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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-05-13 Board Minutes Page 1 of 7 IDAHO FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT 91 BOARD OF TRUSTEES BOARD MEETING DISTRICT OFFICE BOARD ROOM May 13, 2008 7:00 P.M. Present from the Board of Trustees: Present from the Administration: Jerry Wixom, Chairman George Boland, Superintendent Mary Ann Smith, Vice Chair Guy Wangsgard, Director of Business Ernest Jensen Gail Rochelle, Director of Secondary David Lent Karla LaOrange, Director of Elementary Cindy Ozaki-via conference call Caroline Meagher, Recording Secretary Jerry Wixom called the meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ernest Jensen. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA: Mary Ann Smith motioned to adopt the agenda with the following changes:  III. REPORTS, add item a) Student Reports,; change Patrol Input to item b); IFEA Report to item c); Education Foundation Report to item d); and Superintendent’s Report to item e).  IV. PROPOSALS remove “and Economics” so the item reads: Secondary Government Curriculum Review. Ernest Jensen seconded the motion. Motion passed. Ernest Jensen motioned to adopt the agenda with above changes; as well as move Special Orders of the Day after Adoption of the Agenda. Mary Ann Smith seconded the motion. Motion passed. SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY: Mike McGuyer, Energy Manager introduced the Energy Poster Contest Winners from District 91 schools. Natalie Locasico from Ethel Boyes Elementary, Lyndi Petty from Clair E Gail Junior High and Donnie Gomm from Emerson High School were the winners. They each received a plaque. Wendy Cavan, Principal of Emerson Alternative High School introduced Karen Narus as the Emissary of Excellence for May. Wendy read descriptions of the many ways that Karen goes above and beyond to help the kids at Emerson. Karen works with the kids in the CNA program and even picks them up and delivers them to classes. Her work and her efforts are greatly appreciated by the Board of Trustees. Board Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2008 Page 2 of 7 CONSENT AGENDA: David Lent motioned to adopt the consent agenda. Mary Ann Smith seconded the motion. Motion passed. Items approved include: Meeting Minutes April 8, 22 and 25, 2008. Payment of Claims $3,291,149.04 Matching Funds Ethel Boyes Elementary – Playground Equipment installation $ 8,100.00 Dora Erickson Elem. – Digital Projectors & equipment $ 3,270.67 Hawthorne Elementary – 10 Laptop computers $ 11,100.00 Eagle Rock JHS – Science Dept items $ 586.52 Eagle Rock JHS – Computer software licenses, projector $ 1,322.38 TOTAL MATCHING FUNDS $24,379.57 Staff Actions Resignations: Vanessa Beard Heath Jackson Eagle Rock JHS Clair E Gale JHS Math History Thomas Dickman Kathy Lancaster Skyline HS Eagle Rock JHS Special Education Special Education Jake Durtschi Rinda Olson Longfellow Elementary Skyline HS Counselor Math Steven Haack Judy Siler Clair E Gale JHS Linden Park Elementary rd Math 3 Grade Aimee Hadley Victoria Winters Bush Elementary Westside Elementary rdth 3 Grade 5 Grade Retirements: Linda Borrenpohl Mike Bryan IFHS IFHS Math Spanish Stanley Boyle Dianne Lange IFHS Temple View Elementary rd Math 3 Grade Nancy Brizzee Gloria Whitney IFHS IFHS Business Business Board Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2008 Page 3 of 7 Leave of Absence: Jodi Rupp Dora Erickson Elementary th 5 Grade REPORTS/INPUT/INFORMATION: A)STUDENT REPORTS: Donnie Gomm from Emerson High School reported that  Emerson High School’s graduation will be held Wednesday, May 21 at the Colonial Theater.  The Book Drive was a great success and added a lot of books to their library.  th May 19 they will have a school cookout for lunch.  Wendy Cavan wanted to add that Donnie is the artist who won the Energy Contest and she also designed an Emerson Logo that Wendy had printed on the Graduation Announcements. Mark Christensen from Skyline was not present. Nick Mason from Idaho Falls High School was not present. B)PATRON INPUT: Jerry Wixom took a moment to review the Patron Input rules because there are so many patrons who will be addressing the board. Rollie Walker, parent of five, lives in what he calls the “gray area.” His kids went to Taylorview Junior High School and are zoned to attend Skyline High School. His kids have formed friendships with kids who will, and have, attended IFHS and he said that he has signed an “Open Enrollment Agreement” many years ago that commits his family to attend IFHS. He wants to know what happened to that agreement. He also wants to board to recognize the importance of a school legacy in the family. th Kathy Heninger, addressed the board in favor of offering a 7 grade basketball program in the junior high thth schools. Currently the 7 graders try out with the 8 graders and typically do not get selected for the team. She feels that physical activity is very important for kids at this age. She believes that our Open Enrollment Waiver Policy is too strict. Kathy stated that the Idaho High School Activity Council does not require kids to sit out of athletics if they are waivered into an attendance area and wants us to re-examine that Policy. Kathy also lives in the “gray area” in which kids who attend Taylorview are split into either Skyline or IFHS. She lives in the Skyline zone and wants to waiver her kids into IFHS and does not want her child to have to miss athletic participation because of the waiver. th Ryan Storms has a daughter in the 7 grade at Taylorview Junior High School who was lucky enough to th make the 8 grade basketball team—which is the predecessor to the IFHS team. The Storms live in the “gray area” in which they attend Taylorview and will be zoned to attend Skyline High School. She will form new friendships on this team; and then be forced to play for another team. He feels that this is punishment and that this punishment is not enforced on non-athletes. He feels that athletes are Board Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2008 Page 4 of 7 discriminated against. He requests that the Board of Trustees allow the Taylorview students to declare which high school would like to attend. Cyndee Storms is a developmental therapy technician at IFHS. She supports her husband’s argument but does not want to echo him. She would like to present another side of their argument. Her daughter has always been quiet and shy. It has been difficult for her to form friendships. She has many friends now at Taylorview, and most of those friends will be going to IFHS. Their daughter is zoned to attend Skyline. They want their daughter to attend IFHS to remain with her friends, yet if they waiver her into IFHS, she will lose her ability to play sports the first year. They do not want her to miss one year of sports because they are hoping that she will earn a sport scholarship. They feel so strongly about this that they are considering selling their house that they have worked very hard to remodel, so they will live with-in the attendance boundary for IFHS. She would like to see the Open Enrollment Policy reviewed by a committee. Kerington Storms is a seventh grade student at Taylorview Junior High School. She feels lucky that she has thth made the 8 grade Volleyball and Basketball teams, but feels badly because there is no program for 7 graders. Some of her friends did not make the team. She wants to go on and play for IFHS like her mother and her grandfather did. She thinks the rules do not feel like the freedom of choice that she hears about in school. Sara Moore has a son who is a sophomore at Skyline. She lives in the gray area, and her son had to leave many of his friends who moved on to IFHS while he was zoned to Skyline. She states that he had a very high IQ while he was at Taylorview and feels that now he works too hard to fit in at Skyline and pays less attention to his academics. She thinks that kids who have to make this transition are more concerned with “fitting-in” with a group of kids that they have not attended elementary and junior high school with then with making the grades. Jimme Scrogum is here to ask the board to review the boundary issue. He feels very strongly that we th need to work harder to offer sports to 7 graders. He mentioned that sports are a great way to keep kids out of trouble. He thinks that it is very important to offer kids these opportunities. He agrees that we need boundaries and that we need to respect these boundaries. He would like to see us review the boundaries. He does not want boundaries to cause a kid to miss out on opportunities of athletics. He also believes that we need to select coaches based on experience. Jerry Wixom wanted to let the patrons know that the Superintendent will follow up with them regarding their input. David Lent wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to come out and speak up. He said that the board will take these items into consideration. MaryAnn Smith empathized with the patrons, and also would like to personally see this issue addressed. C)IDAHO FALLS EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION: Nancy Caldwell, President of the IFEA reported:  th Thursday night, May 15 is the IFEA Retirement Banquet. The theme is tropical.  At the April Delegate Assembly District 91 had 20 delegates attend and we had 537 voting delegates. They raised $37,000 for the children’s fund. The highlight of the evening was the Board Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2008 Page 5 of 7 award of the “Teacher in Space” award by the Friends of Education to Barbara Morgan. The IEA president Sherry Wood referred to this award as one of the “Highest Honors.” D)EDUCATION FOUNDATION: Rebecca Casper, board member of the Education Foundation wanted to report to the board of trustees tonight and highlight the Mayors Scholarship Dinner. They exceeded their goal this year of raising $75,000. In 2006, the first Mayor’s Scholarship Dinner raised $40,000; in 2007 they raised $55,000 and they feel very proud to have met their goal of $75,000 this year. She reported that the MSF (Mayor’s Scholarship Fund) has served over 67 kids. Rebecca referred to the Scholarship dinner as the only gala in Idaho Falls with the Mayor and the School District present. This year the State Superintendent of Public Education attended the event. The foundation had students from Eagle Rock create the program, and they would like to pull more student talents in the future. The money that was raised for the MSF gets distributed in this way: Scholarships, the cost of the event, and endowment fund and they have set up a College Pathways account for junior high schools to fund luncheons with students and area professionals. She asked for the board to continue to support the Mayor’s Scholarship Event. David Lent thanked the foundation for a “First Class Event.” E ) SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT: High School Re-Vision: Dr. Gail Rochelle, Director of Secondary Education reported the status of the Steering Committee. The committee met last week with the sub committees to hear summary reports. From the evening discussion there was some prevalent driving concepts: 1.Common Calendar – many of the sub-committees would like to see a consistent calendar for all grade levels from K-12 as well as consistency with either semesters or trimesters for all grade levels. 2.Reform Efforts for K-12, not just High School. Whatever we do, we will have to make similar changes in the Elementary and Junior High schools too. The groups were very cohesive and wanted us to meet student needs first. 3.Advisory teachers for High School Students. At the high school level, the students do not have an advisory teacher. They have counselors, but there are not enough counselors to help kids as much as they may need. The advisory would help kids with guidance for college. 4.Need to improve communication with parents. We need to prepare kids and parents for college and career. We need to keep the parent involved in this process. 5.Enjoyed being on the committee. Many of the parents really enjoy being part of the committee and they really want to see their efforts and time used by the district. They want us to do something with all this research. They want to see us make this happen now. Board Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2008 Page 6 of 7 Mary Ann Smith asked what the plans for the committee are for the summer. Dr. Rochelle responded that the research she received is a great place to start. She will start developing a preliminary design. Ernest Jensen asked about the cost of these changes. Dr. Rochelle referred to Guy Wangsgard who is the chair of the Finance team. Yes there will be costs. David Lent commented that he attended the Steering Committee last week and he thinks that we are doing a great job. The vision of District 91 seeking to be World Class shows leadership. The thinks this is a great example of leadership and vision in our district. He really liked to hear the patron interaction. Student Resource Officer (SRO): Superintendent George Boland referred to a handout that shows the current SRO agreement with the City of Idaho Falls, a proposed new agreement and a spreadsheet of the options. The current agreement expires August 31, 2008 and the City of Idaho Falls will not renew the current agreement. Currently the school district pays 50% of the SRO wages and the City pays the other 50%. This will be discussed further th as a work session item during the May 27 Board Work Session. Mr. Boland wanted to give these documents to the board in advance so they have an opportunity to review them. The board requested that we have data from across the country and see what other districts do. They would like to come up with another option. Attendance Policy 1002.4 Review Committee: Superintendent George Boland reported that the Administration from both high schools have requested permission to form a committee to review the attendance policy. They will have a first draft ready for the th June 10 board meeting. PROPOSALS: Dr. Gail Rochelle, Director of Secondary Education is proposing a partial adoption to the Social Studies curriculum. The social studies department has decided to purchase mobile computer labs at both high schools as well as texts for the classrooms. They are transitioning to electronic texts, but still have use of text books. The social studies and government textbooks change so frequently that the department would like to shift to electronic texts. The textbooks will be available for review and comment in the district office board room for 30 days. This text book adoption will be a June action item. ACTION ITEMS: A)IEP ALTERNATIVE ROUTE FOR GRADUATION: Director of Student Services, Loa Clute is presenting the alternative route for graduation for students with an (Individualized Education Plan) IEP. A small percentage of students slip between the cracks of all other mechanisms for graduation and it was necessary to develop an alternative route to be compliant with the State Board of Education. This will give us a record of achieved proficiency and written documentation. This is only necessary for approximately 1% of the IEP population, which is maybe one or two students per year. Board Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2008 Page 7 of 7 Ernest Jensen motioned to adopt the IEP Alternative Route for Graduation. Cindy Ozaki seconded the motion. Motion passed. 5-aye votes. B) AUDIT ENGAGEMENT LETTER: Guy Wangsgard, Director of Business referred to the letter in the board packets from Galusha, Higgins and Galusha. The District receives a financial audit every year. This letter states that the audit will not cost more than $37,000. There are more compliance items to look at and therefore more time required to perform the audit. Mary Ann Smith motioned to accept the Audit Engagement Letter. David Lent seconded the motion. Motion passed. 5-aye votes. C) FACILITY AND EQUIPMENT USE FOR FOOTBAL SUMMER CAMP: Chairman Jerry Wixom stated that the board votes on this item every year to be in compliance with IHSAA rules. Ernest Jensen motioned to accept the request. Cindy Ozaki seconded the motion. Motion passed. 5-aye votes. D) DECLARE TRUSTEE REPRESENTING ZONE FIVE. Superintendent George Boland stated that Diedre Warden ran unopposed for Board of Trustees seat in Zone Five. Ernest Jensen motioned to declare Deidre Warden as trustee for Zone 5. David Lent seconded the motion. Motion passed. 5-aye votes. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Ernest Jensen motioned to enter Executive Session. David Lent seconded the motion. Motion Passed. Mary Ann Smith motioned to enter Open Session. Ernest Jensen seconded the motion. Motion Passed. Ernest Jensen motioned to adjourn. Mary Ann Smith seconded the motion. Motion Passed. Board Meeting Minutes – May 13, 2008