HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-12-11 Board Minutes
Board Meeting Minutes – Dec. 11, 2007
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Idaho Falls School District No. 91
Board Meeting Minutes
December 11, 2007
District Office Board Room
Idaho Falls, ID
7:00 PM
Present from the Board of Trustees: Present from the Administration:
Jerry Wixom, Chairman George Boland, Superintendent
Mary Ann Smith Guy Wangsgard, Director of Business Operations
Ernest Jensen Gail Rochelle, Director of Secondary Education
David Lent Karla LaOrange, Director of Elementary Education
Cindy Ozaki Dick Clute, Director of Federal Programs
Caroline Meagher, Recording Secretary
Chairman Jerry Wixom called the board meeting to order.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by George Boland.
SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY:
a) Dick Clute, Director of Federal Programs introduced Libby Olsen, secondary ELL (English
Language Learner) tutor as Emissary of Excellence. Dick read a brief paragraph that described what a
positive role model Libby is for the entire ELL staff and also wanted to let her know how much he
appreciates her commitment to bettering the ELL program. Ernest Jensen presented Libby with a plaque
from the District and the Board.
b) Jeanne Johnson, Principal of Bush Elementary school introduced Martin Phillips as the Volunteer
of Recognition. Jeanne explained that they were hoping for a grant for shelving for their new science lab,
but when that failed to come to fruition, Martin stepped in. Martin has children enrolled at Bush
Elementary and he helped them purchase the materials with a contractor’s discount and then he volunteered
his time and expertise by building the shelving for the school. Jerry Wixom presented Martin with a plaque
from the District and the Board.
Mark Christensen
STUDENT REPORTS: from Skyline High School reported that:
1. The Skyline Student Government and the Administration is currently engaged in a debate over
dancing standards.
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2. The Annual Food Drive is scheduled from December 10 through the 21. Skyline has set their
goal at 10,000 cans.
3. On a sad note, Steven Cossel, Math teacher from Skyline High School has cancer is not expected
to return to teaching. All students who have had a class with Mr. Cossel are writing him letters of
thanks to send to him in the hospital.
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4. The week of December 17 is “Deck the Halls” week which is a competition between the classes.
To show their contribution toward energy conservation, they are not using lights to decorate.
I. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA:
David Lent motioned to adopt the agenda as written. Mary Ann Smith seconded the motion. Motion
passed.
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Board Meeting Minutes—Dec. 11, 2007
II. CONSENT AGENDA
Cindy Ozaki motioned to adopt the consent agenda as written; Ernest Jensen seconded the motion.
Motion passed. Items approved include:
Board Meeting Minutes rd
: November 6th and November 23.
Payment of June 2007 Claims: $ 2,149,666.16
Matching Funds
: Theresa Bunker $ 2,288.18
Taylorview JHS $ 6,686.00
Taylorview JHS $ 814.00
Total Matching Funds requested: $ 9,788.18
Student Travel:
Idaho Falls High School Orchestra to Salt Lake City, UT 1/10/08 & 1/11/08.
Idaho Falls High School Cheerleaders to Los Angeles, CA 3/28/08 – 3/31/08.
Staff Actions:
Retirement: Steven Cossel, Math Teacher-Skyline High School
Military Leave of Absence: Jeff Crouch, Health/PE teacher – Taylorview JHS
New Hires: Rachael Cook, Health/PE teacher – Taylorview JHS
Angalee Blatter, Math teacher-Skyline High School
Hawthorne Playground Settlement Equipment:
American Hallmark Insurance, insurance company for Alpine Excavating Inc., offered a settlement to
School District 91 for the damage to the playground equipment at Hawthorne Elementary School.
III. REPORTS
a) STUDENT REPORTS:
Chesney Taylor,
Representative for Westview Alternative High School reported:
1. Everyone enrolled in the CNA class at Westview is passing
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2. Wednesday, December 19 Westview is holding a catered Christmas Dinner for the staff and
students, including the 3B detention center.
3. Westview students took the ASVAB tests last week.
4. Westview will be adding an Art class, students are pretty excited to have that option.
Nick Mason
, Representative for Idaho Falls High School reported:
1. IFHS is competing with Skyline in the Super Bowl Canned Food Drive next week. Last year IF
won this competition.
2. The clubs at IFHS will be competing by decorating the hallways at IF. Each club has also adopted
a family for Christmas.
3. Mayor’s Youth Council is holding a dance in the gymnasium at IFHS for New Years and IF
students will run the concessions.
4. Basket Ball and Wrestling has started.
5. Rachel’s Challenge was a success; this was organized by Sam Storms. The challenge is to
promote kindness and good morals and it seems to be a catalyst for many activities throughout the
district focusing on promoting kindness.
b) PATRON INPUT:
Terry Veskrna
has a student at Ethel Boyes Elementary and he came to the board meeting to tell the
Board of Trustees his concerns with the calendar.
1. Terry does not like the early start dates in August because that cuts into family time.
2. Starting in August is too hot for schools that have no air conditioning, like Ethel Boyes.
3. He has heard that the school starting dates were adjusted to accommodate the ISAT testing
schedule and he does not think we should adjust school start times based on tests.
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Board Meeting Minutes—Dec. 11, 2007
Andrea Chambers
has students at both Temple View and Eagle Rock and she came to also tell
the board of trustees her concerns about the calendar.
1. Andrea agrees with Terry’s statement about not liking early start times. August is a great month
in Idaho for outdoor activities like backpacking and camping and a mid August start date cuts
into a lot of family time.
2. Andrea has been on the Calendar Committee and she wanted to thank the administration for the
opportunity. She feels like her voice has been heard and she appreciated that.
3. Andrea also wanted to know why we schedule start times based on the ISAT, and why we
“teach to the test (ISAT) ?”
c) IFEA REPORT:
Nancy Caldwell, president of IFEA, distributed a handout regarding the HOUSSE rubric. She wanted
the board to know that thanks to some staff members at Skyline High School who spoke up and were
unwilling to accept a label, the State Department has changed some of the interpretations.
d) EDUCATION FOUNDATION:
Daryl Schneider, president of the Education Foundation, reported that:
1. The Foundation has begun efforts for the Mayor’s Scholarship. They have sent out tri-folds
marketing the event to past sponsors.
2. The Foundation presented to the Chamber about all the programs that they support.
3. The Skyline Legacy has received another $16,000 for fencing.
4. The Foundation sent out tri-folds to key Alumni donors asking for support for the Skyline
Legacy-Athletic Complex.
5. The Utility Flyer has brought in slightly over $1,000.
6. The Foundation is working on future planning.
e) SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT:
1. Calendar revision proposal for 2008-2009. George Boland reported that the committee that was
formed included patrons, at their request, they have revised the 2008-2009 calendar. Many issues
were considered:
The new proposed calendar is compliant with the maximum start days before ISAT
testing.
They have found no correlation between early start and higher scores on ISAT tests.
Early dismissal in May causes complications for high school sports, graduation, and AP
(Advanced Placement) testing.
The Superintendent recommends that the board change the start date of the school year 2008-2009
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to August 25. This is the first of three readings. This calendar and any input will be considered
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in the January 8 board meeting and the proposed new calendar will be voted on February 5.
2. Cooperative Service Agency—the Professional Technical High School is researching the
feasibility of a joint venture with District 93 and Eastern Idaho Technical College (EITC). This
would facilitate high school students in the area by helping them move on to post secondary
education or by graduating high school students with employment skills.
3. First Reading of Board Policy 403.4 – Chemical Safety and Management The Board of trustees
reviewed the first reading of proposed new Board Policy. This policy will be available for review
in the district office and on the district webpage under Board Information. This policy will be an
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action item on the February 5 Board Meeting Agenda.
ACTION ITEM:
Board Policy 204.2, 204.2.1 and 204.3
The above mentioned policies have been available for review in the district office. No comments or
discussion have been received. Ernest Jensen motioned to accept changes to board policies 204.2, 204.2.1
and 204.3; Mary Ann Smith seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously to accept changes. Motion
passed.
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Board Meeting Minutes—Dec. 11, 2007
Westview Alternative High School name change
There have been no comments received or discussion regarding the name change of Westview Alternative
High School. Cindy Ozaki motioned to change the name of Westview Alternative High School to Emerson
High School; Mary Ann Smith seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously to change the name of
Westview to Emerson. Motion passed.
Award bid for the Maintenance Building and IFHS Exhaust Vent work
Guy Wangsgard, Director of Business Functions presented the board of trustees with bid tabulation from
four bidders for work. The administration recommends that the board award the bid to Commercial Metal
Works in the amount of $60,700. Ernest Jensen motioned to award the bid for the described work to
Commercial Metal Works as recommended by the administration. David Lent seconded the motion. The
board voted unanimously to accept the bid. Motion passed.
Award bid for Hawthorne Phase II
Guy Wangsgard, Director of Business Functions presented the board of trustees with a bid tally for the
Hawthorne Phase II Addition. The administration recommends that the board award the bid to Shook
Construction including all three alternatives in the amount of $1,834,431. Anne Siefert, Principal of
Hawthorne Elementary School presented the board of trustees with a giant thank you card created and
signed by the staff and all the students at Hawthorne Elementary School. Cindy Ozaki motioned to award
the bid for the described work to Shook Construction as recommended by administration. Mary Ann Smith
seconded the motion. The board voted unanimously to accept the bid. Motion passed.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
Ernest Jensen motioned to enter Executive Session. David Lent seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Ernest Jensen motioned to enter Open Session. Cindy Ozaki seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Ernest Jensen motioned to place Teacher 2007-2008 A on probation. Cindy Ozaki seconded the motion.
Motion passed.
Cindy Ozaki motioned to accept the finding of the Grievance Panel for Employee 2007-2008 A. Ernest
Jensen seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Mary Ann Smith motioned to adjourn. Jerry Wixom seconded the motion. Motion passed.