MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
BENTON HARBOR AREA SCHOOLS
JULY 12, 2005

The July regular meeting of the Board of Education was called to order by President J. Allene Smith at 6:21 p.m. at the Benton Harbor High School, Student Commons Area.

Present:  Mrs. J. Allene Smith, Mr. Dan McGinnis, Dr. Perry Davis, Mr. Anthony Henry, Mr. Ken Woltman and Mrs. Carolyn Fort

Absent:  Mr. Robert Bowman

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Minutes
A motion was made by Mr. Woltman and supported by Mr. Henry that the Minutes of the work session of June 7, 2005 be approved as printed.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Mrs. Fort and supported by Mr. Henry that the Minutes of the special meeting of June 9, 2005 be approved as printed.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Dr. Davis and supported by Mr. Woltman that the Minutes of the regular meeting of June 14, 2005 be approved as printed.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Mrs. Fort and supported by Mr. Woltman that the Minutes of the public hearing of June 28, 2005 be approved as printed.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Mr. McGinnis and supported by Mr. Woltman that the Minutes of the special meeting of June 28, 2005 be approved as printed.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Vendor Payments
A motion was made by Mr. McGinnis and supported by Mr. Woltman that vendor payments in the amount of $2,213,146.80 be approved for payment.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Activity of the General Fund was reviewed and accepted as presented.

Central Administration
Staff Report #1
A motion was made by Mr. Woltman and supported by Mr. McGinnis:

THAT Board policies:

be hereby adopted as policies of the School District and that any previous policy as listed be hereby rescinded.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Staff Report #2
A motion was made by Mr. Woltman and supported by Mr. McGinnis:

THAT the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education approve the renewal of Marketing Partners, Inc., News Bureau and Publications Services Contract at a cost of $93,100.00, effective July 1, 2005 - May 1, 2006.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Staff Report #3
A motion was made by Mrs. Fort and supported by Mr. Woltman:

THAT the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education approve the Adult Education Cooperative Agreement Proposal between the Benton Harbor Area Schools and the Niles Community Schools for the 2005-2006 school year.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Staff Report #4
A motion was made by Dr. Davis and supported by Mr. Woltman:

THAT the Board of Education, Benton Harbor Area Schools, meet in closed session on the following dates:

Tuesday, July 12, 2005 before, during or following
the regular meeting of the Board of Education on
that date, and

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 before, during or following
the work session of the Board of Education on that date,

at the Benton Harbor High School, Student Commons Area, 870 Colfax Avenue, Benton Harbor, Michigan, in said District for the purpose of discussing with legal counsel litigations, negotiations and possible expulsions.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Operations/Facilities
Staff Report #5
A motion was made by Mr. Henry and supported by Dr. Davis:

THAT staff report #5 - Sale of District Property be tabled until the August Board of Education meeting.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Instruction
Staff Report #6
A motion was made by Mr. Woltman and supported by Mrs. Fort:

THAT the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education extends the software license agreement to Enthusiastic Software for the 2005-2006 school year at a cost of $12,500.00.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

As an informational item, teacher consultant Sondra Sheppard presented an update on the Reading First program via a PowerPoint presentation.  Reading First is a national effort for reading in grades K-3rd and is part of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.  The goal is to have all children reading by the 3rd grade aided by strategic initiatives.  The five essential components are 1) phonemic awareness, 2) phonics and word study, 3) fluency, 4) text comprehensive, and 5) vocabulary.  Targeted District elementary schools have been Calvin Britain, Fair Plain West, MLK, Morton, Sorter and Fair Plain Northeast.  The Reading First program uses Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), which identifies reading/literacy skills by using timed tests.  The funding cycle for the Reading First program is three years.

As an informational item, school volunteer leader Jean Sanders presented an update on the Freedom Program.  The Freedom Program is an after-school program, funded by a Safe and Drug Free Grant, which is designed to teach children violence prevention, anger management and conflict resolution skills.  Adult and high school students mentor children at three District sites that include Calvin Britain, Fair Plain West and Sorter Elementary Schools.  A 5-session parent component is also offered that helps parents to discipline their children without inducing violence.

Staff Report #7
A motion was made by Mr. Woltman and supported by Dr. Davis:

THAT the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education approve the Johns Hopkins University Talent Development High Schools Program Participation Agreement, effective July 15, 2005 through June 30, 2006, at a District cost of $49,500.00.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Human Resources/Labor Relations
Staff Report #8
A motion was made by Mr. Woltman and supported by Mrs. Fort:

THAT the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education accepts the resignation notices of Cathy Carrington, Alison Manley-Robinson, Christine McQuillan, Denise Santos and Rachel Thornson and that a letter is sent thanking them for their years of service to the students and the District.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Staff Report #9
A motion was made by Mr. Woltman and supported by Dr. Davis:

THAT the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education accepts the retirement notices of Robert Silver, Sally Schwyn, Nancy Ring and Robert Cuhran and that a letter is sent thanking them for their many years of service to the students and the District.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Staff Report #10
A motion was made by McGinnis and supported by Mr. Woltman:

THAT the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education gratefully acknowledges and accepts the following grants and donations to the District for the 2004-2005 school year.

The motion passed by unanimous vote.

Other
Trustee Smith displayed the statistics from the K-16 Coalition For Michigan’s Future rally that was recently held in Lansing. The K-16 Coalition For Michigan’s Future conducted a K-16 Rally on June 21, 2005, in Lansing, Michigan in support of HB 4582 and SB 246.  The K-16 Coalition for Michigan’s Future is a group of statewide education organizations working together to obtain full funding for public schools, community colleges and universities.

Superintendent's Update
The 2005 MEAP results for area high schools were published in the July 10th issue of The Herald-Palladium.  Benton Harbor High School was the lowest scoring school, which is why the high school is being restructured using the Johns Hopkins University Project Renaissance model.  The MI Tracker assessment system is also being utilized to align BHHS with state standards. 

Public Participation
Ms. Felicia Smith addressed the Board of Education questioning what is the new name for Fair Plain Middle School.

Ms. Lue Buchana addressed the Board of Education questioning who will be the 2005-2006 Principal of Fair Plain Middle School.

Board Comments
Trustees Davis and McGinnis gave thanks to Trustee Woltman for his past presidency and welcomed Trustee Smith as the newly elected Board President.

There being no further business, the July regular meeting of the Board of Education was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.