By Deborah White
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The State Board of Education met on Wednesday, August 13th for the Committee of the Whole Meeting. Mary Sue Polleys was not in attendance. The Twelfth Congressional District Representative remains vacant. Committee meetings, reports from staff, and discussions on the FY 2009 Supplemental Budget and the FY 2010 Budget consumed the day. With a change in operating procedures, excellence awards were presented Wednesday afternoon rather than on Thursday morning. The highlights of the day are as follows:
Budget Committee
Chairman Larry Winter called the Budget Committee to order and announced Superintendent Cox would be arriving later in the meeting to discuss budgets and proposed cuts. During the meeting, the committee reviewed and discussed 14 contracts and grants proposed for action by State Department of Education staff and 8 items for information. State grants had been reduced by 10% due to budget cuts.
Superintendent Cox presented and explained the proposed cuts to be made by the State Department of Education in the FY 2009 Supplemental Budget and the 2010 Budget. With a projected $1.6 billion budget shortfall, Governor Perdue required all state agencies to cut 6 percent from their budgets. Cox emphasized that the recommendations were proposed and the budgets distributed were DRAFTS. The draft budgets included proposals for 6 percent, 8 percent and 10 percent cuts. Cox stated that a large portion of the cuts would be made in personnel costs by "freezing" open positions, restricting travel, and delaying some planned purchases. Chairman Winter pointed out that all “fat” was eliminated from local and state education budgets several years ago and that we are now trimming muscle.
The proposed 6% cuts to FY 2009 GaDOE programs ranged from 0% to 24.5% and some subprograms could lose all funding. Some of the programs listed in the cuts were - Academic Coach, 1.2M; Central Office Administration, 2.4M; Charter Schools, 460,000; Curriculum Development, 74,833; Dropout Prevention, 1.2M with 1M from Graduation Coaches; School Improvement 1M; Non-QBE Programs, 512,964; and Testing, 544,860. The proposed 6% cuts for FY 2010 included the programs listed for cuts in 2009 with some programs proposed to receiving even higher reductions than in 2009. Of interest, the 2010 Budget includes reducing the Classroom Supply Card by 5.7M. The $100 supply card would be reduced to $50.
When the Committee of the Whole convened, Scott Austensen and Superintendent Cox shared the information listed above with the full board. Mr. Winter commended Cox and the staff for their work and willingness to increase workloads due to the large cut in Central Office funding. Items discussed included the cuts to testing, academic coaches, graduation coaches, technology, and tuition for special education. The Academic Coach Program is scheduled to sunset in 2009 and many local systems are hiring full time coaches and subject specialists with local funds. These cuts may not have a major impact on local districts. If there are cuts to the Graduation Coach Program, the cuts would not apply to high school coaches and not all middle school coaches would be eliminated. Middle school coaches could be earned based on the graduation rate of the high school that the majority of the middle school students will attend. The high school's graduation rate would be compared to the state average and middle school coaches earned based on need.
Although Austensen referred to the memo sent to superintendents concerning required reductions to state funding for K-12 programs including, Equalization, Transportation, QBE Programs, and other programs, there was no noteworthy discussion. However, Superintendent Cox clearly and openly stated that any cuts to K-12 would result in a cut to Tuition for Multi-handicapped and that the necessity for these students to leave public education is ludicrous. There was at least one reference to holding private schools to the AYP measures applied to K-12 schools and publishing the results to better inform parents and the public.
Charter Committee
The Charter Schools Committee discussed charter petitions, renewals, grants, potential charter petitions, and heard reports from staff. The committee discussed appointments to the Charter School Commission. Several meetings have been held to solicit input and recommendations may be made by the end of August and submitted to the SBOE in September. A draft of Charter School Rule 160-4-9-.04 has been sent to stakeholders for comments.
Rules Committee
The Rules Committee reviewed and discussed rules to be considered for action by the full board including: Initiating an amendment to Rule 160-4-5-.03 governing Supplemental Educational Services; Initiation of Rule 160-5-1.33 School District Contracts for Flexibility and Accountability to Improve Student Achievement pursuant to O.C.G.A. 20-2-84-.6 (The provisions for flexibility were established by the passing of HB 1209 during the 2008 legislative session.); Re-Initiation of Rule 160-5-4-.15 Processes of Plans and Specifications for Public School Construction; Private schools approved for Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program (Senate Bill 10); and Grade 6-8 Competitive Interscholastic Activities Waiver for Henry County.
Jennifer Rippner, Executive Director Governor's Office of Student Achievement, addressed Rule 160-5-1-.33; GOSA supports flexibility with accountability and stressed the importance of seeking input on the rule during the initiation. Headmistress Owens from Owens Academy addressed the committee concerning Owens Academy not being on the approved list for special needs scholarship. The Committee received a federal legislative update from GaDOE staff. Congress is currently out for the August recess. Several urban school leaders and mayors, including Atlanta, asked Congress to reauthorize NCLB and increase accountability; the group also requested national academic-content standards and experiments for paying teachers based on student achievement.
Items for Information
In September, the State Board of Education will be asked to
- authorize the Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) to award grants to nine grantees at a cost not to exceed $1,679,651 in Federal Funds for FY 2009.
- award a grant to 28 school districts at a cost not to exceed $770,000 in Federal funds for Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program continuation grants.
- authorize the State Superintendent of Schools to receive $300,000.00 in federal funds for research and activities related to the development of an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards and distribute $262,174.17 to the named organizations and consultants in the grant proposal.
- enter into a contract with MetaMetrics, Inc. at a cost not to exceed $206,370.00 in State funds for 2008-2009.
- enter into a contract with The Board of Regents (BOR) at a cost not to exceed $182,500.00 in State funds for the purpose of continuing to provide access to GALILEO to the K-12 community, GaDOE employees, state and charter schools.
- approve charter amendments for Brighten Academy, a K - 6 start up charter school located in Douglas County.
- approve charter amendments for Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School, a PreK - 5 start up charter school located in Chatham County.
- approve a charter amendment for New Life Academy of Excellence, a K-3 start up located in Gwinnett County.
- approve the 2008 State Recommended Learning Resources for K-8 /English Language Arts/Reading, Secondary Mathematics III & IV, and Accelerated Mathematics II & III.
Operations Committee
The Operations Committee heard recommendations on agenda items from each committee.
The Committee of the Whole reviewed items recommended for action by the standing committees and moved items to the consent agenda for the Thursday meeting. A lengthy discussion on the 2009 Supplemental Budget and 2010 Budget was held (reported under Budget Committee).
Excellence Recognition
The following students were recognized for outstanding achievement in academics and/or extracurricular achievement:
Awards of Excellence
- Margaret Elizabeth Appel, Starrs Mill High School, Fayette County
- Andrew Jacob Smith, Rockdale County High School, Rockdale County
- Akeem Elijah Hill, Tri-Cities High School, Fulton County
- Maria Teresa Laucella , Sequoyah High School, Cherokee County
- Bianca Belen Thurman, Murray County High School, Murray County
- Shiloh Vander Hyden, Forsyth Central High School, Forsyth County
- Andrew(Drew) August Hohenstein, Chapel Hill High School, Douglas County
The Georgia Association for Gifted Children (GAGC) Awards 2008
- Mary Jo Malowney, Summit Hill Elementary, Fulton County-Teacher of the Year Award
- Andrew (Drew) Belflower, Bleckley Elementary, Bleckley Co.- Nicholas Green Award
- James and Gail Yawn, Warner Robins High, Houston County-Parents of the Year Award
- Will Schofield, Superintendent Hall County Schools-Leadership Award
- Advocates for Gifted &Talented Learners of Habersham Co.-Chapter of the Year Award
- Dr. Thomas Hebert, University of Georgia-Mary Frasier Equity and Excellence Award
Superintendent's Report
Bill Cranshaw shared the process used for the social studies revisions. The high failure rate on the social studies CRCT raised questions about the alignment of the tests and standards. A revision team was formed to review public comments in July. The team discussed concerns of teachers, administrators, and the general public and made recommendations. They met in August to develop recommended curricula in Social Studies to be approved. Changes included removal of some standards and the redundancy of items and content. Training will be provided and input will be sought throughout the year.
Superintendent Cox reported more than two-thirds of Georgia's public schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2008, even as the bar was raised across the board. She also announced that the state's preliminary graduation rate for 2008 is 74.4 percent - up more than two points from last year. This two point increase represents 6,000 more students that graduated on time with a full diploma in 2008. The percentage of students meeting proficiency in mathematics in the elementary grades dropped. The increase in the AMOs and rigor with the GPS mathematics implementation contributed to the decline. This fall, the AYP report will be updated, as well, to account for summer graduates and summer retest results for students in grades 3, 5 and 8. About 69 percent of all schools made AYP, including 76 percent of elementary schools. About 65 percent of middle schools and 48 percent of high schools made AYP in 2008. There are 340 schools in Georgia that are in Needs Improvement status; 37 schools made AYP for the second consecutive year and came out of Needs Improvement status-including six that had been in NI status for five or more years. Nine contract-monitored schools made AYP; 31 schools have made AYP for 10 consecutive years; and 34 systems had 100% of their schools make AYP.
The Committee of the Whole concluded the day by participating in a discussion of the strategic plan and goals. Diane Bradford and Joe Parlier reviewed the Differentiated Accountability process and how services will be provided to NI schools. Improvement Status, NI1 and NI2 schools, RESAs and school improvement specialist will coordinate services. Corrective Action Status, NI3 and NI4 schools, school improvement specialist will provide and coordinate services based on level of need. State Directed Status, NI5 and above schools, school will receive full time support through State Director and school improvement specialist - a contract with 10 non-negotiable items will be required.
At the end of a very long day, the Committee of the Whole concluded at 5:30 with less than a quorum.
Thursday, August 14
After an extended executive session, Chair Wanda Barrs called the State Board of Education's regular monthly meeting to order at 10:30. The inspirational message was provided by Brad Bryant, State Board Member from the Fourth Congressional District, and his daughter, Katherine, who has just concluded a year of teaching in India. Bryant led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The board approved the consent agenda including the minutes of the July 10, 2008 State Board Meeting. Receiving unanimous approval as part of the consent agenda were the following:
- To enter into a contract with Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) at a cost not to exceed $51,750.00 in State funds for training and equipping local school boards with technology tools to increase board effectiveness and improve data-driven decision making
- To extend the contract at no additional cost with the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) to September 1, 2008. Services include: GSBA eBoard; ePolicy; eLaw; eAdvocacy; and eBoardsmanship for five systems.
- To enter into a contract with 13 Educational Technology Training Centers (ETTCs) at a cost not to exceed $3,670,125 in State/Federal funds for the purpose of improving and continuing to develop/implement instructional technology to support student achievement and professional learning.
- To award 18 grants at a cost not to exceed $9,831,926 in Federal Funds for Title IV, Part B - 21st CCLC continuation grants.
There were two items for action related to the 21st CCLC program. One item approved funding for continuation of grants. A separate action item approved a new cohort of grant recipients.A total of 18 continuation grants--13 awarded initial funding in 2004-2005 and five awarded initial funding in 2007-2008 were approved. Initial funding for these grantees was awarded for five years. The 2004-2005 grantees will end their fifth and final year of funding with this action. The 2007-2008 grantees will receive their second year of funding with this action. The recommended funding amount was reduced to comply with the legislative sliding scale requiring matching fund.
- To award 37 grants at a cost not to exceed $11,709,137 in Federal funds for Title IV, Part B - 21st Century Community Learning Centers new grant cycle.
This item approved funding for 5 community-based programs and 32 school/district for a total of 37 new grant recipients (Cohort III). The Youth Vision, Industry, Business and Empowerment, Inc., was removed from the list until required information is received. Grant awards ranged from $50,000 - $350,000. Approved recipients are eligible for funding for two additional years (2009-2010 and 2010-2011) contingent on continued funding by the U.S. Department of Education and evidence of program progress.
- To award a grant to 10 school systems at a cost not to exceed $472,191.43 in State funds for schools to employ academic coaches. The systems are:
- Susie Dasher ES, Dublin City - Reading/ELA
- Langston Chapel MS, Bulloch County - Math
- Marietta 6th Grade Academy, Marietta City - Reading/ElA
- Berrien MS, Berrien County - Math
- Veterans Memorial MS, Newton County - Math
- Metter MS, Candler County - Math
- Banks MS, Banks County - Reading/ELA
- Taylor Street MS, Griffin-Spalding County - Reading/ELA
- Sweetwater MS, Gwinnett County - Reading/ELA
- Clifton Ridge MS, Jones County - Math/Science
- To enter into a contract with Georgia educators and related business and industry stakeholders at a cost not to exceed $179,250.00 in Federal funds for CTAE Curriculum Revision and Development in both middle and high schools.
- To enter into a contract with up to 12 complaint investigators at a cost not to exceed $80,000.00 in Federal funds for services of complaint investigators for special education. Investigators will be paid based on the number and complexity of the issues not on an hourly rate.5
- To increase the contract with the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs, Inc. by $574,984.00 for a total contract amount of $705,662.00. The purpose of the contract is to provide access to interscholastic athletics for students with disabilities.
- To award a grant to school systems and Regional Educational Service Agencies serving as fiscal agents for Georgia Learning Resource System (GLRS) Centers at a cost not to exceed $1,089,557.00 in Federal funds for developing and delivering professional learning courses and providing follow-up assistance and coaching for educators and parents to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities.
- To extend the existing contract with Georgia Public Broadcasting to November 28, 2008; this is a no cost contract extension.
The purpose of this item is to extend the existing contract with Georgia Public Broadcasting to produce and edit GPS videos in the content areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and English Language Arts. It allows more time to edit videos from all content areas. It allows GaDOE and GPB officials time to update to recent technology for video/audio streaming which will allow systems to have access in either Windows and/or Mac operating systems.
- To award a grant to LEAs at a cost not to exceed $5,511,740.00 in Federal funds for No Child Left Behind Programs for FY2009. Grant funds were awarded based on the per-pupil expenditure for education and the number of migratory children in Georgia.
- To award a grant to LEAs at a cost not to exceed $15,158,130.00 in Federal funds for No Child Left Behind Programs for FY2009. Grant funds were awarded on the number of limited English proficient (LEP) and immigrant children in Georgia.
- To award a grant to LEAs at a cost not to exceed $5,919,783.00 in Federal funds for No Child Left Behind Programs for FY2009. Grant funds were awarded on the basis of total formula counts provided by the U.S. Department of Education and Title I A distribution from the previous year.
- To deny charter status for E.W. Oliver Math & Science Charter—a proposed PreK-5 conversion charter school to be located in Clayton County. The petition was approved by the Clayton County Board of Education on October 1, 2007, for a 5-year term, from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2013.
- To deny renewal of charter status for Taliaferro County Charter School.
- To award a grant to the following fourteen schools at a cost not to exceed $65,000 in State funds for Charter Schools Program Planning Grant (each grant $5,000).
- DeKalb Preparatory Academy, K-8, DeKalb County, Start-up
- Math and Science Preparatory Academy, K-8, Fulton County, Start-up
- Global Outreach Academy, K-8, Forsyth County, Start-up
Heron Bay Academy, K-8, Henry County, Start-up
- Putnam County School System, K-12, Putnam County Schools, Charter System
- The English, Spanish, and Literacy Institute, K-12, Richmond County, Start-up
- Catoosa Academy Charter School, 8-12, Catoosa County, Start-up
- Sandy Springs Middle School, 6-8, Fulton County, Conversion, Martin
- Elementary School, K-5, Hall County, Conversion
- Sardis Elementary School, K-5, Hall County, Conversion
- High Achiever's Academy, K-12, DeKalb County, Start-up)
- The CHAD Charter High School, 9-12, Clayton County, Start-up
- Oconee Science Academy, K-12, Oconee County, Start-up)
- To approve 22 private schools for the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program for the 2008-2009 school year.
Under Senate Bill 10, state law (20-2-2115) requires the State Board of Education to approve a list of private schools that will be eligible to take part in the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program each school year.
- To approve, for school year 2008-2009, the request of Henry County Schools to waive SBOE rule 160-5-1-.19 GRADES 6-8: Competitive Interscholastic Activities, part (3)(c)3.(iv) so as to allow the school system to exceed the four game limit per tournament.
- To approve the revisions to the Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies in grades 3-5 and 8-12.
- To approve the revisions to the Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies in grades 6 and 7.
Items receiving unanimous approval that were not on the consent agenda:
To initiate an amendment to Rule 160-4-5-.03 Supplemental Educational Services.
To initiate Rule 160-5-1-.33 School District Contracts for Flexibility and Accountability to Improve Student Achievement.
- House Bill 1209 was passed during the 2008 legislative session. The provisions of HB1209 provide that a local school system may request increased flexibility from certain state laws, rules, and regulations in exchange for increased accountability and defined consequences through a contract with the State Board of Education. This rule provides the broad framework and procedures under which this contract program will operate.
To re-initiate an amendment to Rule 160-5-4-.15 Processing of Plans and Specifications for Public School Construction.
- The revisions address changes in O.C.G.A. 36-91-20. The proposed revisions to the rule include (1) adding new definitions to the rule, (2) adding new construction delivery methods to the rule to be consistent with the Public Works Law, and (3) clarifying that the selection process can not restrict competition regardless of the construction delivery method used. Based upon public comments (1) the definition of construction manager and general contractor were more clearly defined, (2) a sentence was added to state that the rule does not apply as exempted by O.C.G.A. 36-91-22, and (3) the proposed requirement for the DOE to approve the Request for Proposal for a public works project was removed and replaced with a requirement for assurance to the DOE that local legal counsel has reviewed the Request for Proposal before being advertised.
The board members recognized Stuart Bennett for his work and presented him with a token of their appreciation for his service. Stuart is retiring as Chief Deputy School Superintendent and will assume the position of GAEL Executive Director in September.
Meeting adjourned at 11:10.
This report is for information only and is not intended as an official record of actions of the State Board of Education.
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