BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

May 24, 2001

The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., May 24, 2001, in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Prior to the regular meeting there was an Executive Session at 6:30 p.m.  Purpose of the Executive Session negotiations and personnel matters.

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

At 6:35 p.m. Blair moved to begin Executive Session; Gass seconded. At 7:35 Lynch moved to regular session; Gass seconded.

At 7:40 p.m. President Ann Whitmyer 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 May 10, 2001 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

                   GENERAL FUND

                                          $1,982,500.00                        LGIP, investment, May 8, 2001

                                          $1,103,000.00                        LGIP, investment, May 15, 2001

                  CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND

                                          $1,500.00                               LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2001

                  DEBT SERVICE FUND

                                          $1,430,500.00                        LGIP, investment, May 8, 2001

                                          $620,000.00                           LGIP, investment, May 15, 2001

                  ASB FUND

                                         $11,600.00                              LGIP, withdrawal, May 8, 2001

                                         $3,700.00                                LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2001

                  TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE

                                         $500.00                                    LGIP, investment, May 15, 2001

Personal Services Contracts:

• Khara McFadden to paint signage at Squalicum High School.
• Paula Jacobsen to conduct new employee inservice on Sexual Harassment Prevention.
• Dina Mashnitzkaya Bliznyuk to serve as a Russian/Ukrainian-English interpreter on as-needed basis during the 2000-01 school year.
• Rob McElroy and Steve Morse to serve as co-principals/coordinators for the District summer school programs.
• Amy Fox to perform speech/language evaluations for Spanish speaking students during the 2000-01 school year.

Out-of-State Travel:

• Marty Atkins to attend Advanced Placement Calculus training in Berkeley, California, July 15-22, 2001.

• Cathryn Lester to attend an Applied Behavior Analysis Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 25-29, 2001.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Leu attended a meeting of the District Budget Advisory Committee, a community meeting on the use of Ritalin, and a WSSDA Achievement Gap Committee meeting.

Gass reported on the DARE graduation at Silver Beach on Tuesday, May 22.

Lynch reported on the Gates Grant Committee meeting that she attended yesterday.  She also gave a brief legislative report on education issues. Today was the last day of the first special session of the state legislature. They will begin a second special session on June 4.

Superintendent’s Announcements/Reports

Dr. Kinsley gave an update on the District budget process. He stated that without a state budget there were a number of things that are not yet known regarding the District’s budget. Next Wednesday the budget committee will be considering above baseline requests, which will then be submitted to the superintendent. Kinsley suggested that the Board Budget Study Session be held on June 21. 

Graduation ceremonies are as follows:

• Squalicum High School at Squalicum on June 9, at 11 a.m.
• Sehome High School at Civic Field on June 9, at 3 p.m.
• Options High School at Squalicum on June 13, at 7 p.m.

Next Friday, June 1, the Board will visit Alderwood Elementary School beginning at 7:30 a.m.

Dr. Kinsley introduced Dave Adams, the new principal for Birchwood Elementary School beginning next school year.  Kinsley also announced the selection of John Heritage as new principal for Geneva Elementary.

Audience

Tim Petryni and Matt Petryni, editors of RAT Magazine, addressed the Board regarding distribution of the magazine and District policy relating to student publications.

REPORTS:

Annual Progress Reports

Principals Sharon Camblin, Birchwood Elementary; Gary Keeler, Columbia Elementary; and Deirdre O’Neill, Fairhaven Middle School, gave annual progress reports for their schools. These presentations are part of the school accountability process.

School Climate Survey

Executive Director Ann Marie Hanel summarized the data that was obtained from the school climate survey, which was completed this past winter by staff, students, and parents at every school. The purpose of the survey was to find out the perceptions in District schools and to identify what is working well and what needs to be changed in order to improve student learning. Overall, the responses reflected a very positive view of individual schools. On a 5-point scale, most items averaged between 3.5 – 4.5, with very few items receiving average ratings below 3.  Each school and site council has received the results of the survey and will use the results, along with other data, to develop goals as part of their strategic plan. Due to the costs and time involved, the District will most likely repeat the survey every three years.

ACTION ITEMS:

K-5 Curriculum Approved

Gass moved and Leu seconded the motion to approve the K-5 health and fitness/physical education curriculum. The motion carried unanimously. No changes were made since the first reading at the May 10 Board meeting.

Instructional Materials Approved

Blair moved and Lynch seconded approval of instructional materials for the Theory of Knowledge course at Sehome, the Japanese class at Bellingham High, English as a Second Language courses, and elementary health and substance abuse prevention. These material have been available for public review since the May 10 Board meeting.

Approval to Purchase Parent/Teacher Connect Software

Gass moved Lynch seconded the motion for approval to proceed with the purchase of Parent/Teacher Connect software. The motion carried unanimously. John Getchell, Computer/Network Services Manager, provided information about the software, which will enhance the Zangle student records software that is already in use. He demonstrated how parents will be able to obtain more student and school information through this program by accessing school/classroom news, student progress, grades, and scheduling information.

First Reading of New Elementary Boundaries

Assistant Superintendent Greg Cowan reported on the boundary proposals for the new elementary school. The New Northeast Elementary School Attendance Area Committee recommended three boundary options for Board consideration based on the criteria in the District guidelines. Students currently attending Parkview, Roosevelt, Silver Beach, and Sunnyland will attend the new school, and it will feed to Shuksan Middle School. The three scenarios differ in the number of students who would be attending from Sunnyland.  Prior to Board approval, there will be a public information meeting at Roosevelt Elementary School on Monday, June 4, at 7 p.m.

Student Trips

Blair moved and Gass seconded the motion to approve the following student trips:

• Geneva fifth grade students and teachers to travel to the Vancouver B.C. Space Center and Planetarium on June 7, 2001.
• Eight Options High School students and two adults to travel to Victoria, B.C. for a day trip on either May 30, or June 1, 2001.

The motion carried unanimously.

Bid Awards

Blair moved and Gass seconded the motion to award the following bids:

• photography services for the three high schools awarded to O’Connor Photography
• Carl Cozier univents awarded to K.J. Barnett Company.
• window replacement at Carl Cozier awarded to HB Hansen Construction.
• two special education buses awarded to Schetky Northwest sales.

The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations

Lynch moved and Gass seconded the motion for approval of the personnel recommendations as presented.  The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Kinsley recognized Vicki Schaeffer, library media specialist at Carl Cozier, and Kathie Hagwell, second grade teacher at Silver Beach. Both will be retiring at the end of the school year.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m.