School board meets

Posted June 26, 2013 at 1:17 pm

Clinton County Board of Education, after cancelling its regular meeting earlier this month, held a special call meeting Monday evening, June 24 dealing with a heavy agenda with all members on hand.

The board first heard a presentation from Lonnie Scott, Clinton County Disaster Emergency Service Coordinator, pertaining to a grant program that could fund a “AmbuBus” (Bus Stretcher Conversion Kit) from First Line Technology that holds up to 12 stretchers and can accommodate a dozen patients at one time.

The grant of approximately $35,000 would fund having a bus transformed into a multi-patient ambulance that could be used in various situations, including, but not limited to, mass evacuations, transport of speciality needs patients and non-ambulatory transports. The stretcher conversion kits in the ambubus is complete with all ambulatory equipment needed in medical emergencies with the same equipment as regular ground ambulances.

Scott asked if the school district had any surplus buses that could be used to be transformed into such a multi-patient ambulance. The bus would apparently be deeded to the EMS and county at no expense involved to the school district.

Superintendent Charlotte Bernard said she had been in contact with Director of Transportation Larry Koger who had informed her the district did have one such bus that would be considered surplus and could be used for that purpose. The board agreed to allow for the surplus bus to be transferred to the local Emergency Services to be used as an ambubus, which would be based here in the county.

The board then approved minutes of three previous meetings, including a regular meeting and two call meetings; approved an educational leave of absence for Scott Gregory from August 1 through December 31, 2013; approved between meeting disbursements and voted to pay claims and bills.

Board Chairman Paula Key then gave a lengthy personnel report which dealt with non-renewal contracts of both certified and classified personnel; certified and classified transfers; certified and classified resignations; certified and classified retirees and the employment of a substitute teacher at Foothills Academy.

The following is the personnel report listed Monday night:

* Certified non-renewal contracts: Ashley McWhorter, teacher, CCECC; Tammie Conner, teacher, AES; Susan Dobbs, Tammy Johnson and Holly Pierce, teachers at CCMS; Leslie Brown and Angela Church, teachers at CCHS.

* Certified transfers: Danny O. Thomas, from CCMS teacher to CCHS teacher; Jennifer Strunk, from CCMS teacher to AES teacher; Ashley Duvall from CCHS teacher to CCMS teacher; Saundra Wright from CCHS teacher to part time teacher at CCMS and part time teacher at CCHS; Pamela Upchurch, from Foothills Academy teacher to CCHS teacher; Kimberly Fitzgerald from AES teacher to Foothills Academy teacher.

* Certified resignations: Tammy Denney, head tennis coach, CCHS; Kayla Mora Kriek, assistant volleyball coach, CCHS; Patrick Stalcup, teacher/head baseball coach/freshman girls basketball coach, CCHS; Stephanie Cook, teacher, AES; Kim Fitzgerald, teacher, Foothills Academy; Matt Johnson, teacher, CCHS.

* Certified retired: Sam Gibson, teacher, CCHS; Julia Smith, teacher, district-wide; Doug Spears, technology integration specialist, district-wide.

* Classified non-renewal contracts: Nick Irwin, SRO, Tracy Foster, Margaret England and Annette Antle, aides, all at CCECC and Lonnie Shelton, bus driver, district-wide.

* Classified resignations: Greg Wells, Director of Finance, district-wide; Wayne Conn, SRO, CCMS; Fred Dalton, custodian, CCHS.

* Classified retired: John Harlan, custodian, CCHS; Danny Thomas, bus driver, district-wide.

* Classified transfers: Mark Garner, from full-time maintenance to part time maintenance and part-time bus driver; Junior Gregory from full-time maintenance to part-time maintenance and part-time substitute bus driver; Stephanie Shackleford, from CCMS aide to CCHS aide.

* Substitute teacher: Pavielle Dick, Foothills Academy.

The board then dealt with the issue of Student School Accident Insurance provider, hearing from representatives of Roberts Insurance Company out of Richmond, which represents the K and K company, the district’s current provider and Mike Davis of Davis Insurance.

The Roberts company representative said that after talking with Davis, a long-time acquaintance, about the policies each company had planned to offer, it was decided among both that K and K provided the best school student coverage, including in some 140 school districts in Kentucky.

Davis agreed with the assessment and agreed to be the local representative for Roberts Insurance if the board chose to renew the policy with that company.

This past year, the company has had 24 claims and paid out around $44,000 in insurance premiums on those claims.

Following some discussion, a motion was made by Board Member Jeff Sams to approve Roberts Insurance (K and K company) as the provider for Student School Accident Insurance at a cost of approximately $30,000 for the coverage, which includes a 10-year catastrophic benefit of $6 million per student effective for the 2013-14 school year. Davis Insurance will be the local representative for the company. The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Also in dealing with insurance, board member Kevin Marcum moved to approve Ohio Casualty Insurance Company and Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance for renewal of insurance for the 2013-14 school year. The insurance will include the School Package Policy, Commercial Automobile Policy, and Commercial Umbrella in the amount of $134,692 and Workers’ Compensation in the amount of $60,748.59. The annual premium will total $195,440.59 plus mandated replacement cost values and/or additional vehicles.

The board then approved an increase in meal prices for the 2013-14 school year. Student prices will increase from $1.60 to $1.70 at Albany Elementary and the Early Childhood Center, from $1.85 to $1.95 at the middle school and high school. Adult breakfast prices will increase from $1.85 to $2, and lunch will increase from $2.85 to $3. The increase is state mandated.

The board then voted to accept the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky Grant Agreement and establish a 240-day classified coordinator’s position with a base salary of $12.18 per hour, seven hours per day. The position will be funded entirely by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky Grant.

Also approved was the establishment of two classified paraprofessional I time-out positions at Clinton County Middle School and Clinton County High School with a base salary of $12.18, seven hour per day, 182 days. These will replace certified time-out positions thus saving the district money on salaries.

The board also opted to eliminate a Social Worker position due to a decrease in funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program and approved first reading of policy/procedure updates recommended by the Kentucky School Boards Association.

On a motion by Board Member Junior Cecil, the board voted to amend the 2013-14 school calendar to reflect 16 makeup days.

Director of Pupil Personnel Julie York told the board that the school calender earlier adopted by the board has been approved by the state, but they asked for an additional makeup day to the calender, from 15 to 16. Although the added day would carry the make-up portion of the calender into the month of June, York said she hoped that wouldn’t have to happen.

The board then approved six members, two current and four new members, to serve on the Clinton County Rec/Park Board through June 30, 2017. New members included John Mason, Jay Garner, Gary Guffey and Luke Moons and current members Paula Little and chairman Vince Ostertag.

On a motion by Board Member Goldie Stonecipher, they unanimously approved the 2013-14 School Code of Pupil Conduct with only minor revisions from last year and appointed Julie York to serve on the Certified Evaluation Appeals Panel for the term of July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2015, and to appointed Reda Thurman to serve as an alternate for the term.

On separate votes they approved membership renewal with the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative for the upcoming year; the GRREC Crisis Recovery Support Team Participation Agreement and entered into an agreement with Kentucky Educational Collaboration for State Agency Children for the 2013-14 school year.

The board also voted to enter into a contract with Lake Cumberland District Health Department for the upcoming school year for the purpose of placing a Health Department employed Registered Nurse at Albany Elementary School and Clinton County Early Childhood Center at $14,000 each per school year, $1,500 above last year’s cost.

Following some discussion, the board voted to take part in the Energy Managers Project for the next two school years, 2013-14 and 2014-15 in the amount of $4,957 annually.

Apparently the school energy audits, which this year will be managed under the Kentucky School Boards Association, has helped save the district several thousand dollars on energy costs over the past few years.

Board Member Marcum, however, questioned whether or not the schools couldn’t take what they have learned over the past years from the program and monitor their own energy efficiency measures to keep costs down and when the vote was taken, Marcum voted no on the motion with the remainder of the board members voting yes.

After voting to approve Forward Edge Associates to provide drug testing for students and employees for the 2013-14 term, the board tabled approving food, janitorial service and other bids until a later date.

The board also approved the instructional day schedule for the upcoming school year and heard a year-end attendance report from DPP Julie York prior to adjourning the one-hour and 10-minute special meeting.

A more detailed article on the 2013-14 instructional day schedule, which listed bus times, start/end times for each school and so forth, as well as a look at the 2012-13 year final attendance will be published in next week’s Clinton County News.

The next regular meeting of the Clinton County Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, July 9 at 5 p.m. at the Central Office board room and is open to the public.