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More school-related court news: The state supreme court last week upheld a lower court ruling that cities running red light camera programs must give the majority of proceeds from the fines to public school systems.

For Guilford County Schools, that could mean more than $4 million. It's one-time money, though. Both High Point and Greensboro shut down their redlight cameras while the case went through the court system.

School just ended but next year already is starting.

The school system sent this e-mail today on the deadlines for transportation requests for next school year. The first deadline is Monday, July 9, for year-round magnet schools and the second is Thursday, July 12, for traditional schools.

If you haven't already, check out today's story on the school board's desire to improve its process for naming schools. Although the board's current policy expresses a preference for geographic names, some members want to focus on honoring individuals with local ties.

I asked Walter Childs about this earlier this week. He said: "I think that's what we need to look at, who's made a contribution to educating our children.... We've got enough geographical names. To me, they're meaningless."

Does the general public agree?

I wanted to revisit the discussions of naming Reedy Fork Elementary because it grew to be so controversial, although I did not focus in the story on the accusations of racism that were thrown out there pretty liberally by some. I requested the written comments made during the 21-day comment period (although I have not yet received e-mails sent individually to board members) and did not detect any overt racial tone in any of them. I did find one e-mail with an explicit reference to race.

Check out updated audio from facilities consultant Joe Hill on our online school bond guide.

This task force will meet for the first time on Thursday and is responsible for drafting a list of recommendations on how to improve student behavior and reduce suspensions in schools.

The members are:
Board of Education Co-Chairs: Amos Quick and Alan Duncan
Central Office Liaisons: Eric Becoats, John Morris, Monica Walker

Task Force Members:
Chief Jim Fealy (High Point Police Chief)
Mark Jewell (President GCAE)
Terrina Picarello (PTO Council)
Uma Avva (Past GCS PTA Council Pres. & Parent)
Clay Coldron (Parent)
Martin Green (Ragsdale Parent)
Rev. Cardes Brown (Greensboro Minister)
Rev. Williams Fails (High Point Minister & Parent)
Joe Pass (Northwest SRO)
Clarence Roulhac (Smith SRO)
Yamile Walker (Hispanic representative)
Simon Be (Smith High student)
Linda Mozell (Dudley Parent)
Alan Parker (Southwest High Principal)
Sharon McCants (Kiser Middle Principal)
Rodney Wilds (Jackson Middle Principal)
Victor Vigoya (Grimsley Student)
Donald Cooley (Andrews Student)
Kim Kimberly Oakley (Eastern Middle Teacher)
Julie Kimsey (Ferndale Teacher)
Dawn Duppstadt (Northeast High Teacher)
Leslie Mize (Southeast High Teacher)
Shawn Watlington (Greensboro College Middle College Teacher)

Parents whose children will be attending the new northern-area elementary school in January got their wish Tuesday. The Guillford County Board of Education approved naming it Northern Elementary. It had preliminarily approved naming the school after the late poet Randall Jarrell, but some members changed their minds after receiving pulic comments supporting the Northern name.

I did not receive until after deadline the amounts Guilford County Schools has spent on 2003 bond projects. I intended to include these numbers in the bond update we ran today (not online). Here is the cash flow forecast as of June 15, which includes budget amounts and expenses for the 2000 and 2003 bonds, courtesy of Chief Finance Officer Sharon Ozment.

And, the timeline:

READY FOR START OF SCHOOL
Ready for the start of school
Allen Jay (Southern) Middle, new school
Ferndale Middle, expansion and renovation
Guilford Elementary, new school
Oakview Elementary, expansion and renovation
Pearce Elementary, new school
Reedy Fork Elementary, new school

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Northern Elementary, new school, target
completion of December 2007
Northern High, new school, January 2008
Parkview Elementary, expansion, December 2007
Pleasant Garden Elementary, expansion, June
2008

UNDER DESIGN
Union Hill Elementary, replacement school, target
completion late 2008
Special Education Center West, new school,
needs additional bond funds to finish
Jamestown Middle, replacement school, needs
additional bond funds to finish

COMPLETE AND OCCUPIED
Florence Elementary, HVAC
Gibsonville Elementary, replacement school
Irving Park Elementary, expansion
Madison Elementary, multipurpose room and
storage
Morehead Elementary, multipurpose room
Peck Elementary, expansion and renovation
Peeler Elementary, multipurpose room
Northern Middle, new school
Northeast High, expansion
Northeast Middle, expansion
Southern High, expansion and renovation
Southwest High, expansion and renovation
Stokesdale Elementary, new classrooms

ON HOLD
Ragsdale High, expansion and renovation, needs
additional bond funds to finish
Guilford Middle, additonal parking

I am here at the GCS main office and will be blogging the first task force meeting. Sixteen people are here now and Superintendent Terry Grier is introducing the main responsibilities. Check out my earlier post this week for the names of the committee members.

One of the reasons for the committee is to tackle the issue of suspensions. Grier said that he hears from students that white students are being punished differently than minority students.

"I hear that not only from African-American students and Latino students, but I hear that from white students," he told the committee. "Whether it's a perception or reality, it's something we need to look into."

Grier also said that as he attends community group meetings, he hears to sentiments: that GCS is suspending too many children who don't have enough help or role models or that schools are out of control and unsafe.

"Those two groups in my eyes are light years apart," Grier said.

More to come...

But districts, including Guilford County Schools, must submit their scores to the Department of Public Instruction by Friday. So I hope to be able to get them then.

To date, I am aware of only Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools releasing their preliminary EOC/EOG test scores (not including Extend 1 and 2 tests) last month.

Gongshu Zhang of Guilford County Schools said he hopes to submit the data to DPI tomorrow and then start analyzing the numbers next week (official AYP results should be ready in mid-August). He said districts have experienced a problem analyzing/submitting data because of a DPI software glitch. I am trying to clarify this glitch with someone from the state department.

I did call around some other school systems. Cumberland, Forsyth and Rockingham have not yet released their preliminary scores. Rockingham and Cumberland officials said their high school scores would not be ready by Friday because of the glitch. I'm not sure yet what Wake Public Schools has done.

I say all this to let you know that I'm working on getting the numbers. I might get some Friday, but I have been requesting the numbers for a month now so don't be surprised if you're still waiting on Monday.

Guilford County Schools has delayed the opening of the Academy at Smith’s new location, pushing the student relocation from Smith High School to Sept. 14.

Joe Hill, facilities consultant, said the district had to push back completion of the renovation of the former Oakwood Mobile Homes headquarters on South Holden Road after construction crews discovered mold in the drywall. The district hired All-Kleen of Greensboro to remove the mold earlier this year at a cost of $29,290, Hill said.

Construction was supposed to end Aug. 17.

"We don't anticipate (other delays)," Hill said. "We feel like we have already gotten into the issues."

The district still expects to spend $5.7 million total on the project, and has spent $172,000 on change orders (one was for replacing the roof). The opening of the facility has suffered from higher costs and has been delayed at least twice since the Guilford County Board of Education bought the former office building in 2006 to turn it into a specialty school focused on medical careers and construction technology.

"Where is the progress on Southeast High School?", a parent asked me in so many words earlier this week. She had also asked this of school board members at a bond forum in April and was told that the district was working to expand Southeast's 45-year-old cafeteria.

I talked to district facilities consultant Joe Hill yesterday and he said that students can expect to enjoy their new cafeteria (which would double in size) in fall 2008. The district has completed design on it and construction should begin in the fall, with the tearing out of the wall joining the old and new sections occurring next summer after school gets out. Crews are relocating driveways and parking areas in front of the school this summer.

Hill said the project was delayed because of the need to extend a Greensboro water line to the school.

"We were in a situation where the state would not allow us to expand the school until we increased the capacity of the water system," he said.

The upshot? There will be plenty of water capacity for further expansion at the school if a proposed $440 million construction bond passes.

Police reporter Eric Townsend wrote an update this weekend on the investigation into the Eastern fire.

Investigators have narrowed their focus to two prime suspects and said the arsonist is "likely" a student.

"There's no doubt in my mind we've talked with the person who did it," said Maj. Tom Sheppard with the Guilford County Sheriff's Office. "I just don't know who it is yet. You can't rule anybody out."

Our police reporter found that neither the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives nor the U.S. Fire Administration tracks how often intentional school fires lead to an arrest. The most recent statistics available show that in 2005, the ATF either investigated or was asked to assist with investigating 28 set school fires nationwide.

I plan to live blog the school climate task force's second meeting on Thursday after seeing the amount of public interest in this issue. I will continue to do so if it proves practical for me and valuable for you, so let me know if you want more of this.

The group meets at 7:30 a.m. at the main GCS office, if any of you are interested in attending.

7:40 a.m.: Amos Quick has convened the second meeting of the school climate task force. Present so far today are:
Uma Avva, Shawn Watlington, Martin Green, Joe Pass, Jim Fealy, Monica Walker, Alan Parker, Linda Mozell, Kimberly Oakley, Julie Kimsey, John Morris, Sharon McCants, Yamille Walker, Mark Jewell, Victor Vigoya, Clay Coldron, Terrina Picarello and Clarence Roulhac. Find a description of these people here.

8:07 a.m. update: I have some news. Superintendent Terry Grier has just briefed the task force on two proposals he will present to the school board next week to help address discipline and academic achievement: a twilight school for freshmen who have been suspended for 10 days or less at least three times (he wants to get sites in both High Point and Greensboro) and a pull-out school in the elementary wing of Guilford Middle (I need to double check this location) for students who are administratively placed in ninth grade because they are 16 or older in middle school.

I'll provide details in a fuller story.

In a week, the number of people managing the Chalkboard will decrease from two to one. Jennifer Fernandez will take over covering courts for Jonathan Jones, who is leaving the paper. I will become the sole K-12 reporter and join a new team.

So that means I will be taking on more responsibility, including posting and managing the education blog. I have not settled on a managing philosophy yet, bu keep in mind that I won't have as much time to babysit commenters. Should I start wielding my "thou art banned" axe and be less forgiving with offending posters? Or should I trust that you all can keep the comments dynamic and respectful? We'll see...

By the way... have any of you taken advantage of the High Point schools transfer option (between SWMS and Andrews, SWMS and Welborn) or know anyone who has? If so, contact me at 373-7078 or mjosey@news-record.com

Tolly Carr, the WXII morning co-anchor accused of drinking and driving in a fatal March 11 wreck, wants to speak to Guilford County Schools students.

Superintendent Terry Grier sent a letter, dated July 16, to the Forsyth County Superior Court inviting Carr to speak to students here.

I've gotten two phone calls and two e-mails about this story. They're evenly split between - "Are you crazy, why would you let him speak to our students?" to "What a great idea, maybe students will learn from his mistakes."

What do you think?

Students attending McIver Education Center can expect to return to a school stripped of toxic lead-based paint in the fall.

Guilford County Schools is about "70 percent complete" on removing or covering the paint throughout the school and expects to finish as early as mid-August – a week sooner than planned, said James Smith, project manager.

"That makes me sleep a little better at night knowing we’re ahead of schedule," Smith said.

Maintenance workers stripped lead from the doors, windows and stair treads at the school and repainted the surfaces in April. They began treating the auditorium in June after classes ended and will replace the flooring once lead testing is complete, Smith said.

The school system ordered the work after discovering hazardous levels of lead in parts of the school last year, and expects to spend $222,000.

More than 100 students with severe mental and physical disabilities attend the center. Children with elevated levels of lead in their blood are at risk for lower IQ, behavioral problems and learning disabilities.

If you haven't seen Thursday's school board agenda, it'a a doozie: We will hear for the first time how district schools did on end-of-grade/course exams last school year. I'm not sure what to expect but getting this information at a night meeting presents somewhat of a nightmarish writing and editing situation. I won't have time to get comments from principals and I don't know if we'll be able to publish school-by-school data yet.

Superintendent Terry Grier also plans to officially propose his High School Ahead and twilight school programs (board feedback should be interesting, especially given no state budget has been passed). The board will get updates on New Light Missionary Baptist Church's suspension program, and how high schools handle military recruitment. School officials have even managed to stir up a little controversy about a proposal to limit access at elementary schools for some groups to after 6 pm. My heart goes out to the school board members, who plan to have a 2-hour closed session at 4 p.m. to discuss student matters.

It's possible a lot of people will sign up to speak during the public comments period. I won't be surprised if the meeting lasts until midnight. Red Bull anyone?

Late Thursday the school board voted 5-3 to create a "High School Ahead" program for students too old for middle school but not prepared for high school. It will be housed in the elementary wing of Guilford Middle.

Morgan had a busy night. Read more stories out of the meeting on Eastern and see tomorrow's paper for more on AYP and test scores. Meanwhile, here's Thursday's story on preliminary AYP data.

If that's not enough school news for you, read more here about a local pastor who wants to pull students out for Bible study.