Watauga school board

OKs old and new hires
By Caroline Monday
cmonday@mountainimes.com

The Watauga County Board of Education met Monday evening for its regular April meeting, voting on several significant personnel decisions and approving a budget to be presented to the county commissioners for the 2008-09 school year.

The board renewed administrator contracts for interim principals Randy Bentley at Bethel School, Tom Trexler at Cove Creek and Doug Faulkner at Parkway. Watauga County Schools superintendent Bobbie Short said parent, staff and teacher representatives from each of the three schools gave positive feedback for the principals, which encouraged the recommendation that the contracts be renewed.

“Overwhelmingly, all three schools wanted to keep the principals they had this year,” Short said.

Finance officer Ly Marze presented the board with a current expense and capital outlay budget proposal for the 2008-09 school year.

Major increases in current expenses include an additional $100,000 to go toward fuel expenses countywide and $11,500 more devoted to the AlertNOW parent notification system.

The proposed budget allots funds for five new positions within the school system.

These positions include three additional middle school teachers, a new WHS facilities coordinator and an assessment coordinator spot at the high school.

In addition to the new positions, the proposed budget includes an 8 percent average estimated increase in existing salaries and a $200 supplement increase for each employee.

In major capital outlay increases, the proposed budget allows for $75,000 in cafeteria upgrades and for several new vehicles.

The total for the proposed local budget comes to $13,315,313, an increase of $766,652 from last year.

This amount is a proposed amount to be presented to the county commissioners, who may only agree to provide a portion of that amount.

In other board action, the board voted to adopt a new policy concerning student resuscitation.

Marshall Gasperson, director of safe schools and student services, presented the new policy to the board in response to what is becoming an issue for school systems across the state: whether or not to honor do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders.

A DNR order is a written order from a doctor that resuscitation should not be attempted if a person suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest. Anyone who does not wish to undergo lifesaving treatment in the event of such an arrest can obtain one of these orders.

They are most commonly obtained by individuals who have an inevitably fatal illness, who wish to have a more natural death without painful or invasive medical procedures.

Gasperson said these orders are becoming more frequent, though the school system has not had to address the issue before. The adopted policy states that DNR orders are not consistent with the school system’s “duty to protect the health and safety of students.” Therefore, under this policy, the school system will not honor such orders.

The policy outlines that, in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest of a student, a faculty or staff member should administer emergency care, including CPR, call 911 and allow emergency medical personnel to assume responsibility of the student once they arrive.

The board unanimously voted to pass the policy.

“I don’t think we can ask any teacher in our schools to let a student pass away in their classroom, especially with other students around,” board chair Lowell Younce said.