BOARD MINUTES FOR
Highland School District #203
Regular Board Meeting
Highland High School
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Following the Community Forum, the March 18 th Regular Board Meeting was called to order by Chair Julie Smith at 7:00 pm. Others present included Board Members Nikki Keller, DeeDee Trepanier and Becky Laughery; Superintendent Gary Masten; Director of Business and Operations Dean Schlenker; Principals Janice Sauve, Andy Woehler and Greg George; Director of Student Services Barb Gilbert; Principal Intern Mindy Schultz; Superintendent Intern Heather Hastie-Ulery; HEA Co-Presidents Teresa Long and Sharon Hill; Jon Gores, Senior Vice President of D.A. Davidson and Co.; Recording Secretary Sharon Fisher and some staff, students, parents and patrons of the District. Board Member Bruce Allen, Principal Kelly Thorson and Athletic Director Eric Diener were absent.
Nikki led the flag salute.
Julie announced the following amendments to the agenda: calling for moving the Executive Session from the last item on the agenda to 8:00 pm [and adding discussion on pending litigation with Counsel to the Executive Session]. She estimated the Executive Session should last approximately 30 minutes. She also added item B. under Communications: HEA – KEYS presentation.
Nikki moved, with second by DeeDee, that they approve the minutes of the February 19 th Regular Board Meeting as mailed; motion passed.
COMMUNICATIONS
Julie presented Scottie Pride Awards to the following individuals to honor them for their service and special achievements: Students Miguel Ayala, Brooke Brown, Vanessa Castro, Rebecca Contreras, Antonio Gonzalez, Haley Gredvig, Taylor Gredvig, Megan Hollibough, Brenda Meneses, Roberto Rodriguez, Trey Trepanier, Cassidy Ulrich and Kelley Welsh; patrons/community members Ryan Monson and Mike Sommerville; and staff members Sandy Gavin, Barb Gilbert and Al Hudspeth. Students Tanner Christenson, Keith Kubishta, Caitlin Long, Lisa Monroe, Noah Westbay and Chelsie Standfill; and Staff Members James Heinle, Aimee Hostetler, Rebecca Kok and Kirsten Lenz also received awards but were unable to attend this meeting.
HEA Co-President Teresa Long discussed the results of the HEA vote on the KEYS survey.
As there is some controversy as to how the process was done, the HEA needs to address member concerns before moving ahead with the survey process. The Board requested that those issues
be addressed. Teresa Long and Co-President Sharon Hill will attend the April 9 th Board Work Study Session to discuss whether or not resolution has been reached within the HEA so the KEYS process can move ahead. Gary said that everyone wants to do something positive. Board members expressed concern that this should be a team-building project and more than one union member complained about how the results were interpreted.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Gary presented the proposed School Calendar for 2008-09 with school starting after Labor Day, no built-in snow day and a two-week Winter Break. DeeDee moved, with 2 nd by Nikki, that they approve the 2008-09 School Calendar as presented; motion passed.
Barb gave the 2 nd Reading of revised Policy 2161 – Special Education and Related Services, followed by brief discussion. DeeDee moved, with 2 nd by Becky, that they approve adoption of revised Policy 2161 as presented; motion passed.
There was no other Unfinished Business.
NEW BUSINESS
Dean introduced Jon Gores, Senior Vice President of D.A. Davidson & Co., who presented the Board with information on the refinancing of the School District’s bonds. There was discussion on the procedure and timing for refinancing the bonds to get a better interest rate, setting of the savings target and the timing required to maximize savings. DeeDee moved, with 2 nd by Becky, that the Board approve Resolution #4-07 Bond Refinancing with a 3% minimum return, and have D.A. Davidson & Co. prepare for the bond sale; motion passed.
Kirk Ehlis, District Legal Counsel, joined the meeting. At 8:10 pm, Julie recessed the Regular Board Meeting; the Board and Legal Counsel adjourned to the Library for Executive Session, which Julie estimated would last 30 minutes. Some staff members and patrons of the District were still present and remained in the regular meeting room.
Julie reconvened the Regular Board Meeting at 8:50 pm.
Dean presented the Budget Status and Enrollment Report. He said enrollment is stable at 1083 students which matches the October enrollment figure, although there have been a couple of temporary dips in enrollment.
Administrator Reports
HHS Principal Greg George said the first week of WASL’s have been completed. These were assessments for reading and writing. He said it was disappointing that some kids were late so they couldn’t take some tests. He reported that 120 students turned out for Spring sports. He attended the NACL science training, along with several teachers. They participated in collaborative team training, analyzing curriculum, and the “Ames Process”. Our team scored the highest of any team ever in the “Change Game” with 13,000 “stubins”. Greg also reported that he has been working on an attendance proposal and he will be taking a team of teachers and students on a site visit to Zillah in April to observe and discuss the attendance plan.
Greg, reporting for Kelly Thorson, said HJH grades would be due Wednesday and HJH staff will be starting the second round of collaboration days. Also there is a student-centered assembly planned.
MWC Principal Janice Sauve reported that students made “Leprechaun Traps” and had great fun with the project. Second grades are doing dinosaur study. First grade students went to the Capitol Theatre to see “The Frog and the Toad”. Third graders made and sold “Cowiche Kids Cards”. MWC is having instructional staff meetings. Three teachers are facilitating a staff book study of “How the Brain Learns” for Tuesday staff meetings. MWC parent conferences are finished and only a couple of parents were not able to attend during conference week.
Heather Hastie said our Professional Learning Communities are making great progress and are way ahead of most other districts she has visited.
Andy Woehler reported that Tieton Intermediate School had 97% parent conference participation during conference week and he expects to have 100% parent participation as of the end of the month. Andy said he and the staff members who are taking the Rosetta Stone Spanish classes are getting unexpected benefits and insights into how kids feel when coming into a learning situation where they are not using their primary language and culture. He added that TIS had a very successful Science Fair and also great attendance at this year’s Book Fair. With regard to WASL prep, Wednesday collaboration will have to do with WASL administration. Andy said the entire 4 th grade attended the dress rehearsal of the HHS play “Edelweiss” as a culmination to their current studies on Anne Frank. He also mentioned that the concrete in front of TIS needs to be removed with a jackhammer and replaced. Dean replied that would be taken care of, along with concrete problems in front of the high school.
Student Services Director Barb Gilbert reported that Title 3 is supporting the Rosetta Stone classes at TIS and this is an appropriate use of the federal funds. She said all federal grants need to be done by July 1 this year, including Carl Perkins. She mentioned some students have gone to California and not returned
Gary presented the Personnel Report. DeeDee moved, with 2 nd by Nikki that they approve the Personnel Report as read; motion passed.
A question was asked regarding the ad in the newspaper for teachers, which listed them as “the following extracurricular positions”. Sharon will check into this, as that was not the way the ad was placed.
Legislative Report – Nikki said that the Legislature adjourned last week and an important item for our district was the continuing funding for all-day Kindergarten. Dean said he is hopeful that we will be eligible this year. Gary mentioned WSSDA’s Community Award nominations that will be due soon and reminded the Board to be thinking about nominees.
Board members talked about their Positive Insights. It was suggested that on future agendas this item be moved to “Communications” when there is more likely to be more audience present than at the end of the meeting. The Board agreed this is a good idea.
Julie said she felt the 6 th graders did a fantastic job in the Middle School Band contest and they received a 3+ rating. The 7-8 th Grade band received a 2+ rating. Becky said the high school play “Edelweiss” was phenomenal and she heard nothing but positive comments about the student actors and the presentation. Nikki mentioned a friend, who has had kids in several area schools, told her our elementary school far exceeds any others her children have attended. DeeDee praised the HHS girls basketball team for a great season and ending only one game away from state tournament. She is proud of them.
Dean reviewed the bills. After some discussion Becky moved they pay the General Fund bills for $136,540.67, with warrants 47148 through 47240, ASB bills for $7,954.97 with warrants 4145 through 4168, Payroll for $257.549.28 with warrants 47271 through 47344 and $429,572.90 by direct deposit. DeeDee 2 nd; motion passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 pm.