HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012_09_11 BoardMinutes� DA 0III L LS S C 0 0 L D � S IIU.... III � C IIU.... III
BOARD OF TRUSTEES -- BUSINESS MEETING
DISTRICT OFFICE BOARD ROOM -- 7:00 P.M.
690 JOHN ADAMS PARKWAY
SEPTEMBER 11, 2012
Present from the Board of Trustees:
Dave Lent, Chairman
Lisa Burtenshaw, Vice Chair
Deidre Warden, Treasurer
Larry Haws, Clerk
Brian Hillman
Present from the Administration:
George Boland, Superintendent
Lisa Sherick, Assistant Superintendent
Trina Caudle, Assistant Superintendent
Carrie Smith, Director of HR & Finance
Debbie Wilkie, Recording Clerk
Chairman Dave Lent called the meeting to order at 6:45 p.m. Trustee Deidre Warden made a motion to move to Executive
Session. Trustee Larry Haws provided a second. A roll call vote was taken:
Dave Lent —yes
Lisa Burtenshaw —yes
Deidre Warden — yes
Larry Haws —yes
Brian Hillman—yes
The Board of Trustees met in Executive Session pursuant to IDAHO CODE §67-2345 (1) (b) for a Student Hearing.
Trustee Lisa Burtenshaw made a motion to return to Open Session at 7:02 p.m. Trustee Brian Hillman provided the second.
Motion carried unanimously.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Sydney Borek, a student at Compass Academy.
SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY:
a. Emissary of Excellence
Superintendent Boland introduced the District's Secondary Custodial Staff as the Emissary of Excellence this month.
When the Superintendent asked principals' who they would like to recognize they were all in agreement that the
secondary custodial staff had gone above and beyond this summer to help make all of the transitions happen. Each
building principal introduced their custodial staff members and thanked them for everything they had done to help
make the start of the new school year go so smooth. Chairman Lent again thanked the entire group for everything
they do for the district and presented Larraine Butler, the Custodial Services Specialist, with a certificate to display
and a token of appreciation for each of them.
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b. Business Partner of the Month
Chairman Lent stated something new the Board of Trustees would like to do each month is to recognize some of the
outstanding contractors working on the district's construction projects. Tonight's recipient of the Business Partner of
the Month is Wheeler Electric. Chairman Lent shared a statement from Mike Clements, Construction Manager,
saying Wheeler Electric offered the district a cost savings of $586,325.00 on Dora Erickson which was good but the
part that has gone under the radar has been how good they have been on the remodels at Idaho Falls High School
and Clair E. Gale. Wheeler has gone above and beyond to keep costs down and changes to a minimal. We are
fortunate to have a local electrical contractor who is looking out for us as they have. Chairman Lent introduced Jeff
Wheeler, co-owner of Wheeler Electric, thanking him for all they have done so far and presented him with a
certificate of recognition. Jeff thanked the district and the community for their support over the past 50 years and
stated his family is grateful to work and live in such a great community.
ADOPT AGENA
Trustee Deidre Warden made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Trustee Lisa Burtenshaw provided the second.
Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays.
REPORTS/INPUT/INFORMATION
a. Student Reports -
i. Idaho Falls High School Student Representative Caitlin McNamara reported that the first day of school for
freshman and sophomores was a great success. Assemblies and tours were provided to help the first year students'
become familiar with new teachers and the school. The first Back -to -School Night for Idaho Falls High School will be
held on Wednesday, September 12th and Homecoming activities will begin next week. Last Thursday students
attended their first Advisory class and today seniors met to learn the timeline for the new senior project
requirement. Trustee Lisa Burtenshaw asked Caitlin if she had any concerns about all of the changes now that school
had started. Caitlin stated she thought things went smooth and said she has heard lots of good comments from
students and teachers. Overall it was a good day and she would like to see that kind of start continue in the years to
come.
ii. Emerson High School Student Representative Shawndae Lindula reported that there is a new dress code at
Emerson this year. Students can wear black, white or gray shirts of a solid color and khaki, black or blue jeans.
Shawndae stated it's not that bad and it could have been a lot worse. Emerson High School held a Back -to -School
barbeque earlier tonight and had a good turnout. Students at Emerson will begin a school -wide art project next
week which will eventually be displayed in the school library. Trustee Deidre Warden asked Shawndae how she felt
the start of the school year went; she stated it was pretty good there didn't seem to be any big controversies.
iii. Skyline High School Student Representative Krista Klingler, filling in for Paige Herrmann who could not be
here tonight, reported that the start of the school year went pretty smooth. Student leaders helped the freshman
and sophomores get acquainted with their teacher and the school before upper classmen started on the second day.
Kendra stated that even though this is only the second week of school they have been really busy making plans for
Homecoming and Emotion Bowl Week. Trustee Lisa Burtenshaw also asked Kendra how she thought things are
going at Skyline with all the new 91h graders. Kendra stated the lunch line was a little long at first but it seems to be
getting better.
iv. Compass Academy Student Representatives Sydney Borek and Elliott Marsden reported that the first week
of school at the new magnet high school was very positive. Students spent the first week being introduced to the
New Tech Network philosophy and getting to know the flow of things. Sydney and Elliott both stated they don't feel
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the barrier between the different grade levels like at the traditional high schools because students' are grouped
together to work on projects so it doesn't matter if you are in 91h or 101h grade. Chairman Lent asked the students if
the magnet school is what they had expected and if they are happy they chose to attend. Sydney, a ninth grader and
former District 93 student, stated she felt it is really what school should be like, how real life is not just learning
something and then taking a test. Elliott, a District 91 tenth grader entering high school this year, stated he really
likes that the teacher lectures a little bit gives the assignment and prompts then he can get to work; after completing
the assignment he can submit his work back to the teacher immediately.
Chairman Lent reviewed the district's new vision, a culture that empowers, instruction that engages and technology that
enables and asked the student representatives to keep this in mind as they report feedback from students and activities at
their schools.
b. Patron Input -
Andrea Chambers thanked the Board, Administration and Calendar Committee for approving a calendar with the
later start to the school year. Andrea stated she has been asking for the post Labor Day start for quite some time and
thoroughly enjoyed having the last two weeks of August for family time.
Suketu Gandhi shared comments regarding the PACE Program. See written report attached.
c. IFEA Report —Angela Gillman, President -Elect, reported:
Written report is attached. Chairman Lent asked Superintendent Boland to check on the concerns expressed by the
IFEA and report back to the Board at their next meeting.
d. Education Foundation Report — Marge Foster, Board Chair, reported:
• The Ed. Foundation is sponsoring a D91 cookbook fundraiser and Marge asked board members and
administrators to submit at least one recipe in support of it. Recipes are due by September 25, 2012.
• Marge provided an update regarding the monies raised from the Teton Toyota Truck Raffle, to date the
raffle ticket sales are $38,160.00. The truck will be given away on September 28th during half-time at the
Emotion Bowl. Marge also stated that Mario Hernandez and Teton Toyota have already committed to
another vehicle for the 2013-2014 school year.
• The Ed. Foundation is helping to secure field trip funding requests again this year. Of the fifteen elementary
field trips requested the Foundation has found funding for nine of them so far. The Symphony will again
provide funding for the two symphony trips. Funding is still needed for one middle school request, one high
school request and seven Compass Academy requests which were all submitted last week.
• The Foundation will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, October 11, 2012 at noon. The Foundation Board
lost one of its members a couple of weeks ago when Knut Meyerin passed away. Knut will be greatly missed
on the board and in our community.
e. Superintendent's Report
Superintendent Boland gave kudos to all of the staff, custodial and classified as well as certified and administrative,
for a successful start to the school year. The superintendent shared that he had made visits to the high schools
during lunch time last week to see how things were going with the addition of the ninth graders. He stated on the
first day of school there were some glitches with the new software program and students didn't get much time to
eat, by the fourth day the staff was able to move 300 students through in 18 minutes out of the 40 minute lunch
break allowing plenty of time to eat.
Superintendent Boland reviewed the first day enrollment summary stating we have record kindergarten enrollment
this year with 879 students registered, the previous high was 836, requiring two additional sections to be added.
Total elementary enrollment is up 132 students over last year requiring some last minute reconfiguring with
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combination classes and also moving one teacher from Bunker to Bush to help reduce some of the larger class sizes.
The target number for kindergarten is 25 students per class, grades 1-3 is 26 and grades 4-6 is 28, within 84 grade
level classes at the elementary schools 13% exceed the targets, 31% are below the target of 25 and 55% of the
classes are greater than or equal to 25 but less than the target number, overall it looks good. New configuration at
the middle school level is relatively balanced with 760 students at Eagle Rock and 753 at Taylorview with the average
class size at 26-27 students. At the high schools, Compass Academy has 285 students, Emerson has 82, Skyline has
1350 and Idaho Falls High School is at 1359. This is the first time in a long time that the large gap between the two
comprehensive high school is gone which is what the administration had hoped to accomplish with the realignment
and moving the 91" graders to the high schools. High school class sizes vary considerably based on student interest
but overall classes are at 26-27 students, there are probably a dozen classes at 30 or more. The district's total
enrollment is strong right at 10,400. A discussion was held.
Superintendent Boland also provided handouts and reviewed district and state-wide SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)
results stating that District 91 students exceeded the state average in all areas when compared with other districts
our size. This data is really encouraging and can also be used to drill down further to see which areas our students
may need more focus on.
CONSENT AGENDA
Trustee Deidre Warden made a motion to adopt the Consent Agenda as presented. Trustee Brian Hillman provided the
second. Motion carried unanimously.
Items approved include:
Meeting Minutes:
August 2012 Payment of Claims:
Staff Actions:
New Hires:
Coggins, Jordan
5t" Grade Teacher
Theresa Bunker
Coles, Travis K
.60 FTE Spanish teacher
Taylorview
Edwards, Anne
Counselor
Temple View Elementary
August 7, 2012
August 10, 2012
August 14-15, 2012
August 21, 2012
$3,943,595.71
Fetters, Laura
.4 IOT Teacher
Skyline High School
Fitches, Pamela
.5 Kindergarten Teacher
Westside Elementary
Handy, Kendra S
.93 FTE Art Teacher
Compass Academy
Hirschi, Zachary D
Technology Education Teacher
Taylorview Middle School
Seagraves, AnnMarie
Math Teacher
Idaho Falls High School
Standing, Melissa L
Kindergarten Teacher
Longfellow Elementary
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ACTION ITEMS
a. Approve Final Bond Sale Resolution
Michael Keith, Seattle Northwest Securities, Financial Advisor and Nick Miller, Hawley, Troxell, Bond Counsel
provided and reviewed handouts regarding the results and financial plan for the final Series 2012C bond sale that
occurred today. A discussion was held.
Trustee Lisa Burtenshaw made a motion to approve the sale of the 2012C Bonds to Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. as
presented. Trustee Larry Haws provided the second. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays.
Chairman Lent read the following resolution:
A Resolution authorizing the issuance and confirming the sale of $2,935,000 General Obligation Bonds, Series 2012C
of School District No. 91 (Idaho Falls,), Bonneville County, State of Idaho and providing for related matters.
Trustee Burtenshaw made a motion to accept the Bond Resolution as presented. Trustee Hillman provided the second.
Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays.
b. Approve Payment for Catering Provided by District Employee
Trustee Deidre Warden made a motion to approve payment for catering services in the amount of $357.00 made payable
to Gaylene Anderson. Trustee Brian Hillman provided the second. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays.
c. Emergency School Levy [33-805, 63-805(3)]
Superintendent Boland reviewed that with an increase in enrollment this year it is possible that District 91 may be eligible
for an emergency levy, as provided in Chapter 33-805 of Idaho Statutes, due to an increase in Average Daily Attendance
(ADA). With Dora Erickson starting a week later than everyone else this year the district had to ask for an extension and will
confirm enrollment numbers tomorrow. The deadline to certify the increase with the County, to receive the added amount
that could be levied, is the following day. The administration is asking the Board for permission to proceed if indeed we do
qualify for the emergency levy once the numbers have been confirmed.
Trustee Deidre Warden made a motion authorizing Carrie Smith to certify the emergency school levy, as per Idaho Code 33-
805 and 68-805.3, for the maximum amount allowable based on September 12, 2012 ADA calculations. Trustee Larry Haws
provided the second. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays.
d. Student 2011-2012G
Trustee Lisa Burtenshaw made a motion to re -admit student 2011-2012G per the administrations recommendation. Trustee
Deidre Warden provided the second. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays.
Trustee Deidre Warden moved to adjourn. Trustee Larry Haws provided the second. Meeting adjourned at 8:41 PM.
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IFEA Report
Board Meeting September 2012
New Employee Pizza Night: IFEA annual Pizza night for new #91 hires gathers to mingle with IFEA
membership is a family setting with pizza and play for the kids. This night is one our biggest membership
kickoff nights of the year. We look forward to having a relaxful evening of association business. We
invite you to come and mingle as well. There will be pizza for everyone! We greatly appreciate the
promotion and support of Mr. Boland and Deidre Warden at the New Teacher Breakfast. Thank you to
you two again!
IFEA Tailgate is coming up September 28th where we give our free hotdogs and food for the IFEA
members and their families. Members really enjoy this kickoff for the game and we look forward to
seeing familiar faces that sometimes we rarely see. We invite you to come by and have some food
before the game.
We share a concern about 7tn/8th grade orientation occurring before the calendar year has begun. These
were held on August 21s' and 22"d. Granted each of these evenings were only 1 hour long but some
teachers live out of town (Rigby, Howe, Rexburg, etc) One teacher had to come back from her job in
Utah for the one hour. This doesn't seem fair to have expectations outside the proposed and accepted
calendar. I know the teachers felt that if they were not there, parents would not look at that favorably.
While somewhat unclear if this was required, the letter from each principal strongly suggested
attendance.
The NEA, IEA, and IFEA hold strongly to the core value of smaller class sizes. Saying this, class size at IFHS
seem very high, 30-34 in most classes, Kindergartens across the district at record numbers (although not
as high in classrooms as last year) still remain high at 25-26 students in most classes. These numbers
concern me next year when these class size numbers may rise to accommodate the building size rather
than the quality of teaching teachers are able to do with high class sizes. Class sizes are on the front of
many members minds as they walk into their classrooms each day. Are there any thought about buying
planning hours to alleviate some of the crowding or adding back a little aide time for the lower grades?
Lastly, I want to convey to you the morale of some employees, particularly of those who are single and
trying to make ends meet. I have talked with more people that I would have hoped about loss of homes,
having no money in savings for any kind of emergency, some relying on church and friends for funds to
make ends meet. Bankruptcy filings are taking place and I urge the boards to keep the employees
struggles in mind budgets are looked at, as decisions are made. Can any money be used to give to the
people to help our kids? We understand funds are tight. We understand the circumstances state funding
has put us in. I promised these people that I would send their voice of discouragement. They like
working in our district and want to continue to. We have great people to work with and teach our kids.
9 1llnua."
Suketu Gandhi's Comments: PACE September 11, 2012
Students in PACE program were challenged in a number of ways. Some of their assignments
include research on select topics, and present their findings in their class. Through this, both the
presenter and their audience learn a lot.
Last year, they had three teachers. This year, only have two teachers. Three teachers mean that
students would learn more diverse topics. Last year, they had KidBiz account that enabled them
to read articles, and pass tests. Reduction in these two important elements significantly reduces
the benefits of the PACE program.
Students in PACE programs need to be challenged. Through their assignments, they learn how to
work together, and learn how to become a self -learner at an early age. Examples of the topics
that students have learned include something about wild animals such as cheetah, to the black
hole in the outer space. In the self -learning process, teachers have completion of certain tasks by
specific dates. This type of discipline is learned through practice. This is the practice that is
common in every phase of education, scientific research and in businesses. Reduction in the
teaching staff means that students will get reduced amount of exposure to certain types of
projects. For students to become life long self -learners, they must be exposed to different
projects deploying the same process of completion of different tasks.
Similarly, removal of the KidBiz account negatively impacts students. Last year, students were
required to read a number of articles on a monthly basis. The articles were stories from the
current events to research findings on historical events. Types of information the students get
exposed to ingrains in their mind what is important information, and what types of questions one
may ask. For example, were the construction workers on the great Pyramids of Egypt result of
slave labor, or paid workers. After reading these articles, students are required to answer
questions. This is good complementary to Advanced Reader Tests that the students in elementary
grades take.
Many students got into PACE program due to their ability to read fiction. However, they need to
complement their fiction with non-fiction reading. One of the major attributes of non-fiction
reading is complex grammar and less frequently used words. This helps students learn new
vocabularies, and get challenged. As a result, they learn more. Their comprehension is tested
upon completion of a designated article. Learning of current events may not be optimized as it
done with mathematics, but it is significantly better than no exposure.
Furthermore, one should keep in mind that a librarian in Idaho Falls Public Library have
observed that girls prefer to read fiction, while boys like to read non-fiction. Thus, students
having assigned reading on non-fiction articles means that they will be forced to read non-
fiction. This will help students become life long learners.
As the Board discusses finances in view of increased student enrollment, it is important to restore
the program that have brought tangible benefits to the students. In the case of PACE, it is having
three teachers, and KidBiz accounts.