BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

 OF THE

 BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 28, 2005

 The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., April 28, 2005, in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Prior to the regular meeting, there was executive session at 7:00 p.m. The purpose of the executive session was negotiations.

Present: Directors Ken Gass, Jeff Haggen, Steve Schoenfeld, Ann Whitmyer, President Elaine Lynch, Superintendent Dale Kinsley, and recorder Nancy Merry.

At 7:00 p.m. Steve Schoenfeld moved to begin executive session; Ken Gass seconded. At 7:20 p.m. Ann Whitmyer moved to regular session; Elaine Lynch seconded.

At 7:35 p.m. President Elaine Lynch called the regular meeting to order.

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

Steve Schoenfeld moved and Ken Gass seconded approval of the consent agenda. The motion carried with Jeff Haggen abstaining.

Minutes

Action on the minutes of the April 7, 2005 Executive Session and the April 7, 2005 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

  GENERAL FUND

  CAPITAL PROJECTS

  DEBT SERVICE

  ASB FUND

Personal Services Contract

• Noah Martin to co-direct a school play at Lowell Elementary School in May and June 2005.
• Gerald Bergeron, orchestra director; Margie Kimberley, dance coach; and Justin Wisness, vocal coach to provide services for a drama production at Squalicum High School during April and May 2005.
• Jan Resick to provide a communications enrichment program for District 3 rd , 4 th , and 5 th grade students in the Highly Capable Learners Program.
• Kristin O'Malley, Bellingham High School; Sonya Morrison, Sehome High School; and David Ford, Squalicum High School to serve as high school Key Club advisors.
• Rick Lysen to serve as a pianist/accompanist for a drama production at Squalicum High School during April and May 2005.

Out of State Travel

• David Engle to attend and co-facilitate several sessions of Project Inkwell in San Diego, California, May 23–26, 2005.
• Beth Janis and Jacqueline Ellig to attend the Connected Mathematics Conference in East Lansing, Michigan, June 20–24, 2005.
• Marty Atkins, Amanda Shearer-Hannah, Scott Smartt, Lynn Torpey and Maria Griggs to attend a math leadership and curriculum training in Denver, Colorado, June 24–27, 2005.

Contracts

• Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with ESD 112 for technology purchases.

Surplus

• Library Books, Textbooks, Kits

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Steve Schoenfeld gave a legislative report and summarized recent legislation.

Along with high school principals, Ken Gass attended a Masonic Scholarship and Awards Dinner honoring top students from all county high schools. One student from each high school was selected to receive a scholarship.

Elaine Lynch participated in a Strategic Planning writing session and reported that a draft of the plan has been completed. Lynch also announced that the WSSDA Area 1 Regional Meeting is May 5 in Marysville for any Board member who wishes to attend. The Bellingham Public School Foundation is offering civic involvement grants for schools that want to partner with the community on school-related projects.

Superintendent's Announcements/Report

Dale Kinsley introduced Phyllis Textor who is being recommended for the position of Sehome High School principal. Textor is currently principal of Coupeville Middle and High Schools.

Other announcements by Kinsley include:

• Last week, Tom VanderArk from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation visited Happy Valley Elementary School and Squalicum High School. On May 16, 2005, Duane Baker, external evaluator for The Gates Foundation, will do a final evaluation covering the five years that the District has received funds from the Foundation.
• Kinsley attended the WASA 2005 Superintendent Workshop and made a presentation focused on the support the District has received from The Gates Foundation.
• On April 26, the District presented a “Getting to Graduation” workshop for middle school parents to inform them of expectations for high school students and to share with them how they can support their middle school student in reaching the requirements for a high school diploma. A special effort was made to reach non-English speaking families.
• Kinsley reviewed the schedule for high school graduations and asked Board members to let him know which graduation(s) they plan to attend.
• A teleconference with OSPI is scheduled for May 4 at 10 a.m. to review the approved State budget.

Audience

Johnny Grames addressed the Board about access to student records.

REPORTS:

Fiber Lite Project Update Report

Assistant Superintendent Jim Stevens, Project Manager Manuel Babayan, and Manager of Computer/Network Services John Getchell updated the Board on the project to link all District facilities with fiber optic cable. In September 2000, the District conducted a pilot project that linked Whatcom Middle School and Bellingham High School to the District via a leased fiber optic cable. Following this pilot, the District entered into an Agreement with the City of Bellingham to link all District facilities, with the exception of Maintenance, with fiber optic cable. The City employed the services of Public Utility District #1 of Whatcom County to contract out and manage the aerial portion of the work, with the City installing the underground fiber cables through City-owned conduits. The project is now complete and operational at a cost of $551,071. Stevens introduced Bill McCourt, former City of Bellingham Public Works Manager; and Brian Walters, Public Utility District, both of whom were instrumental in the collaboration to use City conduits to run the District fiber optics cables. On behalf of the Board and the District, President Lynch expressed appreciation to the City and PUD for their cooperation and support in this project.

ACTION ITEMS:

Kindergarten Schedule Recommendations

In November 2003, a Kindergarten Committee comprised of teachers, parents, and administrators begin reviewing the existing kindergarten program, including assessments, curriculum, materials, schedule, and parent involvement. The Committee has also reviewed literature on exemplary early childhood programs. Deputy Superintendent Susan Zoller introduced the members of the Committee who were present—Cheryl Kirkelie, Paula McGrath, Kathy Shore, Wendy Barrett, Julie Craddock, and Paula Jacobsen. Zoller then reviewed the findings of the Committee and presented their recommendations. The Committee is recommending all schools offer half-day, daily kindergarten for the 2005–2006 school year. For most schools this will mean a daily morning program with extended KIDS programs in the afternoon. Some schools with large kindergarten enrollments will provide two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In addition, it is recommended that three days be provided at the beginning of each school year for kindergarten entrance conferences to allow staff to assess strengths and needs of students. It is estimated that converting to a half-day, daily kindergarten for 2005–2006 will add approximately $100,000 to the transportation budget. Funds will be available in the general budget to cover this increased expenditure. These recommendations are viewed as the first step toward supporting daily full-day kindergarten at all elementary schools. Ann Whitmyer made a motion to adopt a daily half-day kindergarten schedule for the 2005–2006 school year; and further directed the staff to prepare a plan for implementing daily all-day kindergarten for the Board's consideration by May 2006. Steve Schoenfeld seconded the motion; the motion carried unanimously. Lynch thanked the members of the Committee for their work in reaching these recommendations.

Public Hearing on I-728 Budget

•  Approval of Preliminary Student Achievement (I-728) Budget for 2005–2006.

President Elaine Lynch opened the public hearing portion of the meeting. Superintendent Kinsley reviewed the proposed I-728 budget and responded to a question from Roosevelt teacher Julie Craddock. There were no other public comments and President Lynch closed the public hearing portion of the meeting. Ken Gass moved and Jeff Haggen seconded the motion to approve the preliminary proposal for the use of Student Achievement Funds for the 2005–2006 school year. The motion carried unanimously. Final approval will occur when the complete 2005–2006 District budget is considered in June.

ASB Student Activities Pay Schedule

Ken Gass moved and Ann Whitmyer seconded the motion approving the pay schedule for ASB student activities. The pay schedule was updated to match minimum wage requirements. Other modifications included changing job titles and combining categories. The motion carried unanimously.

Permission to Call for Bids

Jeff Haggen moved and Ken Gass seconded the motion to call for bids for vinyl floor replacement Districtwide; floor replacement at Squalicum; and roof replacement at Geneva. The motion carried unanimously.

Student Trips

Ken Gass moved and Jeff Haggen seconded the motion to approve a student trip for the Bellingham High School Concert Choir to perform at the state High School Choral Championship at the University of Washington and at several elementary, middle and high schools in Wenatchee, Cashmere and the Tri-Cities area, May 17–20, 2005. The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations

Steve Schoenfeld moved and Ann Whitmyer seconded the motion approving the personnel recommendations as presented. Kinsley noted that the recommendations included Phyllis Textor to fill the position of principal at Sehome High School. Kinsley also noted the retirements of two long-time District teachers—Margo Graf, Silver Beach Elementary School; and Catherine Hansen, Sunnyland Elementary School. The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment

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