Aiken County Board of Education Meeting on March 8, 2016 at the District Office at 7:00 p.m.

Dates:

Tuesday, March 8, 2016 - 7:00pm

THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT OF AIKEN COUNTY

BOARD OF EDUCATION

AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA

OFFICIAL AGENDA _______REGULAR SESSION _7:00 P.M.________MARCH 8, 2016

Location: District Office Aiken, SC

1000 Brookhaven Drive

REGULAR SESSION: 7:00 P.M.

DEVOTIONAL & PLEDGE: Mr. William Burkhalter

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Regular Meeting – February 23, 2016

SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS:

Midland Valley High School Boys Basketball Team

Public Participation

No Requests This Meeting

Office of Board Chairman

A. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: The following items are for information only and do not require Board action.

1. District Strategic Plan Update (Mrs. Glover)

2. Financial Report, as of January 31, 2016 (Mr. Traxler)

The financial report of January 31, 2016 is submitted in the approved format.

3. Legislative Update (Mr. Liner)

B. CONSENT ITEMS: The following items will be voted on as a group. Individual items may be discussed prior to a vote being taken.

1. Ratification of Expulsions (Dr. Alford)

The School Board, according to the Code of Laws of South Carolina Section 59-63-240, is authorized to expel students from school. Although the Board may receive recommendations for expulsion from others, it solely is empowered to take the final expulsion action.

2. Midland Mechanical, Inc. Donation to Midland Valley High School – FY16 (Mr. Laurence)

Midland Valley High School was given a $1,500 donation from Midland Mechanical, Inc. This donation was given for a sponsorship on the scoreboard for the new fence at the softball field.

3. District Telephone Upgrade – Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) (Dr. Foster)

Bids were received for Aiken County Public Schools Voice Internet Protocol (VOIP) Phone System with Arrow SI submitting the base bid. The base bid for upgrading to VOIP was $297,380.73. The cost of the upgrade will be spread over three years. The initial payment will be paid from the board approved one time money. The two additional years will be covered from the district’s technology and telephone budget.

4. Submission of the Summer Reading Camp Community Partnership Grant (Mr. Laurence)

The General Assembly has provided funding to the State Department of Education for the Summer Reading Camp Community Partnership competitive grant opportunity whereby community organizations and school districts can collaborate to provide summer reading camp activities during the mandated Read to Succeed summer reading camp. In this Summer Reading Camp Partnership, a cohort of approximately 420 second and third grade students who are significantly below grade-level reading proficiency from elementary schools across the district will participate in a six-week program that focuses on reading, writing, listening, and researching skills. With the $25,000 provided by the grant, the school district proposes a community partnership with the Salvation Army Nancy Moore-Thurmond Boys and Girls Club of Aiken to extend the hours of the Summer Reading Camp day in order to move the cohort of students closer to proficiently reading on grade level.

5. Textbook Adoptions for 2016-17 (Mr. Laurence)

The District examines and evaluates textbooks adopted by the State for use in the classroom and recommends to the School Board those selected by teacher committees for our district. Upon approval by the School Board and funding by the State, schools may proceed to order those textbooks from the State Textbook Depository.

6. Sunshine House Donation to East Aiken School of the Arts – FY16 (Mr. Laurence)

East Aiken School of the Arts was given a $1,732.29 donation from Sunshine House. The funds from this donation will be used to purchase janitorial supplies for the school.

7. Curb Appeal Landscaping Project (Dr. Foster)

On January 26, 2016, the board passed a resolution authorizing the sale of an unused 3.13 acre corner tract of property of the Aiken Elementary School Site. The resolution stated that the purchase would create capital funds for other capital projects. The sale of the property generated a total $470,451.75 in additional funding.

8. Sound and Lighting Upgrades for the Auditoriums at Midland Valley High School, Silver Bluff High School and South Aiken High School (Dr. Foster)

Bids were received by the Educational Technology Departments for sound and lighting upgrades for auditoriums in several of our schools. There were three bidders with Troxell Communications being the lowest base bidder. The total amount of the bids for the three schools is $211,455.68. The funding for the sound and lighting upgrades will come from the District’s Fund Five Account.

9. Sound Upgrades for Aiken High Gym and Stadium (Dr. Foster)

Bids were received by the District’s Education Technology Department for sound upgrades for Aiken High’s Gym and Stadium. There were three bidders with Troxell Communications submitting the lowest base bid for the stadium and Unified AV the lowest base bid for the Gym. The bids received for the upgrades totaled $76,284.58. The cost of the upgrades will be taken from the District’s Athletic Funds Account.

C. INDIVIDUAL ITEMS:

1. Personnel Appointments (Mrs. Dillon)

The certified and classified personnel presented have been screened by the Personnel Services Department and interviewed and approved by the Principal and Academic Officers.

D. INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS