Top Menu

February 14, 2017 – MINUTES

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

JOINT BOARD OF CONTROL

JACKSON RIVER TECHNICAL CENTER

MINUTES

 

February 14, 2017

 

The Joint Board of Control for Jackson River Technical Center met in regular monthly session on Tuesday, February 14, 2017 with the following members present:

 

Bert Baker                                           Covington City

Cindy Bennett                                       Covington City

Eddy Clemons                                      Covington City

Gerald Franson                         Alleghany County

Craig Lane                                           Alleghany County

Jennifer Seckner                                   Alleghany County

Randy Tucker                                       Alleghany County

 

Also present were Mr. Eugene Kotulka, Administrator; Ms. Melinda Snead-Johnson, Superintendent of Covington City Schools; Mr. Glenn Spangler, Director; and Ms. Christy Armentrout, Clerk.

 

Mrs. Seckner called the meeting to order at 12:00 noon and led in a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

 

Approval of Minutes:

On a motion by Mr. Lane, seconded by Mr. Baker, the minutes of the January 10, 2017 meeting were approved as submitted unanimously by aye vote.

 

Administrative Reports (17-31):

First Semester Honor Rolls.

Mr. Spangler presented the board with a list of students who met the requirements for the A and A/B Honor Rolls for the first semester at Jackson River Technical Center. Mr. Spangler noted that 24% of the student population made the A Honor Roll and 24% made the A/B Honor Roll for a combined 48% of the student body being on the Honor Roll. Mr. Spangler noted that good attendance is required to meet the criteria for being on the Honor Roll, which ties into workplace readiness.

 

Enrollment Report.

Mr. Spangler presented the board with an updated enrollment report. He noted that the numbers in red denote a change in enrollment. There were 360 students enrolled for the 1st semester and 319 for the second semester. He noted it is normal for the second semester numbers to be down from first semester numbers. Numbers for both semesters this year are greater than they were last year. Current enrollments are up by 20 students compared to the same time last year.

 

SEDF Report.

Mr. Spangler presented to board with a copy of the SEDF report. He noted that the numbers on this report are different than the enrollment report. These numbers were pulled at the beginning of the school year and included both semesters in the total.  The number of non-traditional students is not at 30% which is the goal according to the state, however with a limited number of programs and a small student body it is increasingly difficult to meet this number of non-traditional students.

 

Dual Enrollment Report.

Mr. Spangler presented the board with a report reflecting the number of dual enrollment courses and the number of students enrolled in each course for the first and second semesters of the 2016-2017 school year.

 

Annual Performance Report.

Mr. Spangler presented to board with a copy of the Annual Performance Report. He directed to board to the back page which includes summaries of state standards for CTE school performance. All standards of the performance summary were met with the exception of non-traditional students and secondary placement. Mr. Spangler noted that when follow up surveys are completed with students who have completed programs at JRTC if they are not working it affects the placement rates negatively. He also reiterated that due to the number of programs and small student body size that non-traditional numbers are difficult to meet.

 

Budget Report.

Mr. Spangler presented the board with reports documenting the school budget for the last 3 years including actual expenditures for each year. He proceeded to go through the budget section by section and explained the different categories and what costs were associated with them.

 

Director’s Report.

Mr. Spangler noted that 9th grade tours are scheduled on Thursday, February 23, 2017 for Covington High School students and on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 for Alleghany High School students. He also mentioned that in honor of Career and Technical Education month JRTC will be having an open house on February 22. Information regarding the open house will be published in the Virginian Review.

 

 

Goal Committee Meetings (17-32):

Mr. Spangler asked the desire of the board regarding moving forward with meetings and times and dates for those meetings. It was the consensus of the board that there should be monthly updates from the committees at the board meetings. No meeting dates for these committees were established.

 

Marketing Committee. The marketing committee has discussed the new sign that was designed by the marketing class. The Facebook page for JRTC is now up and running. The new website has been built and is being assessed for further alteration.

 

Increased Collaboration Committee. Mr. Huffman and Mr. Spangler have met with administration and faculty from DSLCC regarding Welding Dual enrollment regarding a career studies certificate. There is still need for an additional meeting with DSLCC. There has also been discussion of collaboration with DSLCC for Early Childhood Education and working in some capacity with Boy’s Home.

 

Increased Board Engagement Committee. There was nothing regarding this committee to update the board about.

 

Impediments to Collaboration Committee. There was nothing regarding this committee to update the board about.

 

 

Welding Dual Enrollment (17-33):

As Mr. Spangler noted earlier in the meeting he and Mr. Huffman met with members of the teaching faculty and administration of DSLCC regarding establishing a dual enrollment program with the Welding program in which students can earn a Career Studies Certificate in Welding. If this program were implemented it would cost approximately $9,000/per graduating class if all students in a full class participated. There could also be additional instructor costs as Mr. Huffman would have to spend more hours in the classroom to meet the requirements. A stipend of approximately $11,539 would be needed to cover ¼ of Mr. Huffman’s salary for an additional block of teaching time. After benefits this amount would be $14,451. This program is not something that has yet been agreed upon by JRTC and DSLCC. Additional meeting would be needed to reach this point, however it is something the board should take into consideration in the future.

 

Computer Program Addition (17-34):

Mr. Spangler asked the board to consider bringing back the Computer Systems Technology program next year. He noted that this program is now a 2 year program instead of a 3 year program, but that it could be potentially offered with another related program such as software operations and advanced software operations. There is a possibility of sharing an instructor with DSLCC or using surplus funds to cover the salary of an additional staff member for this year, with the expectation that the school divisions will need to plan on budgeting for this salary the following year. The maximum salary/benefits package required would be $90,000. Other expenses would include books and possibly some new hardware, which VPSA money could cover.

There was some discussion among the board about whether or not to make the commitment this year, and whether or not this would be a sustainable program. After some discussion Mr. Clemons made a motion that JRTC move forward with plans to bring back CST with the salary for the instructor coming from surplus funds for this year and the localities to providing the funding for it in the future. Mr. Tucker seconded the motion, and it passed by unanimous aye vote.

 

New Tech Program (17-35):

Mr. Lane asked if the board was willing to start the New Tech program at JRTC while the Alleghany Foundation was willing to aid in funding the program. He noted that the Alleghany County School Board had already approved moving forward with pursing this, but that the Covington Board had not acted on it in any way.

Mr. Clemons asked if there was a financial plan in place for the annual costs once the Alleghany Foundation ceases their funding of the project. He noted that if there was a financial plan available that it would be helpful for the Covington City School Board to have this information in order to reach a decision.  Mr. Clemons noted that he does not think that the Alleghany Board has considered that there will be costs for staffing and facilities and he sees long term costs of the program as being a point of concern once the program is not located at JRTC anymore.

 

Mr. Lane stated that he feels the program should move forward at this time for the sake of the students in order to start out small to see the level of student interest and get the program underway for their benefit.

 

Mrs. Bennett noted that she does not want to see another new program placed at JRTC that will impact career and technical education negatively because the board has expressed a commitment to grow JRTC and not to take away from it. She also expressed a concern that a decision on New Tech at this time would require a full commitment that should not be based on a temporary situation. She reiterated that the Covington City School Board needs more detailed information before they would be ready to commit to this program.

 

Mr. Kotulka answered that Covington should put their part of the financial plans together regarding the future of New Tech expenses.

 

Mr. Clemons stated that both boards should work together to look at a joint plan if this is to be a joint effort.

 

Mr. Tucker interjected that the Alleghany Board wants to move forward with this program if Covington decides not to participate.

 

Mr. Baker stated that he is very supportive of the program and wants it for the students, however he does not think we are to the point to move forward here because there is more that we need to do.

 

Mr. Lane made a motion to approve the location of New Tech at JRTC for at least two years or until JRTC expands its programs and needs the space. The motion was seconded by Mr. Tucker.

 

A roll call vote was taken.

Baker – No

Bennett – No

Clemons – No

Franson – Yes

Lane – Yes

Seckner – Yes

Tucker – Yes.

 

The motion was passed on a 4-3 vote.

 

Pay Bills (17-36):

Bills in the amount of $20,865.31 were approved for payment on motion by Mr. Baker, seconded by Mr. Lane. The motion carried unanimously.

 

Bills and salaries in the amount of $80,347.31 were also paid in accordance with approved salary and benefit schedules.

 

Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned 1:35 p.m. on motion by Mr. Tucker, seconded by Mr. Lane.

 

 
 _____________________________________         _____________________________________

Date Approved                                                                         Clerk

 

 

 

_____________________________________

Chairman

Comments are closed.