Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
By AMANDA BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
Members of Martinsville City Schools’ administrative staff have some moving to do.
The school system’s administrative offices will move to the former Druid Hills Elementary School effective Aug. 1, Superintendent Scott Kizner told the school board Monday.
The move, which has been discussed for more than a year, should save the schools money by the 2008-09 school year, Kizner said.
The savings will not be felt next year because most of the money the school system currently spends to rent office space on Cleveland Avenue — about $65,000 — will go toward making modifications at Druid Hills, Kizner said.
“Space-wise we’re going to go into less space,” Kizner said after the meeting. “But economically it just makes a lot of sense.”
Since closing its doors as a kindergarten through second-grade school last spring, Druid Hills has housed the city’s alternative education program. That program will stay in the school next year.
For the 2007-08 school year, administrative personnel will move from their space in the former Pannill/Sara Lee building on Cleveland Avenue to the school on Indian Trail. The school system’s community learning center and the city of Martinsville’s Leisure Services Department also will be housed there, Kizner said.
Some renovations at Druid Hills will be made over time rather than right away, Kizner told the board. For example, only the school’s kindergarten wing is air conditioned. But officials do not anticipate air conditioning the entire building by fall, he said.
In addition to administrative personnel, the school system’s maintenance department also will move. Maintenance will be housed in the high school’s vocational building on Chester Lane, which has unused space, Kizner said.
In anticipation of the move, the school system will begin getting rid of some of the things it keeps in storage, both at Cleveland Avenue and at the old Brown Street gym, Kizner said. He hopes to hold “a big yard sale” in May or June to sell tables, chairs and other items the schools no longer need, he added.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the board:
• Adopted its 2007-08 budget, which asks for a 4.8 percent increase in city funding. The $23,189,617 budget calls for the city to contribute $6,857,572.
This is the first time in three years that the schools are asking the city for an increase, Kizner has said.
He told the board he will work with city officials to schedule a joint meeting with the city council in April to discuss the budget.
• Heard a presentation from Alan Ronk, executive director of the Martinsville Area Community Foundation.
The foundation administers endowment funds designed to help the community in perpetuity, Ronk said. It currently administers 16 funds and has assets of about $10 million.
School officials plan to establish an endowment fund for the schools this year, Kizner has said. Ronk told the board that an initial investment of $10,000 is required to begin a fund.
The school system will hold a fund-raising gala April 27 “to try to raise $10,000 to get it started,” Kizner said. The gala has been referred to as a prom, but board members and Kizner agreed “gala” is a better description.
• Approved on second reading a policy on staff grievances. The policy reflects changes made by the state in its most recent “Procedure for Adjusting Grievances.”
• Recognized Chris Bennett, a third-grader at Patrick Henry Elementary School, who won the “Martinsville is Learning” logo contest. The second “Martinsville is Learning” is scheduled for May 5, Kizner said.
The event showcases the talents of city schoolchildren and gives the community a chance to see what students are learning.
• Heard a presentation on foreign language instruction in the city’s elementary schools. Students from Albert Harris and Patrick Henry elementaries showed off the French and Spanish they have been learning this year.
French teacher Catherine Resplandy and Spanish teacher Susan Spangenberg told board members the students play games in their language classes and learn other skills, such as numbers, letters and how to introduce themselves.
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