MEETING MINUTES
SCHOOL BOARD OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY
September 23 2014-9:00 AM

A. Call to Order and Roll Call
The School Board of Santa Rosa County met in regular session at 9:00 a.m. with the following members present:  Dr. Diane Scott, Chairman, Mr. Hugh Winkles, Vice-Chairman, Mrs. Diane Coleman, Mrs. Jennifer Granse and Mr. Scott Peden.  Also present was Timothy S. Wyrosdick, Superintendent of Schools and Secretary and Paul R. Green, Board Attorney.
B.Pledge of Allegiance
The Chairman called the meeting to order and asked Mr. Gunter to lead us in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
C.Approval of Minutes
1.Approve Sept. 11, 2014 School Board Meeting Minutes
Motion to Approve was moved by Scott Peden, Seconded by Jenny Granse. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

D.Oral Written Communications
None
E.Recognitions/Resolutions/Proclamations
1.Stan Nichols, Tax Collector - Tag Art
Mr. Stan Nichols, Santa Rosa Tax Collector explained that Kids Tag Art developed in conjunction with the Santa Rosa public schools to raise funds for the art classrooms.  5th grade art classes created unique art designs to be used on tags and made available to be purchased by parents.   Mr. Nichols presented the School Board with checks in the amount of $11,980.  He thanked the sponsors of this program, Gibson and Jarvis, PA., Baptist Health Care, Winkles Pharmacy, Wal-Mart, Culpepper Printing, Eric Cabaniss State Farm Insurance, Hixardt Technologies, Douglass Screen Printing, Axis Data Solutions, The Geo Group, Goldring Distributors, Local Yokel and the Gulf Coast Art Festival.  Without their support, the program would not have been possible.  He also thanked Ms. Toni New and his office staff for their help with the program.   Mr. Wyrosdick thanked Mr. Nichols for being a partner with the school district.
2.Florida Healthy School District Recognition
Sherry Smith, Director of Student Services came forward and introduced Rachel Terrin, Executive Member of Florida Action for Healthy Kids.  Ms. Terrin is here to recognize our school district with a special award.  She stated it was a pleasure to present Santa Rosa County School District with the Gold Healthy School District Award.

She reminded everyone that in 2012, Santa Rosa County was one of only 3 school districts to win this award.  Ms. Terrin explained that this is a volunteer self-assessment program that reviews physical, mental and social areas and that we received a high level of success in all areas that are rated.  This year we are one of 27 school districts in Florida who are being presented this award.

Mrs. Smith thanked the members of our SHAC (School Health Advisory Council) and especially Karen Retherford, Debbie Price, Jenny Hinton, Leslie Bell, Dr. Barber and Pam Smith.  Without their collaboration and help this award would not be possible.

Mr. Wyrosdick thanked Ms. Terrin and Mrs. Smith and reiterated that without a coordinated effort and team work this would not be possible.
3.NHS S2S Transition Program Recognitioin
This recognition will be made at a later date.
F.Public Hearing
1.Request to Advertise Public Hearing on Revisions to the 2014-2015 Student Progression Plan
Motion to Approve was moved by Diane Coleman, Seconded by Jenny Granse.  Motion Passed by a Vote of 5 - 0.

The board approved advertising a public hearing on revisions to the 2014-15 Student Progression Plan to be held October 23, 2014 at 9:00 a.m.
2.Conduct Public Hearing and Approve SB Policy 6.101
Motion to Approve was moved by Scott Peden, Seconded by Diane Coleman.  Motion Passed by a Vote of 5 - 0.

The chairman opened the floor for the public hearing and the chairman asked if anyone wanted to address the board regarding approval of school board policy 6.101.  There was no response and the public hearing was closed.  The board approved school board policy 6.101 Tobacco/Nicotine-Free Hiring Policy.
G.Public Forum- (Request to address the School Board regarding an item not on the agenda)
The Chairman opened the floor for the public forum and asked if anyone wanted to address the board regarding any item not on the agenda.

Ms. Scarlett Hommerbocker came forward and stated she wanted to talk to the board about the Florida School Board Association's lawsuit against school tax scholarships.  She is a home owner in Santa Rosa County and her children attend private school on the scholarship program.  She said they pay approximately 25% of the cost of sending their children to private school and cannot afford to pay the entire amount without the scholarship.  She said she noticed that we offer a few moments of silence at the beginning of the board meeting instead of a prayer and realizes this is in compliance with legislation and that we must abide by it.  Although she knows that Santa Rosa schools are some of the best in the State, she feels parents should have a choice of where their children go to school.  Her family has their reasons for choosing a private school and she would be happy to share those reasons with the board privately.  

She asked the board for their support of the Tax Scholarship Program if the issue comes up before the board.

Ms. Joanna Johanson, owner of  Lighthouse Private Christian Academy Schools in Gulf Breeze came foward also asking for the board's support of the Tax Scholarship Program.  She feels as though they are partners with Santa Rosa County schools and not in competition.  They can help children who for one reason or another cannot attend public schools and can customize the education for students who need that.  Choice in where to send their children to school is very important to parents and she asks for the board to support the program.
Administrative Agenda
H.Approval of Agenda- Items may be pulled from the Administrative Agenda and placed under the respective Action Agenda category by request of the Board member/Superintendent
Motion to Approve was moved by Hugh Winkles, Seconded by Jenny Granse. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

Board approved all Administrative Agenda items H. 1,2, and 3 as submitted below.
1.Human Resource items
a.Personnel Board Agenda
b.Unpaid Leaves and Out of State Temporary Duty
c.Substitute Teacher & Ed Support Substitute List
d.Annual Fire and Life Safety Inspections
2.Curriculum/Instruction Items
a.Student Transfer Requests
b.Suspensions
c.School Volunteers
3.Administrative Operational Items
a.Facility Use Requests
b.Field Trip Requests
Action Agenda
I.Administrative/Operational Recommendations- Joey Harrell, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services
1.Surplus 092314
Motion to Approve was moved by Scott Peden, Seconded by Diane Coleman. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

2.Surplus Transfer Requests
Motion to Approve was moved by Scott Peden, Seconded by Diane Coleman. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

 
3.Transportation Quarterly Report 092314
Motion to was moved by , Seconded by . Motion  by a Vote of  0 - 0.

Mr. Jim Bagby, Durham School Transportation came forward to present their quarterly update.  Mr. Bagby called attention to his Powerpoint presentation and the agenda for his presentation which will cover Safety, Maintenance, Improvements and a question/answer section.

Mr. Bagby reviewed Durham's message to parents and the community:  "Durham's priority is getting your children to school safely, on time and ready to learn."

He began his presentation by saying that school buses provide the safest form of transportation in the United States.  In Santa Rosa County 247 school buses travel 3.4 million miles transporting 19K students to and from school every year (school related activities not included).  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show the following fatality rates: 
0.2 fatalities per 100 million school bus miles traveled
1.5 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles for cars
Student drivers:  50 times more likely to be involved in an accident
Parent drivers: 20 times more likely to be involved in an accident
School bus travel is approximately 8 times safer than travel in other types of vehicles

The next subject he reviewed was Maintenance on the buses.  He explained that preventive maintenance has occurred on 100% of the buses and it occurs at least every 28 days.  A 60 point inspection takes place over 6 areas: Exterior, Interior, Engine, Undercarriage, Fluids/Filters, and Road Test.  In late February - early March 2014 Ayu;s Technical Services (3rd party examiners) provided DOT Safety Inspections on our buses.  247 buses were inspected (100% inventory).  3 buses were found with safety concerns (1.2% of the fleet).  One bus had a fuel seepage in the engine compartment and two buses had uneven brake wear on one of their pads.
In early July 2014, the tires on all 247 buses were examined again by a 3rd party.  A total of 1,482 tires were examined.  Five tires were found to be at minimum tread depth (0.34%) and one of the five was found to be below minimum tread depth  (0.07%).

Mr. Bagby reviewed the improvement in our routing.  There has been a route reduction from 199 routes in 2013-14 to 192 routes in 2014-15 due to routing efficiency, position of the bus compound vs. park-out, paper and planning vs. reality, conducting dry runs and the routes are continuously being tweaked. 
Student load or bus capacity in Durham Buses is 71 and 65 in the spare buses.  2013-14 ridership averaged 31 students per bus.  In 2014-15 ridership is approximately 37 students.  Daily miles covered in 2014-15 is 18,850 total vs. 2013-14 which was 20,726.  A difference of 1,876 miles.  The annual savings in fuel is $147,735.

Mr. Bagby asked the board if they had any questions.

Dr. Scott received reports that several of the buses were over capacity.  Mr. Bagby explained that at the beginning of a school year, they book as many as 90 high school students per bus, knowing that most of them do not show up.  High School students have a choice of driving or riding with friends to school and many do not choose to ride the bus.    When the reports of overcrowding were received, district personnel were asked to count students and some of the buses had 40-50 students.  He feels as though there was some confusion about how many students were on the list for a bus and how many students actually were riding.  They did add a few routes back to divide the loads that had 50 students.  Routes are down to approximately 30 riders per bus.

There was a discussion regarding complains of air conditioners not working on some of the buses.   Mr. Bagby first explained that during the 60 point inspections that buses go through, air conditioning is not one of them because it isn't considered a safety (or necessary) item.  We currently have two buses whose rear condensers are out but the parts have come in and they will be replaced as soon as they can get the buses in.  With our policy on pick ups, it is almost impossible to keep the bus cool with the doors being opened and closed so many times during a route. Dr. Scott mentioned that because our buses have air conditioning, it is an expectation that they are always working.  Mr. Bagby said he was proud of living and working in Santa Rosa County because when he looks at our neighbor school districts, Okaloosa doesn't have any air conditioned buses and only 50% of Escambia County's buses have air.   Dr. Scott asked if our drivers do anything differently when the heat index is so high.  Drivers are allowed to put the windows down when air conditioners aren't working and students are allowed to bring and drink their own water. 

The board thanked Mr. Bagby for his presentation.


4.DAG Architect
Motion to was moved by , Seconded by . Motion  by a Vote of  0 - 0.

The board reviewed the status of the DAG Architects current construction projects.
5.Pinder Martin Agenda Items
Motion to Approve was moved by Diane Coleman, Seconded by Hugh Winkles. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

The board approved the final construction payments:
Jay High School Kitchen/Cafeteria, Band and Music - request approval of final payments contingent upon receipt of close out documents and punch list completion:
R. D. Ward Construction Company, Inc.        $151,892.56
Pinder-Martin Associates, Inc.                        $    6,108.00

The board reviewed the status of the current Pinder-Martin Associates, Inc. construction projects.
6.Schmidt Consulting Agenda Items
Motion to was moved by , Seconded by . Motion  by a Vote of  0 - 0.

The board reviewed the status of the Gulf Breeze High School HVAC Renovation Phase I.
Motion to Approve was moved by Diane Coleman, Seconded by Scott Peden. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

The board approved GBHS Phase I Change Order 005.
Updated substantial completion Date: August 6, 2014
4 days LD's = $8,000
Minus previously approved change order amounts of $3,378
Deductive change order amount ($4,622)
Two day time extension to Original Substantial Completion Date
Motion to Approve was moved by Scott Peden, Seconded by Jenny Granse. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

The board approved the selection of the contractor A. E. New, Jr., Inc. as the lowest and best for the Gulf Breeze High - HVAC Renovation Phase II in the base bid amount of $3,407,000.
7.Direct Purchasing Change Orders
Motion to Approve was moved by Hugh Winkles, Seconded by Diane Coleman. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

The board approved change orders decreasing the projects payable below to the appropriate contractor by the amounts shown below.  These decreases are to reflect recent payments made to suppliers and the associated tax savings acquired through direct purchasing.

Chumuckla Elementary-Kitchen/Cafeteria/Etc.
Larry Hall Construction
$10,897.58

Gulf Breeze High School - Chiller Plan
A. E. New Jr.
$1,191.062.36
8.2014-2015 Work Plan
Motion to Approve was moved by Jenny Granse, Seconded by Hugh Winkles. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

J.Human Resource Recommendation- Lewis Lynn Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources
1.Human Resource Action Agenda
Motion to was moved by , Seconded by . Motion  by a Vote of  0 - 0.

None
K.Curricular and Instructions Recommendation – Bill Emerson, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
1.Early Termination
Motion to Approve was moved by Hugh Winkles, Seconded by Diane Coleman. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

2.Alternative Placements - September 23, 2014
Motion to Approve was moved by Scott Peden, Seconded by Jenny Granse. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

3.Cooper Private Foundation Grant
Motion to Approve was moved by Hugh Winkles, Seconded by Diane Coleman. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

4.PE/Hope Waiver
Motion to Approve was moved by Jenny Granse, Seconded by Diane Coleman. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

5.Digital Classroom Plan
Motion to Approve was moved by Hugh Winkles, Seconded by Scott Peden. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

The Superintendent stated that he hopes the board has had an opportunity to read through the Digital Classroom Plan even though he said technology is changing so rapidly that it was outdated as it was written.    We are going through a huge transition from classroom resource to assessment.  He thanked Vickie Beagle and her staff and celebrate all the work they did to put this plan together.

Mrs. Granse expressed her concern about 5th graders taking the writing (essay) tests on computers when they haven't had keyboarding.   Mr. Wyrosdick said it is a concern statewide.  We are placing our students in front of keyboards as much as possible as we try to prepare them for the digital assessment protocol.  He is traveling next week to a state-wide meeting where these concerns are going to be discussed.  We are having to make huge transitions, some warranted and some impossible.  He sited an issue we had over the past couple of weeks with FLKRS.   It wasn't working properly and we had to call it off because it was wasting instructional time and resources.  A few days later, the Commissioner of Education called it off statewide.   We are very concerned about the digital assessment coming up next spring and are vividly aware of the problems we face.

6.Professional Development for Digital Learning Grant
Motion to Approve was moved by Jenny Granse, Seconded by Hugh Winkles. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

7.Revised Assessment Schedule
Motion to Approve was moved by Diane Coleman, Seconded by Jenny Granse. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.


8.Calendar revision 2014-2015 SY
Motion to Approve was moved by Diane Coleman, Seconded by Jenny Granse. Motion Passed by a Vote of 
5 - 0.

L.Financial Recommendations – Susan McCole, Assistant Superintendent for Finance
1.Santa Rosa School District COPS Refunding Series 2014 - Adopt Resolutions
Motion to was moved by , Seconded by . Motion  by a Vote of  0 - 0.

Mr. Green began by explaining to the board they will need to temporarily adjourn from the school board meeting and convene as the Santa Rosa School Board Leasing Corporation for the purpose of discussion and adoption of the proposed Resolution of Corporation (Certificate of Participation - Refunding Series 2014).
Mr. Green has prepared an agenda for the Leasing Corporation's Annual and Special Meeting and distributed it to the board.  He also mentioned that in lieu of a written notice of the meeting, he is asking the board to sign a "waiver of notice of meeting."   A formal notice of meeting is not needed at this time because all board members are already in attendance for the board meeting and the item was listed on the school board meeting agenda. 

The School Board meeting was temporarily adjourned and the meeting of the Santa Rosa School Board Leasing Corporation is called to order by the President of the Corporation, Dr. Diane Scott.   Mr. Hugh Winkles, Mrs. Diane Coleman, Mrs. Jennifer Granse and Mr. Scott Peden were all in attendance.  The Waiver of Notice of Meeting is signed and returned to the Secretary.

Mr. Richard Lott, Bond Council was asked to come up and give the board a 5 minute summary of what is occurring.  Mr. Lott explained that the issuance of long term financing requires the participation in a lease.   The refunding will require both the Santa Rosa School Board Leasing Corporation and the Santa Rosa County School Board to approve the adoption of the COPS Refunding Series 2014 which will result in substancial interest rate savings.

Mr. Mitch Owens, RBC Capital, Senior Management Underwriter also came forward and explained that refunding or refinancing a loan requires that there is a savings of at least 3%-5%.  By refinancing the COPS series the School Board will save well above 7% in interest rates.  The final papers should be ready by late October or early November. 

    Motion by Dr. Diane Scott to approve and adopt the Certificate of Participation Refunding Series 2014, second by Mrs. Granse.  Motion Passed by a Vote of 5-0.

    Motion by Mrs. Granse to adjourn the meeting of the Santa Rosa School Board Leasing Corporation, second by Mrs. Coleman.  Motion Passed by a Vote of 5-0.

The Santa Rosa County School Board meeting was reconvened.

The Superintendent recommended approval and adoption of the Certificate of Participation Refunding Series 2014.

    Motion to approve was moved by Mrs. Coleman, Seconded by Mr. Peden.  Motion Passed by a vote of 5 - 0.
M.Items from Board Members
Mrs. Granse shared with the board she attended Dixon Intermediate School Advisory Council meeting and they had just received word they would be getting  School Improvement money this year and of course, they were thrilled.
N.Items from Board Attorney
None
O.Items from Superintendent
Mr. Wyrosdick wanted to explain what the board just did as it pertains to the COPS refunding.  Bottom line is it saved the school district a lot of "interest" money because we were able to re-finance a previous loan at a much lower rate than the original loan carried. 

The Superintendent shared with the board they may have noticed one of our flag stands has been returned and is in use today.  He said that John Thrush can find anything and was able to locate our flag stand at Milton High School. 

He called attention to some books that have been received for the board members which are in our office to be picked up after the meeting.

The Superintendent also mentioned he will be leaving this afternoon for his Florida Association of District School Superintendents meeting in Tampa for the remainder of the week.  They are beginning to prepare their 2015 Legislative Platform.
 
1.Navarre Youth Chorale Field Trip
Motion to Approve was moved by Diane Coleman, Seconded by Scott Peden.  Motion Passed by a Vote 5-0.
P.Adjournment
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned.

    DONE AND ORDERED IN LEGAL SESSION by the School Board of Santa Rosa County this 23rd day of September, 2014 A. D.


                                                                    SCHOOL BOARD OF
                                                                    SANTA ROSA COUNTY


                                                                    ________________________________
                                                                    Chairman

ATTEST:


__________________________________
Superintendent and Secretary