HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022_01_25 Board MinutesIDAHO FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT #91
BOARD WORK SESSION (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)
Generated by Jessica Means
Board Members present: Administration Present:
Elizabeth Cogliati, Trustee Dr. Jim Shank, Superintendent
Hillary Radcliffe, Vice Chair Kelly Coughenour, Assist. Supt. Elementary Education
Lara Hill, Chair Dan Keck, Assist. Supt. Secondary Education
Larry Wilson, Treasurer Angela Pendlebury, Director of Finance
Paul Haacke, Clerk Heather Wade, Director of Human Resources
Margaret Wimborne, Director of Communication
Jessica Means, Deput y Clerk, Recording
Tito Paredes, Director of Technology
Work Session called to order at 4:00 PM by Chairwoman Lara Hill.
ADOPT AGENDA
Chairman Hill requested a motion to adopt the agenda.
Motion by Hillary Radcliffe, second by Elizabeth Cogliati.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried Voting Aye: Elizabeth
Cogliati, Hillary Radcliffe, Lara Hill, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke
WORK SESSION
A. Cooperative Strategies Report
Chairman Hill welcomes the representatives from Cooperative Strategies. Cooperative Strategies Representatives, Rob Olsen
and David Sturtz presented and provided an overview and key points on survey results. David Sturtz reviewed the process
and timeline that Cooperative Strategies has in place for the upcoming months. He states after the Board meeting they will
be meeting with the Steering Committee and go into depth with survey results to move forward. David then goes over the
current enrollment data throughout the district and utilization of our schools. Rob then reviews the facilities master plan from
the 2019 recommendation work that was done. Rob Olsen presents the survey results showing 3,089 total respondents. He
states the survey ran from January 7th to January 21st, closing at the end of the day. Rob presents the results for the survey
question regarding improving Idaho Falls High School. There were 64% respondents that support building a new high school
at a new location and 36% of respondents support renovating the current high school at the current location. He then reviews
other survey questions regarding the reutilization for Idaho Falls High School, if it is rebuilt at a new location. He also reviews
responses on improvements and upgrade to Skyline High School, listing the top five amenities as large modern classroom,
auditorium, latest safety features, classrooms and studios for fine arts, and a commons area. Other surv ey results Rob
discussed voted strongly to support the construction of a new elementary school on the south side and to support the
construction of a new and larger Temple View elementary school on the north side. He also reviewed survey results on
timelines for the updating and improvements and affiliations to the school district from respondents. Da vid Sturtz asks the
Board if they have any questions they can discuss with the steering committee. Trustee Wilson asks for the discussion to
include the 7th/8th grade at Compass. Trustee Haacke states either the changes to the middle schools or additions in
elementary schools will need to be done to accommodate the growth of students in the buildings. David Sturtz stated the next
steps will be a discussion on costs with the costs going up for projects.
Trustee Radcliffe asked how many respondents they had when surveys were done in 2019. David responds that there were
two surveys. One survey had 382 respondents and the other survey had about 260 respondents. He states this survey has
substantially higher results. The Board continues to discuss the survey result comparisons to the surveys in 2019. Trustee
Cogliati adds the transition period for 6th graders to middle school and positive outcomes for longevity for them to stay in the
same school. Trustee Haacke asks representatives from Cooperative Strategies if they had a map of growing developments in
Bonneville county, as they did from 2019. He states that we have lots of new developments in the area and the enrollment
numbers should reflect the growth in the next five years. Trustee Haacke states the census has East Idaho, which includes
Idaho Falls, as one of the fastest growing areas for the second year in a row. David Sturtz talks about how they will discuss
with the Steering committee the long-term significant growth projection in Idaho Falls. Trustee Haacke comments on the
growth of Idaho Falls being of people from out of state people. Chairman Hill thanks the representatives for their time.
B. High Reliability School Report
Superintendent Shank reviews data from a brief survey done on the High Reliability Schools (HRS) training. He also reviews
the information that was taught to our staff in the training. He notes that Phil Warrick from Marzano Resources will be coming
again to do a more in depth training with our principals that will take 4 days. Phil will provide more one on one support in this
training for Level 1 certification. Superintendent Shank also states on Thursday the work with the principals was very positive
and they had good energy. This work was mostly around Level 2 and Model of Instruction. He adds that he gave them a
handout on the what the levels are in HRS. Superintendent Shank states he thought the training was well worth the effort and
we have far more people trained and know what are expectations are. He states after the training he sent out the Board's
resolution that was done in September so everyone was reminded that this is apart our work. Superintendent Shank
invites Kelly Coughenour, Assist. Supt. Elementary Education and Dan Keck, Assist. Supt. Secondary Education for any
additional comments.
Kelly Coughenour states he was able to visit 5 of the elementary school and attend sessions with them. He states it w as
encouraging to see the enthusiasm and excitement. He states that we modified the training to accommodate the current
situation and it worked out to be more beneficial to have everyone at their own schools. The schools could have specific
conversations and the presenters did a really nice job giving them some talk time. Kelly states that of all the trainings he has
participated in throughout the district he does not recall as much excitement as this one. Dan Keck states both days of
training were very positive. He states the secondary schools had a few technical issues on the second da y and a speaker that
was a little weak. He states they passed the information on to Phil Warrick. Dan states it was overall a great experience for
our staff. He mentions that our District Administrative Team have been training on HRS for the last 2 and a half years and
they all felt strongly on bringing the staff along. He agrees with Kelly on the excitement from the survey results and everyone
feeling good about the training. He states he thought he would have a few secondary schools certify at Level 1, but after
talking to the principals all six schools are starting the process right now. Kelly stated that he has nine elementary schools
that are in the process of certifying Level 1. Trustee Radcliffe stated that she went to both days of the keynote speakers. She
states the feedback that she received was the instructional staff that were not teachers were excited to be included in the
training, so they understood what was going on in the schools. Trustee Haacke stated he heard good feedback on Tuesday. He
states that he felt bad that we had a few people that were not happy with the training, but states this always happens in
everything, and we can not please everyone. Trustee Hill states she went to the principal training on Thursday and was
exciting to see everyone collaborating.
C. Community Engagement
Superintendent Shank asks for a discussion how the Board would like to engage with the community especially because we
have the Supplemental Plant Facilities Fund coming up on March 8th. He states we may need to do some backpack sessions
with the community. He then asks the Board how many sessions they would like to do, how many they would like to be
involved with, what the sessions will look like, and locations. He aks the Board what they think the next steps need to be.
Trustee Haacke responds with his thoughts on community engagement being important however he does not waste anyone
times. He goes on to explain a community event that Skyline put together on school safety which they promoted very well in
their newsletter and all social media outlets. Trustee Haacke states the only ones in attendance were himself, his wife, and
one other person. He states only two families were represented.
Trustee Haacke recommends only doing one at each high school to avoid scheduling conflicts and get more participation with
parents and community with lots of promotion. Trustee Cogliati recommends having one at an elementary in her zone would
be beneficial. Trustee Hill states an infographic for promotions would be good to include and send out to families. Trustee
Haacke states the content of the community engagement should be what monies are spent on as we talk about a future bond
levy, because we need it to run our facilities. Trustee Wilson states that we need to address that our schools will suffer if we
do not get the funding. Trustee Cogliati adds that by presenting this information ahead of time, we are addressing what could
happen without the funding. The Board continues to discuss the content of the community engagement. Superintendent
Shank states he noted to present at Dora Erickson, Taylorview Middle School, and Skyline High School. Also he states to
discuss levy costs and stay positive. Superintendent Shank asks if there are any items that we need to talk about. Trustee
Cogliati asks if we need to open up for questions at the community engagement. Trustee Haacke states he considered that
also, however it might cause confusion. He recommends that we stay on topic for the levy. Trustee Radcliffe states we need to
build a foundation with what we are doing with HRS, including what students and schools are doing. This will get the people
community to understand what we are doing. She states we should be working out in the communit y and providing what we
are doing and how we can do better instead of waiting until till August and September for the Bond in November. She then
states taking it to the next level will be provide better support from the community and get them excited because we are
doing good things. Trustee Hill states that we have lots events in the Spring that we can talk to families about the HRS levels
schools are certifying in. Trustee Cogliati brings up that there are families in the communit y that do not know what HRS is
because of the lack of communication. Trustee Haacke states his neighbors could care less about what HRS is but would like
to know the results of HRS. He thinks there is an importance of the results showing what the schools are doing, the ways they
are teaching, what they are offering, and what they are focused on. He states he does not think there is an importance of
knowing schools are level one certified as much as what level one means. Trustee Cogliati states that she does think the
families do care because it shows the commitment we have to HRS. Trustee Radcliffe states the importance of both pieces,
what certification of level 1 is and what they are doing in the schools.
Superintendent Shank states a strategy the Board could use is with Cooperative Strategy information if the timing was right.
Trustee Haacke states that he thinks the bond will pass because of the excitement of everything going on in the schools.
Superintendent Shank states that he work on planning dates with the schools and can plan who will be in attendance from the
Board. He thanks the Board for their input. Trustee Haacke asks Angela Pendlebury, Director Finance, about the language of
the levy replacing the current levy and there not being an increase. She states the k ey word being "replacing", due to no
change or increase. Trustee Haacke recommends education on this for the community.
D. Compass 7th and 8th Grade
Superintendent Shank states last month Compass 7th and 8th grade was presented and they conducted a survey. He presents
and discusses the results of the survey to the Board. He states the idea is that we want to make sure people understand
Compass is a choice, the parent would choose for the student to attend Compass otherwise they attend their homeschool. He
goes on to discuss and having 246 respondents to the survey. Superintendent Shank states we will digest this a couple more
weeks and then we have a consensus around it, we will need to pass a resolution. He states is we do not pass a resolution
there will not be enough time. This will allow for administration to prepare for staffing and next steps. Trustee Haacke asks
about enrollment numbers since Compass has been open. Superintendent Shank said he will get them to him tomorrow.
Trustee Haacke asked about the model of Compass that was done at Taylorview Middle Schools a few years ago and asked
how that went. Dan Keck, Assist. Supt. Secondary Education responded that the middle school tried a program that did not go
through the New Tech program and did not do the same type of preparation Sunnyside did with their learning situation there.
Dan states the program did not go well and now they do not have a project-based learning program at Taylorview. Dan states
that Compass follows the New Tech program and has been very successful for the students that it was designed for. Trustee
Cogliati states she talked to Kathy Smith, principal at Taylorview regarding the project-based learning team. Kathy stated it
was hard to manage having 1/3 of the students doing something different and that was a big reason they stopped the
program. Kelly Coughenour, Assist. Supt. Elementary Education states he was a parent of students at Taylorview at the time
they did the project-based learning and one of the issues was that it was not an opt-in program, it was a pre-selected team.
He states some students were involved and did not necessarily have a choice. Trustee Cogliati stated there was an opt in
option, however they did state you might get assigned to the project-based learning team. The Board discusses the
enrollment at Compass and would like to see the data. Trustee Radcliffe asks Superintendent Dr. Shank if the CTE Center is in
full swing, so we know for sure we will have the extra room at Compass. Superintendent Shank answers that is correct.
Trustee Radcliffe states with that extra space we need to look at that, if the number of students will alleviate some issues at
the middle schools. Trustee Haacke reviews the survey results stating 75% of the respondents had a student going into 7th or
8th grade and would send their student to Compass.
ACTION ITEMS
A. Third Reading - Board Policy Revisions & Review
Superintendent recommends approval of Third Reading -
Board Policy Revisions & Review, as presented.
Trustee Hill states there were some slight changes in the board policy that were made. Trustee Radcliffe
makes a motion to approve the third reading of board policies 121.0, 201.0, and 202.0, as presented.
Motion by Hillary Radcliffe, second by Paul Haacke.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: Elizabeth Cogliati, Hillary Radcliffe, Lara Hill, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke
B. Second and Final Reading - Board Policy Revisions & Review
Superintendent recommends approval of the Second and Final Reading - Board Policy Revisions & Review, as presented.
Trustee Radcliffe makes a motion to approve the second reading of board policies 401.0, 504.0, 107.4 and 107.5, as
presented.
Motion by Hillary Radcliffe, second by Larry Wilson.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: Elizabeth Cogliati, Hillary Radcliffe, Lara Hill, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke
C. Technology E-Rate
Superintendent recommends approval for the Technology E-Rate, as presented.
Trustee Radcliffe makes a motion to approve the Technology E-Rate, as presented
Motion by Hillary Radcliffe, second by Elizabeth Cogliati.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: Elizabeth Cogliati, Hillary Radcliffe, Lara Hill, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke
D. License Agreement with the City of Idaho Falls
Superintendent recommends that we table this action item. Trustee Cogliati asked why and Superintendent Shank states there
were questions that were brought up that need to be addressed.
Trustee Wilson makes a motion to table the License Agreement with the City of Idaho Falls.
Motion by Larry Wilson, second by Hillary Radcliffe.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: Elizabeth Cogliati, Hillary Radcliffe, Lara Hill, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke
E. All Day Kindergarten
Superintendent recommends approval for All Day Kindergarten, as presented
Trustee Radcliffe makes a motion to move forward with the approval of All Day Kindergarten.
Motion by Hillary Radcliffe, second by Elizabeth Cogliati.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: Elizabeth Cogliati, Hillary Radcliffe, Lara Hill, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke
F. High Reliability Schools Implementation - Covid -19 Response One Time Payment
Superintendent recommends approval for the High Reliability Schools Implementation - Covid -19 Response One Time
Payment, as presented.
Trustee Radcliffe make a motion for one-time payment is in recognition of our staff’s focus on implementing the High
Reliability Schools model and for their efforts to prepare, respond, and prevent the impacts of COVID-19 on learning and
instruction.
$2,000 for all full-time teachers and staff
$1,000 for all part-time staff
$1,000 for substitute custodians, substitute bus drivers, and substitute child nutrition staff who will work more than 60 hours
from January 1st to Feb. 1st.
$500 for substitute teachers who will work more than 60 hours from January 1st to Feb. 1st.
If approved, the one-time payment will be provided in the February payroll. The payments are being funded by ARPA monies
to provide activities necessary to maintain the operation of and the continuity in services.
Motion by Hillary Radcliffe, second by Larry Wilson.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: Elizabeth Cogliati, Hillary Radcliffe, Lara Hill, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke
ADJOURN
Chairman Hill requested a motion to adjourn.
Motion by Larry Wilson, second by Elizabeth Cogliati.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried Voting Aye: Elizabeth Cogliati, Hillary Radcliffe, Lara Hill, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke