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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013_12_10 Board MinutesBOARD OF TRUSTEES -- BUSINESS MEETING DISTRICT OFFICE BOARD ROOM -- 7:00 P.M. 690 JOHN ADAMS PARKWAY DECEMBER 10, 2013 Present from the Board of Trustees: Lisa Burtenshaw, Chair Dave Lent, Vice Chair Deidre Warden, Treasurer Larry Haws, Clerk Bryan Zollinger, Trustee Present from the Administration: George Boland, Superintendent Lisa Sherick, Assistant Superintendent Carrie Smith, Director of HR & Finance Margaret Wimborne, Coordinator of Communications & Community Engagement Debbie Wilkie, Recording Clerk Board Chair Lisa Burtenshaw called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by a member of the audience. SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS a. Emissary of Excellence Carrie Smith introduced District 91 Purchase and Accounting Clerk Sandi Hahn and Substitute Dispatcher Laurie Ballain as the Emissaries of Excellence this month. Carrie shared remarks about both of these wonderful ladies and thanked them for their dedication and hard work. Carrie also shared that Sandi and Laurie are retiring this month and will be greatly missed. The Board and Administration thanked Sandi and Laurie and presented them with a token of appreciation. b. Volunteer of the Month Principal Kelly Coughenour introduced Roxane Rohweder, Dora Erickson PTO President, as the District's Volunteer of the Month. Mr. Coughenour stated that Roxane has truly impressed him since he became principal at Erickson four months ago. Mr. Coughenour shared a list of projects that Roxane has taken on during this time including the Erickson Garage Sale where they raised $4000.00. Trustee Burtenshaw thanked Roxane for all of her efforts and presented her with a token of appreciation. c. Business Partner of the Month Trustee Dave Lent introduced the Ricks and Pincock families', local owners of the Wendy's Restaurants, as the Business Partner of the Month. Robert Pincock accepted the award on behalf of Classic Foods and introduced his wife Nicole and three of the Wendy's managers in attendance tonight. Robert thanked the Board and stated they love giving back to the community especially when working with our schools. Trustee Lent thanked the Robert and the store managers for all they do to help our schools and the community and presented him with a plaque. 12/10/2013 Board Minutes Page 1 of 4 ADOPT AGENDA Trustee Deidre Warden made a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. Trustee Larry Haws provided the second. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. REPORTS/INPUT/INFORMATION a. Student Reports - Student Representatives provided information about activities and events taking place at their respective schools. Written reports, if provided, are attached. Idaho Falls High School - Student Representative Aubrey Holt reported. Emerson High - no report. Compass Academy — no report. Skyline High School — Student Representative Rose Rammel reported. Superintendent's Report Superintendent Boland shared that one of the district's goals this year is measuring achievement and assessment. There are a number of assessments the district uses and the superintendent stated he wanted to share the information about the Renaissance Star Enterprise Assessment for Reading and Math that has been incorporated in the collaboration time this year. Assistant Superintendent Lisa Sherick provided a handout and shared a PowerPoint reviewing just a few of the reports available for teachers. A discussion was held regarding the benefits of the timely and useful information teachers can get from this assessment which can help them provide individualized student instruction. c. Patron Input - Written comments, if provided, are attached. Mr. Suketu Gandhi shared comments regarding common core and college readiness. d. IFEA Report Angela Gillman, President, reported. A written copy is attached. e. Education Foundation Report — no report. CONSENT AGENDA Trustee Bryan Zollinger made a motion to accept the Consent Agenda as presented. Trustee Deidre Warden provided the second. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. Items approved include: Meeting Minutes: November 19, 2013 Business Meeting November 2013 Payment of Claims: $4,706,334.60 October 2013 Invoice for Representative Organization for President Leave 12/10/2013 Board Minutes Page 2 of 4 Staff Actions December 2013: Emergency Hire: A hiring emergency exists, as declared by the Board of Trustees, for the following position: Provisional Authorization: Suzanne Pickering— Provisional Contract Taylorview Middle School Family and Consumer Science 1 FTE New Hire: Suzanne Pickering Taylorview Middle School Family and Consumer Science 1 FTE Leave of Absence: Kristi Howard 6th Grade Fox Hollow Elementary ACTION ITEMS a. Adopt/Reject 2014-2015 School Calendar Proposal Superintendent Boland stated this is the third reading of the 2014-2015 school calendar proposal. The superintendent stated no other feedback had been received since the last reading and the feedback received was primarily focused on alignment of the calendar with Bonneville District 93 which has been accomplished. Trustee Haws made a motion to adopt the 2014-2015 School Calendar as presented. Trustee Zollinger provided the second. No discussion. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. b. Approve/Reject Termination of 457 Plan Carrie Smith reviewed that in 2002 when this plan was adopted only five employees signed up to participate. The plan has since closed and no one else can sign up to participate. Recently one of the participants approached the district about terminating the plan so they could move their money into other investments. Carrie stated the remaining participants were contacted and informed they would have up to one year to roll funds over without penalties. A discussion was held. Trustee Warden made a motion to approve the termination of the 457 Plan as presented. Trustee Haws provided the second. No discussion. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. c. Approve/Reject Provisional Certification —Suzanne Pickering, Family & Consumer Science at Taylorview Superintendent Boland reviewed that a staff member has resigned, after starting the year on medical leave and having a long-term sub. The most qualified candidate to fill the position is the current long-term sub and the District needs to request a provisional certificate from the State Department for this individual. 12/10/2013 Board Minutes Page 3 of 4 Trustee Zollinger made a motion to approve the request for a provisional certificate. Trustee Lent provided the second. No discussion. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. Approve Emergency School Closures on Wednesday, December 4, 2013 and Monday, December 9, 2013. Superintendent Boland reviewed because of the recent power outages and cold temperatures the district needs to submit a certificate of closure to the State Department. Trustee Warden made a motion to approve the Emergency School Closures on Wednesday, December 4, 2013 and Monday, December 9, 2013. Trustee Lent provided the second. A brief discussion was held regarding the District's closure guidelines, a break-in at Skyline High School and the power outages and frozen pipes due to cold temperatures. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. Trustee Lent made a motion to adjourn. Trustee Warden provided the second. No further discussion. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM. 12/10/2013 Board Minutes Page 4 of 4 IDAHO FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT ##91 PUBLIC INPUT SHEET Guidelines for Patron Involvement in School Board Meetings School Board meetings are meetings of the elected Board of Trustees held in public for the purpose of conducting the business of the Board. Patron input is invited during board meetings on the following basis: To request to speak to the Board of Trustees: In order to be recognized, the patron must sign and complete the Public Input portion below prior to the beginning of the meeting. The Public Input Sheet should be located on a table at the back of the boardroom. Patrons will be recognized by the Chairman of the Board. Public input should not exceed three minutes. The Board will listen to public input without comment except to ask germane questions. Expressions must be appropriate to the public setting. Discussion of personnel matters or personal attacks are not appropriate. Board Policy 506.0 item 5 states that complaints against o particular teacher or District employee shall be in writing. The contract between District 91 and the teacher's association, as well as traditional concepts of the due process of law, require that the affected employee be notified of a written complaint. The Chair has the authority to control the meeting whenever necessary. PUBLIC INPUT SHEET �t n Name:Date: Address: �t� 7 7 p ilk,4i��Phone: Pt E -Mail Address: l 444 1 + CVGU. Do you have children attending School District #91 schools? 'lam If so, which schools do your students attend: �Jla4k' 4a t� Topic: Ge-��vL,- 5/1612008 C." _C (0142- ,13 Suketu Gandhi's Comment on the Opposition to the Common Core December 10, 2013 r--� A recent article in the Post Register that describes the organized opposition to the Common Core needs to be addressed. 98% of the arguments made by the Common Core opponents are easily refuted, but 2% of the objections are legitimate because they cannot be refuted. Common Core Mathematics Standards are not college ready: This is certainly true. Two separate issues are involved: 1) The strength of the standards on the topics it covers, and 2) whether the standards covered lead students to be college ready. The latter issue is discussed. There is internal inconsistency between the meaning of college ready and the standards covered. Prof. James Milgram (of Stanford University), a member of the Common Core Validation Committee at the National Level, convincingly argues that the Common Core Math Standards covers topics up to Algebra -2. Algebra -2 does not prepare students to take the first college level math course, which is Calculus. The gap between Algebra -2 and Calculus is filled by pre - Calculus course. In other words, the Common Core fails to define the standards for pre -Calculus topics, such as trigonometry, analytic geometry, sequences & series addition of numbers, combinatorial, parametric equations, etc. Some of the topics are contained in Algebra -2, such as introduction of elements of trigonometry. To master the topics, one need take a formal course in pre -Calculus. When students complete pre -Calculus in high school, they are set to take formal calculus course in either high school, or college_ If the Common Core Math Standards are designed to cover up to Algebra -2, it should not be advertised it as college ready. The advertisement misleads the public, and goes a long way to weaken the confidence in the public school system. The patrons have experienced weak financial support. This has impacted a large number of students that has prevented them from taking college preparatory courses by limiting the number of sections, and discontinuing with significant programs, such as RAD, and the delay in the construction of new schools, remodeling and upgrading of science laboratories in various schools. If the Common Core Math Standards are to be college ready, it remains a mystery as why the panel on the Common Core standards missed the standards for the curriculum between Algebra - 2 and Calculus. When the public comments on the standards were sought, a number of missing topics were identified and the ways to improve upon the draft standards. The missing topics failed to get the needed attention from the Idaho State Department of Education, despite all the knowledge, all the expertise, and all the resources available at its disposal. While the Common Core Mathematics standards are amenable to change, Board has to decide if the District will seek to improve the standards or fill the gap between Algebra -2 and calculus courses. It will also have to reach a decision whether to involve the knowledgeable public to participate in the formulation of the standards on the missing topics or enhancement of the existing standards. Wilkie, Debbie -D91 From: Lisa Burtenshaw[mailto:lisaburtenshaw9lCaagmail.com] Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 9:55 AM To: Wilkie, Debbie -1391 Subject: Re: Board Minutes Debbie, Here are the comments I gave to Mr. Gandhi. I included a #5 concerning board meeting protocol but I told him I would remove that for the minutes. 1. The common core standards have been adopted by the state of Idaho, and as such we are implementing them. 2. The previous Idaho standards only covered math standards through Algebra II. Students should, and will continue to be counseled that taking higher level mathematics (Trig and Calculus) will better prepare them for college entrance exams and college work. 3. As reported by trustee Bryan Hillman in the spring after the NSBA conference, professional development for teachers will be an ongoing work. In his report to the board he said "it was estimated that it might take up to ten years before the standards are fully implemented with best teaching practices." 4. While I acknowledge that everyone does not agree on these standards, the teachers I have spoken to within our district Aleve a. the standards are much more challenging, b have improved vertical grade alignment c. teachers are working very hard to learn and implement the new standards. Lisa Wilkie, Debbie -1391 e --"Nm: Gillman, Angela -D91 it: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:03 PM To: Wilkie, Debbie -D91 Subject: IFEA school board meeting report Pam 2Wi6wYIFEA school board meeting 10, 2013 Thank you for supporting public education by wearing red. Common Core News Media Panel Discussion held today at Erickson 2011 teacher of the year Stephanie Cook, District 91 Curriculum Coordinator Jennifer Jackson, Community Business Partner, and District 91 School Board Chair Lisa Burtenshaw answered questions from the media from what common core is, to why it is important. Business partner supporting the common core emphasized how the common core prepares students for college and is supported by college presidents. Supportive praises to Lisa Burtenshaw for supportive answers in opposition to differential pay, in her words, "take differential pay out of the equation". IEA continues to support common core initiatives including a gathering of IEA members at a similar event in Boise last night. Many of these efforts nation wide are being supported by NEA in efforts to increase support and inform people of the common core. Lisa and I have shared similar thoughts on possible common core public meetings into the second trimester for more information shared into the public. Thanks for visits from George Boland and Lisa Burtenshaw at our last Exec board meeting for discussion on changes seat /fie funding and increasing funding. We appreciate your supports in education for our educators and students. The board .itinues to be a proud advocate for the best interests of students. Children's Fund contribution idea by Lynn MacAusland. Samples will be brought to the next noon board meeting. IFEA social event this Friday for members and their guests to celebrate the holiday season to celebrate the achievements we have made in education. IFEA is putting holiday season cards to each potential member of the Association. We include you in our card giving as friends of education. Angela /—N