BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

 OF THE

 BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

June 9, 2005

 The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., June 9, 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 at the executive session: Directors Ken Gass, Ann Whitmyer, President Elaine Lynch, and Superintendent Dale Kinsley. Directors Jeff Haggen and Steve Schoenfeld were excused.

At 6:30 p.m. Ann Whitmyer moved to begin executive session; Elaine Lynch seconded. At 7:25 p.m. Ken Gass moved to regular session; Ann Whitmyer seconded.

Present at the regular meeting: Directors Ken Gass, Jeff Haggen, Ann Whitmyer, President Elaine Lynch, Superintendent Dale Kinsley, and recorder Nancy Merry. Directors Steve Schoenfeld was excused.

At 7:30 p.m. President Elaine Lynch called the regular meeting to order.

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

Ken Gass moved and Elaine Lynch seconded approval of the consent agenda. The motion carried unanimously.

Minutes

Action on the minutes of the May 26, 2005 Executive Session and the May 26, 2005 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

  GENERAL FUND

  CAPITAL PROJECTS

  DEBT SERVICE

  ASB FUND

TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE

Expenditures and Payroll

Action on expenditures and payroll as approved by the Auditing Committee.

Personal Services Contract

• Janis Ferguson to deliver occupational therapy services on an as-needed basis during the remainder of the 2004–2005 school year.

Out of State Travel

• Margaret Engle to attend the National Educating Computing Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 27–30, 2005.
• Tanya Rowe to attend the National School Public Relations Association Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, July 10–13, 2005.
• Derek Forbes to attend the National Association of Student Council in Collinsville, Illinois, June 21–29, 2005.

Donations

School Board Reports

Ann Whitmyer attended the Retirement Dinner, which she stated was an opportunity to applaud those who have dedicated their careers to the service of children. Whitmyer also participated in the Board site visit to Northern Heights Elementary School where the Board heard an excellent report on the Student Support Team and saw a demonstration of how video equipment is being used. As an ex-officio member of the District Budget Advisory Committee, Whitmyer attended the final meeting of the Committee.

Ken Gass also attended the Retirement Dinner and was impressed with how all retiring staff are honored regardless of the position they held. Gass also visited Northern Heights and was impressed with how John Schick, library media specialist, has engaged students in video production.

Elaine Lynch commented on her attendance at the Retirement Dinner—bittersweet for having to saying goodbye to so many long-time friends and employees. Lynch participated in the final meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee at which time final edits were made. Lynch thanked Dale Kinsley, Tanya Rowe, Lavelle Freudenberg, and Judy Ness for organizing this committee and involving the community and families in the process. Lynch visited Northern Heights with the other Board members and enjoyed the excellent report by parents and the ESS Team.

Jeff Haggen also attended the Retirement Dinner and visited Northern Heights Elementary School—an outstanding visit. Haggen attended a Carl Cozier Elementary School musical by Val McElroy's second grade class.

Superintendent's Announcements/Report

Dale Kinsley reported on Governor Gregoire's recently announced Summit on Education that will focus for the next two years on “Washington Learns.” Kinsley announced that the District has been invited by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to submit an application for four more years of funding, focused primarily on support for the high schools. Only four of the previous 12 school district grantees were invited to extend their funding and association with the Foundation. Kinsley attended the Dollars for Scholars awards presentation. High school graduations will begin June 17 with Board members present for the ceremonies. Kinsley introduced Doug Kyles, who is being recommended to fill the position of executive director of school administration.

Kinsley reviewed the key points of a letter that is being sent out to middle school families. The letter clarifies the scheduling changes and the status of electives at middle schools. Kinsley summarized steps he is recommending in response to community concerns about the middle school elective program.

Audience

The following members of the audience addressed the Board regarding the schedule changes at the middle school levels: Tom Kunesh, Rollin Harper, Jeff Coulter, Kevin Gerard and Mary Gerard.

REPORTS:

National History Day Performance

Bellingham High School students Hannah Walker and Cassandra Sutherland, second place winners in the group category at the Washington State History Day Competition, presented their performance of “Town Born, Turn Out: Perspectives in the Boston Massacre.” They will travel to Washington, D.C. in June for the National History Day competition. At the May 12 Board meeting, the Board heard the presentations by the first place winners, also Bellingham High School students. The students are coached by Judy Wagner, facilitator of the Highly Capable Learners Program.

ACTION ITEMS:

Policy and Procedure 8500, Food Services

The Board heard a first reading of Policy and Procedure 8500, Food Services. This is a new policy and procedure that defines the District's nutrition program to be consistent with state and federal requirements for districts sponsoring the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. Several editing changes will be made before the second reading.

Purchase of School Buses

Transportation Manager Steve Olson reported on the status of the bus fleet. The District currently owns 63 buses, 15 of which are over 20 years old, transporting approximately 3,500 students each day. In annual safety inspections conducted by the State Highway Patrol, the District has always received an excellent rating. Olson indicated his long-term goal is to have buses replaced on a 20-year cycle. Jeff Haggen moved and Ken Gass seconded the motion approving the purchase of two full-sized Thomas school buses. The motion carried unanimously.

Award of Bid

Ann Whitmyer moved and Ken Gass seconded the motion to award the bid to remove the vinyl tile and diamond grind the concrete at Squalicum High School to Washington Shot Blast and to award the bid to stain the concrete to Maverick Specialty Contracting. The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations

Ken Gass moved and Jeff Haggen seconded the motion approving the personnel recommendations as presented. Dr. Kinsley noted the recommendations included the following administrative positions:

• Doug Kyles, executive director of School Administration;
• Larry Mayfield, assistant superintendent of Business and Operations;
• Gigi Morganti, principal of Small Schools and Alternative Programs;
• Gordon Grissom, principal of Kulshan Middle School;
• Rob McElroy, principal of Lowell Elementary School.

Kinsley also noted the retirement of Jim Mancuso, District elementary physical education teacher. The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.