BOARD MINUTES FOR
Highland School District #203
Regular Board Meeting
Highland High School
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The January 15th 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; Superintendent Gary Masten; MWC Principal Janice Sauve, TIS Principal Andy Woehler, HHS Principal Greg George, HJH Principal Kelly Thorson, Director of Student Services Barb Gilbert, TIS Principal Intern Mindy Schultz, Recording Secretary Sharon Fisher; PSE President JoAnn Turner HEA, NEA Presenter Mark Anderson and some staff members, students and patrons of the District. Board member Bruce Allen was not present.
DeeDee Trepanier led the flag salute.
It was moved by DeeDee and 2 nd by Nikki they approve the Minutes of the December 17 th Regular Board Meeting; motion passed.
COMMUNICATIONS
Julie presented Scottie Pride Awards to HHS students Denise Castro, Keith Kubishta and Erika Velazquez; teachers Greg Wagner and Lisa Monson; and volunteer Phil Nelson. HHS student Lisa Monroe and volunteer Jim Williams also received awards, but were unable to attend this meeting.
Gary read a Proclamation from Governor Christine Gregoire proclaiming January, 2008 as School Board Recognition Month and presented each board member with a certificate. PSE President JoAnn Turner thanked the Board for all they do and invited those present to join her for cake and punch provided jointly by PSE and HEA in honor of the School Board. Julie called for a recess at 7:15 pm.
The meeting was reconvened at 7:25 pm.
Dean Schlenker gave a brief presentation on the status of Highland’s Food Service program. He praised Food Service Supervisor Carla Borland and her staff for preparing and serving good-tasting and nutritious lunches to all four schools: approximately 74,027 lunches annually to MWC; approximately 55, 512 at TIS; 50,875 at HJH and 27,222 at HHS. He said the lower numbers at the high school were probably due to the open campus and students buying lunch at the store.
Carla discussed the Washington Child Nutrition Program of OSPI which follows the federal lunch program guidelines. Highland uses the NutriKids nutrition program to check on fat, fiber, calories, vitamins and minerals in the meals served to our students. She added that there are yearly audits to assure that our food service program is in compliance. The Health Department inspects the facility twice a year.
Dean also commended Lizz Kramer for her excellent handling of lunch accounts.
HEA Co-Presidents Teresa Long and Sharon Hill joined the meeting at 8:00 pm.
OLD BUSINESS
Mark Anderson presented information on the NEA-sponsored KEYS Survey. He said the survey requires 80% of teachers who are members of the HEA to vote their approval and then all the district’s education employees, classified and certified, as well as community members, would be invited to participate in the survey. Mark said the goal of the survey is to improve student learning. He passed out copies of the PowerPoint presentation handouts and other materials pertaining to the KEYS Survey.
There was no other Old Business.
NEW BUSINESS
Dean reviewed the Budget Status and Enrollment Report. He said the General Fund is down slightly from last year, but he still anticipates meeting budget. Enrollment has been pretty stable. In response to a question from Julie, Dean said two to three years in the future we will probably be buying some new buses.
Administrator’s Reports
Mindy Schultz, TIS Principal Intern, reported that the Principal Andy Woehler and 10 teachers took their first Rosetta Stone class today. This is an on-line Spanish course and she said all the participants are enthusiastic about the project. She also said they hope to have a high parent turnout for the second TIS Reading Night scheduled for January 22 nd at 6:30. A Social is scheduled for February 1 st.
HJH Principal Kelly Thorson reported that his building is prepping for conferences the first week in February. They recently had a “Substitute Day” for the math teachers to visit other teachers and departments. The plan is for the Junior High to have Substitute Days twice a month for the rest of the year so all departments will have an opportunity for this type of collaboration. He also reported the second season of HJH winter athletics is getting ready to start – this will be Girls Basketball and Wrestling. The second Junior High dance is scheduled for January 22 nd.a
Principal Janice Sauve showed the Board some artwork done by Lisa Monson’s class which is studying the art of Picasso. She reported that MWC students recently finished the Winter Benchmark testing for DIBELS. MWC received 1238 books from the “Page Ahead” grant. Literacy Nights will become a Literacy Afternoon on January 25 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm so more children can participate. Janice said MWC received a $600 donation form J & J Drywall, so they were able to purchase another projector. She reported that the salmon eggs are here and also they have some pheasant eggs to be incubated for release.
Student Services Director Barb Gilbert reported that she is working on the WSSDA Special Ed Policy and Procedures revision and hopes to have it approved by the end of February. She said three seniors are doing the Collection of Evidence. Also, KidScreen will be May 7 at St. Peters. She reported that Memorial and some schools are doing “Project Search” which may provide some employment activities for older students.
Director of Business and Operations Dean Schlenker reported that he hopes to have something to spread sand next year to help with the ice problem, but the cost of a spreader is approximately $6,000. Also, sand needs dry storage or it freezes in clumps due to moisture. Storage could be a problem and getting it delivered or picking it up from a private company is not practical due to the early morning hours the sand would be needed.
Dean reported that our insurance company’s position is that we cannot do school-sponsored ski trips or similar type activities due to the liability involved.
Gary reviewed the Personnel Report. DeeDee moved that they approve the Personnel Report as presented; 2 nd by Becky. Motion was approved.
Nikki gave the Legislative Report. She said the Legislature is in session as of noon on Monday, January 14, 2008 and the board members should be getting weekly updates. They should also check the legislative website. Nikki noted that our board has started getting acquainted with our legislators. Both Charles Ross and Curtis King visited the district earlier this month and she thought the discussions were very positive. Nikki also said she will not be able to attend the Legislative Conference on February 10-11.
“Positive Insights”: Julie asked the board members to talk about a positive experience they had related to our district’s schools, staff or students.
Dean reviewed the bills. It was moved by DeeDee with 2 nd by Nikki that they pay the General Fund bills for $148,530.07 with warrants 46749 through 46860; ASB Fund for $1,467.42 with warrants 4118 through 4129; and Payroll for $254,234.03 with warrants 46861 through 46932 and $421,717.11 by direct deposit. Motion passed.
At 9:26 pm, Julie said the Board would go into Executive Session to discuss legal issues and pending arbitration. She estimated the session would last 30 minutes. There was no audience present.
The Regular Board Meeting was reconvened at 9:58 pm. Gary reviewed the Calendar of Events.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm.