JOINT BOARD OF CONTROL
JACKSON RIVER TECHNICAL CENTER
MINUTES
February 9, 2016
The Joint Board of Control for Jackson River Technical Center met in regular monthly session on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 with the following members present:
Cindy Bennett, Chairman Covington City
William Angle Alleghany County
Eddy Clemons Covington City
Robert Garten Covington City
Randy Tucker Alleghany County
Jacob Wright Alleghany County
Also present were Mr. Tom Long, Administrator; Mr. Eugene Kotulka, Superintendent of Alleghany County Schools; Mr. Glenn Spangler, Director; and Ms. Christy Armentrout, Clerk.
Mrs. Bennett called the meeting to order at 12:04 p.m. and led in a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
Approval of Minutes:
On a motion by Mr. Tucker, seconded by Mr. Wright, the minutes of the January 12, 2016, meeting were approved as submitted unanimously by aye vote.
Administrative Reports (16-41):
Update on Chemical Identification. Mr. Spangler informed the board that the unlabeled chemicals have been identified. With the help of Steve Bowers of Alleghany Mechanical and Mr. Clemons the chemicals were determined to be glycol and have been appropriately labeled. These chemicals will be properly disposed of in the near future.
First Semester A & B Honor Rolls. Mr. Spangler informed the board that the A and B honor rolls for the first semester have been published. He mentioned that 44% of students enrolled at JRTC made either the A or B honor roll. He also noted that there would have been more students on the honor roll if attendance had been better, as attendance is a factor in making the honor roll.
Enrollment Report. Mr. Spangler reviewed the enrollment report with the board. He noted that there were some changes in the year-long classes at level 2 and 3 due to students withdrawing from the school system or changes in their schedule.
SEDF Report. Mr. Spangler also presented the SEDF report to the board. This report displayed the student enrollment information broken down based on gender, race, etc.
Dual Enrollment Report: Mr. Spangler presented the board with a report on the number of students from JRTC that are pursuing dual enrollment credit for their courses here.
New Business:
New Tech at JRTC (16-42):
Mrs. Bennett asked that the board have some discussion regarding JRTC and its future in light of Alleghany County’s proposed interest in using the facilities to possibly house New Tech.
Mr. Tucker mentioned that he had made a motion at a work session the night before that had been reported incorrectly in the newspaper. He noted that JRTC has not been voted upon as being used to house New Tech. He stated that he would like to look at how enrollment at JRTC could be increased, specifically enrollments from Covington High School.
Mrs. Bennett mentioned that JRTC has experienced many successes in recent years, such as a National Championship earned by the Welding Fabrication team in 2013, successful experiences at the HOSA conferences by the nursing assistant students, the addition of advanced marketing to the curriculum, and most recently the receipt of a grant to advance the technology used in the Welding program from the Alleghany Foundation. She noted that enrollment does fluctuate, however there is still opportunity for growth and continued success at JRTC.
Mr. Long added that travel, social issues, and scheduling make it more challenging to have a greater number of Covington High School students enrolled at JRTC. He also mentioned that there are a good number of CHS students enrolled in CTE courses at CHS who are obtaining technical training regardless of the fact that they do not attend JRTC.
Mr. Clemons added that another challenge that faces JRTC is the mindset that all students need to go to college. He said that the realization that there is a great need for vocational education needs to set in, and that one of the biggest obstacles to providing more opportunities at JRTC has been the budget. He stated that the board cannot demand more out of the center, or of Mr. Spangler based on what is being put into the school from the outside. He said that the board needs to think about how big of a risk it is willing to take in considering the addition of new programs.
Mr. Tucker commented that JRTC is an underutilized facility.
Mr. Kotulka added that an assessment study to discover the employment needs should be conducted, and that a long rage, comprehensive funding plan should be considered.
Mrs. Bennett stated that the needs assessment should be a nation-wide assessment, and not just based on the local employment needs because this is what would be in the best interest of the students. She expressed that it is critical to keep JRTC open and growing, and not to entertain replacing it with something else.
Mr. Tucker responded that there is no intention of that happening. Mr. Kotulka stated that the site study conducted for New Tech indicated that there was space that could potentially be utilized. He stated that there was no intention of replacing, but of enhancing.
Mr. Long responded that housing New Tech at JRTC would reduce or eliminate the square footage that would be needed if JRTC were to be expanded.
Mrs. Bennett asked if there was anyone willing to make a motion to indicate that there is no intention to take away JRTC and replace it with New Tech.
At this time Mr. Wright read a prepared statement to apologize on behalf of the Alleghany County School Board for derogatory comments that were made about JRTC at the Alleghany County work session on Monday, February 8, 2016.
Mr. Angle noted that more programs are needed at JRTC if it is to see an increase enrollments. He followed this up by saying that the statements that were made at the work session regarding the possible utilization of JRTC for New Tech were meant to be a proposal only.
Mr. Clemons made a motion that JRTC is not to be considered for use for New Tech. Mr. Wright seconded the motion. The motion was approved by roll call vote, with five votes of yes, and one vote of no, with Mr. Tucker casting the dissenting vote.
Shared Services at JRTC (16-43):
Mrs. Bennett stated that the issues that clarification needs to be made regarding shared services between Alleghany County and Covington City schools for the Educational Technology Center and the Alternative Education Program.
Mr. Kotulka stated that a recommendation has been made for Alleghany to start a new technology department in order to meet the demands of the one-on-one laptop initiative that they have undertaken. The recommendation has also been made to combine the Regional Alternative Education Program with the Alternative Education program at Clifton Middle School, and to make some changes to enhance and improve the combined programs. This proposal came out at the meeting on Monday night. It should be voted on at the next Alleghany County School Board meeting and, if the proposal is approved, the new services will be put into place beginning next year. Mr. Kotulka stated that they plan on offering umbrella services to Covington if that was something they would be interested in pursuing.
Mr. Long thanked Mr. Kotulka for this information. He said that Covington Schools need to know how to plan for staffing needs going into the future. He said that he is sorry to hear that Alleghany wants to pull out of shared services.
Pay Bills (16-44):
Mr. Wright reviewed the bills and moved that the bills in the amount of $16,581.24 be approved for payment. Mr. Garten seconded the motion, and the motion carried by unanimous aye vote.
Bills and salaries in the amount of $112,455.85 were also paid in accordance with approved salary and benefit schedules.
Adjournment:
The meeting adjourned 1:09 p.m. on motion by Mr. Garten, seconded by Mr. Wright.
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Date Approved Clerk
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Chairman
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