Mr. Ernest Brooks II called to order the May 14, 2007 meeting at 5:30 followed by a short moment of silence. After welcoming everyone, Mr. Brooks explained the survey that was attached to the agenda placed at each table. He then turned over the meeting to Dr. Allan Sterbinksky. 

Dr. Sterbinsky welcomed the participants and stated that a suggestion had been made to have a Human Resource sub-committee and a Finance sub-committee. However, Dr. Sterbinsky explained that members from this subcommittee would have to attend every subcommittee meeting, which would be difficult to do. Therefore, he suggested that each existing sub-committee plan to address these two areas in their ongoing discussions. 

Councilman Brooks expressed that it is his desire, and the desire of the Task Force, at large, to keep all proceedings transparent. Therefore, the agenda, minutes of meetings, etc. will be available on the Jackson-Madison County School System’s website. This information is not functional yet but will be in the near future. 

Mr. Ken McDermott asked the following question: How will it affect the School Board if committee members conduct meetings and gather information from schools, PTO’s, etc.? Dr. Zambito replied that she did not see a problem. She explained that the committee members are arms of administration, not the school board. She suggested that the members of each sub-committee work through the chair to organize meetings, school visits, etc. She commended the group’s desire to gather more information through meetings in schools and communities and stated that the value of this group is in getting more information. Mr. Brooks supported Dr. Zambito and informed the group that they are here to help facilitate meetings, also. He also referred to the Change Process Document, which can be used to help narrow issues and should be placed in the participants’ binders. 

Mr. Brooks then turned to the group for updates from each sub-committee. 

Quality of Education Subcommittee: Paula Brownyard stated that the committee had encountered a few scheduling problems and had not yet met. However, they were scheduled to meet on May 15, 2007 and will provide an update at the next meeting. 

Student Assignment and Transportation Subcommittee: Ken McDermott spoke for this group. Their last meeting was on May 10, 2007 at 5:30 at the School Board. They discussed several issues, such as having neighborhood elementary schools and racial balance within schools. One question they considered was “How much can we change?” They were looking for systems similar to JMCSS for comparison on items including the number of elementary schools, number of students in the schools, racial balance, etc. They also looked at average costs of building elementary schools and the success and challenges of achieving racial balance within a school. Mr. McDermott also stated that the team had watched a video on the Internet on the topic of achieving racial balance in schools. The video suggested that the United States is a melting pot and therefore true racial balance is not possible in every community. 

Faculty Assignment Subcommittee:  Clarence Boone informed the group that this sub-committee met on May 8, 2007 at 8 PM at Rose Hill Middle School. During this meeting they reviewed the Tennessee Teacher Equity Plan. Specifically they discussed 1.) Poor and Minority Children and 2.) Effective Teachers. A few suggestions made for developing effective teachers included building trust within the faculty, stop pointing fingers through the media and other organizations, and locating a model for effective teaching. Mr. Boone stated that these things start with the leadership. Therefore, effective leaders are needed. He also suggested reaching out to the community to help provide a stable faculty. Mr. Boone suggested that the problem might not be a teacher shortage, but teacher retention. Mr. Boone stated that they did not include cost yet. Ken McDermott expressed concern about not looking at cost at this point. Daniel Holtzclaw asked what tool would be used to define “effective” teachers, and Mr. Boone replied that the Tennessee Teacher Equity Plan would be used as a model and that TVAAS data would also be used. He also said that Dr. Tom Rosebrough would be supporting their work with research. 

Extracurricular Subcommittee:  Dr. John White recognized that this subcommittee did not have African American representation and asked if anyone would like to change sub-committees. No one volunteered during this meeting. Dr. White stated that they would look at the extracurricular activities available in JMCSS and solicit opinions of the principals in July. They want to get a feel for what is working and what is not working. He also expressed the desire to host an open community meeting at the Board of Education to gather their opinions, as well. One need that Dr. White acknowledged was the lack of a competition-level track. JMCSS students must use the facilities at USJ or the schools in Dyersburg. Liberty has a track, but it does not have lanes painted on it. The old track located behind Madison is in disrepair. Dr. White also said that they would like to reach out to the industrial community for their opinions and desires for graduates of JMCSS as they enter the workforce. What skills and interests are beneficial? This might be an area for training. Dr. White requested that Dr. Sterbinsky help this subcommittee locate other systems to study. He even suggested that they might look at the system from which Dr. Zambito came. Dr. Ernest Brooks commended the group for recognizing the need for diverse representation on the subcommittees and reminded all participants to consider all racial and ethnic groups, such as Asian and Hispanic. Paul Finney informed the attendees that two studies that examine industrial workforce needs have been conducted and are available – one from JSCC and the other from West Tennessee Industrial Association (Mike Philpot is the contact person there.). 

Facilities Subcommittee:  Ken Kercheval stated that they met on May 3, 2007 at JCMHS. Their first step is to look at what facilities we have now and what is lacking, even at the new schools. They have divided the school system into smaller sections and are taking pictures of the schools – inside and out. They are also meeting with principals to get information from them, as well. Mr. Kercheval reported that they had finished half of the schools, and they plan on compiling this information into a Power Point presentation. 

Mission Subcommittee:  Vivian Williams said that they met on May 10, 2007 at Lambuth. They have gathered samples of mission statements from other systems across the nation to use a guide to develop one for JMCSS. The sub-committee has listed a long list of items they would like to have included, but their plan is to condense them. Some of the suggested items are as follows:

• Maximize the potential of students

• Maximize individual potential for life

• Provide a world-class education and environment

• Use good professional practice

• Professional collaboration

• Positive change through partnerships with others

• Thorough and beneficial analysis to stay on task

• Employ measurable indicators 

After the conclusion of the reports from each sub-committee, Mr. Brooks reminded the participants that it is the desire of the Task Force to make this a transparent process so they should email reports to Dr. Sterbinsky so they can be put on the website. He also asked that each member review the contact information and make any necessary corrections or additions. At this point, Mr. Brooks asked that the sub-committees begin their individual discussions and move to other sub-committees, as needed. 

During the sub-committee discussions, Dr. Sterbinsky and Mr. Brooks moved among the groups to listen and participate in the discussions. As sub-committees completed their meetings, members left the Board Room.