T. J. ROYAL
Staff Writer
May 13, 2008 11:01 am
—
A short, but important, revision to the school system's insurance program on furniture and appliances was the topic discussed the most at the Edgecombe County Board of Education's monthly meeting Tuesday night.
The meeting was in Keihin Auditorium on the Edgecombe Community College campus, to seat the 300 students and parents who attended the school system's spring semester Gold Key award ceremony.
Other items on the agenda included adjustments to the system's 2007-08 budget, as well as contract renewals and the school system joining a food purchase cooperative that could save the county "a lot of money."
Dr. Lana VanderLinden, associate superintendent, presented the policy revisions to the board.
The insurance revision VanderLinden presented Tuesday discouraged bringing home appliances and furniture not inventoried or purchased by the school system onto Board of Education property.
The language in the revision included microwaves, hot plates and refrigerators in the same group. Board member Janice Davidson said to VanderLinden there was a "big difference between a hot plate and a refrigerator" as far as posing an immediate risk to students.
Teachers often bring such appliances onto school grounds, Davidson said, because the school system "can't afford that kind of equipment" for each teacher.
She said that if the use of home appliances was prohibited on school grounds, that it would "cause a lot of resentment" among teachers.
VanderLinden said the home appliance revision was strictly for insurance purposes. The insurance concern of the revision, VanderLinden added, was to avoid an unauthorized machine or appliance from being plugged into an outlet it was not suited for; and also to avoid the potential hazard that could create in a school.
"What we're trying to avoid is an insurance issue with something that does not belong to the school," VanderLinden said.
Because the wording of the revision did not allow for school maintenance approval of an appliance, the board did not adopt that specific policy revision. It moved instead to have it reworded in committee.
A large item on the agenda was the adjustment of the 2007-08 Edgecombe County Public Schools budget. The largest adjustment was an $807,000 expense for textbooks for the previous school year.
The state allotted the textbook expense, but previously, the bill for it was reflected in the local portion of the school budget. This year, that expense is being tallied as part of the school system's funds from the state.
That shift made the Edgecombe County school system's budget from state funds increase $1.3 million, to a total of $46.1 million for the 2007-08 fiscal year ending June 30. By itself, the adjustment to the budget from rising fuel costs came to almost $195,000.
Other school budget adjustments were made for Physical Education For Progress grants that were awarded to three schools; Coker Wimberly Elementary received $30,000; Phillips Middle received $25,000; and Princeville Montessori also received $25,000.
School Board Chairwoman Evelyn Wilson spoke out about the contract renewal for driver education services provided by the North Carolina Driving School. Wilson said that out of the three sessions contracted by the Driving School, the last session for students had been canceled.
Before renewing the contract with the driving school, Wilson said she wanted to "iron out the concerns" she heard about the cancellation.
VanderLinden suggested that issue not be discussed in the open session, as it concerned a personnel matter within the school system.
Before going into closed session, VanderLinden also explained that the state Department of Public Instruction is trying to form a statewide purchasing group for child nutrition programs. The exploratory effort is for a group called the NC Partnership for Procurement Alliance.
She said that if Edgecombe joined the group, the buying power of the district would be increased and that the variety of products available would increase.
She said that South Carolina had a similar purchase cooperative, and that school systems there had saved a significant amount of money by being part of it.
Board member Ann Kent was not present. She was out of the country with family.
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