Rock Hill Schools March Work Session Notes

The Rock Hill School Board met at the District Operations Center (Soon to be the Facilities Services Center) on Monday, March 14, 2010 for the regularly scheduled March Work Session. These are my notes:

• Board was given a demonstration of the energy management system and a tour of the facilities, including an area that Applied Technology students are using for their class on managing inventories.
• Heard a report on the number of volunteers and the volunteer programs which are currently very successful. Dr. Kokolis suggested that Richmond Drive had a good volunteer link on their web site. If people are interested in volunteering, they should contact a school principal or check the schools web site for opportunities.
• The administration reported they would be investigating  two items from the Superintendent's Positive Deviant Team and dropping one. (Teacher evaluations and grouping by skills will get further review while a boarding school will be put on hold).
• The board got an update on this year's capital  spending and on the work going on with developing the 5-year facilities master plan (which the board had requested). In the near future, the board will have to discuss the desired size for our elementary schools. (neighboring districts have between 850 and 2,000 while Rock Hill's is between 300 and 700. This makes the Rock Hill elementary education more expensive than our neighboring districts)
• The Board was informed of a possible trial at Ebenezer Elementary School for next year. A group of Ebenezer parents had suggested that adding a 6th grade would be beneficial over going to a big middle school. There are currently 56 students in the 5th grade at Ebenezer and if at least 22 decide to stay - a 6th grade class would be added. The school hopes to add some leadership components, and if successful, they will work through the  choice school committee to become a school of choice for the 2012-13 school year. The administration is still working on  potential costs associated with the trial and/or choice options for the future.
• The Board heard a report on steps that have been taken to comply with last years Evergreen Consultant report on reducing the cost for maintenance and housekeeping (without reducing services). However, one Evergreen recommendation has not been implemented. School Athletic Directors agreed to take over maintenance of the their school's athletic fields instead of hiring contractors to perform the work.
• Dr. Moody reported the administration was developing an informational survey about the budget and it would be on the web site soon.
• Next year's calendar was discussed. There still may be some changes before being presented to the board at the March Business Meeting.