The first December meeting of the Braxton County Board of Education was held on December 5.
Burnsville Elementary Principal Grace Wine opened the meeting with updates at her school. She started by thanking her staff for working hard and all are on the same heading in the right direction. The theme at Burnsville this year is “Full Steam Ahead,” indicating their focus on a stronger approach for STEAM activities. The three goals for the school year are a decrease in chronic absents and increase proficiency in both ELA/reading and math. Principal Wine discussed strategies implemented to address issues and to obtain their goals. Board President Evelyn Post complimented Principal Wine on her public relations and newspaper articles.
Superintendent Dr. Donna Burge-Tetrick briefly updated board members on the iReady diagnostics results from Flatwoods Elementary showing growth in all areas from the fall to the winter. Director of Teaching and Learning, Linda Sears noted the students are two-thirds of the way through the testing at this time. Board member Kevin Gregory requested a comparison of last year’s scores.
Dr. Burge-Tetrick then gave an update on the roof at the high school. The base bid presented by ZMM Architects for the roof replacement was a little over one million dollars. However, they noted the roof does not need fully replaced at this time; it just needs repairs. Approximately $30,000 of contingency is already in the plans for the HVAC replacement to cover repairs and that may be sufficient. ZMM stated the roof was good for another five years. Dr. Burge-Tetrick recommended waiting and contacting SBA (School Building Authority) for the funds at that time.
She also updated the board on the work on the gym at the high school. Photos of the work are on Facebook. The flooring will start going down on December 6 and the bleachers are scheduled to be delivered on February 27.
Under regular business, the following consent agenda items were approved by the board on a motion by Lisa Ratliff: budget transfers and supplements; and payment of bills.
The board entered executive session on a motion by Kevin Gregory at 6:19 pm and reconvened at 6:44 pm. They then approved the following personnel recommendations on a motion by Dr. Kenna Seal: resignation of Peyton Smith, substitute teacher; and employment of Chloe Walker, preschool teacher, Burnsville, and Kimberly Heater, special education supervisory/instructional/transportation aide, Flatwoods.
The freezer at Davis Elementary started going down over Thanksgiving Break. On a motion by Larry Hardway, the board approved the purchase of a three-door freezer in the amount of $8592 from Modern Equipment.
A motion by Hardway also led to the approval of the placement of student teacher Chloe Martin at Frametown approximately January 19 to April 25.
The board moved Policy 2403 Third Grade Success on to its third and final reading. No comments have been received on the policy.
The following three policies were approved on the final readings on motions by Kevin Gregory: Policy 1651 Non-Traditional Instructional Days; Policy 3210 Substitute Professionals in Areas of Critical Need and Shortage; and Policy 3211 Critical Need and Shortage: Substitute Bus Operators. Dr. Burge-Tetrick noted no comments had been received on the three policies. She provided the results of the survey for Policy 1651 that was sent out to staff, students and parents. 131 votes were received with 97 voting in favor of the policy and 34 against. Of those for the policy, 31 were staff, 56 were parents, and 10 were students. Those voting against were 15 staff, 17 parents and 2 students.
During the board member remarks, Lisa Ratliff discussed the upcoming holiday giveaway event in conjunction with City National Bank, Community In Schools, and the Braxton Community Coalition. 171 children were on the list to receive presents.
Kevin Gregory asked the superintendent to find out when the next facilities and security meetings were to take place. Board President Evelyn Post requested to be included in the update.
Larry Hardway said he had a great time riding the bus in the Gassaway Christmas Parade the previous week. He also noted that the State Champion Girls XC team was honored during the Sutton Christmas Parade. Evelyn Post stated the XC team would be invited to a meeting for recognition.
Dr. Kenna Seal discussed the upcoming bingo fundraiser for Frametown to be held on Saturday by the Sutton Moose Lodge. Sutton raised over $6000 at their bingo last Saturday. He also requested that Susan Schiefer, CIS Coordinator at Sutton, to be invited to an upcoming meeting to share her notes from her recent training.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:16 pm. The next regular meeting is set for December 19 at 6:00 pm. As always, members of the Braxton County community are encouraged to attend regular board meetings. Anyone wishing to speak as a delegate or with public concerns may do so by signing in up to 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
