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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020_10_28 Board Minutes IDAHO FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 91 BOARD OF TRUSTEES -- BOARD WORK SESSION COMPASS ACADEMY AUDITORIUM 955 GARFIELD STREET IDAHO FALLS, ID 4:30 P.M. -- WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 Present from the Board of Trustees: Present from the Administration: Lara Hill, Chair George Boland, Superintendent Hillary Radcliffe, Vice Chair Dan Keck Assist Supt Secondary Education Larry Wilson, Treasurer Kelly Coughenour Assist Supt Elementary Education Paul Haacke, Clerk Carrie Smith, Director of HR & Finance Elizabeth Cogliati, Trustee Shannon Taylor, Director of Student Services Margaret Wimborne, Director of Communications & Others Present: Community Engagement Judith Brower and Theresa Flannery, WIPFLi, LLC Camille Wood, Director of Technology Lisa Armstrong, Secondary Curriculum Coordinator Angela Pendlebury, Comptroller Lisa Burtenshaw, IFHS Boosters Brandi Moreno, Recording Clerk Pat Lloyd, IFHS Athletic Director Angela Gillman and Julie Nawrocki, IFEA Representatives Chairman Lara Hill, called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. Trustee Cogliati made a motion to adopt the agenda. Trustee Radcliffe provided the second. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. WORK SESSION a. FY2020 Audit Report – WIPFLi, LLP Theresa Flannery provided the FY2020 Audit earlier in the week so the board had time to review the report. Theresa reported the district’s financial statements were fairly presented, in all material respects and no issues noted. She stated, the reports over a single audit, the Major Federal Program that was tested and also the report on internal controls have no issues or deficiencies. Theresa reviewed the Management’s Discussion & Analysis for Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2020 including the Statement of Net Position which provides the perspective of the District as a whole and provides a summary of the District’s net position for 2020 compared to 2019. She pointed out the numbers are very similar down the board except for long term liabilities which shows the payoff of quite a bit of debt and right after year end, the district restructured some debt so good things happening and no big losses. Trustee Haacke stated the district also lowered the tax levy rate and is being fiscally responsible. Theresa directed trustees to a paragraph in the audit in regards to the district’s restructuring of debt, savings to local taxpayers, and lowering the levy rate for the upcoming fiscal FY21 year. Theresa reviewed the Combined Balance Sheet which includes General, Debt Service, Capital Projects, and the remaining Nonmajor funds for a total combination of Governmental Funds stating the district is in a very good position. The board of trustees had no questions and there was no further discussion. b. High School Science Course Sequencing Survey Results Lisa Armstrong, Secondary Curriculum Coordinator shared results of the Community and Teacher Feedback Survey in regards to the High School Science Course Sequencing. Lisa asked the board to 10/28/2020 D91 Board Minutes Page 1 of 4 think about and answer three questions: 1) Should there be a recommended or required list of courses? If so, which courses? 2) Should there be a recommended sequence of courses? 3) Should the graduation requirements be changed? Discussions were held including a decision timeline and the course catalog deadline. c. 2020 ISBA Virtual Convention – Review Resolutions The board was given the proposed 2021 ISBA Resolutions in their board packet earlier in the week, discussion was held including the ISBA Region 6 resolution recommendations, methods for casting votes and the ISBA Business Session processes. d. 2021-2022 School Calendar Process Superintendent Boland stated for the last few years, we have administratively put together a recommended calendar to submit to the board for adoption, he asked whether the board would like to see a different process associated with that. He reviewed past processes with the board. Discussion was held concerning the board’s thoughts or preferences, submission timelines and aligning with Bonneville School District 93. th e. 49 Property Athletic Facility Proposal Superintendent Boland turned the time over to Pat Lloyd, Idaho Falls High School Athletic Director. Pat reported a group of parents approached the district office about the potential of upgrading or creating new athletic practice facilities at Idaho Falls High School, in response to that, a committee was developed that included program directors for outdoor sports and parent representatives from each of those sports. He reported currently football practices in a detention pond behind the school which floods and brings in debris every time it rains or there is heavy snowfall. Currently the other outdoor sports rely solely on the City of Idaho Falls sports fields. Currently the only acceptable outdoor district facility for Idaho Falls High School is Ravsten Stadium for track, which is still shared th with other schools. Pat stated the hope is to take the district property on 49 South and develop outdoor athletic practice facilities while still providing an area to potentially build a school on the same property. Lisa Burtenshaw, Idaho Falls High School Booster, presented preliminary drawings and a list of infrastructure expenses. She stated the thought behind the presentation is to request the district provide the ground and infrastructure and the boosters would raise money to develop the fields. She stated they are at a point where the committee needs approval form the board to move forward. Discussions were held that included infrastructure items, district expenses, water and power access, and long-term property maintenance. f. COVID Instructional Phase Update Superintendent Boland stated back in September, the board requested to see attendance and student achievement information relative to the opening of school and the phases we are in with regard to instructional delivery. He stated he wanted to lead off with district information regarding reading proficiency using the Idaho Reading Indicator comparing previous years’ and what impact not having students in school last spring had on scores. He then turned the time over to Kelly Coughenour, Assist. Superintendent of Elementary who shared handouts that included an overview of what the Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI) is, District 91 IRI cohort groups grades K-3 comparing Pre- COVID vs. COVID data that included fall 2018 – fall 2019, fall 2019- fall 2020, and the State IRI data for 10/28/2020 D91 Board Minutes Page 2 of 4 fall 2019 – fall 2020. Kelly stated he was anticipating a much larger drop than what he saw and that’s positive news, and this data allows us to see how much students are able to gain back from what was lost. Kelly stated schools have the ability to administer the assessment every month and the schools who are doing that have seen a significant jump from September to October which is an encouraging sign that our instruction is working. A question was asked about other grade levels and Kelly shared iStation data for non-cohort groups grades K-8 with the board. Superintendent Boland stated that he asked Camille Wood, Director of Technology to report on student attendance and student achievement for both middle schools and the high schools, he then turned the time over to Camille. Camille shared a PowerPoint that included 2019 – 2020 Enrollment numbers, Average Daily Attendance (ADA), high school attendance charts from August 31, 2020 – October 27, 2020 including number of students absent and the attendance coding for the absences, and high school and middle school student grades including 2019 first trimester midterm grades compared to 2020 first trimester midterm grades. Discussions were held that included attendance coding definitions, breakdowns of the midterm grade reports, grade input deadlines and the increase in unverified absences. Superintendent Boland provided a summary of a Teacher Online Instruction Survey in terms of those teachers who’ve integrated the Learning Management System (LMS), outreach and instructional supports and technology support. Discussions were held that included instructional support on Fridays, ways the district is improving tech supports and delivery of internet access. Superintendent Boland shared a staff attendance report that included the number of substitutes in our district, staff absence fill rates with subs, the number teacher absences in September and October, number of days staff are isolating for exposure and testing positive for COVID. He stated we are dancing on thin ice with our staff. So far, we’ve been able to cover sub wise and if we can continue to maintain this he thinks we’ll be ok but one of his concerns is if we have a situation where we have so many staff out that we can’t safely conduct school. CONSENT AGENDA Trustee Wilson made a motion to accept the Consent Agenda as presented. Trustee Radcliffe provided the second. No further discussion. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. Items approved included: a. Matching Funds i. Skyline High School Mat hoist and installation $16,575.00 b. Other Items i. Employee Acquisition Disclosure Eagle Rock Middle School – purchase fabric from a district employee’s mother 10/28/2020 D91 Board Minutes Page 3 of 4 ACTION ITEMS a. FY2020 Audit Trustee Wilson made a motion to accept the FY2020 Audit as presented. Trustee Haacke provided the second. No further discussion. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. b. ISBA Resolution Voting Methodology Trustee Radcliffe made a motion to adopt the ISBA Voting Method One (1) for attending the Virtual ISBA Business Session and casting votes for the ISBA Resolutions. Trustee Cogliati provided the second. No further discussion. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. c. 2020-2021 Senior Project Waiver Superintendant Boland stated the state board acted to allow individual school districts to waive the Senior Project as a graduation requirement. He stated it is the recommendation of the administration that the board waive the Senior Project as a graduation requirement for the Class of 2021. Discussion was held to recognize those students who are currently taking the Senior Project class and have completed most of the course work. Trustee Radcliffe made a motion to waive the 2020-2021 Senior Project requirement. Trustee Wilson provided the second. No further discussion. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. Trustee Wilson made a motion to adjourn. Trustee Radcliffe provided the second. Motion carried 5 ayes, 0 nays. The meeting adjourned at 7:14 PM. 10/28/2020 D91 Board Minutes Page 4 of 4 Sorry about that Brandi, They as well as I thought that since it had already gotten approved before it was okay now. I am sorry I too didnÔt know it had already happened until she gave me the invoice. I wasnÔt sure that was the correct way to do it and that is why I called you but I got it, it wonÔt happen again. th As far as vendor information, Heather Priest is Addie PriestÔs mother. Addie is our 7 grade counselor. The reason why Young Living bought fabric from her is because the fabric from Heather is the same price, if not cheaper, than the low quality fabric at stores. The quality of fabric Heather is selling is quilt quality, not the cheap stuff that Katie (young living teacher) would be buying from the stores. I guess that would be the reason why she would buy it from Heather versus from the stores. Does that make sense?