Board of Ed 7/14/04

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0968dfc3.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id161.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Education Meeting Notes"><U><B>Board of Education Meeting Notes</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=130 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0978dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336666" FACE="Arial" ><B>Welcome to the Web Site of Clare Whitbeck</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Web Site of Clare Whitbec"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id162.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bd of Ed 10/27/03"><U>Bd of Ed 10/27/03</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id176.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board Of Ed 12/10/03"><U>Board Of Ed 12/10/03</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id183.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Education 1/16/04"><U>Board of Education 1/16/04</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id189.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joint Resolution St. Marys Bridge to Ex"><U>Joint Resolution - St. Mary's Bridge to Excellence</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id190.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joint Resolution Page 2"><U>Joint Resolution Page 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id191.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joint Resolution Page 3"><U>Joint Resolution Page 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id192.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Atttachment A, Page 1"><U>Atttachment A, Page 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id193.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Attachment A, Page 2"><U>Attachment A, Page 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id194.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Arrachment A, Page 3"><U>Arrachment A, Page 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id195.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Attachment A, Page 4"><U>Attachment A, Page 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id196.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Attachment A, Page 5"><U>Attachment A, Page 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id188.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Education 2/25/05"><U>Board of Education 2/25/05</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id197.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Education 4/14/04"><U>Board of Education 4/14/04</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id198.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Education 4/28/04"><U>Board of Education 4/28/04</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id202.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Ed 5/27/04"><U>Board of Ed 5/27/04</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id203.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Ed 6/9/04"><U>Board of Ed 6/9/04</U></A>   |   <B>Board of Ed  7/14/04</B>   |   <A HREF="id205.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Ed 8/9/04"><U>Board of Ed 8/9/04</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id206.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Ed 8/11/04"><U>Board of Ed 8/11/04</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=350 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0978dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>Board of Ed  7/14/04</I></div> <div> After a presentation thanking Denis Canavan for his organization’s help with the GIS program, Don O’Neil spoke asking for help for over 65 school system retirees.  He wants their health insurance payment reduced.</div> <div> Jan Emerson introduced herself as the new president of the Education Association of St. Mary’s County.  </div> <div> Paula Smith presented the FY 2005 budget.  </div> <div> Sal Raspa said we spend too much on consultants. ($1,459,000) Ricky Raley commended the extension of ROTC to more schools.  Superintendent Richardson noted the progress in providing all day kindergartens.  There are now 21 AP courses available.  Initial registrations indicate registrations going from 900 to over 1,500.  Being involved in more rigorous courses is what best prepares students for going on to college.  Cathy Allen noted that the St. Mary’s County Bridge to Excellence has made the budget process easier for the Board of Education.  The budget was approved as presented and will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for their approval of the categorical funding.  </div> <div> Paula Smith presented the new 2004 report.  Instructional Salaries and Transportation seem to be over budget and are being watched.  </div> <div> Bill Caplin came to present a mass communication system.  A copy of his presentation summary is shown below.  Traditional mass communication, he said, has been newspaper, etc.  Using the new communication system, the school system can reach each family with children in the school in 15 minutes.  One must be careful not to pester people, and a phone survey must have a good statical basis.  Parents can be notified about school closings, early dismissals, delayed openings, or an invitation to county wide meetings.  See below for other points.  </div> <div> Caplin then went on line to show the Board of Education and the audience how the program works.  He went on line to connectec.com to demonstrate the system.  You can have prerecorded messages or record on the fly if you need to.  You can record from the pc as well as from a phone.  The system can be instructed not to accept an answering machine and to call all the available numbers.  When you initiate 16,000 phone calls in a 15 minute period how long will it take.  He called Bill Mattingly’s phone and it rang immediately.  Sal Raspa asked what happens at 10:00 AM instead of 3:11 pm.  There were a number of fast busy’s which means the telephone system has been overloaded.  One such area was Ridge.  They can set the system to dial Ridge numbers every few minutes.  They will draw up an RFP and see how it will fit into their needs.  Superintendent Richardson noted that there is a safety issue for kindergartners.  Someone must call to be sure that someone will be there is there is an unanticipated early dismissal.  She said the real power is in the safety measures.  We can cut out a rumor or make sure parents aware that children are going to appear at an unanticipated time.  They don’t, she said, want to wear out their welcome.  They will prepare guidelines for using the system.  The cost is $3 per child per year.  They expect to redirect funds.  A big part of the master plan is the parent communication piece.  She said it is not a survey instrument.  They can’t put out a question and have thousands of people call in.  It would shut down the telephone system.  Caplins said Verizon pointed out that a poll use of this system would shut down the entire phone system in the County.  The school system won’t be doing that.  If one doesn’t recover time in exchange for the bells and whistles, then the bells and whistles aren’t useful.  Bill Mattingly said he is in favor of researching it, but is concerned about the cost.  Caplins noted that the County is looking into this as well.  Mattingly said his business is looking into this system.  Research shows that 30 seconds is the maximum length.  Mary Washington asked if the system could be used for faxes.  Caplins said this one won’t, but others do.  She asked about how we would get updated information.  Caplins said there is an interface for the data base.  A number which doesn’t work will be reported to the school. Mrs. Washington asked how much it will cost to bring up the system.  Caplins said $3-5 per child per year.  She asked if we would discontinue the old attendance system?  Caplins said the old system will be discontinued.  Washington asked if there were lessons learned from 9/11 to see how the system would work in a real emergency.  Caplins said they would work if there were a localized problem in NY or Washington, D.C.  She asked if they plan to work with the County and was told yes.  Caplins said corporate sponsors sponsor counties and schools.  Mrs. Washington said she thinks it is worth evaluating with a focus group.  Raspa said it would be nice to have some more data, other than just the 3:00pm.  He said he had comments and questions.  Who will monitor the system?   Who will do the training?  What services will the costs cover?  What happens when the internet is down?  Who services the system?  He favors pursuing, but not making a definite commitment.  Ricky Raley said he is certain students would like to know about school closings as soon as possible.  Students do forget papers.  Cathy Allen said she thinks the possibility is important.  It is better to know in advance.  She said the consensus is that the Board would like to pursue the RFP.  She thinks there should be some checks on the message.  </div> <div> Mary Washington attended the Change of Command ceremony on the Base.  Sal Raspa said he attended a leadership conference a while back on public values in public schools which was presented by Dr. Boyle.  Community, liberty, prosperity, individuality and equality are the values people stress.  Choices perhaps should be making choices in the light of these values.  We need to be careful we don’t infringe on values when we try to make things better.  </div> <div> Ricky thanked the Board and the members of the audience for welcoming him.  We have 16,000 students who will be the future of our country.  Students are still working.  Superintendent Richardson, Dr. Wieland, and Sarah Cooper from Spring Ridge participated in a workshop at the University of Maryland College of Engineering.  Engineering is the concept of all learning.  It’s about problem solving and critical thinking.  There are summer programs for teachers.  The Dean is enthusiastic about working with k-12 schools.  They look at leadership opportunities and work experience that students have had.  They are looking for people who demonstrate initiative.  Cathy said she and Sal attended the MABE meeting.  The next meeting is Wednesday, August 11.  </div> </td> </tr></table></body>