BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

June 28, 2001

The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., June 28, 2001, in the Board Room of the Administration Building.

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

At 7:30 p.m. President Ann Whitmyer called the meeting to order.

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

Lynch moved and Leu seconded approval of the consent agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

Minutes

Action on the minutes of the June 14, 2001 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

                    GENERAL FUND

                                          $118,000.00                        LGIP, investment, June 15, 2001

                                          $585,000.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, June 22, 2001

                  CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND

                                          $43,500.00                          LGIP, investment, June 15, 2001

                  DEBT SERVICE FUND

                                          $16,000.00                         LGIP, investment, June 15, 2001

                  ASB FUND

                                          $7,800.00                           LGIP, withdrawal, June 15, 2001.

Personal Services Contracts:

• Paul Klein to serve as piano accompanist for a drama production at Fairhaven Middle School effective May 8 – June 1, 2001.
• Cathy Gersich to teach a summer school art class.
• Chris Carlson, Don Helling, Laura Holland, Linda Lamb, Joe McAuliffe, and Karll Rusch to complete educational internships with local businesses during the summer.
• Rachelle Kiesser to serve as sign language interpreter during the 2001-02 school year.
• Jillian Froebe to serve as a consultant at Columbia Elementary School on August 24, 2001.

Out-of-State Travel:

• John Getchell to attend a Zangle National Users Group meeting in Colorado Springs, Colorado on July 23, 2001.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Leu reported on the WSSDA Diversity/Multicultural meeting that he attended in Yakima on June 23.  The November WSSDA state conference will focus on recruitment of teachers.

Lynch gave a legislative report.  She highlighted the areas of the state budget affecting schools. The Better Schools Class Size Fund was maintained, and 2/3 of school district block grant money was approved (a reduction of $17.5 million). The Washington Reading Corps was reinstated; however, the Better Schools Professional Development Fund was cut completely. Also, local districts will be expected to pay cost of living adjustments for non-state funded teachers. 

Lynch was a guest speaker, along with Dr. Kinsley, for the Whatcom Association of Realtors. She also attended the Board budget study session last Thursday.

Whitmyer announced the she had received the WSSDA position proposal form and asked Directors to contact her if they had items to propose. Whitmyer reported on the budget study session.  She announced that the Board Retreat would be on the afternoon of July 26.

Superintendent’s Announcements/Reports

Dr. Kinsley announced that there would be only one Board meeting in July.  The meeting will be on July 12, and will consist of routine business and adoption of next year’s operating budget. Budget adoption is later this year, due to delays in adoption of the state budget.

Kinsley will be part of a national workgroup this July that will look at how to involve students from kindergarten through the university level in civic activities. There will be twelve teams made up of a district superintendent, a state superintendent, a university president, and a representative from Campus Compact.

Dr. Kinsley shared a booklet he received at the WASA state conference entitled Ten Trends – Educating Children for a Profoundly Different Future.

Audience

Deb Douglas, Cody Douglas, Brandy Douglas, and Everett Barr addressed the Board regarding the District’s band programs.

REPORTS:

Summer 2001 Master Facility Schedule

Assistant Superintendent Greg Cowan provided information regarding the various instructional programs that will be held and the facility work projects that will be completed over the summer.  Deputy Superintendent Susan Zoller stated that over 200 high school and almost 250 elementary and middle school students were enrolled in summer school.

ACTION ITEMS:

Policy/Procedures #3220

Lynch moved and Leu seconded approval of Policy/Procedures 3220 – Student Publications and Materials. The motion carried unanimously. This policy provides guidance for the production, review and distribution of official student publications and independent publications or materials created by students. There were some minor editing changes since the first reading.

Whatcom Middle School Design Development Approved

Leu moved and Lynch seconded the motion to approve the design development for Whatcom Middle School. The motion carried unanimously.

K-8 Social Studies Curriculum

The Board heard a first reading of K-8 social studies curriculum. Curriculum Director Wendy Barrett provided background and detail about the curriculum, resources and next steps leading to District implementation. Roosevelt teacher Sandy Chorvat reported on the development process, and Nancy Messmer, Director of Library, Media, and Technology spoke avoutthe online research projects. 

Instructional Materials

First reading of instructional materials for mathematics and social studies. The texts will support the elementary social studies program for grades K-5 and the high school pre-algebra classes. The materials will be available for public review.

High School Late Arrival

Lynch moved and Leu seconded approval of high school late arrival dates for 2001-02.

The motion carried unanimously.  The high schools are requesting ten days next year to allow for additional collaborative planning time.

Student Trips

Leu moved and Lynch seconded approval for the following student trips:

• Sehome Cheerleading Squad to attend the Universal Cheerleading Association Camp at Oregon State University in Corvalis, Oregon, August 10-13, 2001.
• Sehome Dance Team to attend United Spirit Association Dance Camp at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, August 14-17, 2001.
• several summer trips and competitions for Squalicum High School students.

The motion carried unanimously.

Bid Award

Lynch moved and Leu seconded the motion to award the Northern Heights Elementary School construction project to Tiger Construction, who was the low bidder at $6,190,000.00.  The motion carried unanimously.  Assistant Superintendent Greg Cowan introduced Frank Sprague and Steve Eisenhart, representatives from Tiger Construction and District Project Manager, Manuel Babayan.  Cowan also gave a brief update on the project and addressed the Board’s questions regarding project costs.

Personnel Recommendations

Lynch moved and Leu seconded the motion for approval of the personnel recommendations as presented.  The motion carried unanimously.  Dr. Kinsley recognized Paul Skaggs, math teacher at Bellingham High, and Joyce McArdle, instructional assistant at Carl Cozier, who both retired at the end of the school year.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.