April 18, 2016 at 6:30 PM - GMSD Board Meeting

Discussion:  Chairman Linda Fisher called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm

Discussion:  Chairman Linda Fisher called for a moment of silence.

Discussion:  Board member Natalie Williams led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Discussion:  The following Staff and Students were recognized: Leslie Brommer- Houston High School teacher who has been named as the Air Force Association’s Teacher of the Year for the Region. The Houston High CyberPatriots- their recent victory—becoming the #1 team in the entire State of Tennessee. CyberPatriots are an ethical hackers club, focused on training tomorrow’s tech leaders how to secure computer networks. Delegates to the TSBA Student Congress- the Board recognized the students who served as delegates 'TSBA Student Congress on Policies in Education', including their teacher sponsor, Brenda Kinney. Students include: Holden Brewer, Christian Chi, Michelle Myers, Nwandinobi Onyeagocha, and the SCOPE student president, Antonio Scott. Presentation of funds by Q107.5 to Employable Outcomes for Individuals With Disabilities campaign. GMSD student communications interns and chief organizers of the event, Antonio Scott and Olivia Brommer, accepted the $1020.27 check on behalf of Houston High School. Assistant Superintendent Dan Haddow recognized Riverdale teacher Shannon Miller, for excellence in teacher performance on the Eleot model. Chief of Operations Josh Cathey recognized Riverdale Plant Manager James Smith for his excellent service to the school.

Discussion:  Board member and TLN Representative Natalie Williams gave legislative updates on the following: SB392/HB909 LEAs to admit students without approval has been taken off notice in the senate and returned to the House clerk's desk. SB2540/HB1537 Passed the house and senate and is awaiting the Governor's signature. This bill reduces the amount of testing at the 11th grade level from 3 to 1. SB2565/HB2574 BEP funding bill passed the house and is set for senate vote tonight. Dyslexia testing bill is still on the House clerks desk. No movement in 2 weeks. SB2387/HB2414 was pulled today by the sponsor Rep Lynn

Discussion:  Chairman Linda Fisher thanked the District Staff for the "School Snapshots" event that was going on in the schools starting today. Each school was having a meet and greet for prospective teachers and she had visited Houston High's Snapshots meet and greet today. She said that this was just another out of the box way GMSD is working to match potential teachers to their ideal GMSD school. She said that she had attended the Houston High School Honors Academy Celebration of Excellence and that It was always an impressive night with senior highlights and reflections, a chance to view their projects. Chairman Linda Fisher gave a few statistics of the Senior HHS Honors Academy: -Total in Honors Classes- 495 -Total in AP Classes - 364 -Average ACT score 30.57 out of 36 Two perfect scores -4 National Merit Finalists -2 Presidential Scholar Nominees She thanked Vice-Chairman Lisa Parker and Board member Natalie Williams for attending the celebration. She conveyed Congratulations, on behalf of the Board, to Farmington Elementary for celebrating 40 years. She said that they had a performance with the strings and guitars and the student’s art on display throughout the school. Chairman Fisher said that Superintendent Manuel was meeting with the PTA presidents and that she attended their first meeting finding it as a great opportunity for the presidents to not only ask questions, but gain information on short and long term plans for the district. It also allows our presidents to go back to their schools and be better informed on what is taking place in the district. She invited everyone to participate in the upcoming GMSD Stampede 5K sponsored by the Germantown Education Foundation on Sunday April 24, 2016.. She said that the 5K starts at pm and the Color Run at pm and just prior to the race, one of four nominated teachers from GMSD elementary and middle schools will be awarded a car to drive for a year. Those four teachers are Farmington Elementary - Elizabeth Maloney Riverdale Elementary - Tracy Tickle Dogwood Elementary - Dana Washington Houston Middle - Robin Rudisill

Discussion:  Chief of Operations, Josh Cathey presented the Operations report reflecting on the important Capital Improvement projects completed as well as the plans for the upcoming projects as the District moves forward. He briefed on the following completed projects: - Farmington Elementary- New windows - Houston Middle - repaving of parking, Gym floor replaced with hard wood - Houston High -upgraded network efficiency for 1:1 technology, New Television Studio, New Turf Field in partnership with Houston Athletic and Arts Foundation He outlined the upcoming ongoing and future projects: - Modular Classrooms at Farmington and Dogwood Elementary Schools - Houston High paving and parking upgrades - New roof top units and high efficiency energy management systems for Dogwood Roof - New Middle School Addition to Riverdale Elementary Josh Cathey gave clarification to the Board regarding the misperception of being a part of a Co-operative purchasing group and conducting a competitive bidding in the Modular Classrooms leasing process. He said that as a District, he was proud of all the accomplishments in the two years and that it was a tribute to the Board and the City for showing priority in the Capital improvements of the school facilities.

Discussion:  Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Jones presented the Financial Report including the Balance Sheet, Revenue and Expense Statement for period ending March 31, 2016.

Discussion:  Superintendent Jason Manuel presented to the Board and Audience as follows, "Tonight, we will be bringing a recommendation to our school board to approve the bid on a new brick and mortar structure at Riverdale. This was a long journey in which we went through the Board of Zoning and Appeals, Design Review Commission, Financial Advisory Commission, and Planning Commission with the City of Germantown. We worked hand in hand with the City as they went through the bond process. We also worked tirelessly with A2H to ensure we brought this project in within our budget while not sacrificing elements we felt were vital to establish our brand and design an extraordinary facility. One of the parts of this process we are very proud of is the level of input that was sought and implemented from our parents, teachers, and administrators at Riverdale. We had numerous meetings with parents, teachers, neighborhood associations, and other stakeholders during which decisions were made to change our design(the science lab and band layout are examples). This process was not without its bumps in the road, and it will not be without its bumps in the road once we begin construction. We believe that at the end of this project, we will have a state of the art facility that will set the Germantown brand and will rival any public school facility in the state of Tennessee." He thanked the Board and the City for their support to the School District. ?

Discussion:  The following citizens conveyed their thanks and appreciation for the Riverdale school expansion project. 1. Terri Harris, 1816 Old Mill, Germantown TN 38138 2. Joseph Bond, Principal, Riverdale Elementary School, Germantown TN 38138 3. Howard Cleveland, 1679 Tamarack, Germantown TN 38138

Discussion:  Vice-Chairman Lisa Parker said that Riverdale has a special place in the community and she is proud of this major step the board is taking and looking forward to the first construction project of the middle school addition building. Board member Natalie Williams reflected on how this project took shape after the first Board retreat with the Board of Mayor and Alderman, almost 15 months ago and how this was a learning process for both the Board and the District. She said that she was proud of the District staff for the amount of research they had done and the successful bid process. Board member Ken Hoover said that he was proud of what they have learnt in this major first process of school construction. He thanked the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for the support and said that it is a great honor for the District as well as the City of Germantown.

Discussion:  Chairman Linda Fisher requested Superintendent Jason Manuel to brief on the highlights of the FY 16-17 General Budget. Superintendent Jason Manuel thanked the Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Jones for the successful preparation of the Budget and said that with the increase in revenue , the input for priorities were considered not only from the District Office but also from the Board members and the Principals. He briefed on the following highlights in the 16-17 Budget: -All Teachers get a Step increase or a 2% increase in their pay - Expanding RTI program to Houston High School - New foreign language teacher at High School - Addition of four assistants one of which is a SPED assistant at Farmington Elementary - New Start times - Two laptop carts to each school and expanding 1:1 to grades 8 and 9 - Addition Technology STS position Superintendent Manuel said that it is remarkable how the District started with a reserve of zero dollars and was able to make a 5 million reserve at the end of the first year and almost 7 million reserve at the end of the second year. He said that the District has not only improved on the Academic front and the Capital Improvements front but has also financially built a strong reserve. Board member Ken Hoover said that Germantown was the only Municipality to adopt self-insured health care plan and has fully funded the retiree promises with a good health care fund. Board member Natalie Williams thanked the Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Jones for the level of detail in the Budget preparation and for being incredibly thorough in the process. She said that she was proud of the District Staff and Superintendent for preparing this Budget, keeping the Students first. Vice-Chairman Lisa Parker said that the most important role as a Board is to approve the Budget and congratulated the District staff and the Superintendent for presenting such a great Budget. Chairman Linda Fisher thanked the Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Jones and the District Staff for making the Budget process an easy one for the Board.

Discussion:  There was no new business at this time.

Discussion:  Chairman Linda Fisher announced the following: - May 5, 2016 - Ground breaking ceremony at Riverdale School - May 16, 2016 - Board Work Session and Business Meeting - June 6, 2016 - Board Work Session and Business Meeting

Discussion:  The meeting was adjourned at 7:32 pm.