News-Record.com

The Save GCS Arts folks may have been at home watching Law & Order: SVU (now that is what an arts education gets you -- a job in Hollywood!) Tuesday night, but that doesn't mean the school board wasn't thinking about you.

For weeks, the pro-arts community has packed the school board meeting room, filling the public comment period and waving tiny flags in support of expanded music and art education in the district. Last night, crickets.

But clearly their message has struck a cord with board members. Way into the wee hours of the meeting, when the board members make parting comments before their adjournment, several board members reiterated their support for art programs.

Darlene Garrett said she would hate to think what would happen to the community if they cut the programs any more.

"I know we didn't mean to cut (the arts), but any time we can I think we should expand and schedule that," Dot Kearns said.

No word yet if the arts community with take board chairman Alan Duncan up on his suggestion to go bug the county commissioners -- the folks who are controlling the purse strings.

For those who are ravenously waiting to hear whether Guilford County School Supt. Terry Grier will take a job on the west coast, here is a nugget of news from the SanDiego Union-Tribune:

"SAN DIEGO -- More than three weeks after it hoped to make a decision on a new superintendent, the San Diego school board appears to be focusing its attention on North Carolina educator Terry Grier, who has headed that state's third-largest district since 2000."

The journalists in San Diego know what we know -- that Grier is one of only two superintendents in the country to have admitted he is up for the job. And, it appears that he might be the only candidate that the school board visited.

But is he their top candidate? That requires you to read the tea leaves, since both Grier and the San Diego school board have been mum since he announced his candidacy in December.

Board chairwoman Katherine Nakamura said she can't divulge what the board has been up to in the regular closed-door sessions it has held since mid-December without hurting their search process. She couldn't say whether they were close to reaching a deal with a candidate or not.

The California board has one more closed session tonight at 6 p.m. Eastern time. We'll let you know if they name their next superintendent.

***** UPDATE ******

The San Diego trustees met at 11 a.m. Pacific time, and adjourned with no news to report. They will meet again Jan. 17. Check out the story online for more info.

I got a call this morning from a reader who was upset about the Guilford County Schools' universal free breakfast program (which could be not-so-universal next year). He remarked that students shouldn't be getting free breakfast at all, since the students who qualify for free lunch likely also get food stamps. So why pay for their breakfast at school when the taxpayers already are paying for them to eat at home?

It's probably a remark school officials have heard before. There is no doubt Guilford County has children who are in need (just take a peek at the numbers of students in those free or reduced meal programs.) School officials said principals, who have worked hard to promote the breakfast programs, don't want to give them up.

The research that suggests a good breakfast is key to starting the school day out right is pretty convincing. And school leaders say some children only eat at school.

I wonder if teachers, parents or principals can provide some examples or how the free breakfast program is working at their schools. Are kids participating? And do you see a change in their behavoir or academic performance?

Just heard word from San Diego that their school board has rescheduled their closed-door superintendent search meeting to this evening.

So perhaps there may be some news, one way or another, about Guilford County Schools Supt. Terry Grier's fate.

Stay tuned.

So today is the day we find out, for sure, whether Grier is going to San Diego or staying right here until his contract expires in two years.

I got a request today from a very on-the-ball parent asking me to break down Grier's $370K pay and benefits. So in case you wondered what a superintendent of his tenure costs, here goes, rounded up to the dollar:

2007-2008
base salary -- $226,933
local differential (formally travel) - $9,000
longevity -- $11,980
local annual leave -- $17,722
local insurance/benefit conversion -- $18,777
local retirement reimbursement -- $14,303
local service purchase -- $73,479

Grand total (with retirement, benefits, etc) -- $372,193

Superintendent Terry Grier will be packing his bags for sunny San Diego (57 degrees and sunny today, for those of you brushing snow off your cars.) For his critics -- and you aren't shy -- it's a time of celebration. For his supporters, there will be ample opportunity to mourn.

But let's make it a short period, no matter how you feel. Truth is, whether you like him or not, Terry Grier is officially yesterday's news. (Or at least he will be, when the paper comes out Sunday). And the district and school board must begin the difficult task of naming his replacement.

Several school board members said tonight that they will look to the community for help identifying the traits and qualities they would like to see in the next superintendent. So how about giving them a good place to start?

What kind of leader do you want at the helm of the Guilford County school system? Do we hire from within, or recruit someone new? What should the new superintendent's top priorities be?

Leave your name -- and keep it clean. Maybe I can use it in a future story.

Did your student have trouble getting to school this morning? Tell us your story. E-mail news@news-record.com and tell us what happened. Please leave your name and a daytime telephone number.

Many people have asked about it, so here is the official description of the Guilford County Schools superintendent position (as posted on the schools' website).

Some of it reads like the set up to a bad joke, or the list of requirements your 5-year-old must meet to get into kindergarten.

Under the minimum requirements section:

"Form/Spatial Aptitude: Must be able to inspect items for proper length, width and shape."

"Motor Coordination: Must be able to coordinate hands and eyes rapidly and accurately in using automated office equipment."

"Color Discrimination: Must be able to differentiate between colors and shades of color."

And those are just the basic qualifications! Aside from all that, posters to this blog have been busy writing what they want in the new top dog.

The Guilford County School board doesn't shy away from a long meeting. This Saturday, they'll host a marathon-length one.

We're talking about the way I run a marathon, not the way an actual athletic person runs one. This is a we-mean-business, no-potty-breaks, 10-plus-hour session. No doubt, like a long run, I will need a shower and a nap afterward.

From what I hear, these semi-annual retreats are jam-packed with interesting subjects. You guys tell me. In the limited space I get to write about this all-day event, what should I write about for Sunday's paper?

Retreat Agenda
8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Academic Improvement Strategies
9 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Report on AYP Progress and Initiatives
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. School Scheduling Recommendations
10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. Frequency of Assessments and Dealing With Loss of Instructional Time in General
11 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. School Calendar Considerations Including How We Can Best Reduce Use of Teacher and Principal Time Outside of the Classroom
11:30 a.m. - 12 noon 2008 Budget Calendar Process
12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Update on Magnet Schools and Magnet School and No Child Left Behind Opt Outs
1:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Consideration of Increased Pay for Long Term Substitutes
1:45 p.m. - 2 p.m. Report on Virtual High School Status and Utilization
2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Seatbelts on Buses and Bus Safety Issues
2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. Funding Formula for the Allotment of Teacher Assistants
3 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Funding for the Arts
3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. School Nutrition Programs Report
4:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Legislative Committee Report
4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Governance Committee Report – Naming of Schools
5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. After-School Shared Use Libraries
5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. School Climate Task Force Report and Report on School Safety Department Alignment and Duties
6 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Energy Education Proposal
6:30 p.m. Adjourn

Naysayers, on this blog and others, take note: the school board was busy, busy, busy Saturday afternoon.

Here's a little taste of what will be in tomorrow's newspaper. Check back here for updates on stuff that doesn't make it into print.

Sadly, the very meaty school board retreat will not air on local television. That's a shame, since it was vey interesting.

Here are some nuggets, some of which will be in Sunday's N&R story:

-- On the arts education, and then some:
The district staff is recommending the six-day class rotation at the elementary school level, a schedule which is supposed to meet teacher and student needs. It will give K-5 kids one class of art, music and gym every week, and two language classes. Implementing this district-wide would cost $1.39 million and require 215 teachers. But it also means all kids would get the same access to those classes.

Meanwhile, Supt. Terry Grier also threw in something for those budding musicians. He wants the budget to include regular expenditures for school bands - $30,000 a year to a high school and a middle school - to purchase and repair instruments. He'd also like to find a way to get rid of fees for students to play in the band.

"We have some of our schools charging a lot of money for kids to play in the band," he said. "That ought not to be because we are excluding some kids."

Just a hunch, but I think Grier wants music at his going away party.

-- Achievement Alphabet soup
This school year it will be especially hard for schools to met AYP, or "adequate yearly progress, " a No Child Left Behind Act measure of student achievement, says district numbers guru Gongshu Zhang. It's not that students aren't improving, he says. It's that the state has increased the standards so much this year, they will be tough to meet.

-- School Climate Task Force
This coming weekend, the group looking at school violence and discipline issues will have its own retreat. Keep your ears open for a February date when the school board will hear back on its full report.

-- New superintendent
The board closed the meeting at around 5 p.m. to go into private session to discuss a "personnel issue." It is likely about the new superintendent search, but the board did not plan to go back into public session with any news. So stay tuned to the N&R for future updates.

Interestingly enough, before the meeting closed, board member Jeff Belton criticized unnamed board members he said have been openly discussing information that was debated in closed session. If his fellow board members could not understand the need to keep those discussions private, he asked that they excuse themselves.

As far as I could tell, no one did.

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you know that I have returned to work from maternity leave and will be contributing to The Chalkboard once I get situated (it shouldn't be too long as I have a ton of stories, and therefore blog fodder, to publish). Amanda has done a great job holding it down and I hope she won't be a stranger as she transitions back to covering higher education.

If you've got story ideas, call me at 373-7078 or e-mail me at mjosey@news-record.com.