President Carolyn Graves called the November work session of the Board of Education to order at 6:04 p.m. at the Benton Harbor High School Student Commons Area.

Present: Mr. Dwight P. Mitchell, Mrs. J. Allene Smith, Dr. Gladys Peeples-Burks, Mr. Ken Woltman and Ms. Carolyn Graves

Absent: Mrs. Annie Robinson and Ms. Michelle Jones

Communications
Superintendent Williams stated that an expression of appreciation has been received from Trustee Annie Robinson for the flowers sent to her during her recent hospital stay.

Central Administration
Superintendent Renee Williams reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the District's participation in the Headlee Amendment litigation which is about to be filed against the State of Michigan. A recommendation has been received from Dennis R. Pollard of Pollard & Albertson, P.C., that it is in the District's best interest to proceed with its underfunding claims in the Michigan Court of Appeals against the State of Michigan and its relevant departments and agencies in conjunction with numerous other school districts in Michigan for the underfunding of special education services and other services which is occurring.

Superintendent Williams reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the revisions of District policies BC - School Board Meetings and GAE - Complaints and Grievances.

Operations/Facilities
Group Director for Operations and Facilities Stephen Mitchell reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve a real estate option agreement on approximately 138 acres of land in Benton Township and instruct the Superintendent to execute the contract as submitted by the District's legal counsel.

Mr. Mitchell reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to approve the renewal of a snowplowing contract with Don Meeks Construction for the 2000-2001-snow removal season.

Instruction
As an informational item, Health Services Coordinator Lottie Pugh presented the Hepatitis B Immunization Project. A large pharmaceutical company has provided a grant to BHAS to provide Hepatitis B immunizations for 800 7^th and 8^th grade students. The immunization is free to the students and $40 for any adult. The Hepatitis B immunization consists of a series of 3 shots over a 6-month period.

As an informational item, the Director of Curriculum Carolyn Jones and District Teacher Math Consultants Betty Bowman and Patricia Walton presented the Standards-Based Mathematics Overview/Michigan Middle School Mathematics Reform project (M3RP). The Michigan Department of Education has adopted a core curriculum in language arts, science, social studies and math. Recently, there have been state changes in the math alignment, which will be presented to BHAS students in the year 2002. BHAS has implemented the math reform at the beginning of the 1999/2000 school year. Students are being taught using expanded vocabulary, written descriptors and problem solving to best be prepared for the math reform. Two determining factors for math reform success in BHAS are the teachers' instructional deliverance being geared towards different learning styles and their classroom management. The elementary math committee will be selecting new math textbooks that are state endorsed. Unit books are considered non-consumable textbooks that are versatile for grade use.

Assistant Superintendent Richard Garrison reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to accept and acknowledge generous grants from community partners to expand the HOSTS (Help One Student To Succeed) program. For the past two and a half years, the District has operated a HOSTS Reading Learning Center at Fair Plain East Elementary School. Based upon the success of the Fair Plain East program, the District chose to expand the HOSTS concept to two additional elementary schools with the expectation of improving fourth grade MEAP reading scores. In order to begin our two new programs at Sorter and Fair Plain Northeast Elementary Schools, the District was required to pay $65,800 in licensing fees to the HOSTS Corporation. The Community Partnership for Lifelong Learning, a division of Cornerstone Alliance, applied for a $15,000 grant on our behalf from United Way of Southwestern Michigan. The balance of $50,800 was awarded to BHAS from the Whirlpool Foundation as a result of a grant application.

Mr. Richard Garrison reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to accept and acknowledge a donation to the Inner City Sail Club. Mr. Lawrence Dalson has donated a 1979 28 ft. Catamaran Sailboat with a 1998 twenty-five hp Mercury outboard motor and a tandem wheel trailer valued at $17,600.

Mr. Garrison reported that Board action would be requested at the regular meeting to accept and acknowledge a grant to The DaVinci Players from The Berrien Community Foundation to be used for equipment acquisition.

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

• Professional Teaching Staff Resigning
• Recommendation for Third Year Probation
• Recommendation for Tenure
• Other

Other
Trustee Smith requested that the extension of the Superintendent's contract be added to the regular Board meeting agenda.

Superintendent's Update
Superintendent Williams gave praise and recognition to the District curriculum department for their math reform project update and implementation.

The Benton Harbor Area Schools is in need of creative and innovative ways to promote District happenings and updates to the community, as not to rely heavily on local radio stations.

Superintendent Williams and Lottie Pugh, Coordinator of Health Services, will be attending a kick-off promoting the Community Early Childhood Nurse Home Visitation Program designed to address the significant teen pregnancy problem that persists in the City of Benton Harbor and other Berrien County communities.

Public Participation
Mr. Anthony Henry addressed the Board of Education and questioned if Trustees were aware that the BHHS cheerleading squad won first place in a summer competition but were unable to attend the national finals due to the lack of funding. Mr. Henry also questioned the academic programs available at the Career/Tech Center.

BHHS student Michael Blanks addressed the Board of Education and read a "why" letter that he had written, which questioned BHHS building conditions, and teaching staff dispositions and work ethics.

Board Comments
Trustee Mitchell gave praise to the curriculum staff for their math reform presentation. Mr. Mitchell also requested a copy of the District financial budget and questioned how many computers and computer classes are available to staff and students.

Trustee Woltman expressed concerns regarding the failure to send the BHHS cheerleading squad to attend a national competition event and the lack of community representation at School Board meetings. Mr. Woltman also suggested that the District create a website for the promotion of BHAS using each building's newsletter. He also questioned the repeated absence of Trustee Jones and asked if any Board policies regulate attendance. Attorney Gavin stated that an elected official could only be removed from office by a public recall.

Trustee Dr. Peeples-Burks discussed her attendance in classrooms where she addressed student concerns and also commented that there are students returning to the District from the Benton Harbor Charter School.

Trustee Smith stated that at a recent technology committee meeting Mr. Robert Farmer, Group Director for Informational Technologies, gave a presentation that would answer Trustee Mitchell's concerns.

There being no further business, the November work session was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.