Board of education approves plan to reorganize Horizon Academy
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 — The Nelson County Schools’ alternative school Horizons Academy will be re-organized to better meet the needs of the students of the district.
Kim Brown, the district’s director of secondary education, reviews the proposal that will revamp the operation of Horizon Academy.
The Nelson County Board of Education approve the reorganization plan presented at its regular board meeting Tuesday by Kim Brown, the district’s director of secondary education.
The existing Horizon school building will basically be divided into two entities with separate identities. The Academy at Horizons will serve students who are struggling in academics in a traditional school setting. Students will have service available to identify learning issues and for them to take on credit recovery.
The other part of the school — Horizon In-School Suspension Facility– will focus on disciplinary action. Students in the two programs will be separated from one another.
The in-school suspension facility will be available to grades 6-8 and 9-12. Middle and high school students will be housed separately from one another. Students will not be able to leave the in-school suspension facility during their stay for any reason.
The reorganization will require creating criteria for admission, conduct and release, and will require creation of a new position, an In-School Suspension Supervisor.
Brown told the board she developed the reorganization plan after examining how other school districts operate their alternative schools, and after hearing the input from parents and educators during the town hall meetings this past summer.
OPEN MEETINGS VIOLATION. Board attorney Terry Geoghegan addressed a complaint filed by the Nelson County Gazette that the board violated the Open Meetings Act when it entered into an executive session at its Aug. 3, 2017 working session without the required disclosures as required by law.
He acknowledged the board inadvertently failed to follow the proper procedure as prescribed by the Open Meetings Act.
“On their behalf, I would say we are dealing with issues we’ve never dealt with before in a long time,” he said. “From my standpoint and seeing how these folks operate, I can tell you they’re doing the best they can under some difficult circumstances.”
Geoghegan said the executive session was held under two exemptions to the Open Meetings Act: KRS 61.810 (1)c, discussions of proposed or pending litigation, and KRS 61.810 (1)f, discussions which might lead to the appointment, discipline or dismissal of an individual employee. After the executive session, the board took no action.
In other business, the board:
— approved motions to set Feb. 16, 2018 as the make up day for school not being in session the day of the solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. The board also revised the 2017-18 school calendar to align the a professional learning day from Feb. 12 to Feb. 19, 2018.
— approved job description revisions for seven Central Office jobs
— approved change orders at Thomas Nelson High School auditorium and the district’s Early Learning Center expansion.
— approved revisions to the applications for out-of-area and out-of-district students who wish to attend the county schools.
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