BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

March 26, 1998

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

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

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

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

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

Minutes

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

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

                  GENERAL FUND:

                                 $322,000.00               LGIP, withdrawal, March 9, 1998

                                   $96,500.00               LGIP, investment, March 17, 1998

                  CAPITAL PROJECTS

                                     $3,000.00                LGIP, withdrawal, March 16, 1998

                              $1,265,500.00                LGIP, withdrawal, March 16, 1998

                                     $7,500.00                LGIP, withdrawal, March 16, 1998

                  DEBT SERVICE

                                $107,000.00                 LGIP, investment, March 17, 1998

                  ASB FUND

                                       $200.00                LGIP, withdrawal, March 16, 1998

                                  $24,700.00                LGIP, withdrawal, March 16, 1998

                                    $1,200.00                LGIP, investment, March 17, 1998

                                    $1,600.00                LGIP, investment, March 17, 1998

                                    $2,400.00                LGIP, investment, March 17, 1998

                                    $2,600.00                LGIP, investment, March 17, 1998

Out-of-State Travel:

• Jim Mancuso to attend the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education Recreation, and Dance in Reno, Nevada, April 4-7, 1998.
• Rob McElroy, Linnet Murray, Fran Jepperson, Lisa Conlon, and Adrienne Nelson to travel to Aurora, Colorado to observe a Learning Network School, April 1-3, 1998.

• Yvette Casto to attend the National Association of School Psychologists’ Conference in Orlando, Florida, April 13-18, 1998.
• Judy Barton to attend the Council for Exceptional Children Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 13-18, 1998.
• Marc Whitlock to attend the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, in Reno, Nevada, April 4-7, 1998.

Interdistrict Agreement

Interdistrict Agreement with Sedro-Woolley School District to provide special education programs to students.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Whitmyer recapped the final K-12 budget and legislative highlights. Grants for reading assistance will provide $17.7 million - $9 million for teacher training for phonics for reading K-2 and $8.7 million for the Governor’s reading tutor program. The Charter Schools Bill was not passed, and the language of the Phonics Bill was changed to be less prescriptive. She also stated that the 4th grade norm referenced test will be moved to the 3rd grade. The 2nd grade reading assessment will be administered in September 1998.

Whitmyer reported on the March 13-14 meeting of the strategic planning team and the March 25 strategic planning steering committee meeting. She also participated in a team teaching class at Fairhaven Middle School and did scoring for Six-Trait Writing. Whitmyer, Lynch, and Diaz attended the YWCA Women’s Leadership Breakfast.

Diaz reported on the quality of the most recent of issue of Sehome’s Rising Tide newspaper.

Lynch report on the Parent University held at Sehome High School. Several local agencies and members of the School District participated in the event focusing on parenting techniques and issues. The guest speaker was Mark Bledsoe. Approximately 450 people attended the event.

Superintendent’s Announcements/Report

Dr. Kinsley congratulated Elaine Lynch and others from the District for their efforts at the Parent University. Kinsley stated he was pleased by the attendance at the event.

Kinsley reported on some educational issues from the legislative budget. The Leadership Program (principal internship) was originally dropped from the budget. It was reinstated, but in turn block grants were reduced. It was decided to establish a study of the K-12 finance system. However, the results of the report will not be provided until June 30, 1999, after the next biennium budget is completed.

Bellingham is the first school district in the State to be selected as a site for a multi-point interactive video teleconferencing facility. A total of twelve districts will participate in a State pilot program. The Board Room will be used as a two-way teleconference space to provide staff training, instruction, and other video interactions. Dr. Kinsley stated that Bellingham was selected because of “our strong technology program.” He recognized the work of George Hartnell, John Getchell, and Jim Stevens.

Superintendent Kinsley reported on the reading tutor grant program. Governor Locke stipulated that the volunteer programs for the grants need to be tied to reading/tutors and business and community partnerships. Dr. Kinsley attended a meeting on “Washington’s Promise” which is part of a national program for volunteerism.

Kinsley acknowledged Lavelle Freudenberg, Steve Morse, and Dar New for their work in organizing the Senior Citizen tours at Silver Beach Elementary School. In addition to the tours, students are holding evening workshops to teach seniors how to use computers.

The Board will visit Bellingham High School on Friday, April 3. The tentative start time is 7:30 a.m.

Bellingham School District received a “blue ribbon” rating from Expansion Management Magazine. A “blue ribbon” school district signifies high graduate outcome results while spending at or below the national average. Only five school districts in the State of Washington were given the “blue ribbon” ranking.

Dr. Kinsley recognized David Hamiter, Software Applications Support Technician, for donating software to the District.  Hamiter, a former Microsoft employee, donated 53 licenses of Microsoft Office Pro (valued at $29,000) as part of a company matching program. Other Microsoft employees, including former Bellingham High graduate Mike Tholfsen, donated additional software valued at approximately $138,000, for an overall total donation of almost $167,000 worth of software products.

REPORTS:

Strategic Plan Status

Superintendent Kinsley reported on the process of extending the District strategic plan for the next five years (1998-2003). A 48-member team of staff, students, parents, and community members has been working since January to define goals and target objectives. The strategic plan defines District priorities, directions, and activities. A draft will be completed at the next planning session on April 6. Dr. Kinsley encouraged the Board to review the objectives and provide any suggestions for the final meeting. The plan is scheduled to be presented to the Board for approval in late spring. An automated Voice Poll™ telephone survey was conducted in February. The data received from the poll was considered in formulating the plan.

Middle Schools of the Future Proposal

Assistant Superintendent Susan Zoller outlined the content of the Middle Schools of the Future document. The plan was started 1-½ years ago. The object was to develop a more consistent and coherent approach to middle-level programs at every school. A group of 20 administrators, teachers, staff members, and parents worked on the proposal. The document briefly describes the current middle school programs and has recommendations based on five visionary goals. These goals/recommendations will be used for program development and school improvement at all the middle schools. The Board will discuss the proposal in more depth at a Board study session on April 30.

Assessment Information for 1997-98

Assistant Superintendent Susan Zoller provided information on the results of from the 1997 CTBS scores (Grades 4 and 8), the CFAS (Grade 11), and District reading and writing scores. Students in Grades 4 scored above the rational average in all subtests except Reading Vocabulary and Spelling. Students in Grade 8 and Grade 11 scored above the state average in all subtests. The Six-Trait Writing scores were up in all areas this year. The most significant increase was at Grade 9. Zoller stated that this reflects the efforts of staff in teaching consistent with Six-Trait Writing.

ACTION ITEMS:

Baseline Certificated Staffing for 1998-99 Approved

Blair moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion to approve the baseline certificated staffing for the 1998-99 school year. The motion carried unanimously. These staffing recommendations are based on enrollment projections and provide baseline staffing numbers based on staff/student ratios. The numbers are the first step in the budgeting process and provide a foundation. Any programs proposals that add to these staffing numbers must by examined by the staffing committee and considered by the District Budget Advisory Committee.

Ratification of SEIU Contract

Blair moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion to ratify a three-year contact with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for 1997-2001. The motion carried unanimously.

Purchase of Student Record Software

Blair moved and Diaz seconded the motion to authorize the superintendent to enter into a contract with Netel Educational Systems for the purchase of student records software. The cost of the product is not to exceed $157,000. The motion carried unanimously. This software will assist staff in handling schedules, attendance, grades, academic progress, etc.

Revocable Easements Approved

Blair moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion to approve two revocable easements at Roosevelt Elementary School. The motion carried unanimously. One easement is between the District and the City to develop a public trail across school property and develop a nature area. The second is between the District and the Jansen family to allow construction of a biofiltration swale on District property in exchange for a needed increase in the amount of surface water for the wetland project and to meet the wetlands requirements for Squalicum High School.

Sehome Band Trip to B.C.

Blair moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion for approval of Sehome Band to travel to Victoria, B.C. and Nanaimo, B.C. during May 15-18, 1998. The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations Approved

Whitmyer moved and Blair seconded the motion for approval of the personnel recommendations as presented. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Kinsley recognized Mari Lon Waid, Secretary to the Assistant Principal at Sehome. She is retiring after 30 years with the District, all at Sehome High School.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.