealing with the HHS Freshman Campus, and one was an addition dealing with technology at the Freshman Campus.  Cable which was specified turned out after installation not to be adequate and was upgraded.

Construction Bids:
Bids were approved in the amounts of $106,400 for an addition to the Hoover High School Softball Complex, and $238,638 for a press box and concession stand for the Spain Park Soccer Field.

Title I Comprehensive Improvement Plan:
The board approved the plan for the spending of Title I funds for the coming year.

Surplus Trucks:
The board approved a list of old trucks to be sold by the school system as surplus.

Information and Reports:
Mr. Craig shared with the board an offer that has been received for the purchase of the Berry School property on Columbiana Road.  The offer is for $10,000,000 from Shades Mountain Christian School and the City of Vestavia and expires on December 14.  The board will look at the offer and may take action on it at the next board meeting on December 10.

There was no new business.

The next work session will be on Thursday, December 6 at 5:30 p.m., and the next board meeting will be on Monday, December 10, at 5:30 p.m.

Points of interest from last night's School Board meeting

The Hoover School Board met last night.  Mrs. Baker, Mr. Bolt and Mrs. Frazier were present.  Mr. Defnall was out of town and Mr. Veitch was sick.

Students and teachers from Spain Park High School spoke to the Board about the new Senior Project Seminar Program.  They described the program and its benefits, and two students explained their particular senior projects to the Board.

The 16 National Merit semi-finalists from the two high schools were introduced and recognized with a certificate.  Their parents were also recognized.  There are 16,000 semi-finalists nationwide, who will compete for 8,200 National Merit Scholarships.

Principals and teachers from Berry Middle School and South Shades Crest Elementary were recognized for receiving cash awards from the State Board of Education.  Both schools made achievements last year significantly beyond AYP for certain at-risk groups.  They each received $20,000 from the State Dept. of Ed.

The 22 Hoover City Schools employees who have retired since May were recognized with a gift.

Public Participation:  Chip Arledge, parent of a son in Hoover schools, spoke to the Board about his desire that the Board work quickly to release the Pointer report.  He said that the delay has allowed the issues to fester, and that the Board should be responsive to the taxpayers who paid for it.

Mayor Tony Petelos also addressed the Board and urged them to meet quickly and release the report to the public.  He asked the Board to be thorough, but to get through the issues quickly so that the city might put this matter behind us.

Personnel Actions (certified):

New hires:
Deer Valley Elementary  .5 and Crossroads  .5, Counselor, new position
South Shades Crest Elementary, 1st grade teacher, new position

Transfers:
Counselor at Spain Park to Counselor at Crossroads in a new position
Occupational Therapist from Trace Crossings Elementary to Gwin Elementary

Resignations:
Hoover High Freshman Campus, English teacher, personal reasons
Riverchase Elementary, 5th grade teacher, relocation

There are many "changes of status" due to verification of prior experience or a higher degree.  Also, there are many classified appointments, transfers and changes of status.  Call or e-mail me if you have a question about those.  There are just too many to type here.

The Directors of Bands at both high schools received salary increases.

Business Actions:

The Board approved expenditures of $6,709,017.82 for payroll and $4,686,579.41 in cash disbursements for the month of September.

The Board approved a revised Budget for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008.  The revised budget projects revenues of $157,181,598 and expenditures of $163,495,420.  The beginning fund balance for the year is $146,885,539.22, and the ending fund balance is projected to be $140,872,680.22.  This ending balance includes $82,876,141 in funds designated for debt service (the Jefferson County one-cent tax money) and $170,453.56 in non-public funds (booster club, PTO) run through the school books.  Without those funds, the ending fund balance would be $57,826,085, which is around 5-6 months of current operating expenses.

Contracts:
The Board approved contracts with individuals to provide Speech Therapy and Orientation and Mobility therapy.

Information and Reports:
Mr. Craig invited State Representative Paul DeMarco to inform the audience about an Internet Safety Program that he and the Hoover Police Department are  presenting at Bumpus Middle School tonight, Tuesday, October 9, at 7:00 p.m.  All Hoover parents and interested persons are encouraged to attend.

Mr. Craig told the Board that he has formed a Capital Planning Committee to produce a five-year capital plan as is required by the State Department of Education.  Mr. Defnall and Mrs. Baker will serve on the committee, along with 6 individuals from the community.  The committee will meet weekly.  At some point, there will be an opportunity for public input, and when the plan is complete, it will be brought to the board for a vote.  The meetings will not be closed.

Mrs. Barber reported that the professional development day went very well.  Teachers trained other teachers on various components of the new technology.

New Business:
Mrs. Frazier reported that she had received a request from the Alabama Association of School Boards for three delegates to the meeting in December at the Wynfrey Hotel.  Mr. Bolt, Mrs. Baker, and Mrs. Frazier agreed to make themselves available for that meeting.

School Board Attorney Donald Sweeney recommended that the Board go into executive session for one hour.  A motion was made and seconded, and the board retired to closed session.  I did not stay until they returned, but I was told they returned at 7:30 and that no actions were taken when they reconvened.

Mr. Bolt did speak with the press, and said that the attorney had given the board three redacted versions of the Pointer report.  The details of what was said are in today's Birmingham News.

The Board will meet on Wednesday, October 10, at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the report.  It is expected that they will go into closed executive session.

School Board work session

The Hoover School Board work session tonight was calm and uneventful.   Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Frazier, and Mr. Defnall were present.

The Board reviewed the personnel actions with little comment.  I'll post those after Monday night's meeting.

The Board studied the business actions.  Mrs. Baker had a few questions about particular expenditures which were answered by CFO Cathy Antee.  A debt service payment was made in August, which made expenditures higher than other months.  Mr. Craig notified the Board that a called meeting may be needed at the end of next month to close out the fiscal year.

Mrs. Antee explained that a revised 2008 budget will be presented to the Board.  There were problems with the software that generated the reports that were given to the Board previously.  This has been corrected, and new reports generated.  The corrections led to an increase of $13,000 in the budget, as it is shown on the reports.

The Board reviewed proposed contracts with a speech pathologist and and orientation and mobility specialist.  Not details were released yet.

Mr. Defnall asked Mr. McBay if most major constructions contracts are closing in on completion.  Mr. McBay replied that the contract for the Berry Middle School addition has some things that are still waiting.  That is due to the contractor's delay.  The system is holding some money out on that contract.  The construction contract on the Freshman Campus will likely be closed out at the next Board meeting.

Mrs. Frazier asked about Judge Pointer's final bill.  It has been received, but has not yet been paid.

Mrs. Baker asked about the new voice mail system installed by the school system.  She reported that it is not possible to reach someone's voice mail using certain types of Blackberry devices.  She also asked whether all the technology hook-ups are completed at Spain Park.  Mr. Dodson reported that they are 99% complete.  They are complete at all the other secondary schools.  There are a few minor issues in a few classrooms.

Mrs. Baker read a response to the comments of the City Council that have been published in the newspaper.  She said that the decision to hire Judge Pointer and his firm to do the investigation was a unanimous vote of the whole board.  This investigation could not have been carried out by internal means.  She is unhappy that the school system finds itself in this situation, but is eager to reach a solution to the issue.  She urged the public to give the Board time to deal with scheduling issues and complete the matter.

Mr. Sweeney asked the Board to go into executive session to discuss matters of pending or threatened litigation.  The board voted to do so.  Mrs. Frazier said that no actions would be take when the board returned to open session.  The Board went into executive session, and most of the spectators left the building.

"Talk to the Hand"

School Board President Donna Frazier didn't say it, but she made the "talk to the hand" gesture to a Hoover High School teacher when he attempted to ask a question at the end of last night's three and a half hour board meeting.  I wish I had a picture to post here, because it is pretty much the ultimate symbol of how the school board treats the people it is supposed to be serving.

The Board, upon a motion and second and unanimous vote, went into closed executive session just after 6:00 p.m.  Attorneys Donald Sweeney and Judge Sam Pointer went in with them, as did Superintendent Andy Craig.  The estimated time for the session was two hours.  After two hours, Assistant Superintendent Carol Barber told the assembled spectators that the executive session would last another hour.  At 9:17, the Board returned to open meeting.

Donna Frazier thanked those in the room for attending and waiting through the executive session.  She said that the Board must now decide where they go from here with regard to the report.  Mr. Bolt made a statement about the need to balance the public's right to know what is in the report with the protection of the privacy of teachers and students.  He suggested that the Board ask Mr. Sweeney to look at the report and decide what should be redacted.

Mrs. Frazier then asked the Board to schedule another meeting.  Bill Veitch reported that he is out of town this Thursday, the 4th, through Sunday, the 7th.  Mr. Defnall then shared that he will be out of town from Thursday, the 4th, until Wednesday, the 10th.  He will be back in town after around 4:00 p.m.  Mr. Veitch will be absent from the Board's regular monthly work session on Oct. 4th, and Mr. Defnall will miss the regular monthly meeting on October 8th.  Mrs. Frazier suggested that the Board meet at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 10th, the day Mr. Defnall gets back in town, to "continue discussions".  The continued discussions will be in closed executive session, as they were tonight.

On October 10, the report will have been completed for 39 days.  The Board will have had it for 33 days.   They met for over three hours about it tonight, and accomplished, as far as I could tell, nothing. 

School Board Meeting tonight at 6:00 p.m.

The Hoover School Board will meet Monday, October 1 at 6:00 in a called meeting to do something about the report of the investigation into grade changing and other things at Hoover High School.  The meeting is public.  Sort of.

The Board will go into executive session and meet behind closed doors.  After that, it is anyone's guess what will happen.  I'll be there because, as a friend said, "I need to see this with my own eyes."

I'll post a report tonight.

On a side note, I seem to have attracted the attention of a couple of the local bullies who post on the al.com forum.  They claimed that I went to a restaurant to meet with them last week.  I didn't.  Whoever they think they saw, it was not me.  So, to any friends who may have read that and thought, "What was she thinking -- that is the exact thing we tell our kids never to do!" -- I didn't.

More later.

School Board Meeting Recap

The Hoover Board of Education met for its regular monthly meeting on Monday, August 13, 2007 at 5:30 p.m.  Members Suzy Baker, A. W. Bolt and Bill Veitch were present.  Mrs. Baker presided in the absence of board President Donna Frazier.

The Board approved the personnel actions.  It was a very short list this meeting.  The Assistant Principal at Rocky Ridge Elementary School resigned to accept other employment.  A long-term substitute was appointed for a third grade teacher at Green Valley Elementary.  A number of Classified appointments were also made, including bus drivers, aides, extended day workers, and CNP workers.  As always, call or e-mail me if you have any questions about those.

The employment contract for new Crossroads Principal Anna Whitney was approved.

The board approved the financial reports for June, and approved cash disbursements for the month of July in the amount of $5,554, 879.24 and payroll for July in the amount of $5,908,659.06.

New salary schedules E, F, and H were approved.  The new schedule of supplements will be presented at the next board meeting.

The board approved bids for a buy-back of used Foreign Language  and Fine Arts books in the amount of $1200; purchase of 199 football jerseys for Berry Middle School in the amount of $9,910.20; and multi media broadcasting equipment for the Freshman Center in the amount of $42,219.31.

Change orders in the amount of $7,335.00 (add) for secondary technology and $19,839.44 (add) for the Simmons Middle School gym renovation were approved.

Mr. Craig provided the board with a written narrative prepared by Ron Dodson about some policy changes that will need to be made dealing with the secondary Career Tech program.  The Board will need to review these before voting on them at the next meeting. 

Mr. Craig reported that the system is still in the process of acclimating to the increased number of students.  We are working to address air conditioning problems at several schools.  Everything is going fairly well.

The next board meeting will be on Monday, September 10, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. with a work session on Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 5:30 p.m.

The meeting took approximately 14 minutes and there was no discussion of any items.

There was no discussion of the Hoover High School investigation, and no members of the public spoke.

Ink by the barrel

A. W. Bolt did not receive my telepathic message at last night's school board meeting.

I was sending it with all my might: "Don't do it.  Resist the temptation.  HUSH!  Let the meeting end on a good note....Don't speak...."

Aarrgghh.

He couldn't resist.  A cringe-inducing debacle was the result.

Our school board needs PR training desperately.  Some members can NOT stop shooting themselves in the foot.  I left the meeting shaking my head and saying, "So close.  That was SO CLOSE to being a nice, professional meeting."

What happened was this:  after the normal and usual business of the work session was completed, board member Bill Veitch said what a great day his kindergartener had on his first day of school.   He shared a little about it, mostly about how happy his son was to have an older student helper assigned to him to show him around.  It was sweet, sincere, personal, and warmly received by the audience of teachers, principals and members of the public.

And then Mr. Bolt spoke.  I swear, a collective silent groan went up from the audience.  The man just can not stand to be outdone.  I don't remember everything he said, except that it sucked every bit of good will out of the room in seconds.

So self-congratulatory.  So self-important.  Mr. Bolt informed us that after his morning in court he visited in four Hoover schools yesterday.  Excuse me?  I'm sure the principals loved that.  As if they weren't busy enough on the first day of school, they had to deal with an officious school board member dropping in.  School board members in the schools, football players out.  That is messed up.

I would describe the scene at the end of the work session in more detail, but it was so embarrassing I think I've repressed the memory.  There was Mr. Bolt's speech in which he took a slap at the news media, then a member of the audience questioned
why the football players weren't in school on the first days of school, and it just fell apart from there.  It ended with lots of people talking over each other, the gavel banging, and the board members sprinting for the exits.  It would be funny if it was not so awful.

The board did conduct business at the called meeting before the work session. All members were present except Mr. Defnall.

The board approved the hiring of Anna Whitney to be principal at the Crossroads School.  Ms. Whitney replaces Brian Cain, who is now principal at Simmons Middle School.

A number of other personnel actions were taken.  They are:

Appointments:
Family/Consumer Science teacher, Hoover High Senior Campus   (replacement)
German teacher  (.2), Hoover High Senior Campus   (replacement)
Math teacher, Hoover High Senior Campus   (replacement)
3rd grade teacher, Deer Valley Elementary   (replacement)
Preschool teacher, Trace Crossings Elementary   (new position)
Instructional Support teacher, Bumpus Middle School   (new position)
5th grade teacher, Rocky Ridge Elementary   (new position)
Academic Support teacher, Hoover High Senior Campus   (replacement)
Physical Education teacher, Hoover High Freshman Campus  (replacement)
Supervisor of Instructional Support Services, Central Office   (replacement)

Changes of Status:
There are pages and pages of these changes.  When new teachers are hired into the system, they are usually hired at the "0" step on the salary scale.  When verification of their prior experience is received, their status is officially changed to place them in the correct pay grade.  There are always lots of these at the beginning of the new school year.  Changes are also reflected like this when a teacher obtains a higher degree and moves up on the pay scale.

Transfers:
Instructional Support Aide to Instructional Support teacher at Berry Middle (replacement for one year only)
Physical Ed. teacher at HHS Senior Campus to HHS Freshman Campus
Myra Miles was transferred from Physical Education teacher at HHS Freshman Campus to interim Athletic Director at HHS Senior Campus.

Resignations:
Third grade teacher, Deer Vally Elementary, personal

There are also a large number of classified positions on the report.  These are all important positions, but I simply can not list them all because there are so many.  If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me.

After the board meeting on Monday, I will recap the actions taken by the board.  There are business actions, change orders and bids.  I assume there will be more personnel actions then.  I will detail those after the board votes on them.

Annual Accountability Results: Great News for Hoover City Schools

Every school in the Hoover system met every goal on the state's annual accountability testing.  The school district as a whole met 33 out of 33 goals.

These are especially important accomplishments, since the Annual Measurable Objective (the percentage of students needed to meet proficiency) increased last year for grades 4, 6, 8 and 11 in reading and for grades 4, 6 and 11 in math, and this year at grades 3, 5, and 7 in reading and at grades 3, 5, 7 and 8 in math. While the bar continues to rise, our teachers and students continue to meet and exceed the goals.

Congratulations, teachers, students and administrators!

School System Personnel Actions for July

Sorry I didn't get these posted before now.  These are the certified personnel actions from the called school board meeting on July 19 and the regular meeting on July 23, 24 and 25.

Appointments:

Brian Cain, Principal at Simmons Middle School, replacing Carol Barber
Charles Butler, Assistant Principal at Hoover High Sr. Campus,  replacing Jeff Nichols
Ken Jarnagin, Interim Principal at Hoover High Sr. Campus, replacing Richard Bishop

4th Grade teacher        Rocky Ridge Elementary                (replacement)
ISS teacher                    Hoover High Sr. Campus                      (replacement)
Speech Pathologist    .4 Hoover High Sr. Campus                 (replacement)
                               .4 Spain Park
                               .2 Hoover High Fr. Campus
4th Grade teacher     Riverchase Elementary                          (replacement)
Physical Ed. teacher Trace Crossings Elementary                  (new position)
English teacher           Hoover High Fr. Campus                        (new position)
Instr. Supp. teacher   Hoover High Fr. Campus                       (new position)
Spanish teacher        .4 Hoover High Fr. Campus                  (new position)
                               .4 Crossroads
                               .2 Berry Middle School
1st Grade teacher      Gwin Elementary                                    (replacement)
Dance teacher          Hoover High Sr. Campus                 (replacement)
Health/Ath. trainer    Spain Park High School                      (replacement)
4th Grade teacher     Greystone Elementary                         (replacement)
Math teacher            Hoover High Fr. Campus                (replacement)
Physical Ed. teacher  Riverchase Elementary                  (new position)

Transfers:
Dance teacher at HHS Sr. Campus to English teacher at HHS Fr. Campus
Instructional Support Aide to Physical Education teacher at Trace Crossings, replacement
Kindergarten teacher at Gwin Elementary to Library Media Specialist at Greystone Elementary, replacement

Non-renewals:
Principal, Hoover High School Sr. Campus

Resignation:
ISS teacher, Hoover High School Sr. Campus, due to other employment.

A few items of interest

There is an article in today's Birmingham News about Hoover High School Principal Richard Bishop's contract renewal.  A decision could be made by the school board as early as Monday night, although the item was not on the preliminary agenda at the Thursday work session.  If renewed, Mr. Bishop will have a three-year contract.

Also of interest is the new survey at the Hoover School Community Information Network site.  It gives you the opportunity to weigh in on the Hoover High investigation.  The results of the HSCIN surveys are almost always printed in the Hoover section of the Birmingham News on Wednesdays.  It's a good way to make your voice heard and find out what others in the community are thinking.

Speaking of what others are thinking, if you haven't already seen it, check out a new spot on the Internet, THE Hoover Forum.  It has been around a couple of weeks and the statistics on how many people have visited there are amazing.  Like any Internet forum, it is full of gossip, opinions and the occasional flame.  But if you're interested in Hoover, and particularly in Hoover schools and politics, this is the spot on the Internet that is "happening" right now.