July 12, 2018 at 5:30 PM - Jackson-Madison County School Board Combine Meeting

Discussion:  A motion was made to approve the Agenda with the addition of a discussion item to the September Board Meeting lead by David Clifft.  This item will be discussed on 7:1

Discussion:  There were no Public Comments at the Combined meeting.

Discussion:  There were no Appearances before the Board at the Combined meeting.

Discussion:  Earlene Price, President of JMCEA, would request that the Board revisit the budget for the 2018-2019 school year to find money for faculty and staff pay increase. 

Discussion:  Mike Nichols did not have any Financial Reports at the Board Meeting for the Board.

Discussion: 

Holly Kellar stated that the financial statements for June were not ready due to closing out the year.  Mrs. Kellar gave an update on the BEP funding; 

·      The June estimate came in showing eighty-six thousand dollars ($86,000) less than the April estimate.  The April estimate was used for budget purposes.

·      Overall, the BEP funding is up five hundred and forty thousand dollars ($540,000) from last year.  Of this amount, three hundred and seventy-three thousand dollars ($373,000) is in the area of instructional salaries. 

·      Although the State does not mandate across the board salary increases for certified staff, the State does require our District to use the additional instructional salary funds for teachers and in areas such as step increases, salary schedule increases, bonuses, differentiated pay, and new positions.  And because our District’s average teacher salary is higher than the State average, we have the option to use the additional funds for benefits as well.

·      As shown on the BEP Estimate, the statewide weighted average salary for teachers in FY17 was Forty-four thousand and twenty-four dollars ($44,024).  Jackson-Madison County School System’s weighted average teacher salary was forty-six thousand two hundred and twenty-six dollars ($46,226) which is two thousand two hundred and two dollars ($2,202) above the state average.

·      Keep in mind that the BEP funding is calculated using our total ADM for the prior year.  The total ADM for 2017-2018 was twelve thousand two hundred and twenty (12,220), down one hundred and eighty-seven (187) students from the prior year.  This does not include PreK students.

Holly Kellar stated that they are closing out the 2018-2019 school year and then she will have more reports for the Board to review.  

 

Discussion:  Holly Kellar would like for the Board to review the information sent to them on eMeeting for How do we count students? and How do we calculate per-pupil expenditures?.  If the Board members have any questions, they may contact Holly.

Discussion:  Holly Kellar prepared a report using data from FY17 that shows how the JMCSS district compares in several areas to the State of TN as well as surrounding and comparable Districts.  Mrs. Kellar stated, starting in 2018-2019 school year, the State is required by law to provide the per-pupil expenditure for each school in addition to the overall District per-pupil expenditure.  The first report is due out in the Fall of 2019.  There were thirteen schools, including the JMCSS that participated in a pilot study to help the State in the process of determining how school-level per-pupil expenditures would be figured.  The new reporting will bring to light per-pupil expenditure variances between schools in a District and throughout the State.  The TDOE will assist Districts in identifying causes for these variances which could include higher teacher salaries due to longevity, small schools, small grade sizes, higher operations and maintenance costs, special education enrollment and a variety of other factors.  Our District is in good shape, unlike some other Districts, to provide the State with expenditure data by school as we have been charging to location codes for several years.

Discussion:  David Clifft would like for Wayne Arnold to be appointed for interim Chairman starting September 1, 2018 until the New School Board would be able to elect a Chairman.  Janice Hampton asked if the current board chair would be able to stay on and lead until the next chair is elected.  Mr. Clifft stated that as of August 31, 2018, the Chair is not an elected official for the school board.  The current Board agreed to nominate Wayne Arnold as an interim starting September 1, 2018 until a chairman is elected. 

Discussion: 

Bob Alvey presented a power point of the Superintendent Evaluation Results. 

*Evaluation Process-Board evaluates Dr. Jones, Dr. Jones does self assessment, Board summary and comments prepared and shared with Board, Results reviewed by Board and Dr. Jones and Dr. Jones prepares feedback plan

*Evaluation Result-Average Score from Board=4.4 and Average Score from Self=2.6

*Evaluation highest rated items-Has a harmonious relationship with the Board 4.8, Refrains from criticizing members of the board 4.8, Establishes strong relationships with public and private agencies 4.7, Speaks well in front of groups 4.8

*Evaluation lowest rated items-Develops and annually evaluates the Five-Year Plan 3.9, Maintains up-to-date job descriptions for all personnel 3.9, Maintains a current knowledge of developments in Curriculum 4.0, Incorporates technology as a teaching-learning strategy 4.0, Encourages staff to be innovative in problem-solving 4.0, Solicits input from staff in planning activities 4.0

*Next Steps-Dr. Jones to propose plan to address, Superintendent to propose District goals

Eric Jones will address the Current School Board in the August Board Meeting and the New School Board in September concerning the Superintendent Evaluation Results.

Bob Alvey stated that the Board was presented a summary of the comment results from the Superintendent Evaluation.  Mr. Alvey presented to the Board, a summary of the Highest areas per indicator (by board), Lowest area per indicator (by board) and Lowest area per indicator (discrepancy of self score).

Bob Alvey stated that each Board member has met with Eric Jones to discuss the results of the evaluation.  Mr. Jones appreciated the feedback from each member.

Discussion:  Eric Jones presented a LOOP program Gestamp video for the Board. This Program is for students to work and get paid while continuing their education through Jackson-Madison County.  

Discussion:  Eric Jones stated that he has been in contact with the Education Foundation Committee.  They will be meeting to discuss further options with the Bylaws to make better use of the funds for the school system.  Bob Alvey, Dave Bratcher and Jim Campbell had concerns that the committee had not met in several months and that there may be issues with the committee to go forward.  Mr. Jones will report back to the School Board after meeting with the Education Foundation Committee.

Discussion: 

Eric Jones mentioned;

July 11-12:  Riddile was in Jackson meeting with Central Office and Principals to assist them with classroom teaching

July 16: Central Office will have a retreat at Lambuth

July 23-24: Administration Summit will be at Lambuth

July 26-27: New Teacher Orientation will be held at Liberty

July 31: System wide address at Oman

August 1: Professional Development for curriculum and expectations

August 3: a half day of school for students

August 6: first full day of school for students

 

There are currently 17 teaching openings in the Jackson-Madison County School System.  

Discussion: 

David Clifft mentioned the Policy committee will be meeting on July 17, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. to review a few policies for the board.

Bob Alvey mentioned that the Education Vision Committee met on July 10, 2018 and review the Capital update, Safety for Schools and the Agenda for Board meeting.

Discussion:  The meeting adjourned at 6:33 p.m.