HCPS Board Meeting Highlights

Monday, September 27, 2004

At the business meeting on September 27, 2004 at Bel Air Middle School the following actions and discussions took place.

Recognition

The September 2004 Harford County Public School Educator Hall of Fame nominees were officially inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Board of Education. Inducted was Russell D. Stansbury, a 39-year former industrial arts teacher in the Harford County Public Schools who was a pioneer in integrating the Harford County Public Schools. Also posthumously inducted was Hunter C. Sutherland a 30-year teacher, principal, and supervisor in the Harford County Public Schools who is remembered for his efforts at building equality among students and staff. Also, recognized was Gary C. Rabe 28-year teacher the last 23 of those years at C. Milton Wright High School as a technology educator and department chair. Mr. Rabe was awarded the 2003 Iota Lambda Sigma Grand Chapter National Award for Distinguished Teaching.

General Public Comments

Ann Vogt of Bel Air complimented the teachers and staff at Bel Air High School where her son attends but complained that her son's homeroom takes place in the gymnasium, that there are 30-35 students in some of his classes and that the school is in dire need of repair. She also said the $5,000 the Board had designated to go to Florida schools in connection with recent hurricanes, while a worthwhile effort, could have been better used to buy textbooks and other supplies for local students. Cindy Mumby of Bel Air also questioned the decision to send the money to Florida schools and to end the review of the MGT report recommendations, particularly sighting the failure to implement recommendations on the implementation of automated routing systems into the transportation program.

Old Business

Action Items

Acting on the motion of Board Member Mark M. Wolkow and the second of Board Member Patrick L. Hess, the Board unanimously approved items on the Consent Agenda including the Monthly Report on Personnel; the Proposed Resolutions on National Red Ribbon Week, Fire Prevention Week, School Bus Safety Week, and National School Lunch Week; and the minutes of the August 9, 2004 Board Business Meeting.

Acting on the motion of Mr. Wolkow the Board voted unanimously to approve the Comprehensive Maintenance Plan for submittal to the Interagency Committee for Public School Construction Program.

New Business

Acting on the motion of Board Vice-President R. Robin Rich and the second of Board Member Lee Merrell, the Board voted unanimously to layover consideration of the renaming of the former Aberdeen High School North Building to its October 11, 2004 meeting at which action would be taken to rename the building.

The Board unanimously approved the appointment of Patti Jo Beard to be Director of the Facilities Management Department. Mrs. Beard had been Acting Director of that department.

Presentations

Gerald Scarborough, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, presented the Board with a semi-annual curriculum update. Dr. Scarborough had presented information to the Board on March 15, 2004 concerning curriculum development. During the late spring of 2004 curriculum supervisors organized resources and developed action plans to address the request of the Board of Education to provide a curriculum model for all courses not having an existing curriculum model. As indicated in the March 15th informational report, a majority of those courses were high school elective courses that have been offered for over 20 years in the HCPS. A close analysis of all courses offered in the Harford County Public Schools resulted in the identification of 47 courses for which curriculum models had to be provided. Teacher writing teams were formed, planning sessions were conducted, and summer schedules were coordinated to complete the writing, editing and production of the 47 guides. Upon approval of the General Curriculum Committee the supervisors distributed the curricular materials to the classroom teachers prior to the opening of the school year. Supervisors will provide professional development sessions for teachers utilizing the guides as opportunities become available throughout the school year.

Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas presented the Board with the Annual System Goals. The focus of the Superintendent's report was to share recent performance data and conceptually frame the school system work plan for addressing the current identified "opportunities for improvement" for the Harford County Public School System.

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This document contains a summary of issues that came before the Board of Education of Harford County and actions taken by the Board at the public business meeting at the meeting date referenced on the document. These are not official Board-approved minutes. Board minutes are not posted on the HCPS web site because of the time lapse that occurs between the meeting, their preparation, and ultimate approval by the Board.
For copies of approved Board minutes, please e-mail Lynn.Hutchinson@hcps.org