Board of Education Meets: UC Schools To Receive Federal Grant Funds

 

The Union County Board of Education met Monday night and learned the district will receive a share of a $10 federal grant for the next four years. Superintendent Patricia Sheffer told the board that Union County, along with 21 other districts applied for the grant which will help fund research based professional development for teachers and direct services for students including a number of supplemental programs. The superintendent said she also expects the funds to provide a dropout prevention coach and a college/career ready coach. “Over the next four years every student will benefit from several thousand dollars (in funding),” she said. Sheffer added that she will have more specific information next week and will provide more details to the board. Funding is expected to begin July 1, 2013.

Local State Farm insurance agent Carrie Divine and agency field executive Mike Duncan presented the board with a $2500 check. Those grant funds were raised during the Corn Festival when Divine sponsored a teen safe driving program, Celebrate My Drive. The money will help support LINKS and Union County High School’s efforts to work with teenage drivers to teach them highway safety. High school principal Evan Jackson and Sheffer accepted the check.

Georgiann McCord presented plaques to the American Legion Post 48 and VFW Post 5488 for their contributions to the school district. Lark Buckman and Bill Hite accepted the awards naming the groups this month’s community partners. In making the presentation, Sheffer told the audience, “We really appreciate them (AL/VFW) coming into our schools--we appreciate your support.” Both groups have been instrumental in promoting Veterans Day in the schools and taking part in school programs.

Jerry Baird, chairman of the local KY ASAP group spoke briefly to the board noting, “We would like to assist in implementing ideas to implement more school safety.” Baird asked that the board and ASAP form a committee to address the district’s safety needs. He also told the board that his group has some funding to help with a safety program. Baird’s offer came on the heels of a shooting in Newtown, CN that left 20 elementary children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School dead. Sheffer told Baird, “We look forward to partnering with you and we will form a committee. Board Chair Jennifer Buckman had opened Monday night’s meeting with a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.
In other business, the board was told that four insurance proposals had been received with E M Ford presenting the best offer. Sheffer recommended the board give the nod to EM Ford for property insurance for the coming year. The board also awarded the worker’s compensation insurance to KEMI, with Neal Higknight as the agent.

Steve Carter reported that attendance in local schools was down last month due to “us being hit with a number of different sicknesses.” He noted that district personnel monitored the numbers very closely during the month. “We were very low last week,” he said, but added that this week attendance numbers have improved. School released Tuesday afternoon for the Christmas break, and Carter said he hopes the illnesses will have run their course by the time school reopens in January.
Holly Keeney provided a student achievement report noting that the district is presently working on curriculum alignment in all grade levels. “We are well on the path to ensuring that all schools are on the same page with delivering the required curriculum, whether it is at the elementary, middle or high school level,” she said. Keeney added, “This work is necessary if we are to be a consistently top-performing district.” Keeney reviewed the steps the district is taking and the focus of the curriculum plans. She noted that curriculum coaches and principals have made valuable contributions to this process.  Keeney also noted that the district is looking at giving practice timed test to students because state testing is timed. She predicts the district will begin to see “significant growth” at the high school level based on the preparations teachers are doing there with ACT preparation and the use of quality core curricular materials.

Morganfield Elementary principal Melissa Brantley reported that her school is seeing some needs for new technology and noted that a common core resource teacher is also needed. She added that the school’s PTO “is on a mission to get all field trips paid for with their fundraising. “ So far, she said, they have raised over $10,000.  Brantley also reported that Morganfield students have completed fall NWEA testing and faculty members have recently completed analyzing test data. The school is also focusing on small group instruction in math and reading to help students improve in those areas.

In other business, the board approved ten items by consent including the nutrition and physical activity report card which provides an overview of the nutrition and physical achievements of the district. Records show that last year the district served 285,094 lunches to students with 1194 children approved for free meals and 165 approved for reduced meal prices.

Consent items also included approval for Brian Lovell, Director of Special Projects, to apply for the WHAS Crusade for Children grant, as well as approval of a facility use agreement.

Jim Ricketts was named as the board’s representative on the 2013-14 calendar committee, and Daryl Pfingston gave the board an update on the district energy plan. Pfingston told the board that energy savings over the past year are at about 7.6 percent for energy used. He noted that the district has significantly improved its energy savings and has maintained a diverse and engaged energy management team.

Before the meeting adjourned, the board approved meeting dates for 2013. In January, the board will begin meeting the fourth Monday of each month rather than the third Monday. They will also hold work sessions at noon every other month. Following is the 2013 meeting schedule:

January 28-UCLA
February 25-UCMS
March 25-SES
April 22-UCHS (OSCARS night)
May 28-UES (this meeting is on Tuesday due to Memorial Day)
June 24-MES
July 24-MES
 August 26-UCMS
 September 23-SES
October 28-UCHS
November 25-UES
December 23-MES
Regular board meetings begin at 6:00 p.m.

Working sessions will be held on
January 23-UCLA
March 20-SES
May 22-UES
July 17-UCMS
September 18-MES
November 20-UCHS