BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

 OF THE

 BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

September 15, 2005

The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., September 15, 2005, in the Board Room of the Administration Building. Prior to the regular meeting, there was executive session at 7:00 p.m. The purpose of the executive session was negotiations.

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

At 7:00 p.m. Ann Whitmyer moved to begin executive session; Ken Gass seconded. At 7:20 p.m. Ken Gass moved to regular session; Ann Whitmyer seconded.

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

CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

Ken Gass moved and Ann Whitmyer seconded the motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried unanimously.

Minutes

Action on the minutes of the September 1, 2005 School Board Retreat, September 1, 2005 Executive Session and September 1, 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

• Brenda Brooks, Richard Lewis, and Joanne Peterson to serve as tutors in the Home and Hospital Tutoring Program on an as-needed basis during the 2005–2006 school year.
• Mimi Thi Saunders to serve as a foreign language interpreter on an as-needed basis during the 2005–2006 school year.
• Chris Carlson to produce a Culminating Project video for use with students; work to be completed between August 2005 and January 2006.

Out of State Travel

• Carol Wintercorn to attend the Follett VIP Advisory Panel in Chicago, Illinois on September 28, 2005.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Elaine Lynch reported on attending an excellent Literacy Council Breakfast. She also attended a workshop in Shoreline on the 2006 bond and levy elections. Lynch announced two upcoming events—on October 6 the Bellingham School Board will host the WSSDA Regional Meeting at Bellingham High School and on October 11 Village Books will host children's author R. L. Stine with proceeds being donated to Bellingham Public School Foundation.

Superintendent's Announcements/Report

Dale Kinsley reported that on September 14 the District hosted “Getting to Graduation and Beyond” for all high school parents. The event, held at Sehome High School, was attended by approximately 250 parents who learned about the District strategic plan before breaking into smaller groups to focus on culminating projects, WASL, District graduation requirements, and the transition from middle to high school. There were interpreters available for Russian- and Spanish-speaking parents and child care was provided. Kinsley thanked the School Information and Communications office, Director Tanya Rowe and Margaret Gude, for their work in organizing the event.

Kinsley reported that the 2005–2006 school year was officially underway with the first day of school occurring on September 7, 2005. He indicated that the District crisis team had been at two high schools helping staff and students deal with the deaths of two recent graduates.

The proposal for the Gates Grant has been submitted and will go before the Board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Kinsley indicated that the graduation and dropout rates have been released. Details will be shared with the Board at a later meeting, but initial data indicates the District had the highest graduation rate in the county.

REPORTS:

2005 Summer School Report

Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Susan Zoller reported on the 2005 summer school session, which served over 1,000 students. This was the first year that students in grades 5 and 8 were “highly recommended” to attend summer school based on their state and district assessment scores or other indicators. For those students, a more structured and focused program was developed for literacy and math support. Intervention classes were also offered to students in grades 1–4 and grades 6 and 7. These classes were for students who needed additional support to improve or maintain their learning in literacy and/or mathematics. At the high school level, a variety of credit retrieval courses were offered to allow students to catch up and improve their on-time graduation rate. Courses were also offered high school students in tech connections and two health courses. The Workforce Development Council funded a camp for middle and high school students. Twenty-four students were enrolled in the Digipen Institute, which is funded by student fees in collaboration with the Whatcom Tech Prep Consortium. According to Zoller, recommendations for next year include coordinating summer maintenance projects with the summer school schedule, creating more effective bus routes for students, establishing partners to provide care before and/or after school; and reviewing the amount of instruction offered.

Six elementary schools kept their libraries open for students and families during the summer school session with an average of almost three books checked out per patron. Several recommendations are being considered for library operations for next summer, including a plan to have a minimum of ten elementary libraries participating, and to build a stronger partnership with Whatcom County and Bellingham Public Libraries.

District Emergency Communications and Preparedness Report

Director of School Information and Communications Tanya Rowe reported on District emergency communications and preparedness. During the 2004–2005 school year, school administrators addressed issues related to emergency communications and school emergency preparedness plans. Although the work is ongoing, two new tools have been created for use by staff during emergencies. Every administrator has an Administrator's Emergency Manual , a flip chart designed to guide the administrator through crisis management and conducting training and drills for staff and students. In addition, every staff person will receive training from his or her principal or manager by the end of September and an Emergency Procedures for School Staff Manual . This is also a flip chart designed to assist teachers and staff in accounting for and caring for students during an emergency. Every school will conduct regular drills on the procedures to be used in the event of an emergency. Every site will also have a portable, battery-powered emergency radio that will operate on the Bellingham Fire Department's emergency radio frequency channel. The radio will be used in the event that phone lines and cell phones are inoperable. Ann Whitmyer thanked Rowe for the well thought-out manuals and the detailed work that went into preparing them.

Enrollment Report

Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Ron Cowan gave an enrollment report based on the OSPI September 12 th official count day. The total headcount for the District was 10,400, which is a decrease of 134 students over last year's headcount of 10,534. Enrollment at the elementary schools was slightly higher, but lower at the middle and high school levels. Cowan also provided enrollment history and detailed data by building and compared the enrollment to budget projections for the year. Cowan indicated a closer examination of the enrollment numbers would be undertaken in the weeks ahead to see why there is growth in some areas and not as much in others. Because enrollment drives the budget revenue, Cowan said the impact lower enrollment would have on the District budget will be closely examined and budget reduction proposals considered.

ACTION ITEMS:

Authorization to Establish a Citizens' Advisory Committee for School Bonds

Superintendent Dale Kinsley recommended the establishment of a Citizens' Advisory Committee to review needed projects and financing. The Committee would be composed of approximately twenty members, half representing community and parents and half from a variety of staff positions. The committee, chaired by Chip and Lisa (Tatum) Hilarides, will meet during September and October to formulate a recommendation for a bond proposal. They are expected to present their proposal to the Board at the October 27 or November 10 Board meeting. Ken Gass moved and Ann Whitmyer seconded the motion approving the establishment of a Citizens' Advisory Committee for School Bonds. The motion carried unanimously.

Authorization to Establish a Task Force to Review and Reinvent Options High School

Superintendent Dale Kinsley recommended the establishment of a task force to conduct a review of the research about small schools, including an analysis of the various model schools that have achieved national recognition. The task force would also review data from the District and solicit input from students, teachers, and families about the needs of students that could be met through a small school model at Option High School. Grant funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would support this work. It is anticipated that the task force would present their initial recommendations to the Board in April, with a final report due in May 2006. Ann Whitmyer moved and Ken Gass seconded the motion approving the authorization to establish a task force to review and reinvent Options High School. The motion carried unanimously.

Approval of SEIU Contract

Ken Gass moved and Ann Whitmyer seconded the motion to approve the Collective Bargaining Agreement with Service Employees' International Union 925. The Agreement, which was ratified by the SEIU members on September 10, 2005, is effective September 1, 2005 through August 31, 2007. Kinsley thanked the District team of Nora Klewiada, Jeanette Herrera, and Chuck Foster for their work in reaching an agreement. The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations

Ken Gass moved and Ann Whitmyer seconded the motion approving the personnel recommendations as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.