Greenville Co. School Board Meeting Summary

The following is a summary of the Greenville County School Board of Trustees June 26 meeting: 

Unofficial Board Meeting Summary
June 26, 2012

Board Members Present (11): Roger Meek, Chairman; Debi Bush, Vice-Chairman; Secretary; Megan Hickerson, Glenda Morrison-Fair, Dr. Crystal Ball O'Connor, Tommie Reece, Chuck Saylors, Leola Robinson-Simpson, Danna Rohleder, Pat Sudduth, Lisa Wells. Absent (1): Lynda Leventis-Wells.

Welcome, Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance - Mrs. Rohleder

Adoption of Consent Calendar - Approved. 
Minutes, Regular Board Meeting - May 22, 2012
Minutes, Second Reading of the FY 13 General Fund Budget - June 5, 2012
Minutes, Special Called Meeting - June 12, 2012
Personnel Recommendations

• Jennifer Dodds, Assistant Principal, Chandler Creek Elementary, eff. 8/8/12
• Cheryl Macri, Assistant Principal, J.L. Mann High Academy, eff. 7/30/12
• Mary P. (Mimi) Melehes, Principal, Ellen Woodside Elementary, eff. 6/18/12 (Approved at Special Called Meeting on 6/12/12)

Appearance of Visitors
Mr. Bob Davis, Mr. Ed Good

Superintendent's Report
Mr. Royster called on Director of Guidance Rob Rhodes to present the Scholarship Report. The Class of 2012 earned a record $104,423,388 in scholarship offers.

Action Items

Physical Education Waiver Request from J.L. Mann High School (Executive Session) - Approved recommendation from the Administration to approve the physical education waiver request for one student at J.L. Mann High School.

Architectural Selection for Indefinite Delivery Contract (Executive Session) - Approved recommendation from the Administration to select Firms A, E, F, G, & H for the multi-term, small multi-projects throughout the school district for the next five years. The multi-term contract would be for a period of one year, renewable each year, but not to exceed the extension of four one-year periods. Work would include renovations, small expansion, architectural/engineering forensic studies, site/building corrective actions for existing facilities, construction bidding, and/or construction administration of projects.The firms are: A - Ard Wood Holcombe Slate Architects; E - Craig Gaulden Davis Architects; F - LS3P Architects; G - McGarity Gilmore Forrester (SPIEZEL Group); H - McMillan Smith and Partners.

Sale of Old Washington Center (Executive Session) - Approved motion to refer back to Administration for further discussion.

Revision of Board Policy GAAA - Approved substitute motion from Committee of the Whole to approve the revision of Board Policy GAAA. The District is required to provide the contact information for the employee who is charged with responding to complaints of discrimination. The Executive Director of Human Resources is the individual designated for the District.

Hillcrest High School Lease - Approved motion from Committee of the Whole to approve the lease agreement between Mr. James E. Cashion, Jr. and The School District of Greenville County for the educational use of this property for three years. Hillcrest High School has used this property since 2003 at no charge from Mr. Cashion. This lease agreement will formally protect both parties from any liability in the use of this land for educational purposes. The School District of Greenville County will lease this land for a period of three years and will pay a rental fee of $1.00 per year for the use of the property.

Greenville Early College Lease with Greenville Tech - Approved amended motion from Committee of the Whole to approve the lease agreement between Greenville Technical College and The School District of Greenville County for the educational use of this property for three years. Greenville Technical College will lease classroom space to the School District of Greenville County for the Greenville Early College.The lease agreement was amended by the addition of one room (from 6 rooms to 7 rooms) and an additional 637.2 square feet (from approximately 3,706 square feet to just over 4345.8 square feet). The lease will be for a period of three years beginning in 2012 at a cost of $4.50 per square foot. As additional space is required each year, the rate per square foot will remain the same.

Demolition of Greenville Recreation Office Building at Roper Mountain Science Center - Approved motion from Committee of the Whole to approve demolition of the old recreation building on the Roper Mountain Science Center grounds. The Board of Directors of the Roper Mountain Science Center Association requested to open space at the front corner of the property by removing the old recreation building, fencing and foliage. This will show the community a positive first step toward the STAR Capital Campaign. Cost for this work will be reimbursed by the Board of Directors of the Roper Mountain Science Center Association when campaign funds are received.

Request for Maps of County Council and State House Districts - Approved motion from Committee of the Whole to direct the Administration to provide County Council and State House with boundary maps for each Board Member in the area they represent.

Carolina Academy School Improvement Grant MOA - Approved recommendation from the Administration to approve the School Improvement Grant Memorandum of Agreement. FY 2013 is Carolina Academy's third and final year of participation in the School Improvement Grant (SIG). For the coming year, the South Carolina Department of Education requires schools and districts receiving the SIG to enter into a contractual agreement which outlines responsibilities of the state, district, school, and board. Carolina Academy's FY13 grant allocation is $501,361.

FY 13 General Obligation Bonds Resolution - Approved recommendation from the Administration to approve the Resolution for the FY 13 General Obligation Bonds, Series 2012. The Administration annually projects the amount of General Obligation Bonds that must be approved for issuance to fund the BEST bond payments and the operations of the Facilities Department. The amount to be issued for FY 13 is not to exceed $85 million.

FY13 Building Fund Budget - Approved recommendation from the Administration to approve the FY 13 Building Fund Budget. During FY 13, the projected expenditures are $51.3 million with major projects and the Technology Refresh Program the largest scheduled expenditures. The projected revenues are interest income, proceeds from General Obligation Bonds and fund balance.

FY13 BEST Building Fund Budget - Approved recommendation from the Administration to approve the FY 13 BEST Building Fund Budget. During FY 13, the projected BEST Building Fund expenditures are $516,508. The revenue source is the BEST fund balance.

FY13 Debt Service Budget - Approved recommendation from the Administration to approve the FY 13 Debt Service Budget. The budget accounts for the Debt Service revenues, annual general obligation bond payments and distribution of General Obligation Bond proceeds to the BEST Debt Service and Building Fund Budgets.

FY13 BEST Debt Service Budget - Approved recommendation from the Administration to approve the FY 13 BEST Debt Service Budget. During FY 13 interest and principal payments, totaling $126,016,452 for BEST Bonds will be paid on December 1, 2012 and June 1, 2013. The funding sources are Interest Income, BEST 2002 Reserve Fund and "Transfer from District Debt Service".

FY13 Food and Nutrition Services Budget - Approved recommendation from the Administration to approve the FY 13 Food and Nutrition Services Budget. The revenue budget reflects a 2.6% increase for FY 13. This increase is based on the following factors: increase in number of lunches and breakfast served due to projected enrollment increase; increase in number of students qualifying for free or reduced price meals; a 10 cent increase in student full-pay lunch prices as required by the USDA, a 10 cent in adult lunch prices and a 2% increase in the USDA per meal reimbursement rate. The expenditure budget represents a 4.8% increase. It includes: a 2% raise for FANS staff; a step increase for eligible FANS staff; increase in employer portion of employee benefits and a projected increase in cost of food due to inflation and projected increase in number of meals to be served. Lunch prices for 2012-13 are $2.10 for full-pay and 40 cents (no change) for reduced-price; breakfast prices for 2012-13 are $1.00 (no change) for full-pay and 30 cents (no change) for reduced-price; adult meal prices for 2012-13 are $3.35 for lunch and $2.00 (no change) for breakfast.

FY 13 Special Revenues - Approved recommendation from the Administration to accept the proposed FY 13 Special Revenue Budgets. A "Special Revenue Budget" is established when the District receives Federal, State or Local funds that have restrictions on how the funds can be spent. While the District's "General Fund Budget" funds the "general" day-to-day operations of the District, a special revenue budget is set up with a specified purpose or direction. The restrictions on special revenue budgets vary budget by budget.

State Budget Information - Approved recommendation from the Administration to authorize the administration to defer implementation of the cost of living and step pay raises of the State Budget until such time as a State FY 13 budget is finalized, and to make said raises retroactive to July 1 upon approval. Further, to authorize the administration, if necessary, to use up to an additional $12 million of the fund balance to implement all other aspects of the FY 13 general fund budget as approved, and to immediately communicate the amount utilized to the Board of Trustees.

Information Items / Reports

Internal Auditing Services' Project Status Report - The report was presented as information.

Board Committee Reports
SCSBA Director's Report - Mrs. Rohleder presented budget highlights include sale of the Barnwell building for $1.35 million and purchase of a site for the new building for $3.9 million.

Finance Report

FY12 April Financial Report - The report was presented as information.

The meeting adjourned at 9:49 p.m.