January 28, 2014 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

 

I was pleased to see the issue of a student board member discussed at this meeting.  The School Board administration compiled the policies of several school districts in Northern Kentucky that utilize student members.  The Board expressed interest in a policy proposal and a subcommittee was formed to begin this process.  Hopefully this will become an adopted policy.

 

The single action item of this meeting was the salary (or index) and classified category type (A or B) of the new administration position of Director – Buildings and Grounds.  It is baffling to me that a Board of Directors or Board of Education could vote to establish a new or upgraded position and not define the pay structure of that position until a later vote.  This position was upgraded from “Maintenance Supervisor” at our October meeting.  Now in a January meeting we finally address the issue of compensation and pension benefit.   Our school administration proposed that this position be moved from a category “B” classified position to a category “A” classified position.  These pay scales are posted on the district web site.  In order to find the salary of this position, take the correct position on the scale and multiply by the “index” or multiplier.  This multiplier accounts for increased days worked, responsibility, credentials, etc.  The current position is a classified category “B” scale multiplied by the current index of 2.19.  The district Financial Officer proposed moving the position to the classified “A” scale with a proposed “index” or multiplier of 1.56.  According to the Kentucky Teacher’s Retirement System office, this is allowed only if the position is redefined to require either (1) a teaching certificate or (2) a 4 year degree.  The other major provision of this switch is that the employee changes from the Kentucky Retirement System (KRS) to the Kentucky Teacher’s Retirement System (KTRS).  The KRS is the same system that applies to other public sector state and county employees.  KTRS applies to teachers and a small percentage of school employees in positions with the degree or teaching certificate requirement.  One benefit to the district of this switch is that the KTRS funding is carried more by the employee (12%) than KRS funding (0%).  Kentucky taxpayers pay about 14% of KTRS funding versus Pendleton County taxpayers (Pendleton County School District) paying about 19% of KRS funding.  The administration proposal emphasized this savings.  Based on what report you read, both state pension funds are estimated to be below 60% funding by the Commonwealth.

 

The bottom line boils down to a combination of process and dollars.  The process involves voting on a new position and its compensation in separate meetings.  I do not support this way of doing business.  It resembles driving a new car off the lot without reading the sticker price.  The dollars part of the argument is that this administration claims it needs about $60,000/yr to fill this position with the right person.  That salary is close to the top end of the current classified category “B” scale when multiplied by the index of 2.19 (in between years 21 and 22).  A similar dollar amount is near the bottom, or year three of the “A” scale when using the proposed multiplier of 1.56.  In my opinion, this change would be a nearly irreversible one.  It would be very difficult to downgrade the position with the current administration. It could be argued that this change costs another teacher (or part of one) in the classroom.  This extra expense doesn’t fall in the place that helps our current educational crisis.  For these two reasons, I voted against the proposal.  It passed 4-1.

 

December 19, 2013 Board Meeting: “No” to Mr. Strong’s Evaluation

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

Pendleton School Superintendent Mr. Anthony Strong’s evaluation was voted on during this board meeting.  I voted “no”   because my voice was not heard as part of this process.  This is important since I represent 1/5 of our county.

I also voted “No” to leasing two new Ford trucks.  I know that we needed to replace one of the trucks in the maintenance department because it was unreliable.  However, I voted “no” mainly because I feel it would be more cost effective to purchase a 1 or 2 year-old truck instead of leasing two new ones.

November 21, 2013 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

Our board voted to purchase a new reading series for NES and SES.  I believe this investment in our students will bring a great return in student success.  Students who are good readers will naturally do better in other academic areas.  I am excited about the purchase of these new books.

Mr. Strong gave us an update on what he found out about the adoption of the Epipens in our schools.  Thanks go out to Dr. Brian Schack for his willingness to work with our schools to make them available.

October 31, 2013 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

Pendleton County Schools Gifted and Talented Teacher Michele Lustenberg shared the many projects of her students in the areas of music, painting, history, and political science.  It was very apparent that she has spent countless hours on many of these projects.  As I listened to her speak that night, I could hear the passion for what she does.  It became very obvious to me why she was selected as a 2014 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Semifinalist by the Kentucky Department of Education and Ashland Oil, Inc.

Legislation was passed on June of 2013 that encourages schools to keep an epinephrine auto-injector in a minimum of two locations.  This epinephrine could be administered in the event that any student had a life-threatening allergic or anaphylactic reaction.  Representative Addia Wuchner sponsored the legislation.  I believe it is sound policy, and I am surprised this hasn’t been implemented in Kentucky before now.  Even though this legislation is not mandating schools to act on it, I think our district should follow it’s advice.  A student can develop a food allergy at any time.  Some of our students have two meals a day at the schools.  We need to be prepared in the event that a student develops that first allergic response during school hours.  We don’t want to wait until an EMT gets to our schools to get that lifesaving medication.  A five to ten minute response time can mean the difference in the survival of that child.  I encourage you to google Amarria Johnson and read about her tragic story.

October 17, 2013 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

The Unbridled Learning Test Results were presented tonight.  Our high school was the only school in the district to meet its goals.  Our board discussed steps needed to improve student performance and raise future test scores.  I offered a simple strategy to raise student performance:  Engaged parents plus happy teachers equals successful students.  The two most influential people in a student’s education are their parents and their teachers.  Our district needs to focus on strategies which get the parents engaged in the educational process.  I have had many conversations with teachers in our district, and they don’t feel valued.  One teacher shared with me that she has to spend her weekends writing out word by word what she says in her lesson plans.  I firmly believe that until our district starts actively engaging our parents and making our teachers feel valued we will never see an increase in student performance.

Security Vestibules were discussed at this meeting.  I ultimately ended up voting against it because these security vestibules will not keep guns out.  In fact, Sandy Hook Elementary had security vestibules, and the gunman was buzzed in.  While it gives the school front office control of entry at one doorway, I question their effectiveness at preventing a school shooting.  In my opinion, it gives schools a false sense of security.  My concern is that these security vestibules will simply be “Parent Control Stations” and control their entry into the building.  My goal is to engage the parents and make them partners in the educational process.  I strongly feel those educational dollars would be more wisely spent on counseling that could be directed at the prevention of violence.

September 19, 2013 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

Our district paid tribute to the following retirees: Janice Polley, Jo Craig, and Jimmy Gregg.  Thanks for all that you have done for the students in our district.  My sons had both Mrs. Polley and Mrs. Craig for teachers, and they were outstanding in every way.  They went beyond just teaching the students content, but they truly cared about each and every one of their students.   It is of my opinion that only when a student senses that a teacher truly cares can the real learning begin. 

August 29, 2013 Tax Hearing

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

A tax hearing was held on August 29, 2013.  I personally would not consider any number above the Compensating Rate.  The people in our community are struggling to make ends meet.  Plus, how can I justify taking more from our taxpayers when our board voted the previous week to pay for our Superintendent’s doctorate degree.  I want to thank community members for coming out and speaking at our tax hearing.  I realize it is difficult to get up and speak about something you feel passionate about.  However, until more people get involved, our schools and community will never be the best they can be.

August 22, 2013 Special Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

Upon the advisement of Pendleton County Board Attorney Don Ruberg, our board needed to revote on past business.  I don’t know if there is a legal precedence for this in any other districts. 

 I voted against our Superintendent R. Anthony Strong’s contract that will go into effect this coming July 2014 for many reasons.  First, his pay and compensation package would be a statistical outlier compared to districts of comparable student and budget size.  Secondly, I greatly believe in the democratic process, and when someone doesn’t believe and honor those same fundamental principles, I struggle with keeping that person in a position of leadership.

I also voted against paying for Mr. Strong’s doctoral degree.  As a board member, it is extremely important that I be fair to all the employees in the district.  Our teachers have to obtain a mandatory Master’s degree by their 10^th year of teaching.  We do not pay for teachers to obtain their Master’s degree.  Therefore, why are we paying for our Superintendent to get his doctorate degree, which is not necessary for his job?  If Mr. Anthony Strong’s skillset requires that we need to pay a higher than normal salary to retain his caliber of talent, why would we also pay for him to get his doctorate degree.  I couldn’t justify having it both ways.  The assumption is that he already has the skills necessary to do his job.  If our board wanted to be fair to all employees in the district, a more appropriate way to do this would be to offer a scholarship and allow everyone in our district to apply for it.    In Fort Thomas Schools, a small scholarship is awarded every year. 

August 15, 2013 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

Michele Crowley, who is our Chief Information Officer, presented information about the SpecTECHular PD Academy.  I was very impressed and hope to personally attend this training next year.  In fact, it was of the caliber that this training should be offered to surrounding counties.

July 24, 2013 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

We had our first reading on policies on tobacco usage in our district.  Having designated outside smoking areas is a step in the right direction.  Ideally, I would like Pendleton County’s schools, campuses, and all related school events to be 24/7 tobacco free.  There are several reasons I would like to see this become a reality.  First, Kentucky is one of the unhealthiest states in the country.  Kentucky ranks 48th in child obesity, with 37.1% of our children considered overweight or obese.  Couple this with high smoking rates in Kentucky, and we are setting our children up for a lifetime of health issues.  Kentucky spends a great deal of their current state budget funding these chronic health problems.  Money spent on these health problems would be better spent on the education of our students.  Recently, a mother in the district called me and told me that her daughter got several bladder infections this past year because she felt as if she couldn’t use the restrooms at the high school.  She would not go to the bathroom all day because she didn’t want to go into the restrooms and come out smelling like smoke.  In fact, several of my son’s buddies communicated this same concern.  This is sad because the lack of enforcement of our policies is affecting the health of our students.  My question is who is in control of the restrooms at our schools?  It isn’t the non-smoking students who follow the rules, because they can’t use the restroom without smelling like smoke.  It isn’t the school administration who turns a blind eye to it.  The people who are in control of the restrooms are the students who decide to break the rules and see no consequences. 

June 27, 2013 Board Meeting

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

Sorry to my voters.  I am catching up on writing about the second half of 2013.

During this board meeting, Ms. Pam Harper did a good job of presenting the TELL survey results.  The TELL Kentucky Survey assesses whether educators across the state report having the resources and supports necessary to facilitate effective teaching.  As school board members, our task is to use these findings to make informed decisions on school planning.  One area of concern is the percentage of educators that consider their class sizes reasonable to meet the needs of all students.  This percentage has decreased from 73.7% in 2011 to 41.9% in 2013.  This data is important because it impacts our district getting to Proficiency.  This is a quote from a letter I received from our Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday:  “When the results of the TELL Kentucky Working Conditions Survey reflect a high rate of teacher satisfaction with their working conditions, there is a high correlation to student achievement.”  I realize that we had to make drastic cuts these past few years to make us fiscally sound again.  However, we have to be careful adding positions that take another teacher out of the classroom.

Boone County Constable Joe Kalil presented the details of the POST (Protecting Our Students & Teachers) program.  This program is based on the very successful Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) Program, which the airline industry has used since 9/11.  After extensive background checks and training, selected teachers and/or administrators could carry a firearm on school property.  I know this sounds radical for some people.  Some people would even say that teachers should never be expected to protect our students in that way.  I had the same reaction when my husband (who is an airline pilot) came home after 9/11 and said pilots would be carrying firearms on the planes.  I initially thought it was nuts allowing pilots to carry firearms.  Twelve years later, more than 15,000 pilots have been trained, and we have not had another event like 9/11.  I honestly believe in this program and know that if this was implemented correctly, it could be another measure to protect our students.  The problem is that politics gets in the way of implementing this program.  This is sad because at the end of day, the people affected by the lack of implementation are our students.