Should Rock Hill School Board Cut Out National Board Pay?

The Rock Hill School Board will meet tonight (Monday, July 27, 2009) beginning at 6 pm in the School District Office. Primary items for discussion will be continuing National Board Pay (for newly certified) and the Superintendents annual evaluation (executive session). The agenda is as follows:

Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Monday, July 27, 2009
6:00 p.m. – District Office Board Room

A G E N D A

I. Call to Order Approval of Agenda
(Under consent agenda, all action items will be voted on after one motion and second to approve them without discussion. If a board member wants any action item discussed or voted on separately, the board member, before the agenda is approved, must ask that the action item be moved to the discussion item section.)

II. Citizen Participation

III. Executive Session - Personnel (Administrative Recommendations)

IV. Special Business

V. Consent Action Agenda
A. Approval of Minutes
1. June 22, 2009 business meeting
2. July 13, 2009 board retreat
B. Approval of Personnel Recommendations (23 new teachers)
C. Approval of Overnight Field Trip Requests (5)
D. District Corrective Action Plan (required by law)

VI. Communications

VII. Report of the Superintendent
A. Announcements
B. Summer School Report
C. WIA (Workforce Investment Act) Grant

VIII. Review of Board Retreat

IX. Action Agenda
A. National Board Supplement for New Applicants
B. Long Term Facility Use for Central Child Development Center Annex
C. Build America Board Resolution (To get reduced bond rates)
D. School Law Conference approval for Ann Reid

X. Other Business

XI. Executive Session - Personnel (Superintendent Evaluation)

Supplemental information on National Board Pay:

As a means of being able to determine an amount to budget for state National Board supplements, the state legislature voted to limit the number of $2500 loans that will be issued in a given fiscal year to 1,100. The purpose of this action was solely for budgeting purposes and not for the purpose of discouraging teachers to achieve NB status, especially since individuals who pay their own application fee and achieve NB certification can still
receive the state supplement. In the past, there was an unlimited number of loans available during a specific time frame, or "loan window," in which a teacher could apply, making an estimate of the amount to budget for supplements difficult to project. With this adjustment in the law, the state will include each year an additional $8,250,000 (plus fringe) for new National Board teachers to receive a $7,500 supplement.

Since 1999, this district has awarded National Board teachers an additional $3,000 supplement over what they received from the state. While it is difficult to project the number of new candidates in a given year, the district does have knowledge of existing candidates from year to year and can estimate an amount to include in the budget by looking at historical data. For instance, the number of National Board teachers has grown from 9 in
1999 to around 225 in 2008-09, with an average of 22 new teachers being added each year. Thus, the amount necessary to apply the local supplement has climbed from $32,400 (including fringe) in 1999 to around $810,000 (including fringe) in 2008-09.