BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

March 25, 1999

The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., March 25, 1999, in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Prior to the regular meeting, the Board visited the new maintenance facility (4060 Bakerview Valley Road) at 5:30 p.m. Following there was an Executive Session at 6:30 p.m. Purpose of the Executive Session – negotiations.

Present: Directors Ken Gass, Elaine M. Lynch, and Ann Whitmyer, President David Blair, Superintendent Dale Kinsley, and recorder Shirley Knapp

At 6:45 p.m. Whitmyer moved to begin Executive Session; Lynch seconded. At 7:34 p.m. Lynch made the motion to move to regular session; Whitmyer seconded.

At 7:40 p.m. President David Blair called the meeting to order.

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

Gass moved and Lynch seconded approval of the consent agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

Minutes

Action on the minutes of the March 11, 1999 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

                  GENERAL FUND:

                                    198,000.00               LGIP, withdrawal, March 8, 1999

                  DEBT SERVICE

                                    $53,500.00               LGIP, investment, March 8, 1999

Out-of-State Travel:

• Learning Network staff members to attend The Learning Network Annual Conference in Springfield Massachusetts from July 8-10, 1999.

Personal Services Contracts:

• William Gardner to service as Key Club Advisor at Sehome High School for the 1998-99 school year.
• Helen Lastovica to serve as Key Club Advisor at Squalicum High School for the 1998-99 school year.
• Debra Carey to serve as sign language interpreter on as-needed basis for the 1998-99 school year.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Whitmyer gave a legislative report in which she explained the supplemental budget.

Lynch announced a meeting of Whatcom County Boards and Superintendents that will be held at Ferndale High School on Tuesday, March 30. The group will discuss legislative issues and concerns.

Superintendent’s Announcements/Reports

Superintendent Kinsley made the following calendar announcements:

• Video Teleconference with legislators from the 40th and 42nd districts on Monday, March 29, in the Board Room from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Superintendents and Boards from Whatcom County were invited. The event was coordinated by Nancy Messmer and Georgia Gardner’s office.
• County School-to-Work Consortium strategic planning on April 1. The session will be facilitated by Judy Olson-Ness and will be attended by Superintendents and School Board members from Whatcom County.
• Parent Info Night on WASL tests on Thursday, April 1, 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room.
• Board visit to Sunnyland Elementary School on Friday, April 2, at 7:30 a.m.
• Spring Break April 12-16. (The District administrative officers are open; however, many staff members will be on vacation.)
• Kindergarten registration for the District will be from March 29 – April 9 at neighborhood schools. Registration will be advertised in the newspaper. Each elementary school will hold a kindergarten open house sometime in April or May.

Shuksan Middle School and Birchwood Elementary were awarded technology grants through the Washington State Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. In addition, two elementary teachers, John Shick at Larabee and Kathy Dorr at Geneva were selected to participate in the “Teacher Leadership Project, “ a technology project sponsored by the Gates Foundation. All these technology grants will provide teacher training as well as computer hardware and software.

Kinsley recognized Nora Klewiada, Susan Zoller, and the high school principals for their hard work in finalizing the restaffing process for Bellingham High School. Assignments will be announced next week.

Audience

Teresa Shikany and Mike Shikany each addressed the Board regarding the proposed land purchase on Britton Loop Road. They delivered a petition opposing the purchase due to the proximity of high capacity power lines.

REPORTS:

Timeline and Process for Filling Board Vacancy

President David Blair outlined the application process to fill the current School Board vacancy. Applications will be available in the superintendent’s office beginning Friday, March 26. The deadline for receipt of completed materials is 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 19. The Board will screen the applications from April 20-22. On Thursday, April 22, Board members will meet in Executive Session to determine up to five finalists. The finalists will be interviewed in open session on Tuesday, April 27, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The new director will be appointed at the regular Board meeting on May 13, and will be seated at the regular meeting on May 27.

Strategic Plan Revisions

Assistant Superintendent Susan Zoller shared materials with the Board on the process and components of each building’s improvement/strategic plan. The guidelines will be incorporated in the procedures for the School Accountability Policy #2004. All schools must go through the review and revision process every five years. A packet of materials was developed for schools to follow when they review and revise their plan. This will ensure that all the plans will eventually be written in the same format with similar components, making them easier to read, review, and evaluate.

ACTION ITEMS:

Approval of Policy #2185

Lynch moved and Gass seconded approval of Policy #2185 – Use of Volunteers and Interns with Regularly Scheduled Student Contact. The motion carried unanimously. There were no changes since the first reading except for some minor editing.

Certificated Baseline Staffing Approved for 1999-2000

Gass moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion to approve the baseline certificated staffing recommendations for the 1999-2000 school year. The motion carried unanimously. Based on an estimated student enrollment of 9,711 FTE, the staffing subcommittee recommended additional staff positions for regular classrooms and for special education.

BASE Contract Approved

Gass moved and Lynch seconded the motion to approve a three-year contract with the Bellingham Association of School Employees (BASE). The motion carried unanimously. The contract will be effective from September 1, 1998 – August 31, 2001.

Larrabee Overnight Field Trip

Lynch moved and Whitmyer seconded approval of an overnight field trip for Larrabee 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to Cornet Bay, June 2-4, 1999. The motion carried unanimously.

California Science Trip

Lynch moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion to approve out-of-state travel for the middle school California Science Trip to San Francisco, May 6-9, 1999. The motion carried unanimously.

Out-of State Travel

Gass moved and Whitmyer seconded approval for Sehome students, Devra Batdorf and Keith McBride, and coach, Karll Rusch to attend the International Bridge Building Contest in Chicago, April 22-25, 1999. The motion carried unanimously.

Bid Award

Whitmyer moved and Gass seconded the motion to award the bid for telephone maintenance to United Asset Coverage, Inc. They were the only responsive bidder, with a total bid amount of $75,654. The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations Approved

Lynch moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion for approval of the personnel recommendations as presented. The motion carried unanimously. Superintendent Kinsley noted the appointment of Laura Aesoph as Fairhaven Middle School assistant principal for the 1999-2000 school year. Kinsley also acknowledged the retirements of Bill Gardner, English teacher at Sehome High School, and Karen Wayerski, 2nd grade teacher at Geneva Elementary School.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.