School Board Meeting - Thursday, March 8, 2007

1. Call to Order – President, Ellen Dodson called the meeting to order at 7:09 pm and led the Pledge to the Flag.

Attendance:            Board Members – Ellen Dodson; Jim Freeman; Russ Pfeiffer Hoyt; David Smith.  Trish Hart was absent and excused.

                  Certificated Administrators – Rick Gantman; Charles Burleigh; Trina Hall; Tim Yeomans

            Good of the Order – Attachment “A”, also:

o        Classified Employee Week – March 12 – 16

o        School Retiree’s Week – March 10 – 23

o        Kudos to Board/Staff re: Student Travel

o        Technology Grant from Best Buy – Ellyn Erickson

o        Parent-Teacher conferences and continuous school improvement

o        Current athletic events

o        Gay Robinson – PSE (Public School Employees) – video presentation

2.       Approval of Minutes – Mr. Pfeiffer-Hoyt moved and Mr. Freeman seconded the motion to approve Minutes of the February 8 and 22 meetings.  Motion passed.

3.       Consent Agenda – Mr. Pfeiffer-Hoyt moved and Mr. Freeman seconded the motion to approve all items on the Consent Agenda.  Motion passed. 

a.       Personnel Actions

b.       Cancel Warrants – Resolution #06/07:21

c.       Surplus Property – Resolution #06/07:25

d.       Overnight Trips —

                                                               i.      WMEA All-State Choir – March 22 – 25 @ Tukwila

                                                             ii.      Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) – Washington State FBLA Leadership Conference in Spokane – April 4 – 7

                                                            iii.      Math Team – April 20 – 21 @ Yakima

                                                           iv.      Volleyball Team Camp – July 14 – 16 @ University of Washington

e.       Purchases over $7,500.00 – None

f.        Approval of Accounts Payable for April ‘07 and Payroll for March ‘07

Warrants audited and certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW 42.24.080, and those expense claims certified as required by RCW 42.24.090, have been recorded on a listing, which has been made available to the Board.  As of this day, March 8, 2007 the Board by a unanimous vote does approve the payment of those warrants included in the above list and further described as follows:  ASB Fund warrants #186 – 198 in the total amount of $12,185.71 and General Fund warrants #98950 – 99077 in the total amount of $198,164.26

4.       Information from Board Members

Report on School Board Goals – School Board Portfolio – The portfolio provides accountability for progress the board is making in achieving its goals.  School Board members attended and/or took part in:

                                                               i.      Scholarship Foundation Meeting

                                                             ii.      Literature Circle classroom exercise

                                                            iii.      Recommendation of book “Delivering on the Promise”

                                                           iv.      “Challenges & Choices” presentations @ Kendall

                                                             v.      Legislative Issues

§         WSSDA Legislative Conference, Olympia

a.       Simple Majority still not decided

b.       Changes to WASL graduation requirements

                                                           vi.      School Visits

§         Acme Elementary School

§         READY! for Kindergarten at Acme Elementary School

§         Special Programs Staff – Work on WSSDA Academic Achievement Task Force

5.       Information from the Audience – None

6.      Presentations – Mr. Pfeiffer-Hoyt moved and Mr. Freeman seconded the motion to move this item to Action Items on this Agenda.  Motion passed.

Hearing: Kendall “Firehall” Property Sale

Ms Dodson opened the Public Hearing at 8 pm and asked for comments from the audience.

Jeff Lazenby, Administrative Services Manager from Whatcom County Library System, said he would present a contract to the Superintendent for the purchase of the land.

Nancy Engel, President of the North Fork Community Library, expressed the group’s gratitude to the district for selling the land for the purpose of a new library.

Ms Dodson thanked the audience for their input and closed the Hearing at 8:04 pm.

7.       Action Items –

a.       Graduation Requirements & New Course Proposals (moved from Presentations) – Mr. Pfeiffer-Hoyt moved and Mr. Freeman seconded the motion to adopt the proposals.  Motion passed.

b.       Resolution #06/07:22 – Support of North Fork Community Library Project – Mr. Pfeiffer-Hoyt moved and Mr. Smith seconded the motion to approve the resolution.  Motion passed.

c.       Resolution #06/07:23 – Recognition of Classified Employees – Mr. Freeman moved and Mr. Smith seconded the motion to approve the resolution.  Motion passed.

d.       Resolution #06/07:24 – Recognition of School Retiree’s – Mr. Smith moved and Mr. Freeman seconded the motion to approve the resolution.  Motion passed.

e.       Consider Visual Arts Curriculum Adoption – Mr. Pfeiffer-Hoyt moved and Mr. Smith seconded the motion to approve adoption of the curriculum.  Motion passed.

f.        Consider Adoption of 2007/2008 School Calendar – Mr. Freeman moved and Mr. Pfeiffer-Hoyt seconded the motion to approve adoption of the 07/08 calendar.  Motion passed.

8.       Policy – Dr. Gantman discussed the use of the service Eduportal and policy management.

9.       Reports –

a.   Superintendent’s Report – Dr. Gantman’s report included information on the following:

                                                               i.      Strategic Plan Progress

                                                             ii.      Results of Special Education lawsuit

                                                            iii.      Tim Yeomans’ testimony in Olympia for the Senate Committee

                                                           iv.      Update on funding for Group Care Facilities

                                                             v.      “Timber Ridge of Tomorrow” Project

b.       Business Manager’s Report –

Tim Yeomans provided an update on Risk Management achievements

10.   Meeting(s) Schedule – All meetings begin at 7 pm in the District Office unless otherwise noted

a.       Work sessions & Special Meetings –

                                                               i.      Thursday, March 22, 2007

b.       Regular Meetings –

                                                               i.      Thursday, April 5, 2007 @ Kendall Elementary School

                                                             ii.      Thursday, May 10 @ Harmony Elementary School 

11.   Executive Session – At 9:03 pm Ms Dodson recessed the meeting and the Board went into Executive Session to discuss a personnel issue.  The Session was estimated to last one-half hour.

12.   Adjourn – At 10:00 pm Ms Dodson reconvened and then adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully Submitted:

                                                                                ATTEST:                                                     

Ellen Dodson, President                                                       Rick Gantman, Superintendent

CERTIFICATED EMPLOYMENT

CLASSIFIED EMPLOYMENT

RESIGNATIONS/RETIREMENT/TERMINATION

LEAVES/REDUCTION IN HOURS

SUPPLEMENTAL EMPLOYMENT

Attachment “A”

Good of the Order

March 8, 2007

In a communication from Ray Roberts, Loss Control Consultant, Washington Schools Risk Management Pool:

Congratulations are in order since your District has achieved a qualifying score of over 700 on your 2005-2007 Human Resources Risk Assessment Survey. 

The Washington Schools Risk Management Pool would like to recognize your administrators and staff for their hard work in developing a comprehensive Human Resource Program. In less than 12 months, by developing various written programs, implementing training sessions and reviewing policies and procedures, they were able to improve the RAS score to levels in excess of the 700 points needed to qualify your District for 3% savings on the 2007 rates. I wish to thank you and your staff for their cooperation in completing this project.

This is our third consecutive score in Risk Management Loss Control programs.

Thank you again to all who participated in the Human Resources Risk Assessment Survey.

Week of March 12 is Classified Employee Week!

Gay Robinson, President of PSE (Public School Employees) & Ross Wood, PSE Zone 7 Director will present a video clip highlighting the work of classified employees.

We invite administrators, teachers, parents and others from our community to join us in recognizing the dedication and hard work of these individuals. 

Week of March 19 is Washington School Retiree’s Week. This is an opportunity to thank former, retired employees for their dedication and hard work.  Retired school employees continue to serve students and schools in a variety of ways that include volunteering, participation in school activities and support of school improvement efforts.

High School basketball and wrestling athletes continue their winning streaks at district and state contests.

Here are the district Proficiency Award Results for District 1

Todd Rightmire

Director of Career and Technical Education

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