By Maggie Blackwell
mblackwell@salisburypost.com
Rowan-Salisbury School System students will make up the two days they missed last week due to snow on March 30 and April 6, the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education decided Monday night.
March 30 was originally scheduled as a teacher work day, and April 6 was the first day of spring break.
At a work session, school board members also redefined the high school “bump-up” policy. Director of Secondary Education Kathy McDuffie presented a plan to unify the policy across all high schools.
The “bump up” policy allows students to improve their final grade in a course by achieving a higher score on the end-of-course test. This policy was implemented several years ago to encourage students who might not take the end-of-course test.
Until now, high schools administered the plan on a case-by-case basis. McDuffie worked with all high school principals to develop a systemwide plan to improve consistency. All the principals committed to supporting the new plan, McDuffie said.
Under the new plan, only students who attend all in-school review sessions can be considered for a grade increase. Those students who pass the end-of-course test and score higher than their course average can have their final recorded grade increased by one letter grade. Students who have an A average will not receive an increase.
The board also discussed redistricting. There is not a current need to redistrict elementary or middle schools, board members said, and all high schools are under capacity. Board member Karen Carpenter said the North Rowan High School community is frustrated at being significantly under capacity, forcing the school into a sports division that requires longer travel to away games.
Board member Bryce Beard suggested allowing open enrollment only at North Rowan High to increase the population there. Carpenter asked if the school planning team OR/Ed could attend the next school board meeting to present options for increasing enrollment at North Rowan. The board agreed.
OR/Ed, or the Operations Research/Education Laboratory, is an organization from N.C. State University which works to assist school systems in planning, using community and regional data. Rowan-Salisbury has used its services in the past and can use them again without further expense.
The school board decided it will not take steps to select a site for a new central office until it receives a formal approval from the Rowan County Board of Commissioners. The county board recently agreed to help fund a new central office in the form of a “straw vote,” but a formal vote has yet to take place.
In response to recent requests for field trips, the board agreed to amend the policy that determines which requests must attain school board approval. The board currently must approve any elementary field trip costing more than $10, any middle school field trip costing more than $25, and all field trips going out of state, lasting overnight or using chartered buses.
The board deferred all future field trip decisions to principals and their directors with the exception of trips lasting two or more school days and trips outside the United States.
Finally, the board discussed budget plans for the 2009-10 school year. The school system’s request for local funding from county commissioners must be approved at the March 23 meeting so commissioners can hear the formal request April 6.
State funding is very uncertain and administrators are struggling to find funding for necessary items. At this time, it appears likely that technology will be severely cut. Funding for middle school resource officers may be eliminated. Teacher assistants could be cut and teacher-student ratios may be increased, resulting in more students and less help for teachers.
At work sessions, board members discuss policy but do not take formal votes, saving them for the official monthly meetings. The next formal meeting is March 23.