From Harford County Public Schools:
The Board of Education of Harford County met for an open business meeting at 6:30 p.m., on Monday, October 28, 2013, in the Board Room of the HCPS/A.A. Roberty Building and took the following actions and received the following presentations:
Conducted the first of the biannual recognition ceremony with the induction of two members of the 2013-14 honorees into the HCPS Educator Hall of Fame:
– Mary Ellen Kennedy
– Thomas Macklin Trafton
Received a check presentation from Dr. John Ferriter of Leidos for the Project Lead the Way program at the middle school level.
Approved the Consent Agenda:
– Monthly Report on Personnel
– Approval of October 14, 2013 Board Business Meeting Minutes
– Approval of Contracts for On-Call Asbestos Removal and Services
– National Education Support Professional Day
– American Education Week
– Impact Area Aid Assistance
– American Patriotism in Harford County Public Schools
– National Family Week
Benefits Advisory Committee Report
Voted to send both policies back to the Policy Review Committee for further discussion and evaluation regarding the following Board Policy Revisions:
– Clubs (06-0010-000)
– Curricular and Extracurricular Activities (06-0007-000)
Received a presentation on Citizen Advisory Committee Reports. (The complete Board report for each presentation will be posted to the school system website tomorrow morning.):
– Safety and Security
– Gifted and Talented
Received the Superintendent’s Report:
– Congratulated Magnolia Elementary School and Principal Patti Mason. Principal Mason, along with five students, will be visiting the White House garden in November. The students will be picking healthy things to eat in the garden and will then go to the White House kitchen to cook with the Chef. At the end of their day, they will sit down with the First Lady Michelle Obama to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
– Thanked those who provided input during the budget hearings last week. However, those meetings were only the beginning of the year-long process. Last week, an online Budget Input Tool was launched, which can be accessed by visiting www.hcps.org/budget. With this Budget Input Tool, the financial books are open so that members of the public may have the resources and information to offer true budgetary suggestions to the Superintendent, and ultimately the Board of Education. This application allows the public to manipulate the funds in each non-mandated line item in the operating budget by increasing, decreasing and/or shifting dollar amounts, and to then submit a recommended budget for my review. The submission will allow the Superintendent to gauge the feelings of the public as to what should be the priorities of our school system in the upcoming fiscal year. And, just a reminder that the public can always provide comment and suggestions by emailing budget@hcps.org. The Superintendent will be compiling and analyzing all of the input that is received and will review it with the Leadership Team prior to developing and presenting the recommended budget. The Board will also provide opportunities to for public input. More information on that step in the process will be forthcoming. The Superintendent then once again thanked those members of the public who are taking an active interest in Harford County Public Schools to ensure that the best educational opportunities possible continue to be provided for all students.
The next Board of Education business meeting will be held on Monday, November 11, at 6:30 p.m. All Board meetings are held at the A.A. Roberty Building in Bel Air. To access all future Board meeting dates, log onto the school system website at www.hcps.org.
The Board really needs to go back and revise the policies in regards to Destination Imagination. After having a very successful program at NHMS, we have been forced to have teams register independently because of the rules regarding the use of power tools, etc. It is such a shame!
We need a Hall of shame
At this meeting BOE Member Beverley couldn’t get a straight answer to a question she asked, even after asking it a few times. No wonder HCPS Parents can’t get a straight answer. How can the HCPS BOE be able to make fair clear decisions on policies when HCPS won’t even give a board member a straight answer? This only confirms that HCPS prefers to keep their BOE members in the dark on many issues. It is a shame.