Graduation Ceremony The attached invitation lists the eight names of Credit Recovery graduates for 2009. A graduation ceremony was held in their honor on November 20 th . Three students and numerous family members, PNG staff members, and board members were on hand to celebrate this very special occasion. James Arnett, AEC Director, is already making plans to locate other possible Credit Recovery students for the spring semester. Thank You Note The attached note was sent to you from the Stewart family thanking you for the flowers that were sent to the funeral of their son, Collin. Chamber Breakfast The annual Chamber Breakfast will be held at the Pompano Club on January 13 th at 7:30 a.m. Bill Lege will be the guest speaker. Please contact Bonnie Jennings if you are able to attend so that she can make reservations for our group. TASB Grassroots Meeting The annual TASB Grassroots meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at the Region V Education Conference Center in Silsbee, Texas (see attached email from Bob Smith). Board members attending should receive one hour of continuing education credit if a state representative or senator speaks during the dinner portion of the meeting. Please contact Bonnie Jennings if you are interested in attending. Bank Demolition Frank Wilson has obtained two quotes for the demolition of the bank building (see attached). This topic will be placed on the next board agenda. At that time the board can decide whether or not to demolish the bank. If the demolition is recommended by the board, I am recommending that we use C&C Demo Inc. LANWalton Report LANWalton has submitted the attached construction report for December 3, 2009. Attorney Fees 1) Cheryl Mehl has submitted the attached invoice for attorney fees during the months of October and November, 2009. 2) Roger McCabe has submitted two invoices for attorney fees due to the Pyramid lawsuit. December 4, 2009
Transcript
Graduation Ceremony The attached invitation lists the eight names of Credit Recovery graduates for 2009. A graduation ceremony was held in their honor on November 20th. Three students and numerous family members, PNG staff members, and board members were on hand to celebrate this very special occasion. James Arnett, AEC Director, is already making plans to locate other possible Credit Recovery students for the spring semester.
Thank You Note The attached note was sent to you from the Stewart family thanking you for the flowers that were sent to the funeral of their son, Collin.
Chamber Breakfast The annual Chamber Breakfast will be held at the Pompano Club on January 13th at 7:30 a.m. Bill Lege will be the guest speaker. Please contact Bonnie Jennings if you are able to attend so that she can make reservations for our group.
TASB Grassroots Meeting The annual TASB Grassroots meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at the Region V Education Conference Center in Silsbee, Texas (see attached email from Bob Smith). Board members attending should receive one hour of continuing education credit if a state representative or senator speaks during the dinner portion of the meeting. Please contact Bonnie Jennings if you are interested in attending.
Bank Demolition Frank Wilson has obtained two quotes for the demolition of the bank building (see attached). This topic will be placed on the next board agenda. At that time the board can decide whether or not to demolish the bank. If the demolition is recommended by the board, I am recommending that we use C&C Demo Inc.
LANWalton Report LANWalton has submitted the attached construction report for December 3, 2009.
Attorney Fees 1) Cheryl Mehl has submitted the attached invoice for attorney fees during the months of October and
November, 2009. 2) Roger McCabe has submitted two invoices for attorney fees due to the Pyramid lawsuit.
December 4, 2009
Summer School Proposal The curriculum department has been working to make recommendations for changes in our summer school program. The attached PowerPoint developed by Dr. Stacey Arnold was presented to DEIC on November 30th. The information provided includes a three-year cost summary for summer school programs, summer school attendance, and projected cost savings for recommended changes to the programs.
Bullying Incidents There have been six reported incidents of bullying throughout the district as of November 30, 2009.
Recent News The following articles are provided for your information.
1) NHTSA Report: Student Deaths 61 Times Greater in Passenger Vehicles Than in School Buses 2) Beyond Textbooks and Tests 3) Facility Use and Fees
bjenn
Text Box
Coming Events
From: Bob Smith [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 10:30 AM To: Randall, Lani Subject: impt leg planning mtg TO: Dr. Randall Date: Wednesday November 25, 2009 Subject: IMPORTANT Pre-legislative Meetings for Local School Boards and Superintendents I know that it seems like involvement in legislative issues has become a too frequent routine burden for superintendents and school boards. But with the perils sure to continue in the next couple of years the reasoned, informed wisdom of all educator voices must be heard. TASB will begin holding the 2010 TASB Grassroots Meetings in this area February 9 & 10. The meetings will take place at each regional education service center. At these meetings, attendees will discuss issues of importance to schools that will eventually be crafted into TASB Advocacy Agenda Priorities, to guide TASB during the 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature in 2011. Regional meetings also feature local legislators discussing education issues with trustees. Additionally, school board members in attendance will elect representatives to the 2010-2012 TASB Legislative Advisory Council (LAC). The LAC is the body that consolidates the list of proposed priorities from all regional grassroots meetings and recommends a final list of Advocacy Priorities to the TASB Board. Four members of LAC will be chosen to serve on the TASB Legislative Committee. School board members are also able to attend grassroots meetings closer to home if their designated regional meetings are farther than another regional meeting. Contact Dax Gonzalez ([email protected] or 800-580-4885) at TASB with questions regarding 2010 Grassroots Meetings or TASB Advocacy Agenda process.
Regional Grassroots Meetings Are as Follows:
Region 4 Education Service Center 7145 West Tidwell Houston, TX 77092 Wednesday, February 10, 2010; 6-9 p.m.
Region 5 Education Conference Center 3545 Hwy. 96 Bypass Silsbee, TX 77656 Tuesday, February 9, 2010; 6-9 p.m.
Region 6 Education Service Center 3332 Montgomery Rd. Huntsville, TX 77340-6499 Tuesday, February 9, 2010 6-9 p.m.
Mark your calendar now and plan to participant with all or some of your board in these important discussions of legislative priorities.
In addition to the TASB staff listed above, contact me if you have questions about this process.
Stadium: • Warranty work on the florescent lights and the emergency lights on the home side has started.
PNG High School• The mezzanine walls have been completed and painted in the Boys’ Gymnasium. (See left picture
below) • The rolling doors have been installed at the CATE Shop Area. (See right picture below) • The exhaust fans for the fume hoods have been placed on the roof above the Science Labs. • The hydronic pipe has been reworked in the existing building. • The electricians continue installing conduit and pulling wire in the second floor level. • The Gym floor has been cleaned to begin remedial work on the existing slab. • Aluminum windows are being installed on the north side of the Gymnasium. • The sprinkler pipe is being installed on the first floor of the Boys’ Gymnasium. • Work has started on the grout bed for the shower/toilet floors in the Gymnasium.
Renovations
• Nothing to report.
2
Groves Middle School• The striping is being done on the Gymnasiums floors. (see left picture below)• The forms have been set for the new sidewalk from the Middle School to the Elementary school. (see
right picture below) • The ceramic tile base is being installed at Main Street. • The VAV boxes are being connected in the 7th Grade Wing. • The wood wainscot in the 6th Grade corridor is complete. • The gyp walls at the 6th Grade Science Rooms are being sanded. • Frames and glass are being installed in the Cafeteria and the Fine Arts Area. • Mirrors and grab bars are being installed in the restrooms at the Gymnasium. • The miscellaneous steel installation for the required wind loading for the aluminum storefront is
complete.
Port Neches Middle School • The bleachers are being installed in the Gymnasiums. (left picture below) • Metal panels are being installed in the Cafeteria. (right picture below) • Painting continues in the classrooms. • The wood trim is being installed in the Main Street area by the Library. • Tile installation has started in the hallways of the 6th Grade Academic Wing. • VAV boxes are being connected throughout the new buildings. • Ceiling grid is being installed in the Library Area. • The drill piers are being placed for the canopy at the entrance to the 6th Grade Academic Wing. • Painting is being done in the Cafeteria.
3 hours instructional day for elementary (no change)
4 hour instructional day for middle school
(increase of 30 min /day)(increase of 30 min./day)
Recommendations
Curriculum personnel serve as administrative contact for elementary program and afternoon TAKS program for middle school
Eliminate all transportation
Increase tuition ‐ $75 for elementary, $100 for middle $75 y, $school, $130 for high school
12/1/2009
4
Projected Cost Savings*Before Tuition
Elementary* $23,772
Middle School* $2,889
Transportation $8,800
Total $35,461
Additional Information High School CIC is currently examining summer High School CIC is currently examining summer program and curriculum. Changes were made to high school program with implementation of 4 x 4 requirements
Summer programs not included in data analysis: TAKS accelerated instruction grades 5 & 8
ESL summer program
Special Ed. ESY programs
NHTSA Report: Student Deaths 61 Times Greater in Passenger Vehicles Than in School Buses
Top Story
WRITTEN BY RYAN GRAY
The 2007-2008 school year saw six student fatalities in school buses compared with 368 in other passenger vehicles, according to data pulled from the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System for all crashes that occurred during the normal morning and afternoon commute hours.
Over past decade, 34 children ages 5-18 have died inside a school bus as a result of a crash compared to 5,595 in other vehicles driven by parents, friends or others. Meanwhile, 936 student pedestrians were killed while walking or biking to and from school.
The data is extrapolated each year by consultant Doug Snyder for the California Association of School Transportation Officials from overall NHTSA FARS data for all vehicles at all times of day. [Editor's note - The school bus specific report can be downloaded from the CASTO Web site.] The 2007-2008 school bus report “Riding Smart” was made available today and gauges all crashes in which at least one person was killed to determine a national average of normal school commute injuries and fatalities. These crashes occurred from 6 to 8:59 a.m. and 2 to 4:59 p.m., Monday through Friday, from Sept. 1 though June 15.
Texas led the nation with 27 total student fatalities. Two, in the 12- to 13-year-old age bracket, died one week apart from each other in March 2008 in separate school bus crashes occurring in Dallas and in Hildago, Texas. Other states with more than 20 student deaths, all in non-school bus vehicles, were Florida (24), California (23) and Pennsylvania (21). Mississippi and Missouri both suffered 18 student fatalities in other passenger vehicles.
The four Minnesota school bus riders, also 12- to 13 years old, died as a result of the Cottonwood crash on Feb. 19, 2008, when a motorist who was illegally in the United States and without a driver’s license ran a stop, causing a vehicle pile up.
Meanwhile, children riding in school buses were found to be nearly 10 times safer then those who walked or biked to and from school, as 62 children died during the 2007-2008 school year, often times being hit by another motorist. California and Florida led the nation in the number of these types of fatalities with six each. Twenty-six states in total
The difference between onboard school bus fatalities and injuries and those in other motor vehicles were in line with historic data that shows school buses are on average 12 times safer for students traveling to and from school. Passenger vehicles accounted for 496 total student injuries, 209 of which were incapacitating student injuries that are defined by NHTSA as serious to minor injuries — such as head trauma, internal injuries, broken bones or lacerations — that warranted emergency room treatment and/or hospital admittance. Meanwhile, 287 less severe non-capacitating injuries that only required medical treatment prior to the child being released. This is compared to only 17 incapacitating and 45 non-incapacitating injuries in school buses.
Snyder will provide an analysis of the report in the January 2010 print issue of School Transportation News.
Beyond Textbooks and Tests by Brian Thevenot | 11/30/09 | 2 Comments
Hoping to push a wide array of digital content and teaching tools to public schools, the Texas Education Agency has
cut a deal with a division of The New York Times for an electronic curriculum portal and searchable access to the
newspaper’s content since 1851.
A student who wanted to write a paper on the Gettysburg address could instantly pull up not only the speech text but
also the paper’s story on the event. For modern content, students could access stories, related multimedia content
and source documents amassed and scanned by reporters but never previously published, TEA officials said.
The content is just one piece of the arrangement with Times subsidiary Epsilen. The state plans to eventually use the
digital portal to deliver far more and varied educational content to schools from a diverse array of digital curriculum
providers. The contract’s cost, initially for $1 million to purchase the statewide license to the portal, could rise
depending on usage, though not substantially, said Anita Givens, the TEA’s chief of textbooks, technology and
curriculum.
The portal represents a small piece of a larger migration away from traditional textbooks, a move abetted by two bills
in the last legislative session.
The legislation gives state Education Commissioner Robert Scott broad new powers to approve electronic curriculum
materials, which he intends to deliver through the online portal. Previously, all textbooks, whether print or electronic,
had to be approved by the elected State Board of Education.
The capability that most excites Scott allows for the creation of cumulative “ePortfolios” for students, allowing them to
store and display their classroom projects, writing and multimedia productions, or even video of vocal, drama or band
performances.
That could open up a new and more complete way to evaluate student work, rather than reducing student ability to
state standardized tests and grades. The portfolio could serve as a kind of dynamic resume for students, stored over
“We believe this is going to be a pretty big deal in a few years,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for teachers and students
to show what happens on every other day besides test day.”
State officials hope the contract helps diversify curriculum offerings and save money. The cost of the portal and the
Times content pales in comparison to the one-time purchase of textbooks, often at up to $80 per copy, for students
statewide, Givens said.
“The statewide license allows for economies of scale that we just don’t see in any other kind of agreement,” Givens
said.
The effort, dubbed Project Share by the state, will begin in the spring with teacher training and networking, then move
to include students in a not-yet-determined number of districts and schools next fall. Ultimately, every school district
in the state will be able to access the system at no cost, state officials said, though none will be forced to use it.
The portal offers a host of networking tools, including blogs, forums, wikis and social networks to connect students
with one another and their teachers, both within and among schools. The system won’t be accessible online to the
general public, and all communication can be monitored by teachers and administrators, state officials said. The
system also will allow teachers to more easily design, store and share lessons with one another across the state and
with other states that use the Epsilen system.
"It's a system to organize future content," Scott said. "Stay tuned. We'll be adding more apps."
The B
oard
Min
utes
December 1, 2009
Facility Use and FeesPatrons of the District sometimes have the idea that, because school facilitiesare generally paid for with public tax money, facilities, especially large meetingareas or gyms and outdoor fields are available for the public to use any timewithout charge. The truth is, of course, that school facilities are not “open tothe public” at all times for all uses. Your facilities are under board and administrativecontrol and are available for outside use only when that use has been authorizedunder district policy and the requestor follows district procedures for requestingand scheduling outside use.
A strict reading of the Texas Constitution’s provisions prohibiting the gratuitousgrant of public funds requires districts to assess a fee for those uses that atleast covers out-of-pocket expenses. As a result of community interests (andpressures), many districts use a three-tiered system for assessing facility userates:
little or nothing to school-related organizations;
actual utility and maintenance costs to local governments and civicorganizations;
fixed rental user fees to others.
Whatever is decided in your district, the board should formally adopt the feeschedule and apply it equally to all requests for facility use. Remember that,generally, once you make facilities open to a particular type of group ororganization or for discussion on particular topics, you cannot pick and choosethe viewpoint about those topics that you will allow to be expressed in thefacility. However, districts are also permitted to have different rules aboutusage and fees for different facilities, such as performing arts facilities, stadiums,basketball courts, cafeteria, and so on. Check with your school attorney ifyou have a request that is troublesome.
A simple, but complete, facility use agreement is also a very good idea. Thatdocument sets out the basic terms of usage and what the user is responsiblefor.
Board policies at GKD (LEGAL) and (LOCAL) and GKDA (LEGAL) and (LOCAL)contain more information on the legal framework and basic policy.
SCHWARTZ & EICHELBAUMWARDELL MEHL AND HANSEN, P.C.
Coming Events
Regular Board Meeting .................................................................................................. December 8 @ 7 p.m. Called Board Meeting @ Adm. Bldg. ................................................................................. Tuesday, Jan. 5 @ 6:30 p.m. Supt. Evaluation/2010 Goals Workshop PN Chamber Breakfast @ Pompano ............................................................................ Wednesday, Jan. 13 @ 7:30 a.m. Please let Bonnie know if you are planning to attend. Regional Grassroots Meeting @ Region 5 Silsbee .............................................................. Tuesday, Feb. 9 @ 6-9 p.m. Please let Bonnie know if you are planning to attend.
