As the arrival of the first half of the $300,000 Dropout Prevention Innovation Zone grant nears, Family Resource Network Executive Director Laura Young asked the board of education Monday night to transfer the funds to her organization in order to pay for the programs set in place.

The FRN and board applied for the grant together with Young writing the application. The grant money will go toward programs to assist with dropout prevention in the schools.

“We formed a dropout prevention coalition with 14 members,” Young said. “Some of these are employees from Pocahontas County Schools, service providers that work with the schools and community members. This dropout prevention coalition has also formed subcommittees. One is taking a look at our current attendance policy. It’s been recommended by the state department that we take that policy and really try to make it our own.”

The coalition has also formed a rapid response team that will address dropout issues immediately after a student make the decision to dropout.

It is also working with the Pocahontas County Sheriff’s Department. Young said Sheriff David Jonese plans to bring a new cadet program into the schools in January.

Additionally, Young said the coalition is developing a program to work with expectant mothers at the high school and to start a health and wellness project in January.

With all these programs taking form, Young said it would be easier to dole out payments for time and supplies if the FRN had control.

“Part of my fear, we have so many organizations working with it, your finance department is not that easy to navigate, and I would like to be able to have control to know what’s going on in the schools, whose doing it, how much it’s costing, and to make sure that we stay within the line items on the budgets of these grants,” Young said.

All of the funding has been assigned to certain programs, so there will be no mis-use of any of the grant money, said Young.

Board member Kenneth Vance questioned if it is legal for the board to transfer the funds, since it had to be part of the application process and is the actual recipient of the grant.

“If it has to come through us then, I would think, we have to do something with the money besides just transfer it to you,” he said.

Young explained that although the grant was awarded to the board of education, it is designed to involve the community it assisting with dropout prevention.

“There won’t be any changes to the grant,” she said. “The only difference is, we have one agency doing the reporting and taking care of your finances. The board of education doesn’t have any financial obligation out of this money. It’s an up front grant that is coming to you in full and then, in order to facilitate the work from the agencies that are helping you, it is really going to help our cash flow if we can get the money up front.”

Young added that several of the programs written in the grant have begun in the schools, and she already has bills to pay for services given.

Without citing a valid section of the West Virginia Open Meetings Act, the board went into an executive session to discuss the issue before voting on the issue. Following the closed session, the board approved unanimously to transfer the funds to the FRN and to make Young the grant manager.

In financial management, the board approved the following:

• Payment of vendor listing of claims in the amount of $108,848.71.

• Payment of vendor listing of claims in the amount of $62,553.67.

• Bank Reconciliation, Revenue and Expenditures Summary, Budget Supplements and Projects Summary.

In miscellaneous management, the board approved the following:

• Travel requests for December 10.

• To abolish Policy GBRIE – Caregiver Leave Bank.

• Revisions of the following polices: GBRIH – Leave Donation Program; GBQC – Critical Need/Shortage, Substitute Teachers; and GBRIA/GBRIB/GBRIF – Personal Leave Bank Policy.

In personnel management, the board approved the following:

• Employment of Nicole Rose-Taylor as substitute teacher for Pocahontas County Schools, effective December 12 for the remainder of the 2012-2013 school year, as needed, at state minimum salary based on degree and experience.

• Employment of Pamela E. Pritt as option IV substitute teacher, pending completion of RESA IV substitute training, effective December 12, for the remainder of the 2012-2013 school year, as needed, at state minimum salary based on degree and experience.

• Employment Michael G. Burns as mentor teacher, mentoring Dervin Lambert, at a supplement of $500, for the second semester of the 2012-2013 school year.

The next board meeting will be Monday, January 14, 2013, at 7 p.m. at the board of education conference room.

Suzanne Stewart may be contacted at sastewart@pocahontastimes.com