By David Stephens HOMETOWN NEWS Following a musical performance of tunes from “The Lion King” by the Chesnee High School Honor Chorus, the District Two School Board of Trustees met in monthly session on April 8 with eight trustees and Superintendent Scott Mercer in attendance. Special guest South Carolina House Representative from District 38, Bob Walker, spoke and updated the board about some current education legislature under consideration by the General Assembly. Representative Walker also personally commended the District Two School Board and all district schools for the continuing outstanding job they are doing in educating the area’s children. District Two Director of Personnel, Dr. Kristi Woodall, was also singled out for the many contributions and leadership she is providing as the Vice Chair of the Education Oversight Committee. Rep. Walker said, “It is vitally important for educators to let your legislators know how you feel and what you need. Your voice is heard.” One area that Walker singled out was the PACT test. He said that the testing “cannot go away because of the accountability tied to it and the No Child Left Behind Act,” but that several changes have been made to improve the test and how students, teachers, and parents can use the results to see where improvement is needed. The bill is going through the State Senate at this time. Speaking of the new budget, Rep. Walker said that 50 million dollars had already been sliced from it, but the budget control board has recommended that another 40 million be cut. Walker said that those deeper cuts “may affect salary increases, but did not know how that would affect school teachers.” On the subject of school consolidation, Rep. Walker stated that as long as he had any control “consolidation is any form is not going to come out of committee.” He voiced the belief that schools are better run by local control rather than mandated from Columbia. Walker also stated that the public school choice bill “is not going forward at this time.” Lastly, Rep. Walker gave Superintendent Scott Mercer certificates from the state and his office to be given to the district’s spelling bee winners who had been previously announced. In regular board business, Director of Public Relations, Rhonda Henderson, presented certificates to teachers who have been selected to attend the Roper Mountain Science Institute this summer. Those teachers were Lauren Henderson and Fran McAllister of Chesnee Elementary, Tara Goff from Boiling Springs Junior High, and Lynnell Lawson from Hendrix Elementary. Next Dr. Quincie Moore, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services, updated the trustees on several items. She said that six District Two schools were being recognized by the Educational Oversight Committee for closing the achievement gap in the schools based upon economic, racial, and ethnic categories. Moore said that foreign language teachers from district schools had been working on an assessment of that teaching program and were evaluating the results to see where improvement can be made. She said the Strategic Plan and Guide for guidance counselors and career development facilitators (CDF) was progressing as well. Moore further informed the board that approximately 200 teachers had recently attended a seminar at Swofford Career Center pertaining to Cognitive Compatible Classrooms (CCC.) The training is aimed at making classrooms more conducive to learning. Dr. Moore stated that the technology committee was continuing to work on district goals and objectives for the future of technology use in the schools. She also said that there had been a recent meeting of fine arts teachers from district schools to make them aware of grant opportunities that the district may pursue for the fine arts. The teachers are working on a needs assessment to help guide the process of grant applications. In conclusion, Moore asked for received board approval to apply for several yearly and routine grants. Director of Student Services, John King, followed with an update of construction projects in the district. He stated that “The new Chesnee Elementary School project is on time and that it may be turned over to the district at the end of April.” King said the classroom additions at both Chesnee Middle School and Carlisle-Foster’s Grove Elementary were on schedule. King informed the board that there was some preliminary price inquiries going on to evaluate a project to air condition the ninth grade campus auditorium. He said there were sometimes some, “Pretty big events there and the warm weather does make it uncomfortable.” Next King said the renovation work on the Boiling Springs High School track was “about to go out for bids” and that planning on the auxiliary gymnasium was “a work in progress.” King said that the Chesnee High School auditorium plan was at the state review level now. He said the new practice field had grass planted and the irrigation system was in place and they were just waiting for the grass to grow. He also stated that the newly constructed restrooms at the girl’s softball field were in use with only some painting left to be completed. Lastly, King asked for and received approval for three student releases to other districts where parents worked. Dr. Kristi Woodall, Director of Personnel presented routine information on classified and certified resignations. Woodall also received board approval for several certified appointments. Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, Wayne Chamblee, provided trustees with copies of the March 2008 financial statement as well as copies of the 2008/2009 budget. Chamblee stated that the budget was based on the State House version of the state budget, but he did not see any cutbacks that would affect the general fund. Chamblee also informed the trustees of a company that has been hired to handle collection of checks given to district school cafeterias that were returned for “non sufficient funds.” He said that the task of collecting on those checks was becoming overly burdensome for school employees and that the company hired has been used successfully by another district. Chamblee stated that the company has a division that works specifically with schools and that they have a low-key approach to collections of this nature. Chamblee also received approval for a 2.46 million dollar bond issuance in June to complete the Chesnee Elementary School project. Rhonda Henderson, Director of Public Relations, informed trustees that Chesnee High School and Boiling Springs High School graduation ceremonies would be on May 30, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. respectively. She stated that transportation to those events would be available for trustees from the district. An alternative graduation site will be Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in case of inclement weather. Superintendent Scott Mercer concluded the agenda by showing the trustees a draft of the 2009 - 2010 school academic calendar he is going to present to district superintendents for their adoption consideration. Dr. Mercer then echoed Representative Walker’s earlier comments regarding educators letting their voice be heard. Mercer said it was important for teachers to keep their needs known to the legislature. With regular business concluded the board adjourned at 8:17 p.m. The next scheduled meeting is May 13, 2008, at 7:00 p.m.