BOARD MINUTES FOR
Highland School District #203
Regular Board Meeting
Highland High School
Monday, December 17, 2007
The December 17, 2007 Regular Board Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by
Board Chair Julie Smith. Others present were Board Members Nikki Keller, DeeDee Trepanier, Becky Laughery and Bruce Allen; Superintendent Gary Masten; MWC Principal Janice Sauve, TIS Principal Andy Woehler, Director of Student Services Barb Gilbert, HJH Principal Kelly Thorson, TIS Principal Intern Mindy Schultz, Superintendent Intern Heather Hastie-Ulery, Recording Secretary Sharon Fisher; HEA Co-President Teresa Long, Bus Driver Supervisor Mark Williams, Levy Committee members and some staff members, students and patrons of the district. Principal Greg George, Athletic Director Eric Diener and Director of Business and Operations Dean Schlenker were not present.
Bruce Allen led the flag salute.
Gary Masten administered the Oath of Office to Bruce Allen, Becky Laughery and Julie Smith.
Reorganization of the Board was discussed. It was moved by Nikki with 2 nd by Becky that the Board retain their current offices as follows: Julie Smith, Chair; DeeDee Trepanier, Vice Chair; Nikki Keller, Legislative Representative; Becky Laughery, Title IX Officer; and Bruce Allen, WIAA contact. Motion passed.
It was moved by Bruce they approve the Minutes of the November 20 , 2007 Regular Board Meeting; November 28 Special Board Meeting, as corrected, and the December 10 Special Board Meeting; 2 nd by Becky, motion passed.
COMMUNICATIONS
Julie presented Scottie Pride Awards to the MWC Staff, student Griselda Vaca, Teacher John Straehle, Teacher Paula Vornbrock and Bus Driver Supervisor Mark Williams. Students Denise Castro and Keith Kubishta also received awards, but were unable to attend this meeting. They plan to be at the January meeting to receive their awards.
Gary presented a WSP Certificate of Achievement for the Transportation Department to Mark Williams. This was for the outstanding inspections of our buses and other vehicles for Winter and Summer 2007. We had 0% buses out of service.
Gary read a letter from the Yakima County School Retiree’s Association regarding a grant to be awarded to Vanessa Williams to purchase a color printer.
There was discussion on attending the WSSDA Legislative Conference to be held February 10 and 11. Nikki will probably attend; the other Board members need to check on school events that may conflict.
OLD BUSINESS
Gary reviewed the bid results on the Cowiche Mill surplus property. There was only one bid. It was submitted by Alan and Joan Van Wyk in the amount of $7,700. Bruce moved, with 2 nd by DeeDee that they approve Resolution #3-07 for the sale of this property at the bid price; motion passed.
There was no other Old Business.
HHS Principal Greg George and 7-12 Athletic Director Eric Diener joined the meeting at 7:45.
NEW BUSINESS
Bruce moved, with 2 nd by Nikki, that they approve the Affirmative Action Plan as presented by Greg George at the December 10 th Special Board meeting. Motion passed.
HEA President Teresa Long reviewed the KEYS Survey being promoted by the National Education Association. This survey of education employees collects data on school quality that falls into these areas: shared understanding and commitment to high goals; open communication and collaborative problem solving; continuous assessment for teaching and learning; personal and professional learning; resources to support teaching and learning; and curriculum and instruction. The Board noted they were looking into other surveys provided by OSPI that reviewed the same areas; they are interested in an ongoing process where continual (possibly annual) assessments can be made by students, teachers, parents and patrons. The Board is motivated to implement whichever survey is deemed most appropriate by winter conferences, if possible. It was suggested that Mark Anderson, from NEA, make a presentation to the Board on the survey right away. Teresa will check with Mr. Anderson and let the district know when he might be available; she was given several dates the Board plans to meet. The KEYS Survey is only available for consideration if 80% of teachers who are members of the HEA vote their approval.
Gary reminded the Board that Dean had presented the Budget Status and Enrollment reports at the December 10 Special Board meeting. He also noted that enrollment is not declining as it has in past years.
Administrator’s Reports
Eric reported that the HHS football stadium was “tagged” with spray paint, along with several other local businesses. They are pursuing some leads. Regarding winter sports, he reported there are 39 boys and 23 girls participating in basketball (no “c” squad girls due to low turnout numbers). Seven students are in wrestling. Those numbers should go up next year. HJH Boys Basketball have finished their season. The HJH Winter II (Girls Basketball and Wrestling) sports meetings will be held on January 2, with practices starting on January 3.
HHS Principal Greg George said planning for the Afters Reading class is going well; the SIP is being worked on as well as WASL instruction. There was a district-wide power outage which forced postponement of the 7-12 Winter Concert. Greg reported that there is a new 20 mph school zone in front of the high school which is flagged. Head Custodian Ree Baughman puts out the flags when she comes to work at 6:30 and takes them down when she leaves at approximately 3:30 pm. There was some discussion on the times when the flags need to be up. The district will try to get clarification on the regulations regarding flagging.
HJH Principal Kelly Thorson reported that he and Counselor Rebecca Kok are working with a number of students to get them work harder on getting better grades. The HJH Wednesday collaborations are focused on improving instruction. He also mentioned that the Writing Project Grant he talked about at the last Board meeting is very structured and WASL-like. We are in the “control group” for four years and cannot spend the money received under the grant on joining the CWU-sponsored Central Washington Writers Project. Gary mentioned that a separate K-12 in-district writing committee is also in the works. Kelly announced that the 7-12 Winter Concert has been rescheduled for Thursday, December 20.
TIS Principal Intern Mindy Schultz reported that the salmon tank is ready for eggs to be delivered in January. She said TIS staff members sponsored two families, including eight children, for winter clothing, gifts and food.
Janice Sauve, MWC Principal, reported that their salmon tank is also ready and the eggs should be coming soon. She praised Lisa Monson for a great job working with students on the K-3 Winter Program. MWC had a very successful McDonald’s Teacher Night fundraiser and will plan to do it again in the spring.
Student Services Director Barb Gilbert said she and Kelly attended the Breakthrough Coach Professional Development, along with their secretaries. She has shredded many aging Special Ed records. The special programs are going well and she is gearing up for the WASL. Barb said she is now a member of the State Technical Advisory Committee for Assessment. We need to review and update Special Ed policies and procedures. We will have KidScreen in May for the first time since 2000. KidScreen has a wide array of services for kids age birth to six years.
In response to a question from the audience regarding having a ski bus going to White Pass, Gary said this has been checked on several times and 35-40 participants would be need each trip just to break even. It was suggested that it could be opened up to the community. There was discussion on the topic and Julie asked if Dean can call to check on insurance.
Gary presented the Personnel Report. It was noted that there was a correction to the spelling of the Wrestling Coach’s last name. DeeDee moved they approve the Personnel Report as corrected; Nikki 2 nd. Motion passed.
Nikki reported that the Legislature starts January 14 and lasts only 60 days because this is an “off” year. She has received information from WSSDA regarding the focus of this year’s Legislature.
Julie reported that “Positive Insights” will be added to Regular Board Meeting agendas.
The Board members, in turn, reported on their positive school-related experiences.
There was discussion on Cornerstone Pre-Calculus and the excellent showing of our students on that entrance exam.
It was moved by Bruce with 2 nd by Becky that they approve the payment of bills as follows:
General Fund for $159,521.80 with warrants 46542 through 46669; ASB Fund for $4,054.50 with warrants 4106 through 4117; and Payroll for $258,278.66 with warrants 46670 through 46748 and $424,036.20 by direct deposit. Motion passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.
Highland School District #203
Special Board Meeting
District Office
December 10, 2007
Board Chair Julie Smith declared that today’s Board Work Study Session is to be a Special Board Meeting.
The December 10 th Special Board Meeting was called to order by Chair Julie Smith at 7:12 am. Others present: Board Members Bruce Allen, Becky Laughery, Nikki Keller and DeeDee Trepanier; Superintendent Gary Masten, acting as Recording Secretary; Director of Business and Operations Dean Schlenker and District Legal Counsel Kirk Ehlis.
Board Chair Julie Smith called for a recess into Executive Session at 7:14 am to discuss pending litigation with District Counsel. She estimated the Executive Session would last approximately 45 minutes.
The meeting was reconvened at 7:58 am.
Dean presented the November 2007 Budget Status and Enrollment Reports.
Principal Greg George, the District’s Affirmative Action Officer, reviewed updates to the Affirmative Action Plan in preparation for board approval of the plan at the December 17 th Board Meeting. There was special focus on page 8, the 3-5 year Correction Plans for Highland School District.
Gary discussed the upcoming Legislative Visit from Representative Curtis King on Monday December 17 at 9:00 am. There was discussion regarding the agenda and district message.
Julie discussed the concept of using the “consent agenda” process to expedite the meetings. There were pro and con opinions and it was decided meetings will continue as before with acknowledgement and awareness of time.
The Community Forum agenda was discussed and will include Levy Facts as well as Questions and Answers regarding the District.
Gary presented information on the WSSDA Legislative Conference February 10-11; Board members need to decide if they will attend.
Our fire suppression system is connected to Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District lines. YTID was not aware of this connection. Their Board is going to discuss and get back to us with the course they want to pursue regarding their liability. In the meantime, our system is operational.
Julie handed out a “ranking from 1 to 5” form to be considered for the Superintendent’s evaluation. The Board needs to meet to go through a mid-term evaluation. Board members were asked to bring their completed form to the January 2 Board Work Study Session so the results can be compiled.
There was discussion on the Scottie Pride awards and selecting a quarterly or annual award. It was also suggested that the award nominations be promoted in the newsletter and that the administrators look for additional opportunities for recognition.
Board members discussed the upcoming reorganization of the Board and office holders for next year.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:37