Vance County Schools will continue a push toward being tobacco-free by July 1 with a policy going to the Board of Education for approval Monday night.
Gloria White’s Policy Committee took up the policy on rules for conduct in building and grounds maintenance at a meeting May 18.
The policy does not mention tobacco or smoking, but the school system’s maintenance director, Claiborne Woods, said the impetus for revising the policy was the new tobacco-free policy at all times for everyone on all school property. Procedures associated with the policy address the issue of smoking, and Woods said he goes over all of the policies, including tobacco, with contractors before hiring them.
“This is an attempt to incorporate the employees into this policy,” said Marty Smith, the school system’s director of strategic planning, avoiding the need to create separate policies for contractors and employees.
The revised conduct policy for building and grounds maintenance refers to employees and contractors and covers regulations and safety standards.
“It shall be the responsibility of the Vance County Schools maintenance employee to ensure he/she is familiar with all standards and regulations,” the revised policy reads. “Employees must follow all specification requirements at all times while on Vance County Schools premises. Should an employee encounter or observe an unsafe act or condition, it is the duty of the employee to notify a supervisor immediately. Failure to follow such regulation may result in a work stoppage and/or termination.”
The committee endorsed the policy on a 2-1 vote, with Robert Duke opposed. He voted no to be consistent with his previous opposition to the tobacco-free policy.
The implementation of the general anti-tobacco policy was the focus of the committee’s discussions May 18.
“We should have been doing some things to implement this way before now,” White said.
Smith said the administration has moved as quickly as possible after the school board voted to go tobacco-free in March.
Signs provided by the state Health and Wellness Trust Fund will go up at all the schools, and information about the policy went out to all employees before summer vacation began.
“They’ll have the summer to get themselves ready,” Superintendent Norm Shearin said.
Smith said there will be workshops over the summer to help employees implement the policy, and the school system is providing support to help smokers quit. That was a particular concern for board member Emeron Cash.
Duke said the easiest thing he ever did was quit smoking, which he did cold turkey.
“We need to be fair about it and give people help who really need help and not like Mr. Duke and can just stop,” said White, a nonsmoker.
Shearin said the policy will not be phased in or begin with a probationary period, but “I don’t think this needs to be a confrontational kind of thing. … We understand some people are addicted.”
He said that if someone is seen smoking at a football game this fall, for example, school officials will explain the policy to the person and ask him to put the cigarette out, but he will not be kicked out of the stadium.
The Policy Committee also is bringing a new policy on the use and disclosure of health information before the full board for final approval. School board members expressed no concern about the proposal during its first reading in May.
The Board of Education also will handle several end-of-year-related items Monday night:
* Kim Meza, who heads the school system’s migrant education program, will present the 2005-06 application for federal migrant education funding — money to help with migrant students. The school system is seeking $26,462, plus approval to use $5,365.94 left over from this school year, to pay for a recruiter to ensure migrant children in Vance County are going to school. The application is due Friday.
* Smith is to present the application for federal Title I funding for 2005-06. That money, meant to help underprivileged children, is the bulk of federal funding for the school system and covers efforts to meet No Child Left Behind standards.
* Pam Bello, the school system’s director of career and technical education, will present the 2005-06 CTE application she must submit to the state Department of Public Instruction. CTE courses are offered at all five secondary schools, and almost all students in those schools take at least one CTE course each year.
According to the application summary included in the agenda materials for Monday’s meeting, North Carolina’s graduation requirements are a particular area of concern. Students too often are placed in classes without regard for their graduation “pathway,” and CTE classes are often seen as electives instead of core courses, according to the summary.
New CTE initiatives include expanded cooperation with Vance-Granville Community College and a Northern Vance High pilot program, the STEM Project, which integrates three courses, algebra I, fundamentals of technology and earth and environmental science, for ninth-graders.
* Assistant Superintendent Wright Anderson is to update the board on the results of end-of-year testing.
* The Finance Committee will present a series of budget amendments that are basically tweaks to close the year. More of those are likely June 24, when the committee will meet for a few minutes before a full school board meeting at noon.
Also on the agenda for the night are the monthly attendance awards, public recognition for the Northern Vance students who won the state automotive technology competition and a presentation on the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments’ tenant agreement. The COG is supposed to move into a portion of the Administrative Services Center on Graham Avenue.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Graham Avenue building.