BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

September 13, 2001

The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., September 13, 2001, in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Prior to the regular Board meeting there was an Executive Session at 7:00 p.m.  Purpose of 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 7:01 p.m. Gass moved to begin Executive Session; Lynch seconded. At 7:38 p.m. Whitmyer moved to regular session; Blair seconded.

At 7:45 p.m. President Ann Whitmyer called the meeting to order. The meeting began with a moment of silence in recognition of those who lost their lives in Washington D.C., New York, and Pennsylvania as a result of Tuesday morning’s tragedy.

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

Blair moved and Gass seconded approval of the consent agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

Minutes

Action on the minutes of the August 30, 2001 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

                    GENERAL FUND

                                          $92,500.00                        LGIP, investment, August 31, 2001

                                          $60,500.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, September 7, 2001

                  CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND

                                          $438, 200.00                     LGIP, withdrawal, August 31, 2001

                  DEBT SERVICE FUND

                                          $12,500.00                        LGIP, investment, September 7, 2001

                                          $17,000.00                        LGIP, investment, August 31, 2001

                  ASB FUND

                                         $114,500.00                      LGIP, investment, August 31, 2001

                                         $25,900.00                        LGIP, investment, September 7, 2001

Expenses and Payroll

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

                 GENERAL FUND

                     ACCTS PAY:                        8/08/01                $183,272.82

                                                                     8/15/01                  144,320.65

                                                                     8/23/01                  344,760.15

                                                                     8/31/01                  205,610.03

                                              Total General Fund                  $876,963.65

               CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND

                    ACCTS PAY:                         8/15/01                  $119,066.82

                                                                     8/31/01                    441,925.05

                                             Total Cap. Proj. Fund                  $560,991.87

               ASB FUND

                    ACCTS PAY:                         8/15/01                     $10,694.38

                                                                     8/31/01                     $38,083.02

                                            Total ASB Fund                              $48,777.40

                                                                     BHS                          $10,055.52

                                                                     SHS                           $ 9,410.53

                                                                     SQHS                        $28,452.57

                                                                     FMS                          $     808.78

                                                                     KMS                         $     100.00

                                                                     SMS                                  --

                                                                     WMS                                --

               PAYROLL                                                                  $4,673,341.04

Personal Services Contracts:

• Dora Larsen to serve as a Spanish-English interpreter on an as-needed basis during the 2001-02 school year.
• Jody Morgan to assist with the training and transition for a food service accounting technician effective August 28 and continuing on an as-needed basis through October 15, 2001.
• Beverly Sherman to organize and manage the Mount Baker Theatre Student Productions during the 2001-02 school year.
• George Gleason to assist with curriculum implementation and middle school athletics during the 2001-02 school year.

Web Apps

Approval of Federal and State Web Applications.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Lynch attended several open houses at various schools and a meeting of the Gates Grant Committee.

Blair and Whitmyer reported on the open house at Sehome High School.

Superintendent’s Announcements/Reports

Dr. Kinsley attended the open houses at Sehome High School and Bellingham High School.  He stated that both were well and attended and he received good feedback from the events.  Kinsley introduced Brian Rick, who is being recommended for a new District position – Evaluation and Assessment Specialist.

Superintendent Kinsley stated that this week’s events have been unsettling for all.  He commended the staff at all schools for the excellent job they have done to understand and support students and families.  In addition, the District office as sent out resources to assist teachers in talking with students and materials to help parents.  Tomorrow has been designated as a “Day of Prayer and Remembrance.”  Kinsley outlined some of the various activities that will be held at District schools.  He also shared an email from the Public Education Network, a national group based in Washington D.C., that recognized public schools as an “important line of defense against ignorance, hatred, and intolerance.”

Kinsley shared an invitation to join the League of Education Voters, a coalition to support public education in Washington.  He also shared the WSSDA publication Serving on Your Local School Board and the program for this year’s performances for children at the Mount Baker Theatre.

The first Board school visit this year will be October 5, at Sunnyland beginning at 7:30 a.m.

REPORTS:

Literacy Support Program

Deputy Superintendent Susan Zoller provided an overview of the District’s Literacy Support Program. Efforts to support the development of teaching skills for reading and writing have stemmed from Board Policy 5340 - Instructional Professional Development and Policy 2280 – Late Arrival/Early Release of Students and Site Based Program Improvement Planning. Zoller spoke about the Learning Network and Critical Friends Groups, which are the two models of job-embedded staff development that are now being used or considered by District schools.

First Day/Official Count Day for Student Enrollment

Executive Director Jim Stevens gave an updated enrollment report based on the September 7 official count day for reporting to OSPI. The total headcount for the District was 10, 151, which is down slightly from last year. Stevens also provided detailed data by buildings and in comparison to budget projections for the year.

ACTION ITEMS:

Policy 5146

Blair moved and Gass seconded approval of the revisions to Policy #5146 – Salary Schedule for Nonrepresented Extracurricular Positions. The motion carried unanimously. There have been no changes since the first reading at the August 30 Board meeting.

Policy #9301

The Board heard a first reading of Policy #9301 – Pest Management. The policy is in response to changes in state laws regarding pest management and the use of pesticides and herbicides by public agencies. The policy formalizes many of our current practices in the District.

BASE Contract

Action to approve BASE contract was postponed. The BASE ratification meeting to approve the proposed contract was canceled due to Tuesday’s tragedy.

Student Trips

Lynch moved and Gass seconded the motion to approve the following student trips. The motion carried unanimously.

• approval in concept for Sehome Concert and Chamber Choirs to travel to Southern California, May 16-19, 2002.
• approval in concept for Sehome High School Orchestra to travel to British Columbia, May 2-5, 2002.
• Middle School California Science Trip, April 18-23, 2002, and May 9-12, 2002.
• Squalicum High School Teen Aware Coordinator and three students to attend a Teen Aware conference in Ellensburg on September 26-27, 2001.

Bid Awards

Blair moved and Lynch seconded the motion to award the following bids. The motion carried unanimously.

• yearbooks for Sehome and Squalicum High Schools to Premier Graphics.
• pizza products delivery to Figaro’s Pizza.
• service delivery van to Delivery Concepts.

Personnel Recommendations

Blair moved and Leu seconded the motion for approval of the personnel recommendations as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.