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Board of Education considers changes in high school cell phone use penalties The Wilkes County Board of Education met Tuesday night and considered a proposed calendar for next school year, discussed the high school's cell phone policy, and heard how the high school's Career, Technology and Agriculture is taking vocational education into the marketplace. The proposed calendar would have the 2008-2009 school year start on Friday, August 8, and end on Friday, May 22. Spring Break would be set for April 6-10, 2009. The board will vote on the proposed calendar at the February meeting. Superintendent Joyce Williams and board members Chairman Ricky Callaway, Vice Chairman Bob Guin, Kay Finnell, Kelly Powell, and Steve Albertson discussed at some length with Principal Steve Echols a few complaints that they had heard concerning the high school's policies on cell phone possession and use by students. The school bans cell phones from the school buildings, but allows students to leave them in their cars. The policy in place is the best the school's leadership team could design that can be fair, possible to monitor, and that protects instructional time. There have been 25 infractions of the rule in the first half of the year. The policy in question at Tuesday night's meeting was the punishment for that first offense, which is set at a two-day out-of-school suspension. Echols said that he had addressed each class on this policy, with emphasis on the punishment, in the first few days of school. He said that no other area high school has as severe a punishment for the first offense, but that their punishments for second or third offenses were stronger. Board member Steve Albertson said that he thought the punishment on first offense was harsh, out of line with the policies of any of the surrounding counties. After extensive discussion, the board members asked Echols to reconsider the punishment with the school's leadership team with an eye to the ultimate goal of protecting instruction time. Board members were treated to a Focus on Curriculum session on the new Career, Technology, and Agriculture Department, formerly known as Vocational Education by Director Lou Bentley. "We're no longer Vocational, we're Career, Technology, and Agriculture, and good things are going on," she said. The department is working to prepare students for technical schools, and for two- and four-year colleges, and to prepare them for the workplace by developing specific job skills and workplace skills. Bentley introduced department heads in each area. Eric Holton told the board about the Ag Department, which helped prepare students for the workplace in horticulture, forestry, welding, construction, electrical wiring, auto and diesel mechanics, small engine repair, and animal science. Each of the departments has a cocurricular club that is an extension of the curriculum into the outside world, such as the 100-member Future Farmers of America (FFA) for the Ag Department. Tanya Morgan spoke on the Business and Computer Science Department, which helps students master skills in all the most popular computer programs they will encounter in the workplace and in future schooling. The department offers classes in accounting, business documents, computer applications, and entrepreneurship, along with cooperative education opportunities. The 83-member Future Business Leaders of America is the co-curricular club for the department. The Family and Consumer Science Department used to be called Home Ec, said department head Sheila Callaway, but now works to prepare students for both family life and work life, and careers in family consumer sciences. Courses in early childhood education, culinary arts, interior design are getting more career oriented, she said, with internships and co-ops. The 52 member FCCLA is the department's club. The Health Care Services Department, headed by Ann Harrison, is for students interested in the medical fields. The department is industry certified in health care science tech education and ag mechanics, and teachers are working toward certificationsin two more areas. The HOSA club is the department's cocurricular group, and gives members opportunities to take part in community health care events. In Superintendent Williams' construction report, she told the board that the local, regional, and state firemarshals had agreed with engineers that no water tower or pump station was needed for the new high school's firesprinkler system. "We're waiting to get that in writing from the state firemarshal," she said. The design for the sewage lift station has been approved by the state, and would go out for bids immediately. Bids would be opened March 11 at 2 p.m. Williams said that she had requested a change order to re-route the traffic flowon school grounds to maximize safety, but that the estimate of $100,000 was excessive. "I'm not recommending we go with the change order. We're looking at doing it another way, for a far lower price." Citizens have been asking for tours of the construction site, but conditions were not safe enough yet for tours. "I do invite the press to come again and take more pictures so everybody can see." In new business, board members re-elected Bob Guin as Vice Chairman. The meeting started with comments from bus driver Rev. Dale Fincher, who was concerned with the system policy of using the newest buses for trips. His route bus, Bus 3, had the latest improvements in safety mirrors, plus others he had installed, because getting on and off buses was the most dangerous times for children, he said. When his bus is taken for a trip, he has to use an unfamiliar bus that he has not fine-tuned for safety, and he felt that the children's safety might be compromised. Callaway said that the use of the buses was the superintendent's decision and not the board's, but that he was sure that every bus the system owns meets every safety standard applicable for the year.
The board met in Executive Session for personnel.
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