Minutes of Board Meeting 2-17-09

I am posting these minutes to expedite information dissemination. Much more complete and detailed minutes will be posted in 4-6 weeks on the school district’s website. In the mean time, these minutes are what I feel were the big “takeaways”, a macro look at my impression of the meeting. These are condensed, abbreviated, shortened, and to the point.

Meeting convened at 5:35 PM

All Board Members and Superintendent Malcolm Thomas present.

Invocation given by Jim Locke, Senior Pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church

Pledge of Allegiance led by Beulah Elementary Student Hayley Thompson

PTA Presentation—given by Kathy Lasky

Stellar Employee Recognition—Jane Finn, 23 year employee of the district, currently supervisor of the district’s revenue department recognized and awarded.

Public Forum: 2 Speakers Total

1 Speaker Wants detailed information on the district’s handicapped accessibility programs, wants the districts facilities to all be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

1 Speaker urged board and community support for additional financing of public education by the State Legislature.

Rule adoptions: None



Permission to advertise:

1. The School Board will by resolution on April 21, 2009, at its regularly scheduled Board Meeting name the Pensacola High School Athletic Complex the “James W. Haynes Athletic Complex” as approved by the Pensacola High School Advisory Council at its January 2009 meeting.

Approval of Minutes:

3 sets of January Board Meeting Minutes Approved


Entire Consent Agenda Approved.

All Curriculum items approved

All Finance items approved

All Purchasing items approved

All Operations items approved

(Entire Consent Agenda was meticulously covered and discussed at length during two thorough school board workshops held during the early afternoon of 2/12/2009, and the morning of 2/13/2009)

Board voted unanimously, 5-0, to accept the superintendent’s recommendation regarding the following:

Student recommendations:

15 Students Expelled

1 Student returned to regular classes after a 90 day suspension because the hearing officer found that the this punishment was sufficient and a longer expulsion was not.

Student infractions included:

1 for possession of a razor blade
2 for felony burglary off-campus with adverse impact
11 for possession of drugs on campus
1 for Threatening comments toward a teacher
1 for repeated incidents of disruptive behavior

Employee Recommendations:

One employee reinstated.
One employee suspended 1 day for misconduct
One Employee placed on reassignment with pay until further notice pending the outcome of a district investigation.

The following item was passed by a 4-1 board vote, with Jeff Bergosh voting “no”:

One employee suspended without pay for five days for falsifying timesheets on an ongoing basis resulting in misappropriation of thousands of dollars in district funds. (Theft).

(I voted no to this recommendation because I did not agree that the punishment was severe enough based upon the information I was given. At the workshop, I discussed why I felt that this employee should be fired, not given a five day vacation [leave without pay]. Theft, especially in these trying economic times we live in, should be dealt with swiftly and should result in immediate termination, in my opinion. In real life, when one steals from one's employer, that individual is fired. My opinion is that, union member or not, theft of thousands of dollars in district money should result in termination)

Meeting adjourned at 6:46PM.