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 Sept. 29, 2009, meeting of the Fayette County Board of Education: 

1. The board welcomed the evening’s teacher representative, Kristina Boles of James Lane Allen 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 arts instruction in Fayette County and spotlight talented young people in the district. Tuesday night, the board welcomed the Athens-Chilesburg Elementary School chorus.

3. The board recognized the following students for state  achievements:

Governor’s Scholars: 61 students from across the district

Governor’s School for the Arts: 35 participants from across the district

4. Members of the Beaumont Middle School archery team demonstrated their sharp-shooting talents. They also gave the school board members and superintendent a brief individual tutorial and let them try their hands at the sport. 

5. The board adopted a proclamation declaring Oct. 19-23 as National School Bus Safety Week. 

6. Brian Rogers and Jill Wilson from the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s Division of Parks & Recreation gave board members an update on the joint community school ventures at the newly constructed William Wells Brown Elementary. First-year success included the Extended Schools Program, summer camp “Passport to Adventure” and community center offerings. “We in Parks think this is a big homerun for both of us,” said Parks and Recreation Director Jerry Hancock. School board Chairwoman Becky Sagan agreed, saying, “We’re trying our best to branch out into the community because kids need us 24 hours a day.”

7. Music educators Lois Wiggins from Edythe J. Hayes Middle School and Nancy Campbell from SCAPA addressed board members about the ongoing strengths and accomplishments of the district’s band and orchestra programs. “I truly believe we are changing lives by giving kids this opportunity,” Wiggins said. Campbell cited highlights like the fifth-graders’ Strings Day at the University of Kentucky, honors orchestras with guest conductors leading performances at the Singletary Center and FCPS groups regularly performing at the Kentucky Music Educators Association conferences. Both women also thanked the board for its support of the arts and for providing instruments and instruction for the more than 6,000 participating student musicians.

8. Chief operating officer Mary Wright delivered the monthly construction report, including updates on Arlington, Cassidy and Russell Cave elementaries, Bryan Station and Leestown middle schools, the Lafayette High stadium and the new bus garage (view slide show). Wright noted that buses were moved from the previous Springhill Drive bus garage site Friday and are now running out of the new terminal on Miles Point Way.

9. Superintendent Stu Silberman gave an update on the opening of the 2009-2010 school year, noting that the district increased enrollment by approximately 1,000 students and is providing 4,000 additional bus rides each day. He highlighted several district initiatives including the acquisition of 82 acres at no cost to the district to establish an Agriscience Center, a multitude of renovations moving forward, and the opening of the Opportunity Middle College Program and The Learning Center at Linlee with roughly 50 students participating in each. He also noted that the district is working closely with the Lexington Fayette County Health Department to daily monitor H1N1 as a district and at individual schools.

10. The board approved its August minutes and 10 consent items, including the declaration of two dump trucks as surplus in order to sell them and the adoption of the annual contract with the Health Department to provide health services to students.

11. In other action, the board:

a. Authorized the purchase of 25 school buses for roughly $2 million as part of the 14-year vehicle replacement cycle.

b. Unanimously adopted a 2.3-cent increase in the county’s school tax rate on real estate, meaning the tax on a $100,000 home would rise by $23 a year.  The board also adopted a .1-cent increase in the personal property tax. The added revenue will boost the school district’s general operating fund by 4 percent. Superintendent Stu Silberman noted that the governor used federal stimulus dollars to balance the state budget, but that money only covers two years. “We need to be prepared,” Silberman said, citing decreases in other revenue sources such as motor vehicle taxes and interest income.

c. Approved a final working budget for 2009-2010 of $405,200,643.

d. Approved schematic design documents for renovations at Clays Mill and Yates elementaries and Tates Creek Middle School. All three projects are set for completion in August 2011. The board also voted on several routine change orders for building renovation projects.

e. Received the district’s monthly financial and personnel reports.

f.  Acknowledged the district’s receiving several grants recently, including one from the Foreign Language Assistance Program.

g. Gave first reading to a school district policy change to allow for reimbursement of school board members’ out-of-district travel expenses at the same levels as all school district employees. Although this had been the practice for years, the policy needed to be amended to ensure that the written policy was current. 

12.  The board went into closed session to discuss acquisition or sale of real property and proposed or pending litigation.