Live Blogging: Coverage of Decatur School System Board Meeting

Patch was in attendance at the City Schools of Decatur School Board's meeting Tuesday night to listen to public comments on buses, budget and Pre-K.

The meeting began at 6:30 pm. Here is Patch's live blogging coverage:

6:30 p.m. Meeting begins and Marc Wisniewski, board chair, requests a review of the school system's board parliamentary procedures.

6:31 p.m. Parliamentary procedures are reviewed and a process was discussed by which the board can potentially amend the agenda,

7:13 p.m. To summarize the last 40 minutes, two agenda items were added to amend the the one posted for Tuesday's meeting, based on Ahmann's request. Those two items are to direct the superintendent to investigate alternative solutions to busing transportation and compare the cost to DeKalb County School System, and depending on the comparison, potentially modify the contract. The second item added to the agenda is the bell schedules for Decatur High School and the Fifth Avenue Academy. The Board voted against adding action item from Ahmann directing the Superintendent to answer questions regarding the bell schedule. 

7:14 p.m. Rising Stars recognition for 20 leaders that went through the program.

7:29 p.m. Public comment section begins. 

7:30 p.m. Gloria Lee is first to comment and discusses her retirement from Glenwood Academy. She read a letter she sent to the board.

7:33 p.m. Parent asks for the board to hear earlier start time for Fifth Avenue Academy. 

7:34 p.m. Parent Lew Lefton had questions about the budget and mill increase. He also suggested that the school system look at new ways to engage the community because he did not see a petition for those in favor of the bell schedule change. "The community is looking for other ways to engage their opinions," he says.

7:38 p.m. Parent Garrett Goebel presents the electronic petition, which had 185 signatures. The petition gathered electronic feedback from parents who opposed the earlier start times, in particular for Decatur High, though anyone could oppose and comment.

7:40 p.m. Parent Allison Taylor asks for CSD to reconsider Pre-K salaries. "The Pre-K program is being touted throughout the state," she says. She talks about Gov. Deal shortening the year form 180 days to 160. She says teachers barely make more than $35,000 under the proposed budget. "That's not enough money to hold a teacher to a system, as much as they may love it they can’t stay. We've lost six teachers, though most were placed, if no all in the system. But it has left a hole." 

7:43 p.m. Emily Kandetzki provides comments on getting systematic input from as many families as possible, not just from those who have approached you in terms of the bell schedule and other issues. She says, "It’s easier to swallow a decision if you know that most other families will benefit, if that’s the case. Right now I don’t feel like we know. ... Given that we don’t know yet, to me the default is something close to Mr. Ahmann’s schedule. There are other ways to get information."

7:45 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. More comments from parents, both about mill increases and the bell schedules.

7:55 p.m. Melissa Williams provides comments about her child not assigned to an elementary school yet due to overcrowding in Oakhurst Elementary for kindergarteners. "The district is facing a problem with unexpected numbers. These extra kids are in Oakhurst. We will have this problem next year." She suggests rezoning again though for the immediate future, requests a trailer. 

8:00 p.m. Paul Jones provides comments on SPLOST IV.

8:05 p.m. Phyllis Edwards provides her own board comments, to include a summary of the past eight years and the growth and accomplishments of the system. Part of her comments included discussion about the reopening of Westchester as a possible "choice school." Discussed the SLT breakfast meeting and suggested there may be SLT members who could join a cabinet to handle important issues. "It's not just about us putting ot information, it's got to be more of a two-way street. But time gets in the way. We started bell schedule in March." Edwards also says she has no problem with researching other bus providers.

8:34 p.m. Time for the board comments. John Ahmann is first to comment.

8:35 p.m. Ahmann says he is out in the community asking questions because he plans to run for reelection for his board seat. He talked about transparency and engagement. He says  this comes out of the standards set by the school system. "We want to be one of the top 5 in the country. That good news is our kids are really smart." He acknowledges Edwards’ efforts but says, "it's only going to get tougher and harder as we get to the top." He discussed community engagement and the strategic plan. He says, "The state is likely not going to change its course for the next three years. ... If we maintain what we do, it's going to come out of our own pocketbook. Not the state."

8:41 p.m. Board member Valarie Wilson discussed salaries and the Pre-K program. She recalls when CSD began the program when many people didn't think it was needed and there was pushback to opening the Early Childhood Learning Center. "Now it’s a premier center in the state and people say it is a model." She also said the mill rate was much higher at that time, compared to what is being proposed now and what is in place now. She says under the old mill rate, "We had a school system we couldn’t afford." She even suggests the system may not be in existence right now because mills would have been off the charts. Referring to engagement, she asks that there be ways to measure it to see whether or not if the system is successful with an effort or not. 

8:49 to 9:00 p.m. Other board members comment about the need for more community engagement.

9:01 p.m. Wisniewski, board chair, says he's in agreement to the approach to better engagement and the proposal by Edwards to get a  cabinet going. He says SLT was a great "experiment," and it is a significant step in engaging the community in a very constructive way. He also requests that the school system look to find ways to get non parent citizens involved in the discussion. SLTs are a very important piece of dialogue, he says. "It’s new still and we don’t have a lot of it figured out, but it’s a really big step forward."

9:06 p.m. Consent items up and approved. I believe all were approved.

9:07 p.m. Time for action items. The school calendar is first up. The calendar is amended to declare the inclement weather days ahead of time to be respectful of families and employees.  Motion passes.

9:08 p.m. Other action items - the one on Policy IA was tabled.

9:10 p.m. Action item on substitute pay rates.

9:20 p.m. Action item on budget up for discussion. There was much discussion back and forth. Patch will fill in the gaps at a later time. 

9:46 p.m. The board approves the fiscal year 2012 final general fund budget of $41,782,453, special fund budget of $2,418,600, school nutrition fund budget of $1,242,652, and capital fund budget of $3,838,189. Motion carries with Ahmann dissenting.

9:47 p.m. SPLOST IV resolution action item is up and discussion begins (see supporting documentation for the latest updates). Motion carries and SPLOST IV resolution item carries.

9:51 p.m. Action item on Pre-K salaries and discussion begins. Ahmann says that reducing the investment in Pre-K is likely to cause fewer philanthropic fund donors down the road. Wisniewski says the opportunity to use camps as a way to bridge the gap for teacher pay is a "very creative way" to bridge the gap in salaries. Motion carries, Ahmann casts dissenting vote.

9:55 p.m. Action item, added earlier tonight, to amend the bell schedule for Decatur High School to 8:45 p.m. and Renfroe Middle School to 8:15 p.m., is now up for discussion. 

9:57 p.m. First to discuss this item is board member Bernadette Seals, who reminds everyone of her absence during the actual vote on this action item. She says that some people have asked her why she hasn't said anything on this item and it goes back to ethics training. "I was told that once a board makes a decision, you support that decision. I have to do my job ethically. I have to follow the rules," she says. She says that to her, it's more than teens needing more sleep. "Children are distracted because we provide them with too many electronics. They can’t go to sleep earlier." She adds that students need to be prepared for the workforce and the future. 

10:04 p.m. Ahmann says he expects to make decisions based on accurate information. "Those are my ethics," he says. 

10:05 p.m. Board member Julie Rhame said she feels she had the information needed to make a decision. But she does wish that when the reconfiguration was done that she knew this discussion would take place. She recognizes the school system operates on a lean budget but they are responsive to her requests. However, she does acknowledge that there needs to be more time to look at the costs of buses and to get input from everyone about the bell schedules in the future.

10:10 p.m. Board member Wilson says that her child, now in college in 8 a.m. classes, used to take part in athletics and have homework to do late at night. "We have to start helping the kids understand how they become adults. They've got to get up." However, beyond the petition that circulated, "let's really, really, really have a dialogue." 

10:21 p.m. Ahmann asks if there's any kind of research the system did that shows comparisons that if the bell schedule is one time, that it impacts extracurriculars a certain way.

10:24 p.m. Edwards answers by saying that she doesn't have data but that it can be obtained. 

10:28 p.m. Motion comes to the board for vote. Motion carries with Ahmann casting the dissenting vote and the previous bell schedule voted on in the May board meeting sticks.

10:29 p.m. Up next is the final action item, which was added earlier tonight on further discussion on investigating alternative solutions to busing transportation and comparing those costs to what is now being offered by DeKalb County School System, and dpending on the comparison, potentially modify the bus contract.

10:30 p.m. Wisniewski is first to chime in. He asks if the school system can get creative for transporting kids when they need to go more than a mile on the bus. He also says that the high and middle schools sit practically across from one another. "Let's look at that together."

10:32 p.m. More discussion on buses, costs, etc.

10:34 p.m. Everyone agrees for the need of more discussion on bus costs. The motion carries.

10:35 p.m. After a few more annoncements, the meeting is adjourned right around this time.