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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999_09_14 Board Minutes• BOARD OF TRUSTEES IDAHO FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT N0.91 Board Meeting Minutes September 14, 1999 CLOSED SESSION The Board of Trustees met in closed session at 11:15 A.M. to review a student readmission request and a personnel item, 5.67-2345©, Idaho Code. OPENING CEREMONIES Pledge of Allegiance: Dr. John Murdoch led The Pledge of Allegiance. SPECIAL ORDER OF THE DAY September the Board of Trustees and Administration recognized Employee of the Month, Carrie Smith. Assistant Superintendent Ken Schow remarked that Carrie has held a variety of positions at the Administration Office and handled each one with skill, dedication and a positive attitude. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA It was moved by Sharon Parry and seconded by Ernest Jensen to adopt the agenda with one addition: VII-C: Superintendent's Contract. Motion passed. CONSENT AGENDA Board Meeting Minutes - Aa~ust 24.1999: It was moved by Jerry Wixom and seconded by Sharon Parry to approve the minutes of August 24, 1999, as written. Motion passed. Payment of Claims: It was moved by Ernest Jensen and seconded by Robert Collette to approve payment of claims in the amount of $2,075,592.45. Motion passed. Staff Action: It was moved by Jerry Wixom and seconded by Sharon Parry to approve new hire list #3 for three certified staff. Motion passed. Matching Fund Reauests: Board member Robert Collette felt that some items purchased with matching funds should be the responsibility of the District and not parent organizations. He asked that the Matching Fund procedure be reviewed by the Board's School Plant Facility Committee It was moved by Sharon Parry and seconded by Ernest Jensen to approve the following requests far matching funds: Bush Elementary iMAC Computers (3 year project) $6,767.46 Edgemont Elementary iMAC Computers (3 year project) 3,$04.21 Eagle Rock JHS Aerobic Step Benches (Ath. Dept.) 425.36 Idaho Falls High School Award Display Items 675.00 Total amount of matching fuo,ds awarded as of September 14,1999: $11,672.03 Trustees commended the PTO's and parent groups for their efforts. • Page Two -Board Meeting Minutes September 14, 1999 REPORTS Ken Wyler expressed appreciation to the Board of Trustees for their support of this year's negotiated settlement. He confirmed that the IFEA would work with the Board if budget adjustments become necessary to accommodate financial impact because of declining enrollment. He stressed the importance of the District remaining competitive in the recruitment of the best- qualified staff and enhancing compensation to teachers as additional district initiatives are implemented. Superintendent's Report IBB Process: Mr. Manning requested continued support from the Board of Trustees for the Inter- Based Bargaining (IBB) process. He expressed commitment to the process and commended the Association for their willingness to work together. Proposed Subdivisions: The Planning and Zoning representative from District 91 is Principal Dick Wagner. He will provide agendas and comments after each meeting. This information will be shared with Assistant Superintendent Ken Schow and passed on to the Trustees in the Friday letter or in the Superintendent's Report. Copies of the Planning and Zoning minutes and Mr. Wagner's comments will be forwarded to the Trustees. The Board SPFF Committee will meet on September 30 to review information regarding proposed subdivisions. Middle School Concept: The District's middle school staff will attend a workshop on October 1 to develop concepts of curriculum integrity and enhance their information on this issue. ACT Report: Supervisor of Curriculum Craig Ashton reported on the 1999 ACT score comparison. In every category, District 91 students scored significantly above state and national averages. INFORMATION/DISCUSSION ITEMS Policy Revisions: 2"d Reading: The following policies were reviewed in a second reading: 1005.17 -Sexual Harassment (Students), 813.4 -Sexual Harassment (Staff) and 814.0 -- Drug Free Workplace. It was recommended that the report forms included in policy 1005.17 also be included in policy 813.4. With this amendment, the policies will be presented at the September 28 Board meeting for a final reading. ACTION ITEMS Ratification of Phone Poll: Negotiated Master Contract: It was moved by Ernest Jensen and seconded by Jerry Wixom to accept the negotiated settlement as presented to the Board of Trustees in the phone poll that was taken and to extend the same terms and conditions to all district staff. Mr. Jensen commended the IFEA and the District in arriving at this settlement. He acknowledged the increased commitment from the teachers and also recognized the need to be competitive in the recruitment of new staff. • Page Three -Board Meeting Minutes September 14, 1999 The motion was opened for discussion. Member Sharon Parry noted that District 91 was the 4t" largest district in Idaho and should spend as much of the contingency as possible to retain and recruit quality teachers, She supported the downsizing of staff due to declining enrollment. However, she could not support this contract because she felt that the district could not afford the settlement. Program cuts made in 1991 have not been reinstated. The district will have to cut programs in the future which will make it difficult to go to the patrons for support of the Supplemental levy. She was concerned that patrons did not understand the settlement which will make it hard to justify future cuts. She asked that the Board take a second look at this contract. Member Robert Collette felt he must vote `no' on this settlement. He noted that he supported compensation to teachers, but had come to a different conclusion than other Board members and the district. He felt that there was a need to use the surplus of tax dollars in other ways. He felt it put the district in a bind to distribute the surplus to employees. A review of prior settlements since 1994 by Mr. Collette reflected an average increase of 6% over the past six years. He felt the Board had been fair and should find a different way to use some of the money. He noted that District 91 was 13% higher in the base pay for beginning teachers compared to Bonneville District 93. He was further concerned that the $1,000 for increased health care costs was not recognized as compensation by the employes. He felt that the district had made a mistake in deciding on a benefit package by not securing quotes from other insurance companies. He also felt that the budget had been decided without direct involvement from the Board. He noted that the budgeting process should be handled better in the future by having the Board work as an entire group in the process. It was his opinion that district employees should not be on the negotiation team because it put them in the position of negotiating their own salary and questioned the practice of extending the same increase to all employees. He felt that the Board should be involved in the negotiation process. He also felt that each employee group should be considered separately and suggested that increases be awarded on a merit basis. Member Jerry Wixom commended the administrative team and the teacher's team for their extraordinary work as part of the bargaining unit in reaching this settlement. He felt that teachers put in many mare hours than they are assigned and deserve the settlement that has been reached. He noted that when the district has met with hard times, the IFEA has worked with the administration to make the necessary cuts. The education process continues to grow and prosper within this district. Page Four -Board Meeting Minutes September 14, 1999 Mr. Wixom declared that he would vote yes and give the administration and the teachers the strongest support and commitment. He noted that this year the district was able to provide a good settlement and that each year must be taken as it comes. He again commended the administration for the good job this year to provide a settlement we can live with and repeated that we should take one year at a time. Both Mr. Wixom and Mr. Jensen agreed with Chairman Alan Reed's public statement: "The settlement with our teachers acknowledges the increased commitment required of themrn implementir-g our new curriculum alignment program this year. We also want to remain competitive in attracting and keeping the best-qualified personnel to teach our children." Robert Collette responded that his was not a no confidence vote, he was concerned far the budget in future years. Vote: A record of the vote to confirm the phone poll was recorded as follows: Alan Reed voted in favor of the motion. Ernest Jensen voted in favor of the motion. Jerry Wixom voted in favor of the motion. Sharon Parry voted no. Robert Collette voted no. Student Request for Re-admission: It was moved by Robert Collette and seconded by Sharon Parry to re-admit Student `D' - 1998-99. The district has met all legal responsibilities and the student's program will be enforced and maintained by the Individual Education Program team. Motion passed. Superintendent's Contract: It was moved by Sharon Parry and seconded by Alan Reed to renew the Superintendent's contract through 2002. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Jerry Wixom and seconded by Ernest Jensen to adjourn the meeting. Time: 1:11 P.M. Motion passed. •