MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
BENTON HARBOR AREA SCHOOLS
SEPTEMBER 7, 2004

President Ken Woltman called the September work session of the Board of Education to order at 6:06 p.m. in the Benton Harbor High School, Student Commons Area.

Present:  Mr. Ken Woltman, Mrs. J. Allene Smith, Mr. Anthony A. Henry, Dr. Gladys Peeples-Burks, Mr. Robert L. Bowman and Mr. Dan McGinnis

Absent:  Dr. Perry Davis

Recognitions
Recognition and praise was given to Calvin Britain, Martindale and Fair Plain Northeast Elementary Schools for receiving a "Grade A" in Education Yes!  Principals and staff were present and received plaque of recognition for outstanding achievement.

A Welcome Reception is scheduled for 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 16, 2004 at the Benton Harbor High School, Student Commons for the new District administrators.

Recognition was given to Mrs. Spivey and the BHHS students for volunteering their time and talent in assisting with marching band camp.

Benton Harbor Police Officer Graves demonstrated "Petey the Patrol Car."  Petey an automated, voice activated car teaches safety issues to children in grades K-5.

Central Administration
Superintendent Dawning reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve District policy revisions.  A recommendation has been made by the Policy Committee to revise the following policies and to create a Student Discipline/Expulsion Committee.

Superintendent Dawning reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve a News Bureau and Publications Services contract with Marketing Partners, Inc.  The Benton Harbor Area Schools must maintain active communication with its publics to achieve the goals outlined in its five-year strategic plan.  Budget restraints preclude an internal public relations and communication function.  Outside assistance is needed, however, to continue regular publications to communicate with and inform various publics about the Benton Harbor Area Schools goals, vision and activities.  These communication vehicles are foundational to the strategic plan.  If BHAS is to prepare 100 percent of students for post-secondary education or careers, it needs the participation and support of employees, staff, parents and community leaders.  These publications are intended to further the essential initiative of internal culture change, partnership development and enrollment gain that will lead to that support.  Marketing Partners, Inc. will perform the functions of a news bureau dedicated to gathering and compiling news and feature story information, determining the best channels for specific stories and developing stories and media/publicity releases targeted to those channels.  The elements of the news bureau and publications program are: Vision: Employee Newsletter; Progress: Parent/Family Newspaper; Partners: Community Leader/Partner Newsletter and press releases or media advisories.  It is recommended that Option two at a cost of $93,100, be approved effective July 1, 2004 - May 1, 2005.

Superintendent Paula Dawning reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the readmission of students to school.  A petition has been made to the Board of Education for readmittance to school.  According to Board Policy JBG, the Petition Review Committee met and recommended that eight students be allowed to return as students in the Benton Harbor Area Schools.

Operations/Facilities
 Group Director for Operations and Facilities Stephen Mitchell reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the solid waste disposal contract.  Solicitations were made for the 2004-2005 school year for solid waste removal and two companies responded.  It is recommended that Best Way Disposal be awarded the contract for the 2004-2005 school year with two 1-year renewal options.  Best Way Disposal is the current provider and has done an adequate job for the District in the past.

Instruction
Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Virginia Maxwell reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the Lake Michigan College contract renewal for CISCO Networking.  The District has been contracting with Lake Michigan College to provide an instructor for the Web Design and Cisco Networking academy career/tech courses.

As an informational item, Principal Stephanie Rockette presented the 2004 Elementary Summer School Report.  Reading/Language Arts and the Everyday Math Program were the focus of K-5th Summer School Program that ran for 6 weeks from June 14 - July 21, 2004, at MLK Elementary School for 275 students.  Using the Benton Harbor Area Schools District Curriculum Standards, teachers integrated the five basic components of reading comprehension, reading fluency, phonemic awareness, phonics and writing into their daily instruction.  A variety of instructional methodologies were used in the classroom.  Teacher, student and computer presentations combined with hands-on materials and experiences, helped to actively engage students in learning.  The Gates McGinite Reading Test and The Everyday Math Program test on money, time, place value, measurement, statistics and data served as our evaluation and diagnostic instruments.  The data from the student assessments helped to provide specific grade level information that allowed us to service students according to their academic areas of need.  Approximately 168 summer school students participated in the after school 21st Century SOAR Program.  This program provided academic support in reading and math by helping students with their homework.   Tutors from Andrews University and the Grandparents Program worked as partners with school staff and students.

As an informational item, Principal Ruth Watson and Teacher Consultant Greg Rood presented the Middle School Summer Program Report Summer 04' - Rhythms of Life.  One hundred eighty six middle school students spent six weeks (June 14 - July 22, 2004) exploring the four core areas Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies through the "Inquiry Process" investigations, Selected Novel -"Double Dutch," Accelerated Reader, and the Arts.  One hundred forty five students completed the program and 615 books were read.  To qualify for promotion, middle school students must have demonstrated knowledge and competency base upon identified standards of achievement in the four core areas.  Students who had a "D or below" as a final grade in one or two core subjects were required to attend the Middle School Summer Program.  Students who failed three or four core courses were retained.  There was no charge for the Benton Harbor students attending the Middle School Summer Program, and transportation and meals were provided.

The High School Summer Report will be presented at the regular meeting.

Human Resources/Labor Relations
Assistant Superintendent Nora Jefferson reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve:

Consent
Board action will be requested at the regular meeting to accept the following donations/grants to the Benton Harbor Area Schools:

$415,970 Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Grant for Fair Plain Middle School, Hull Middle School, McCord Middle School and Fair Plain Northeast Elementary School

Superintendent's Update
The People Who Love Benton Harbor and the Hillside Improvement Block Club Association will hold their 4th annual citywide cleanup on Saturday, September 11, from 9:00 a.m. - noon.

The self-assessment component on the Education Yes! evaluation instrument is being scrutinized throughout Michigan, as there is a serious credibility gap.  Eighty-three percent of the schools not making AYP for four or more years grade themselves as "A."  The state will be conducting audits.

The student enrollment on the 1st day after Labor Day is 4,019 - almost 200 above the same time last year, but 800 below the forecast of 4,842 students.  Opening day 2003,  student enrollment was 2,768 and the 4th Wednesday count was 4,852 plus 118 pre-schoolers for a total of 4970.

The State has announced planning grants for up to 3 years for Charter Schools.  The District is seeking information to determine if this is an appropriate path for the District in the creation of an alternative school to address some behavioral issues and to re-attract students who have dropped out of school.  This is only a concept and the matter will need to be discussed with the Board of Education.

A recent announcement of an agreement between the Governor and the Legislative leaders is very misleading.  Schools have suffered through two years at the $6,700 student-funding rate while getting cut each year, and now they are trying to restore some Districts back to $6,700 and calling it an increase.  There are approximately $30 million in cuts to education by changing the blended count to 25/75, cutting ISD funding and cutting some of the hold harmless Districts.  It is important for Districts to contact legislators to let them know the difficult position schools are in and that this is a dishonest proposal by claiming an increase in funding.

A Consumer Forum is scheduled for Benton Harbor on Tuesday, September 28th at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall to learn about changes occurring in the electric, natural gas and telephone industries.

A Board of Education Retreat is scheduled for Saturday, September 11, 2004, in the conference room at Marketing Partners, Inc.

Public Participation
Mr. Dimitric Roseboro addressed the Board of Education seeking approval for a casual/relaxed attire day for students on Fridays, as a method of reward for uniform compliance.

Mr. Matthew Bradley addressed the Board of Education asking if students could be involved in the hiring process for staff and to develop an energy conservation fund.

Board Comments
Trustee McGinnis questioned if the District offers any student debate teams or chess teams as an extra curricular activity.

Trustee Bowman commended principals for student compliance with uniforms.

Trustee Peeples-Burks complimented the operations and facilities group for the schools looking great for opening day.

Trustee Henry commended the BHHS marching band students for their efforts in continuing with band camp and questioned if any student automotive classes were offered in the area.

Trustee Smith praised the students for being in compliance with uniforms and discussed an article in the Jackson Citizen Patriot newspaper that addresses student uniforms.

Trustee Woltman stated that relaxed dress for students on Fridays should not be automatically given, but something the students should earn each time.

There being no further business, the September work session was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.