October 23, 2019 Edition

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News

Five Graduates, One Educator Selected for Greenville County Schools Hall of Fame

Five outstanding graduates of Greenville County Schools have been selected for induction in the GCS Hall of Fame. They are Senator Ralph Anderson, Public Health Practitioner and Travelers Rest City Council Member Dr. Shaniece Criss, Senator J. Verne Smith (awarded posthumously), former U. S. Ambassador to Canada David H. Wilkins, and Conservationist Brad Wyche.

This year, membership in the Hall of Fame has been expanded to include former educators who enhanced our community and contributed to the success of countless students. Retired Art Educator Eva K. Esrum will be inducted into the Hall of Fame as an outstanding past educator. The inductees will be honored at an awards ceremony and dinner on Thursday, November 21, 2019 at the Greenville Convention Center. Read more about the inductees. Click here to order tickets or call 864-355-8870.

GCS Teacher Heralded as "Good Samaritan"

Robby Bannister is as sweet and kind as the four-year-olds he teaches. He's also a creature of habit who thrives on routine. "My wife calls me a rule follower. I'm all about schedules because we have to be about schedules in here; that's the only way they learn and they're so used to them and we follow it to a tee every single day so I follow it to a tee when I'm not here either," Bannister said. Bannister leaves for work at Golden Strip Child Development Center at 6:45 every morning, but on September 18, 2019 he was running behind. He took his usual route down Pleasantburg Drive. During his commute he witnessed a car wreck that Greenville Police have called a case of road rage. Read more about Robby Bannister.

Read more about our award-winning schools!
Palmetto Gold and Silver Schools
School Report Cards

Unofficial Board Meeting Summary

October 22, 2019

Welcome, Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Noah Poole, a 4th grader at Skyland Elementary School.

Miracle Worker Award: Carlos Pozo and Linda Brown
The Miracle Workers Award was first approved by the Board in 1996 to recognize individuals for going "beyond the call of duty."

On October 7, Special Needs bus driver Carlos Pozo was running his route when he came upon a boy riding a bike. He recognized him from television news reports as a child who had been reported missing. When he called the child by name, the boy dropped his bike and started to run up a hill toward a wooded area. Mr. Pozo secured the bus and followed on foot, convincing the child to turn around and get onto the bus. The bus aide, Linda Brown, had remained on the bus to keep watch over the students on board. She came to the front and sat and talked with the child to keep him calm until Law Enforcement arrived.

Champion for Public Education Award to Bon Secours St. Francis Health System
The GCS Board nominated Bon Secours for this award due to their role in bringing Project SEARCH to Greenville. Project SEARCH was established by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in 1996 and has since been replicated at more than 300 sites nationwide. The program focus is on serving young adults with a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Program participants experience total immersion in the workplace and are paid for their work. The goal of Project SEARCH is to provide special needs individuals with skills to hold a job earning a livable wage.

Adoption of Consent Calendar

Minutes, Regular Board Meeting - September 24, 2019
Minutes, Special Called Meeting - October 8, 2019
Home School Applications - 3
Personnel Recommendations – None.

Appearance of Visitors
Kevin Branch, Mauldin Rezoning

Superintendent's Report
Dr. Royster chose not to deliver a Superintendent's Report, instead taking a moment to thank Carlos Pozo and Linda Brown for their care for children and Bon Secours for their partnership around Project Search.

ACTION ITEMS

SCSBA Delegates – Approved motion from the Committee of the Whole to certify the slate of delegates with each Trustee named as both a delegate and an alternate, and with the Chair assigned three votes and the remaining Trustees two votes each. The Board is required to certify its voting delegates to SCSBA by November 19, 2019. Greenville County Schools is allowed 25 votes at the SCSBA's annual business meeting scheduled for Saturday, December 7, at the Charleston Marriott in Charleston, SC. This meeting is held in conjunction with the annual SCSBA Legislative and Advocacy Conference.

Student Assignment Plan for New Fountain Inn High School and Relief to Mauldin and Hillcrest High Schools – Approved substitute motion made by Derek Lewis, seconded by Chuck Saylors, and approved by the Board to replace the main motion. Motion stated, "Effective for the 2020-21 school year, to reassign the geocodes in Table 1 in the attached Student Assignment Plan from Hillcrest HS to Fountain Inn HS, the geocodes listed in Table 2 from Mauldin HS to Fountain Inn HS, and the geocodes listed in Table 3 from Mauldin HS to Hillcrest HS, and to grant priority choice to the geocodes listed in Table 3 to attend Mauldin HS until such time as the school exceeds its rated capacity (currently 2,211 FTSE) and shall not resume in subsequent years. The rated capacity shall be established annually by the Planning and Demographics Department."

In summary, the recommended plan:

• reassigns 744 students from Hillcrest High to Fountain Inn High
• reassigns 193 students from Mauldin High to Fountain Inn High
• reassigns 242 students from Mauldin High to Hillcrest High.
• reduces assigned student populations at both Hillcrest and Mauldin to below 2000
• provides space for projected growth in the attendance areas of Mauldin and Hillcrest
• provides priority choice to students in geocodes being reassigned from Mauldin to Hillcrest
• results in a Fountain Inn High School student population slightly over 900, which allows for a full menu of extra- and co-curricular opportunities

Fountain Inn High School is scheduled to open in the fall of 2021 as the first new high school in GCS since 1973. Click here for the full student assignment plan.

Innovative Course Approvals – Approved recommendation from the Committee of the Whole to approve the Local Board Courses. The following courses are approved at the honors level under the new South Carolina Honors Rubric:

• Health Science 1 Honors
• Sports Medicine 1 Honors
• Orchestra 2 Honors

Student Discipline Appeal (Executive Session) – Approved recommendation from the Administration to affirm the decision of the Hearing Officer and deny the appeal.

Audit of Cash Receipting/Accounts Receivable – Approved recommendation from Internal Auditing Services to accept the audit of Cash Receipting/Accounts Receivable. This audit was performed to determine if cash/check handling procedures are being followed properly; to ensure that funds received are correctly coded to the general ledger; to verify that funds from outside vendors were properly recorded and deposited; and to assess the adequacy of internal controls.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Internal Auditing Services' Project Status Report – The report was presented as information.

INFORMATION / ACTION FROM BOARD COMMITTEES / LIAISON

Committee / Liaison Reports
Mr. Lewis announced Advocacy Committee had a very productive joint Board-Legislative Delegation luncheon and discussion today at JL Mann.

FINANCE REPORT

Monthly Finance Report – The report was presented as information.

The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.