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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001_05_22 Board MinutesIDAHO FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 91 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Board Meeting Minutes May 22, 2001 7:00 P.M. Public Hearing: High School Boundaries Dr. John Murdoch presented a review of the proposed boundary adjustment. Student Art: Superintendent Manning presented a painting done by Sarah Hepworth of Taylorview. The Superintendent will choose a piece of student art periodically. The chosen artwork will be displayed in the Boardroom for a period of two years. The Board of Trustees called for a recess from 7:15 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. 8:00 P.M. - Opening Ceremonies Ken Schow led the Pledge of Allegiance. Adoption of the Agenda It was moved by Sharon Parry and seconded by Ernest Jensen to adopt the agenda as presented. Motion passed. Special Orders of the Day The Skyline Scholastic Team and their Advisors were honored by the Board of Trustees and the Administration for placing 7th in the National Science Bowl held at Chevy Chase, MD. Idaho Falls High School English teacher Shirley Murphy was honored for her work in promoting cultural awareness in the Idaho Falls community and for receiving the Sam Cikaitoga Minority Service Award from the Idaho Education Association. Matching Fund Request: Taylorview PACE Instructor Lisa Horner requested matching funds in the amount of $125 for the purchase of a scanner for the PACE program at Taylorview. It was moved by Sharon Parry and seconded by Robert Collette to approve the request for matching funds. Motion passed. Total Amount of Matching Funds Awarded as of this date: $44,068.07 Page Two — Board Meeting Minutes May 22, 2001 Consent Agenda Superintendent Manning announced that Edgemont teacher Brian Armes had been selected as the Assistant Principal for Eagle Rock Junior High School. It was moved by Jerry Wixom and seconded by Ernest Jensen to approve the Consent Agenda which included Board meeting minutes for May 8 and 15 and staff actions. Motion passed. Patron Input Bill Leake: Requested that the proposed attendance policy be revised to allow excused absences for non -school sponsored sports, i.e., I.F. Ski Team members. Lexie French: Urged the Board of Trustees to adopt the revised attendance policy. Bruce Birk: Requested that the proposed attendance policy be revised to allow excused absences and that students involved in non -school sponsored activities not be required to make up class time missed because of their participation in these sports. Ellie Hampton: Noted that the Attendance Committee had listened to parents during the public hearings and changes were made to accommodate their concerns. Linn MacAusland: Informed the Board that of her 140 students, she had experienced 514 absences in the last trimester and worked 42 additional hours helping them make-up work missed. Lydia Howard: Supports the changes to the attendance policy. The current policy causes a great hardship for teachers. She noted that students have a responsibility to be in class. Annette Alexander: Supports revised attendance policy and asked the Board to consider language that would encourage perfect attendance. Student Representatives Idaho Falls High School Representative Mary Gilbert reported on spring sports and the fact that the IFHS Tennis Team won first place at State for the second time in approximately 40 years. Skyline Representative Adam Harris reported on spring sports achievements. He suggested that the Board consider that honors classes be required to have a higher point range for awarded an `A' grade. Westview Representative Desiree Dufur thanked the Board for providing an alternative high school where students could receive a second chance to achieve a high school diploma. She assured the Board that Westview students were not troublemakers, but students who cared about their education. IFEA Report President Mary Farrier reported that the recent Retirement Banquet was a success. She noted that Negotiations were scheduled to begin on May 23. She informed the Board that the IFEA supports the proposed attendance policy and commended the efforts of the Attendance Committee. Page Three — Board Meeting Minutes May 22, 2001 District 7 Health Youth Coalition Amy Garner from the District 7 Health Department and Bethene Zohner representing the Bonneville Youth Coalition informed the Board of Trustees of the group's efforts to provide help and information to teens regarding abstinence and the prevention of teen pregnancy. This group is a resource to the community, teens and parents. The focus is to help high-risk teens. Physical Education Program Skyline Physical Education teacher Dale Guilford reported on the curriculum and goals of the District's Physical Education program. He invited Board members to visit P.E. classes at Skyline to observe the variety of activities involved in this curriculum. INFORMATION/DISCUSSION ITEMS 1002.0 - Attendance Policy: 2"d Reading: Superintendent Manning reviewed three changes that had been made in the policy since the first reading. These changes were made in response to concerns expressed by parents during the public hearings. He asked the Board of Trustees to review the comments and recommendations made by the Attendance Committee. These comments are an important part of the implementation of the revised policy. The recommendations will be prioritized and associated costs will be identified. Comments from the Trustees and District Administrators in support the proposed policy included the following: o Review student travel and field trips to insure that such experiences are educational. o Excused absences to attend school -sponsored activities are still counted towards the average daily attendance (ADA). Non -school sponsored activities are considered absences. o A firm policy should be set and followed. o Separate policy is already in place under Parent Concerns to hear appeals when exceptions to the attendance policy occur. o Parents and students must take responsibility and do what is necessary to accommodate their special interests. If a student is aware of scheduled absences, they should work with teachers in advance of the absence to establish a way to cover class requirements. a It was requested that a report of the number of student appeals received, related to excused absences, be presented to the Board after the policy is established. a Parents/students cannot be denied the right to appeal for make-up of class time/assignments for excused absences. The penalty comes from not doing the work associated with the class. 0 Page Four — Board Meeting Minutes May 22, 2001 ACTION ITEMS Official Canvass of Trustee Election — Zone IV: It was moved by Jerry Wixom and seconded by Robert Collette to accept the official results of the Trustee Election in Zone IV. Trustee Ernest Jensen was reelected in Zone IV by a total of 124 votes. Motion passed. Travel Requests: Longfellow Elementary: Students from Ms. Cox's sixth grade class requested permission to participate in an overnight camping trip to Heise on June 4-5. The students reported that the experience would be educational and include teamwork, Project Wild activities and a friendship reward. The trip will be fully chaperoned and supervised. Skyline High School: History teacher Debbie Woodard presented a proposal to take a group of students, who are studying an elective course regarding Understanding the Holocaust, to Washington DC in February 2002 to visit the United States Holocaust Museum. The travel would involve three school days and include visits to various historic sites in Washington DC and a visit with Idaho State Senator Michael Crapo. It was moved by Jerry Wixom and seconded by Sharon Parry to approve both requests. Motion passed. Audit Contract Services — FY2001: Assistant Superintendent Ken Schow presented the contract for Audit services for FY2001. The firm of Galusha, Higgins and Galusha will perform this audit for an amount not to exceed $26,000. It was moved by Ernest Jensen and seconded by Jerry Wixom to accept the services of Galusha, Higgins and Galusha for the FY2001 audit. Motion passed. District Equipment Policy — 3rd Reading: It was moved by Robert Collette and seconded by Jerry Wixom to adopt the policy as presented. Motion passed. Bond Refinancing Resolution: Assistant Superintendent Ken Schow informed the Board that this procedure must take place no later than May 31, 2001. A special Board meeting has been called for Thursday, May 31, 2001, at Noon to accept the results of the refinancing and ratify the sale of the bond. This represents a saving of approximately $450,000 over the life of the bond. Certified Personnel Mentor Program (Ratification of Phone Poll): It was moved by Jerry Wixom and seconded by Ernest Jensen to ratify the phone poll to implement this program. Motion passed. I] Page Five -- Board Meeting Minutes May 22, 2001 High School Boundary Change — 3rd Reading: It was moved by Robert Collette and seconded by Ernest Jensen to approve the high school boundary proposal which will re- establish a boundary along recognized geographical lines and balance growth areas as follows: Beginning at Boulevard and Sunnyside, West to 5th West (Park Road), South to the District boundary. All affected families living in this area at the time of the boundary change will be permanently grandfathered to Skyline High School. Waiver requests will be handled according to current Board policy and transportation will be provided as needed. Motion passed. Award Roof Bids: It was moved by Ernest Jensen and seconded by Jerry Wixom to award roof bids to Robison Roofing and Wilson Roofing in the amount of $72,762 and $147,412 respectively. Clair E. Gale, Eagle Rock, Edgemont, Erickson, York and Idaho Falls High School are included in these bids. The bids awarded were under the amount estimated by engineers. All work will be completed by August 10, 2001. Motion passed. Hard Surface Repairs: It was moved by Sharon Parry and seconded by Ernest Jensen to award Project 41 which includes crack fill, seal coat and overlay portions at Skyline and Idaho Falls High Schools, Emerson and Westside Elementary Schools to TMC Contractors in the amount of $88,243. It is anticipated that all work will be completed by July 27, 2001. It was further moved and seconded to reject all bids related to Project #2 — Concrete Surfaces. All bids received were over the engineer's estimate. These projects will be done on a piece -by -piece basis. The costs saved on Project #1 will help cover these projects. Motion passed. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Jerry Wixom and seconded by Robert Collette to adjourn the meeting. Time: 10:07 P.M. Motion passed.