BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

May 25, 2000

The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., May 25, 2000, 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 Ken Gass, Elaine Lynch, and Ann Whitmyer, President David Blair, Superintendent Dale Kinsley, and recorder Shirley Knapp. Excused:  Director Don Leu.

At 6:40 p.m. Whitmyer moved to begin Executive Session; Lynch seconded. At 7:33 p.m. Gass made the motion to move to regular session; Lynch seconded.

At 7:42 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 May 11, 2000 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

                  GENERAL FUND

                                          $1,201,500.00                        LGIP, investment, May 15, 2000

                  CAPITAL PROJECTS

                                          $          900.00                        LGIP, investment, May 15, 2000

                                          $       1,700.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2000

                                          $       2,700.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2000

                                          $       1,300.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2000

                                          $1,487,600.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2000

                  DEBT SERVICE

                                          $    610,000.00                        LGIP, investment, May 15, 2000

                  ASB FUND

                                         $            700.00                        LGIP, investment, May 15, 2000

                                         $         1,400.00                        LGIP, investment, May 15, 2000

                                         $            600.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2000

                                         $            500.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2000

                                         $         3,400.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, May 15, 2000

Personal Services Contracts:

• Brenda Brooks to serve as tutor for the Home/Hospital Program on an as-needed basis during the 1999-2000 school year.
• Brian Langford to serve as an instructional assistant for Sunnyland’s First Step Program April 3 – June 16, 2000.
• Kwang Oak Kim to serve as a Korean interpreter on as-needed basis during the 1999-2000 school year.
• Rachelle Kiesser to provide sign language services for the public effective June 2000, and continuing through the remainder of the 2000-2001 school year.

Out-of-State Travel:

• Dave Dickson and Dave Shockley to travel to Stanford University, July 16-21, for training for advanced placement teachers.
• Judson Swets to travel to University of California at Berkley, July 23-30, for training for advanced placement teachers.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Gass attended the Silver Beach DARE graduation.

Whitmyer attended the District’s Celebrate Achievement event on May 15, Larrabee’s DARE graduation, and she previewed Happy Valley Elementary’s millenium event. Whitmyer also went to the District administrators meeting this morning, which included a presentation about the Gates Foundation Grants.

Lynch assisted with an art project at Carl Cozier, which was an extension of the Beethoven in the Schools project sponsored by the Bellingham Festival of Music. She also attended Geneva Pioneer Days, a performance by Columbia’s Soap Box Players, the millenium event at Happy Valley, and a concert by the WSU Crimson Chorus, which was held at Squalicum High School. Lynch reported that she had the honor of presenting an award on behalf of the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation to Susan Trimingham at the Celebrate Achievement event. The award was for outstanding community contribution to education. Lynch thanked the District staff for their work in coordinating the event.

Superintendent’s Announcements/Reports

Dr. Kinsley attended the Senior Tea and arts display at Sehome High School. He reported that the District Budget Advisory Committee is moving toward finalizing their budget recommendations for the 2001-2002 school year. On June 15, the Board will have a study session for budget review and discussion.

Kinsley gave the following schedule reminders:

• The District Retirement Dinner will be June 1 at Northwood Hall.
• Sehome’s graduation ceremony will be at noon on Sunday, June 11, at WWU.
• Squalicum’s graduation ceremony will be held at 8 p.m. on June 11, at WWU.

Dr. Kinsley shared an article on service learning published by the Education Commission of the States and the Compact for Learning and Citizenship. The article mentions several members of the Bellingham School District staff.

Kinsley also noted that a team called the “Monster Women of the Bellingham School District” would be competing in this year’s Ski-to-Sea competition.

Audience

Representative Doug Ericksen spoke to the Board regarding school-related issues from the 2000 legislative session.

Nancy Oswald, Kulshan Middle School parent addressed the Board regarding the selection of Kulshan’s assistant principal.

REPORTS:

Annual Progress Reports for Carl Cozier and Silver Beach

The Board heard annual progress reports for Carl Cozier and Silver Beach from principals Marcia Shirm and Steve Morse. These presentations are part of the school accountability process. Two other schools will report to the Board on their progress in June.

Special Education Program Report

Deputy Superintendent Susan Zoller gave an overview of a new special education class that will be offered next year at Columbia Elementary School. The class will serve the needs of students classified as “Emotionally Disturbed/Behaviorally Disordered” (ED/BD). Previously there was one ED/BD elementary class at Sunnyland, which served K-5 students. Beginning next school year, the elementary students will be separated into a K-3 site at Columbia and an intermediate site (grades 4-5) at Sunnyland in order to better meet the different needs of the students.

Information Technology Program

Kathryn Crandall, Director of Vocational Education, provided background information for the development of the Information Technology (IT) Programs that will be offered at Bellingham High School. BHS received a $35,000 grant in April 1999 through the Whatcom County School-to-Work/Tech Prep Consortium. Funds from the grant were used to develop IT programs that would provide post-certificate of proficiency classes using Information Technology skill standards-based curriculum as the model. Crandall also outlined the staff training that was also supported by the grant. Teachers Mike Gallagher and Karl Rusch spoke about their two week summer internship/work-based learning experiences at IT-related businesses in Whatcom County. Bellingham High School Principal Steve Clarke spoke about the new technology facilities at the high school.  Future plans for the program include expanded offerings in the areas of network management and computer maintenance and refurbishing.

Progress Report on BHS

Steve Clarke, BHS principal, and Ken Crawford BHS activities director, reported on various student leadership and planning activities for the school. Clarke outlined the process and the decision to have a “open” campus at Bellingham High. The decision was made after discussion with staff, parents, students, and neighbors. The campus will be open only at lunchtime, unless a student is part of an approved activity that requires leaving the campus. Staff and students will attend quarterly neighborhood meeting, and there will be a formal semester and year-end evaluation of the “open” campus.

Assistant Superintendent Greg Cowan gave a brief report on the status of the facility.  The building is substantially completed and will be ready for maintenance staff to begin moving in and setting up on June 29. There is still some site work to be completed, mostly on the athletic fields, prior to the beginning of the school year.

Summary of State Budget Actions

Executive Director Jim Stevens outlined the financial impacts that the state budget for 2000-2001 will have on the District. He highlighted the most significant initiatives that will provide additional resources.

• Better Schools Program – an additional 2.2 certificated teachers for each 1,000 students in grades K-4. (Estimate an additional $450,000 for the District).  Funds for professional development at a rate of $20.04 per student.  (Estimate $196,000 in additional funds for the District.)  These resources were designated to support school improvement efforts.
• School Safety - $10 per FTE student in the District to be used for school safety purposes. (Estimate $98,000 additional funds.)
• Substitute Teachers – The State raised the allocation to $98.87 per day for the five substitute teacher days that are allowed per year for each teaching position.  (Additional $50,000 for the District.)

ACTION ITEMS:

Policy #2161 – Special Education and Related Services for Eligible Students, Revised

(First Reading)

The Board heard a first reading of the revisions to Policy #2161. The policy revisions are in response to a state requirement to ensure compliance with changes in federal and state law. The procedures will also be reviewed once the state regulations are available. The Board had some editing recommendations.

Plan for use of Good Schools Program/ Federal Class Size Reduction Grant

Gass moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion to approve a plan to utilize funds from the Better Schools Program and a Federal Class Size Reduction Grant. The motion carried unanimously. The Good Schools Program will fund 7.2 FTE additional staff and provide $60,000, which will be used to begin an extended day program at elementary schools. The additional staff would be designated as 1.2 FTE for summer school support and 6.0 FTE for class size reduction in grades 1 and 2. The District hopes to receive funding again this year through a federal grant that supported 4 FTE primary teachers last year. The grant would continue the same level of support and would be used toward the goal of lowering class sizes in grades 1 and 2.

Approval of Textbooks

Whitmyer moved and Lynch seconded the motion to approve two textbooks for high school Family and Consumer Science. The motion carried unanimously. The materials, entitled Food for Today and ServSafe Coursebook, were available be available for public review in the Curriculum Office since first reading at the May 11 Board meeting.

RFQ for Architects and Project Schedule

Gass moved and Lynch seconded the motion to approve the Request for Qualifications for Architectural Services to plan the new elementary school in the northeastern part of the District. The motion carried unanimously. The first phase of the project will be to obtain architectural and engineering services.  Assistant Superintendent Greg Cowan provided project information and the necessary timelines to open the new school in the fall of 2002.

Bid Awards

Lynch moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion to award bids for the following:

• relocation of 10 portable classrooms – awarded to Whatcom House Movers with low bid of $143,675.00
• science supplies and equipment for start-up of BHS – split award between four companies Carolina Biological $1,397.90, VWR Sargent-Welch $12,889.88, Northwest Laboratory Supply $20,946.01, and Fisher Science Education $24,338.76.

The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations Approved

Gass moved and Whitmyer seconded the motion for approval of the personnel recommendations as presented. The motion carried unanimously. Superintendent Kinsley announced the appointment of Becky Elmendorf, principal for Squalicum High School, and Gabrielle Morganti, assistant principal for Kulshan Middle School. He noted the upcoming retirements of Janice Benson, primary teacher at Happy Valley Elementary School, Stephanie Sadler, principal at Roosevelt Elementary School, and Darlene VanderYacht, instructional assistant at Sunnyland Elementary School.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:31 p.m.