Sunday's Internet Edition, September 07, 2008.

The school board treasurer presented a $23 million budget to Roane Board of Education members Tuesday, and said it was the slimmest he had seen since his first year as treasurer 10 years ago. That year the board finished the year with a surplus of $8,000.

The budget for 2008-09 included a projected carryover from the current year of $1 million. Of that, Kinison used $937,000 to plug holes including higher projected costs for fuel and food.

That leaves just over $60,000 in contingency out of a $23 million budget.

“If something drastic happens next year, there’s not a cushion there,” Kinison said. “It will be a lean year. There’s not much there for the board to help out with any requests that might come up.”

The carryover last year was $1.1 million. It was $1.4 million two years ago.

Kinison said he used more of this year’s projected carryover to complete the budget. Since he is retiring at the end of the fiscal year, he said he wanted to make sure all the holes were filled for whoever might follow him.

“It’s a very realistic budget,” Kinison said.

Board members also approved a job description for Kinison’s replacement. That person will have to have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and be a certified public accountant. Superintendent Steve Goffreda said the job would be posted statewide.

The board also heard from Spencer Middle school parents concerning a substitute teacher who allegedly discussed sexual topics with students in a sixth-grade social studies class.

After several parents complained, the teacher resigned.

Parents Lisa Simmons and Joellen Greenlee said they wanted to make sure the teacher did not return to the classroom. They also said the girls who first reported the incident were not taken seriously and ridiculed.

“They were made to feel they did the wrong thing,” Simmons said. “I doubt now even if some of these girls were molested in the bathroom, they would report it.”

Simmons said school administrators owed the girls an apology.

Goffreda and board president Randy Whited said they did consider the matter to be serious. They said it took time to get all the facts, but the final result was appropriate.

The board also heard a request from SMS athletic director Phyllis Nutter for approval of teams in three additional sports at the school: golf, baseball and softball. She said the school’s athletic boosters were willing to pay the cost of the golf coach

Walton Elementary/Middle principal Jerry Garner asked about transportation for students from Geary Elementary/Middle who want to play football at Walton. Garner said five Geary students had expressed an interest, which would give Walton enough to field a team. He asked for an after-school activity bus or suggested two buses meet on Johnson Creek Road.

Both requests will be considered.

Board members also heard a presentation on the school nursing program from school nurses Anna Neale Taylor and Milissa Mace.

At the end of the meeting, board member Tom Young asked that the agenda for the next meeting include a discussion of testing employees for drugs. He said Kanawha County had recently implemented a policy and suggested it be examined.

The board had three executive sessions during the 3-1/2-hour meeting at Roane County High School.

One was for expulsion hearings for two Walton students, identified as J.S.L. and J.W.L. Both were expelled for one year.

The board also met behind closed doors to discuss the treasurer’s position, and the reassignment of a county maintenance employee who had been placed on the Reduction in Force list.

After returning to open session, the board reassigned Roger Starcher to Roane County High School as custodian III/general maintenance/carpenter/truck driver.

The motion passed on an unusual split vote. David McCutcheon and Joe Painter voted yes, while Whited and Young voted no. The fifth member, Russell Moore, abstained, which board members said counted as a yes vote in case of a tie.

Other personnel items passed without discussion were:

• Resignations: Geary aide Karen Berkhouse for retirement at the end of the school year; Gary King as electrician/HVAC mechanic/general maintenance effective April 1; RCHS Spanish teacher Norma Randall-Myers (March 17); substitute teacher Kathryn Beilstein (March 31), substitute bus operator Sara Nicholson (March 12); RCHS fall junior varsity cheer coach Kristina Starcher (April 10) and, at the end of the year, lead sign interpreter Shiloh Thompson and, Reedy Elementary SAT coordinator and yearbook advisor Connie Wilson.

• Leaves of absence: Stacy Engle, first-grade teacher, Spencer Elementary and Beverly Sutphin, cook II, RCHS, both until the end of the school year.

• Transfers: Denise Greathouse, from secretary II, RCHS to secretary II, half-time transportation and half-time SMS and bus operator Boyd Harper, bus #55 to bus #60.

• Removed from transfer list and assigned: first-grade teacher Darlene Norman, second-grade teacher Kristi Drake and sixth-grade teacher Lorra Tanner, all at Geary, and first-grade teacher Stacy Engle and second-grade teacher Laurie Hill, both at Spencer Elementary.

• Removed from RIF list and assigned: Denise Holliday, first-grade teacher, Spencer Elementary.

• Employments: Mitchell Nida, French teacher and virtual school coordinator, RCHS and John Pfeil, electrician II/HVAC mechanic II.

• Substitute teachers for 2008-09: Emily Alvis, Christina Cox, Deanna Fine, Evelyne McLaughlin, Muriah B. Lewis, Meryleen Walsh, and, for 2007-08 and ‘08-09, Joan Anderson and Shannon Wilson.

• Substitute service personnel: substitute cook Julie Blankenship, substitute custodian Philip Dever and substitute mechanic Ray Hays.

• Extra-curricular assignments: Kevin Brier, coordinator of student assistant program and John Richardson, summer school teacher, both RCHS; assistant track coaches Doris Drake at Geary and Misty Terrell at Walton; Tina Riley, school Web master, Reedy; Paula Workman, special education bus aide to fill leave of absence and Samuel Smith, bus mechanic, as needed.

• Contracted services for 2008-09: Nichole Monaghan-Rhodes, parent educator resource center coordinator; Julie Gunnoe and Leonard Fink, occupational therapy services; Greg Simmerman, audilogical services; Glada Kinison, Title I director services, Paul Hughes, financial consultant and energy manager; David Kinison, financial consultant; Rita Falls, guidance services; Gina Miller, LPN/classroom aide; and Myra Painter, Title I parent involvement services.

• Field trips: SMS HI-Y and special education students, Kings Island, May 30; SMS seventh-grade, Camden Park, May 28; SMS eighth-grade, Appalachian Power Park, June 3; Walton seventh- and eighth-grades, Carowinds, May 30; Walton band and choir students, Kings Island, June 4.

The school calendar was approved after some discussion. Because of restrictions imposed by the state and the way the holidays fell, Goffreda said the calendar included a teacher workday on Dec. 24 and students returning to class after Christmas break on Friday, Jan. 2. Spring break is set for April 13-17.

The next board meeting was scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 20.