BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

 OF THE

 BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

May 26, 2005

 The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., May 26, 2005, in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Prior to the regular meeting, there was executive session at 6:30 p.m. The purpose of the executive session was negotiations and personnel issues.

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

At 6:35 p.m. Steve Schoenfeld moved to begin executive session; Ann Whitmyer seconded. At 7:30 p.m. Ken Gass moved to regular session; Ann Whitmyer seconded.

At 7:45 p.m. President Elaine Lynch called the regular meeting to order.

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

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

Minutes

Action on the minutes of the May 12, 2005 Executive Session and the May 12, 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

• Andrew Skowlund to serve as a foreign language interpreter beginning in May 2005 and continuing on an as-needed basis through August 2005.

Surplus

• Gymnastic Equipment

Approval of Resolution 3-05, Signature Authorization for Investment Transactions

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Ann Whitmyer attended two District Budget Advisory Committee meetings as an ex-officio member. Along with Elaine Lynch, Whitmyer also participated in the exit interview with representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This represents the end of the five year Gates Grant. Whitmyer attended the District Celebration held May 24.

Jeff Haggen attended the District Celebration honoring community partners. He noted that it was the first public showing of the District Strategic Plan.

Steve Schoenfeld attended the District Budget Advisory Committee meetings as an ex-officio member, attended the District Celebration and several Sehome High School track meets.

Ken Gass also attended the District Celebration that honored community partners nominated by each school.

Elaine Lynch participated in the exit interview with representatives from the Gates Foundation. She noted they were interested in what they felt were improvements as well as sharing their vision for high schools. Lynch is continuing to read to students at Roosevelt Elementary School and reported the Beethoven in Schools is in its 11 th year of providing music enrichment to 3 rd grade classrooms. Along with the other Board members, Lynch participated in the Celebrate event, at which time she named the recipients of the seven community involvement grants. Lynch also indicated that final edits are underway with the District Strategic Plan.

Superintendent's Announcements/Report

Dale Kinsley thanked the Board for their participation at the District Celebration event and noted that the Opportunity Council and Woodring College of Education both received District community partner awards. Kinsley also thanked Tanya Rowe and the School Information and Communications staff for their work in organizing the event.

Kinsley noted upcoming Board events:

• A visit to Northern Heights Elementary School is scheduled for Friday, June 3 at 7:30 a.m.
• A Study Session on the budget will be held Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m.

The District was one of 15 school districts to receive a Blue Ribbon distinction by Expansion Management magazine.

In anticipation of the audience participation portion of the meeting, Kinsley gave background on the reasons for the changes in the middle school fine arts program. According to Kinsley, the schedule at some middle schools is changing due to a combination of several factors including a reduction in projected enrollment in the incoming 6 th grade; the need to provide balance and equity in the amount of literacy, math, science and elective time for students at all middle schools; and the need for all middle schools to meet the state requirement of 100 minutes of physical education per week.

Audience

The following members of the audience addressed the Board regarding the schedule changes at the middle school levels:

Marla Bronstein and Matt Petryni addressed the Board about waivers for physical education.

Betsy Stalter addressed the Board about retaining a teacher; and Grant Deger spoke about the importance of fluoridation for good dental health.

REPORTS:

Implementation of the Culminating Project

CHESP Grant/Culminating Project Coordinator Becky Elmendorf reported on the progress of implementing the culminating project. Significant progress has been made since January when Elmendorf last reported to the Board. Since then, a major focus has been on presentation materials, including a video that was shown to the Board. The video is used in community presentations informing them about the project and explaining how individuals can become advisors. In addition, student/family brochures have been translated into several languages. Culminating Project Coordinators from each high school were present to further explain progress made. Robert Best, Sehome High School, explained the work to provide instructional and curricular support to students. Chris Stevens, Bellingham High School, spoke about working with pilot students and the input they are providing. Stevens also shared information about attending the National Service Learning Conference. Edd George, Squalicum High School, explained how the project has been implemented there; and Katherine Crandall, Options High School, addressed the Board on the Summer School Culminating Project Enrichment Class. Elmendorf expressed appreciation for Tanya Rowe, Director of School Information and Communications; John Getchell, Manager of Computer/Network Services; Betty Miller, Student Records; and Jim Stevens, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations, all of whom have assisted with various aspects of implementing the culminating projects. Elmendorf responded to questions from the Board.

ACTION ITEMS:

Approval of Resolution 4-05, Fluoridation of City Water

Ann Whitmyer moved and Jeff Haggen seconded the motion approving Resolution 4-05, supporting the proposal to fluoridate the City of Bellingham's water to help prevent dental disease. Ken Gass spoke in favor of the resolution, explaining the many benefits of fluoridation. The motion carried unanimously.

Award of Bid

Ann Whitmyer moved and Steve Schoenfeld seconded the motion to award the bid to replace vinyl flooring throughout the District to Walker's Carpet One. The motion carried unanimously.

The Board rejected all bids received to replace the floor at Squalicum High School. The project will be rebid.

Permission to Call for Bids

Ken Gass moved and Steve Schoenfeld seconded the motion to call for bids for milk products. The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations

Jeff Haggen moved and Ken Gass seconded the motion approving the personnel recommendations as presented. Kinsley noted the retirement of Mark “Scrub” Hubner, Bellingham High School English teacher. The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.