Category: Schools

Meeting Ends in Turmoil

WINNSBORO (June 23, 2016) – During its regular called meeting June 7, the Fairfield County School Board approved a $38,047,384 budget with no millage increase, which remains at 203.1 mils. The Board also approved a Tax Anticipation Note (TAN) not to exceed $4.3 million.

Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green explained that the purpose of the TAN is to allow the District to receive an advance on tax revenue that will not come into the District until the beginning of the next year in January.

Board Secretary William Frick (District 6) thanked Robinson and his staff for bringing the amount of the TAN down about $2 million from what it was last year. Last October, Frick had asked Robinson if the Board might potentially not have to take out a TAN for the FY 2015-2016 budget since the District had “an anticipated $9 million in the fund balance and considering that each year we’re looking at about a $6 million TAN.”

“I understand these are necessary from time to time but . . . on my time on the Board this is at least one million dollars lower than any other TAN we have voted on,” Frick said.

Board member Paula Hartman (District 2) also asked Green if the District could forgo a TAN this year due to the money the District has in savings. However, Green replied that the District does not have enough cash on hand not to do a TAN.

“We are not at the point where we don’t need a TAN at all,” he said.

The budget and the TAN each passed on a 5-2 vote, with Hartman and Annie McDaniel (District 4) voting against both.

Meeting Ends Contentiously

The Board meeting ended on a contentious note when McDaniel asked Board Chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) for a list of the teachers who have left each school during the current school year.

“I think they have all been in board docs,” Reid said, referring to the information packet provided to Board members. “They are all there, we have looked at them, you have voted on it.”

The Board routinely votes on all terminations/resignations of certified District staff, but McDaniel has complained that Board members are never allowed to see teachers’ resignation letters.

“My question is, could we have a comprehensive list of all the teachers that have left each school?” McDaniel repeated.

Reid said they could not unless that is the consensus of the Board.

“That’s extra work on the staff. That is why the Board as a whole must request it,” Reid said. “This in the Board policy manual.”

Hartman tried to rally the Board to vote to request that McDaniel be given the information, but Reid would not allow a vote since she said this was not an action item on the agenda.

At that point the meeting disintegrated further with accusations of untruthfulness and name calling back and forth between McDaniel and Reid. Reid banged her gravel continuously, and as the arguing continued, she called both McDaniel and Hartman out of order. The din continued until a motion was passed to adjourn the meeting.

McDaniel got in the last word: “I want it in the record that you (Reid) won’t let Board members get information to be able to (function) as Board members.”

 

WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County School Board came a step closer to proceeding with an estimated $2.4 million expansion and renovation for Fairfield Middle School during its May 17 meeting. However, the project has not yet been brought to the Board to be authorized.

During their Jan. 19 meeting, the Board voted 5-1-1 to approve a contract with FW Architects of Florence for engineering and design work to expand Fairfield Middle and Kelly Miller Elementary so that portable classrooms could be removed. Paula Hartman (District 2) voted against the approval, while Annie McDaniel (District 4) abstained.

The plans call for more than 10,000 square feet in new construction at Fairfield Middle with renovations to another 473 square feet in order to tie into the existing school. According a presentation made by the architectural firm at the May Board meeting, the new construction will include collaborative learning spaces that could accommodate different activities.

Dr. J.R. Green, Superintendent, told the Board he wanted to let the Board know the estimated costs before it was put out to bid.

A number of questions about the project ensued after Director of Finance Kevin Robinson presented Green’s recommendation that the Board approve a second reading of the District budget for the 2016 – 2017 fiscal year.

“Since we are talking about the budget, where is the money for the Fairfield Middle School renovation coming from?” Hartman asked.

“We will get to that when we discuss it further,” Board Chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) answered.

“So when are we are going to discuss it?” McDaniel asked.

“When it is presented to us,” Reid answered. “Those figures can certainly change, so when it is brought to the Board, then we’ll discuss it.”

“Don’t we vote first before we do this (the renovations)?” Hartman asked again.

When Reid repeated that the Board would discuss it when it has been presented before the Board, McDaniel jumped in.

“The question is, whether we are going to talk about where the money is coming from,” McDaniel said. “Are you saying we are going to move forward with the project without the Board knowing where the funding is coming from? Is that what I hear?”

“No ma’am, I did not say that,” Reid said. “That will be brought to us at the appropriate time. Everything will come before the Board. We won’t spend any money without the Board’s approval.”

“So you will put the bids out first before we know where the money is coming from?” McDaniel asked.

Green then stepped in and told the Board that the District had previously transferred money to the capital improvement account.

“So we do have capital improvement money we could use for the renovation,” Green said.

McDaniel pointed out, however, that at the time the Board approved the transfer into the capital improvement account, Green did not say specifically what the money was going to be used for.

During the Board’s October 2015 meeting, Green asked the Board to approve a transfer of $2.25 million from a surplus in the general fund account to the capital improvement account. At the time, when asked what, specifically, the $2.25 million transfer would be used for, Green spoke in generalities.

“This is something I’m going to bring back to the Board eventually,” he said in October. “But there are a few things we’re looking at.”

He mentioned renovations that will allow the removal of portables behind the middle school and at Kelly Miller.

During last January’s meeting, Green moved the project further along when he asked the Board to award a contract to FW Architects. While these projects had still not been approved, Green told the Board he planned to pay for them with the $2.25 million transfer of funds to capital projects fund.

“Once we get these designs (for the school renovations) and you are able to prioritize, will you provide us a list of the capital projects you are looking to do?” Board member William Frick (District 6) asked Green during the January meeting. Green told Frick he would.

Board policy for facilities planning and development states: “The board will authorize the construction of a sufficient number of school buildings to meet the demands of present and future student enrollments.”

In addition, Board policy for fiscal management states: “The board will establish budget priorities for each fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).”

Contacted by The Voice after the Board meeting Tuesday night, Green said that he never returned to the Board with a written list of capital improvement projects but that he believed the Board had in effect put a priority on replacing the portables when it approved the architects’ contract to design the renovations.

Green also confirmed that putting the middle school expansion project out for bids does not commit the District or the Board.

“I am committed to this project and am hopeful that we can move ahead with it,” he said, “but there is no guarantee that the Board will approve to fund it.”

 

WINNSBORO (May 13, 2016) – The Fairfield County School Board of Trustees reviewed the proposed 2016-2017 District budget, as well as policy revisions suggested by the S.C. School Board Association (SCSBA) during an April 26 work session.

Board members had more than 70 pages of budget detail before them, but only asked a few questions, mostly for clarification. According to Kevin Robinson, Director of Finance for the District, the proposed budget of $38,470,384 projects a slight increase in revenue of $600,000, or about 2 percent, and includes a corresponding increase in expenditures of about $670,000. The millage rate will remain the same.

Two of the main drivers for the expenditure increase will be a state-mandated 2 percent raise for teachers, plus hiring for six new instructional positions. According to Dr. J.R. Green, District Superintendent, these new positions will be an expansion of District staff. They will include four classroom teachers, one literacy interventionist and one instructional facilitator.

Two of the teaching positions will be for class size reduction, and the other two teachers will be used to expand the District’s Alternative Learning Program and dual credit options. The literacy interventionist will be added to address identified gaps in literacy development; the instructional facilitator will be added to provide additional support to instructional staff.

In addition, Green said that the District will be looking to fill existing vacancies next year. At this time, the District is seeking to replace 33 certified positions for next year, although this is not a static figure. Eight of those vacancies currently have pending recommendations to be approved by the Board of Trustees.

The Board also began sifting through policy models and revisions from the SCSBA, and will continue this review, although according to Board Chairwomen Beth Reid (District 7), the next work session has not been scheduled. The next regularly called Board meeting is May 17 at the District offices.

 

WINNSBORO (April 22, 2016) – The Fairfield County School Board gave approval to first reading of the proposed fiscal year 2016-2017 District budget during its regular board meeting April 5. Kevin Robinson, Director of Finance for the District, presented the Board with a proposed budget of $38,470,384.

The projected budget does not represent a millage increase, according to Robinson, although it is approximately $600,000 more than the current budget.

On the revenue side, there is a projected increase in the local tax revenue base as well as increases in state reimbursement for bus driver salaries and projected transfers for teacher salaries and benefits.

On the expenditure side, Robinson said the District plans to spend about $670,000 more next year than the current year. This is because of a proposed 2 percent state-mandated increase in the teacher salary scale, which will cost $510,530, plus increases in benefits, retirement costs and normal salary step increases. The District also plans to hire six new instructional positions.

Robinson also budgeted for an increase in purchased services of $491,425. Purchased services are those items and services the District buys from outside vendors, ranging from energy costs to books, and also include substitute teachers that were previously accounted for under salaries and benefits. This projected increase is balanced by an anticipated reduction of about $100,000 in the legal services line, which has long been targeted by Board members Annie McDaniel (District 4) and Paula Hartman (District 2) as being artificially inflated to fund school trips and other miscellaneous expenses.

Robinson also estimated a reduction of more than $300,000 in transfers from the general fund for food services, which he said is now projected to be self-sustaining. It was explained during the District’s audit last fall that this positive food service balance is primarily because of the District qualifying for and receiving $400,000 in enhanced U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding for school lunches.

Hartman wanted to know how District salaries for teachers compared to those in the surrounding areas. Dr. J.R. Green, Superintendent, responded that the most recent salary study presented to the Board showed that the District is very competitive, especially for teachers who have been in the District for two or three years.

Board member Henry Miller (District 3) wanted to know about the money the District transfers to Chester County for students living in the Mitford area. This payment is projected to be somewhat reduced because of fewer Fairfield County students attending those schools. Miller wanted to know why that was included in the District’s budget, making it seem higher than it was, when the students were not counted in the District.

Board chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) interjected that the District was not receiving state or federal funds for those students but was also not incurring any costs on their behalf. However, “the court ruling was that our local dollars follow those children to the (Chester) schools,” she said. Green pointed out that the number of students attending the Chester schools has been steadily dropping; in 2011-2012 there were about 190 students. In FY 2016-2017, the District plans to send Chester County $511,000 for about 127 students.

The Board has scheduled a budget workshop on April 26, when it will go over the figures in more detail. The first reading of the budget passed 6-0-1.

Also during the meeting, the Board heard from Dr. Claudia Edwards, Deputy Superintendent of Academics, on the proposed 2016-2017 Academic Calendar. The first day of the 2016-2017 school year will be August 15; spring break will be April 10 – 14, 2017, and mid-year exams will take place before winter break.

 

WINNSBORO (April 22, 2016) – A proposed bid of a little more than $1 million for a school bus parking lot to house 50 buses set off a lively discussion during the Fairfield County School Board’s regular meeting last week.

Based on a motion by Board secretary William Frick (District 6), the Board was asked on April 5 to approve a base bid award of $967,185 to AOS Specialty Construction in Lexington; however, the total cost of the bus parking lot is projected to be $1,165,237. In addition to AOS’s base bid, as well as sidewalk replacement costing $10,320, this amount includes site lighting, fencing, security beams, inspections and testing at $176,242, and technical costs of $11,480 for architectural and engineering work.

Muddying the water of what was eventually voted on by the Board, acceptance of the AOS bid appeared to mean tacit Board approval for a 66 percent increase in an earlier cost estimate for the parking lot.

Dr. J. R. Green, Superintendent, said that when the project was first presented to the Board back in 2013, it was approved at an estimated cost of $700,000. However, Green said, modifications to the original plans needed approval from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) as well as other agencies, which increased the initial proposed cost.

Boomerang, an N.C. engineering firm, was hired by the District to do the engineering and specifications for the project. Green said he was looking to “supplement the $700,000 with additional funding from the capital account to make up the difference, which will be approximately $400,000.”

However, the motion was never amended to reflect the total project amount or to ask for the additional funds, before it was passed on a 5-2 vote.

The goal of this project, Green said, would be to move all the buses from their temporary parking space behind Fairfield Middle School to a new, fenced-in lot at the District’s Transportation Office.

In an email to The Voice last week to answer follow-up questions, Greg Twitty, Purchasing Supervisor for the District, said the project had been bid out previously. However, Green told The Voice following the meeting that this is the first time the project has been put out for bid.

Annie McDaniel (District 4) voiced her concerns about the award to a non-county vendor, saying that she was aware of “three very capable contractors in the county for paving,” and wanted to know why none of the three had bid on the project.

“What efforts were put in place to ensure that persons in the country that do paving were aware that we had this project up for bid?” McDaniel asked.

Twitty stood up in the audience and said, “We did send a packet out to some of the local vendors in the area.”

When asked which local vendors were sent the bid packet, Twitty told the Board he sent it to “Washington” (Washington Trucking and Paving in Winnsboro).

However, in his follow-up email to The Voice, Twitty provided additional information that contradicted his statement to the Board. Twitty’s email listed 12 contractors who were sent bid documents for the bus parking lot, but Washington Trucking and Paving was not among them. The email stated that Washington and two other contractors had been contacted but they “did not request copies of the bid documents.”

In his email, Twitty said four contractors submitted bids and that the advertisement for bids ran in The Herald Independent, South Carolina Business Opportunities and The Voice.

“I could understand if we didn’t have anyone capable in the county,” McDaniel said, asking that the Board amend the motion and have the project rebid to make sure the package gets to all three of the vendors in Fairfield County.

“What if we do that and they still don’t bid?” Frick asked. “I agree, I want our local vendors to participate – it’s their money, it’s our money, and putting it back into the community has a multiplier effect. But if it was advertised, and they are not bidding, how do we make them bid?”

McDaniel said her amendment would just re-start the bidding process.

“We have waited this long, and another month should not give us any heartburn to make sure we have considered local vendors,” she said.

But Green spoke out against rebidding, saying it would add at least 45 to 60 days to the project. He added that the sooner they can move the buses off the parking lot, the sooner the District can start other renovations at the Middle School.

The amendment to the motion failed with Paula Hartman (District 2) and McDaniel voting yes, and the other five Board members opposed.

The Board then passed the original motion for approval of $967,195 for the bus parking lot construction award to AOS Specialty Construction.

McDaniel asked the Board to ensure that, “when we put contracts out, we are making a concerted effort to contact the vendors in this county that perform the work.”

AOS has sub-contracted the paving project to Armstrong Construction in Blythewood.

 

WINNSBORO (April 8, 2016) – A request by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the Fairfield County School Board to waive building use fees for district facilities came under fire at the School Board’s March 15 meeting.

Kevin Robinson, Director of Finance, presented several requests from outside organizations asking that the board waive the fees for use of school buildings. The NRC asked for a fee waiver for the use of McCrorey-Liston Elementary School for a public meeting on the V.C. Summer Nuclear plant; Gethsemane Church and Sunday School union asked for fees to be waived for use of McCrorey-Liston for six days for Vacation Bible School; V.C. Summer asked for a fee waiver for use of the track at Fairfield Central High School for a physical fitness test for its security response team; and the Fairfield Salkehatchie service group asked for fees to be waived for using the high school to house mission volunteers for a week.

Board member Annie McDaniel (District 4) noted that the school district could be reimbursed from governmental agencies for the use of the schools.

Board chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) replied that the motion was that the fees be waived.

McDaniel said she would like to amend the motion under consideration by the board, “that we not waive the fees, because we can get reimbursement for the use of the facilities.”

“Why would we not want to waive fees for an agency that contributes mightily to our budget every year and for whom we have waived the fees for who knows how many years?” Reid asked.

McDaniel said that waiving the fees should be based on need.

“Why should we waive the fees (for V.C. Summer) when we have students in that area who have been complaining because, when we first built that high school in the area, we promised those parents that we would pay for those students’ (transportation to) extracurricular activities,” McDaniel said. “We have not been truly honoring that except for some athletic events. Please help me understand why we would not want the money back when we could get reimbursed?”

Contacted by telephone after the meeting, McDaniel told The Voice that it was her understanding that when the district had closed McCrorey-Liston and Winnsboro high schools and consolidated them under Fairfield Central, the parents in the outlying county areas were assured that the district would pay for transportation for the students for extracurricular activities at the school.

She said this was still an on-going issue in the poorest and most remote areas of the county, and in fact had been raised at a recent town hall meeting held by Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green at McCrorey-Liston School of Technology.

During this meeting, the parents were told that the district doesn’t have the money to help the students attend extracurricular events. Her frustration, McDaniel said, is that she talked with an (NRC) representative who said the NRC would not have problems paying an invoice for the use of the school facilities.

“Why would you want to give to the wealthy and not give to those in need?” McDaniel asked, stating that she did not have a problem waiving the fees for Salkehatchie because students in that organization use their own money to buy materials and renovate houses in the community.

Reid said the board does not determine the use of facility but determines only if there will be a fee waiver.

Board policy on the use of school facilities by non-school groups states, the “board restricts the use of these facilities to recognized non-profit community organizations…. City and county activities may use some school facilities for activities on a non-profit basis without a facilities charge. The district will charge these groups for utilities, security, and custodial services.”

The policy further states that, “When school facilities are used by non-school persons, a school employee must be present while the facility is in use. The group using the facility will pay for the employee’s services.”

Also, administrative rules for the district state, “The board requires the administration to also establish a facility fee schedule for the areas deemed appropriate for community use as part of this policy. Consideration is given to school-related and non-profit organizations and lower fees are charged in an effort to encourage community use; however, it is the intent of the board to recover any direct expense incurred as a result of such usage. Requests for fee waivers will be referred to the board. Any organization may request a fee waiver.”

Responding to a question from Paula Hartman (District 2), Superintendent Green responded that the cost to use school facilities would vary depending on the event, but estimated that for a couple of hours it would “probably be a couple hundred dollars.”

Hartman said the use of the school facilities seems to be growing more and more, and she would like the board take a closer look at its policy.

McDaniel asked Green if the Democratic Party had paid any fees recently when they used the middle school. Green said they had not. McDaniel further pointed out that the school board was not even presented with a fee waiver request from the Democratic Party and that it was not reviewed by the board. Under further questioning by McDaniel, Green also conceded that he had allowed another church, the House of Prayer, to store equipment at one of the schools without completing a facility usage request.

Henry Miller (District 3), who earlier had stated that since the NRC gives the district “$21 million” a year, said he wasn’t going to fight them on the issue of fees and pronounced the “school is community … we are one,” and that the board should encourage the community to come to the district: “I would wish that we had more churches, more businesses to come to our schools.”

The board voted on McDaniel’s amendment — that Dr. Green invoice the government entity (NRC) so the district can be reimbursed for the use of the school facilities. The motion failed 5-2. The board then passed the original motion, that the fees be waived for use of the McCrorey-Liston School of Technology by NRC, 5 (Reid, Miller, and Board members William Frick – District 6, Sylvia Harrison – District 1, and Carl Jackson – District 5) to 2 (McDaniel and Hartman). The board also approved the fee waiver request for Gethsemane, with 5 voting yes, Hartman voting no, and McDaniel abstaining, and unanimously approved the two fee waiver requests for the use of Fairfield Central High School.

When The Voice asked Robinson after the meeting whether the fee waiver meant that the organizations would also not have to pay for the costs of utilities, security and custodial services for the use of the schools, he stated that if the waiver is approved, any fees the district would normally charge would be waived, and the organization would not have to pay anything to use school facilities.

 

WINNSBORO (March 25, 2016) – The Fairfield School District’s legal fees budget line, which has been described by some board members in the past as a slush fund, was once again a topic at the School Board’s March 15 meeting.

Projecting a $1 million surplus in the fund balance by the end of the fiscal year, the District’s Director of Finance, Kevin Robinson, also asked the board to consider a budget transfer request to move $7,000 from the legal fees budget line to help pay for the Fairfield Middle School chorus to perform at Disney World in Orlando. District Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green said students had raised or contributed more than $30,000 toward the trip.

“Why is it that we are continuously funding the same groups?” Board member Annie McDaniel (District 4) asked. “I know we have an outstanding chorus, but my question is the disparity that we keep funding the same trip, and I am sure there are other opportunities for our children that we are not funding.”

She questioned why the district was not funding transportation for other students for extra-curricular activities as that would impact the students even more.

Board member Paula Hartman (District 2) also raised the on-going question of why the students needed to go so far away to perform.

“At risk of opening an additional can of worms, it is important to know where this money is coming from,” Board member William Frick said. “I think it was mentioned that this would be coming out of legal fees … what is the status of that budget?”

Chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) stated that 95 percent of the legal fees budget was still unspent, so there was plenty of room to make the $7,000 transfer.

Referring to past questions that had been raised about why the legal fund continues to be over-budgeted and used to fund other projects that come up, Hartman commented, “That’s our slush fund.”

“Contributing to students’ going to Disney World is not a slush fund,” Reid said. “There are legal fees that are not being spent. Therefore, there is a surplus which most graciously we should share if at all possible with the students, which I think you are focused on.”

The board approved the transfer, 5-2, with Hartman opposed and McDaniel abstaining.

The board also voted unanimously to approve the adoption of new textbooks for the 2016-2017 school year even though three board members – Hartman, McDaniel and Frick – said they had not been made aware that the textbooks were available for review prior to the meeting.

Dr. Claudia Edwards, Deputy Superintendent of Academics, said classroom teachers had been given the opportunity to give input into the selection, and the recommended textbooks had been on display at the district offices since February. She said the board had been notified in last month’s side pocket to the agenda.

Frick said the only reason he knew the books were in the office was that he happened to go by the district office on some other business. Since approving textbooks is “a fairly core function that we have, I ask that next year you make an announcement when they are coming out,” he said.

Reid agreed to do that.