Building community trust and involvement in the Fayette County Public Schools plays a crucial role in becoming a world-class district that educates all children at the highest levels.  In an effort to inform our community and employees about the issues facing FCPS and keep constituents up to date on actions taken by the Board of Education, we are pleased to provide a summary of our school board meetings.Board meeting agendas and minutes are also available on the school district Web site. Board meetings are televised live on Channel 13 and replayed the same week at 2 p.m. Tuesday, 8 p.m. Wednesday and 2 p.m. Saturday.

A summary of the March 23, 2009, meeting of the Fayette County Board of Education:

1.   The board welcomed the evening’s student representative, Monica Bryan of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and Eastside Technical Center; and teacher representative, Lynne Birmingham of Cardinal Valley Elementary School.

2.   As part of the district’s 2020 Vision Initiative, each board meeting begins with a student performance to showcase the high quality art and music instruction in Fayette County and spotlight talented young people in the district. Monday night, the board welcomed fourth-graders in the Rosa Parks Elementary orchestra.

Hear the orchestra play “Happy Blues” by Isaac.

First-graders from Picadome and Stonewall also demonstrated their grasp of the Japanese language.

Hear the kids sing the “Greeting Song” in Japanese.

3.   The board recognized students and employees for recent state and national achievements, including:

a.  Alexandra Kiefer, a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, who finished second at the International Fencing Federation World Cup.

b.  Matt Zarth, a senior at Henry Clay High School, who won the state wrestling championship in the 119-pound weight class; and Pat Milford, a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High, who placed second in the state for the 103-pound weight class.

c.  SCAPA Bluegrass eighth-graders Chloe McIntosh and Carrie Baldwin, who won first and second place respectively in the Les Smart Scholarship competition. In the high school category, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School freshman Sarah Smith finished second.

d.  Dance team members from Morton Middle School who won first place in the jazz division and cheerleaders who earned second place in the annual Middle School State Cheer and Dance Classic.

e.  Kristen Wilson, from Paul Laurence Dunbar High, who won her fourth straight 50 freestyle and earned second in the 100 freestyle in the KHSAA Swimming and Diving Championships.

f.  Eric Bruck, of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, who finished first in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle and was named outstanding meet competitor.

g.  The team of Dunbar swimmers including Eric Bruck, Cole Pleasants, Michael Kendall and Noah Troutman who finished first in the 200 freestyle relay.

h.  The Dunbar team of Michael Kendall, Cole Pleasants, Paul Parell and Eric Bruck who finished second in the 400 freestyle relay. Also, Stephanie Kehler was named Outstanding Boys’ Coach.

i.  Nick Wrightson, a sophomore at Henry Clay High School, won the 200 freestyle and placed second in the 500 freestyle. Also, Jamie Palumbo was named outstanding girls’ diving coach during the competition.

j.  Paul Laurence Dunbar High School cheerleading squads, who excelled in the state competition in Bowling Green. The black team won the Large Varsity division, and the red team was runner-up.

k.  Three teams of Paul Laurence Dunbar students who earned high honors in the Test of Engineering Aptitude in Math and Science at UK.

l.  Students who earned awards in the fifth annual Keep It Real Video/Internet Contest.

m.  Susan McHugh, the library media specialist at Rosa Parks Elementary School, who was selected the quarterly “Fred” winner.

4.   Board member Amanda Ferguson read the board’s proclamation for Social Work Month.

5.   Teachers and principals made a presentation about a new effort to have elementary school teachers and administrators work with teams of high school teachers and administrators to share a planning process that had proved successful at the elementary school level. By focusing on the core content, program of studies, common assessments and analysis of student work, the goal is increased student achievement. “Working with the elementary schools helped us refocus and refine what we were doing,” added Gladys Peoples, principal at Bryan Station High School.

6.   McKenzie also announced the 2009 high school graduation dates:

4 p.m. June 4: Paul Laurence Dunbar

7 p.m. June 4: Tates Creek

1 p.m. June 5: Bryan Station

4 p.m. June 5: Lafayette

7 p.m. June 5: Henry Clay

7.   The board voted to:

a.  Begin the development and installation of a rain garden at Mary Todd Elementary School, declared several vans and school buses surplus and cleared the way to sell them on eBay, and established summer school tuition rates and dates.

b.  Approve design consultants for renovation of Tates Creek Middle School, Clays Mill Elementary and Yates Elementary and for construction of an elementary school at Keithshire Road as well as an equine/agriscience facility.

c.  Award the construction bid for the renovation of Bryan Station Middle School to Preston Construction Group, the low bidder at slightly more than $10.6 million. With multiple bidders and competitive pricing, the project actually came in well under the estimated construction cost of $14 million. The total project budget was revised down to $13.3 million from the anticipated budget of nearly $17 million.

8.      McKenzie also gave an overview of the district’s new middle/high learning center, which will be housed in the former Linlee Elementary School.  He noted that four of the five high schools have more than 2,000 students and not every teen can thrive in that environment.  The new learning center will be capped at 50 students the first year to ensure a solid start.  “The philosophy is that every single student is going to be successful,” McKenzie said, noting the center will feature flexibility and individualized attention.  The board praised the planning committee, which has worked on this project for about two years.  “It looks like you are embracing the whole child,” said board chairwoman Becky Sagan.

9.      The Board heard public comment regarding items that were not part of the agenda.