BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

February 26, 1998

The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., February 26, 1998, in the Board Room of the Administration Building.

Present: Directors, David Blair, Becky Diaz, Mary Stender, and Ann Whitmyer, President Elaine M. Lynch, Superintendent Dale Kinsley, and recorder Shirley Knapp.

At 7:34 p.m. President Elaine Lynch called the meeting to order.

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

Stender moved and Whitmyer seconded approval of the consent agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

Minutes

Action on the minutes of the February 12, 1998 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

                  GENERAL FUND:

                                 $361,500.00         LGIP, withdrawal, February 9, 1998

                                   $63,000.00         LGIP, investment, February 13, 1998

                  CAPITAL PROJECTS

                                    $5,000.00          LGIP, withdrawal, February 13, 1998

                                  $10,700.00          LGIP, withdrawal, February 13, 1998

                                    $7,100.00          LGIP, withdrawal, February 13, 1998

                                  $57,300.00          LGIP, withdrawal, February 13, 1998

                  DEBT SERVICE

                                    $7,500.00         LGIP, investment, February 13, 1998

                  ASB FUND

                                      $200.00          LGIP, withdrawal, February 13, 1998

                                      $600.00          LGIP, investment, February 13, 1998

                                 $37,100.00          LGIP, withdrawal, February 13, 1998

                                 $13,500.00          LGIP, investment, February 13, 1998

                                      $300.00          LGIP, withdrawal, February 13, 1998

Out-of-State Travel:

• Charles Martindale to participate in N.C.A.T.E. Board of Examiners assignment in California, March 16-18, 1998.
• Jim Stevens and John Getchell to travel to Claremont California, March 5-6, 1998, to review student records software.

Personal Service Contracts:

• Harmeet Brar and Edna Ehrlich to serve as foreign language interpreters on as-needed basis during the 1997-98 school year.

Resolution:

Resolution 2-98 – Cancellation of Stale Dated Checks.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Whitmyer reported on legislative highlights. The Senate supplementary budget was reduced by $53 million for the remainder of this school year due to a reduction in students. There will be a study conducted of the K-12 budget by a state legislative auditing agency. HB 6509, a proposal for reading and phonics, is opposed by the education community because it seems to mandate phonics as the only method of teaching. Whitmyer also reported on the Charter Schools Bill SB7901.

Whitmyer attended a meeting of the strategic planning committee, and a training at Fairhaven Middle School for scoring of six-trait writing. The District will be scoring student writing on March 3-4.

Stender reported that she met with Sehome principal Larry Brown as she was unable to attend the Board visit to Sehome.

Lynch reported that the Sehome Science Gold Team took first place and is off to regionals.

Superintendent’s Announcements/Report

Superintendent Kinsley will be attending the Association of School Administrators Conference in San Diego, February 28-March 2. While in San Diego, he will also attend a meeting of the Compact for Learning and Citizenship Steering Committee. The focus of the committee is to promote and support service learning and community service.

Staff, students, and members of the community are working on end-of-the year celebrations to close Bellingham High School and make the transition to Squalicum High School. Lavelle Freudenberg, Director of School Information and Communications, is helping to lead the group.

Dr. Kinsley announced two administrative positions are being advertised and will be filled for the next school year -- planning principal for the new Bellingham High School and elementary principal at Carl Cozier.

Whatcom Museum will have an open house/art show displaying the work of Whatcom County high school students on Saturday, February 28. There will be an open house featuring the artwork of Bellingham High School students at the museum on Thursday, March 5.

The Board will visit Kulshan Middle School on Friday, March 6, beginning at 7:15 a.m.

Dr. Kinsley announced an opening for a Board member to serve on the District Budget Advisory Committee.

Kinsley commented on the phonics proposal and the Charter Schools bill. He advised Board members with concerns about the Charter Schools bill to call Senator Harriet Spanel or Representative Dave Quall.

At the Board retreat on February 13, there was interest in having some Board study sessions. Superintendent Kinsley suggested March 19, April 23, April 30, and June 4 as possible dates for a study session.

REPORTS:

District Special Education Program

Special Education Director Elizabeth Martindale gave an overview of federal law that mandates special education for eligible students, the number of students served, student placements and programs that are available, and the revenue sources for special education programs. Approximately 1200 students, ages 3-21, with a wide range of disabilities are served in the District special education program. Seventy-five (75) certificated staff and 121 classified staff provide program implementation and instruction. Special education programs are provided at each school.

Current special education law is based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was reauthorized by Congress in July 1997. Major revisions were made for the first time since 1976.

Each special education student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that is developed jointly by the school, the parents, and when appropriate, the student. A determination of services needed by each student must be made on a yearly basis through the IEP process.

The Board will discuss special education issues at a study session later this spring.

ACTION ITEMS:

Affirmative Action Plan Approved

Stender moved and Blair seconded the motion to approve the Bellingham School District Affirmative Action Plan for 1998-2003. The motion carried unanimously. The plan includes projected goals for hiring females and minorities in underutilized job categories. It was presented to the Board for a first reading at the February 12 meeting. There were no changes, other than some minor editing, since the first reading. The plan will now be forwarded to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for approval.

Approval of Sehome Orchestra Trip

Blair moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion to approve a two-day trip for the Sehome orchestra to Vancouver, B.C. and Whistler, B.C., April 24-25, 1998. The motion carried unanimously.

Bid Awards

Stender moved and Blair seconded the motion to approve the following bid awards for Squalicum High School:

• metal storage cabinets and shelving awarded to Engineered Storage Products, for a total of $19,707.24.
• Herman-Miller furniture awarded to MBI for $40,783.20.
• KI furniture bid was split between Diversification, Inc., and Saxton Bradley, Inc. for a total of $390,839,44.
• Krug furniture bid was awarded to Saxton, Bradley, Inc. for $22,811.56.
• miscellaneous furniture items bids were split among four bidders for a total of $248,674.80.

The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations Approved

Stender moved and Blair seconded the motion for approval of the personnel recommendations as presented. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Kinsley recognized Sharon Wizinski, teacher at Silver Beach, who is retiring at the end of the year after 24 years in education.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.