BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Bellingham, Washington

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

December 14, 2000

The Bellingham School Board of Directors met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., December 14, 2000, 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.

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

At 7:02 Blair moved to begin Executive Session; Lynch seconded. At 7:25 p.m. Whitmyer made the motion to move to regular session; Leu seconded.

At 7:30 p.m. President David Blair called the meeting to order.

Board Reorganization – Election of Officers for 2001

Leu nominated Ann Whitmyer for president and Elaine Lynch for vice president; Gass seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Lynch thanked David Blair for two years of excellent service and presented him with a gift from the Board.

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 November 9 School Board meeting.

Investments

Action on investments in accordance with Resolution 13-88.

                    GENERAL FUND

                                          $2,300,000.00                     LGIP, investment, November 8, 2000

                                             $448,000.00                     LGIP, investment, November 15, 2000

                                               $45,500.00                     LGIP, withdrawal, November 22, 2000

                                          $2,033,500.00                     LGIP, withdrawal, November 30, 2000

                                             $302,000.00                     LGIP, withdrawal, December 8, 2000

                  CAPITAL PROJECTS

                                                    $55.47                        LGIP, withdrawal, November 1, 2000

                                             $20,100.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, November 8, 2000

                                               $4,900.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, November 15, 2000

                                               $3,800.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, November 15, 2000

                                                  $600.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, November 15, 2000

                                           $426,300.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, November 15, 2000

                                               $8,200.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, November 30, 2000

                                           $177,000.00                        LGIP, investment, November 30, 2000

                                           $330,300.00                        LGIP, withdrawal, November 30, 2000

                  DEBT SERVICE

                                       $1,431,000.00                         LGIP, investment, November 8, 2000

                                          $211,000.00                         LGIP, investment, November 15, 2000

                                            $84,000.00                         LGIP, investment, November 22, 2000

                                       $4,677,800.00                         LGIP, withdrawal, December 1, 2000

                  ASB FUND

                                                $400.00                          LGIP, withdrawal, November 15, 2000

                                                $300.00                          LGIP, withdrawal, November 15, 2000

                                                $800.00                          LGIP, withdrawal, November 15, 2000

                                             $2,900.00                          LGIP, withdrawal, November 15, 2000

                                             $5,900.00                          LGIP, investment, November 15, 2000

                                                $500.00                          LGIP, withdrawal, November 30, 2000

                                                $300.00                          LGIP, investment, November 30, 2000

                                             $2,400.00                          LGIP, withdrawal, November 30, 2000

                                             $6,700.00                          LGIP, investment, November 30, 2000

                                           $25,400.00                          LGIP, investment, November 30, 2000

                                           $32,100.00                          LGIP, withdrawal, December 8, 2000

                  TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE

                                           $89,000.00                          LGIP, withdrawal, December 5, 2000

Expenses and Payroll

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

              GENERAL FUND

                  ACCTS PAY:     11/08/00                  $346,510.38

                                               11/15/00                      36,147.11

                                               11/22/00                    376,334.70

                                               11/30/00                      63,669.88

                            Total General Fund                  $822,662.07

               CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND

                  ACCTS PAY:     11/08/00                  $20,084.81

                                               11/15/00                  435,761.76

                                               11/30/00                  161,470.33

                          Total Cap. Proj. Fund              $617,316.90

              ASB FUND

                    ACCTS PAY:   11/15/00                  $36,922.11

                                               11/30/00                    34,437.52

                           Total ASB Fund                        $71,359.63

                                               BHS                         $22,148.78

                                               SHS                          $33,567.30

                                               SQHS                       $14,112.70

                                               FMS                              $935.44

                                               WMS                              $56.00

              EXPENDABLE TRUST FUND

                                           11/30/00                          $205.02

                             Total Exp. Trust Fund                $205.02

             PAYROLL                                          $4,798,064.27

Personal Services Contracts:

• Lyudmila Paliyeva, Tatyana Kovalenko, Lindsey MacDonald, and Galina Mazurets to serve as foreign language interpreters on an as-needed basis during the 2000-2001 school year.
• Pam McKee to provide IAES and other tutoring for special education students during the 2000-2001 school year.
• Extension of Robert Warnecke’s services as Interim Transportation Operations Supervisor.
• Individuals who assisted with administering the PSAT test on October 21, 2000.
• Kristin Wines, Rachel Harrington, and Laurie Winters to serve as high school Key Club advisors.
• Cynthia Minkler to serve as a rehearsal and concert choir accompanist for the fall concert at Sehome High School.
• Stephen Schoenfeld to provide coaching services for the Sehome YMCA Mock Trial team.
• Andrea Diaz and Terri Pauli to provide facilitation/instruction for the before/after school Spanish program at Larrabee Elementary School.

Out-of-State Travel:

• Sherrie Brown and Gigi Morganti to attend the NASSP annual conference in Phoenix, Arizona, March 9-12, 2001.

Contract:

• Agreement for Educational Services with Homeport Learning Center for the 2000-2001 school year.

Grant Application

District application for an Internet filtering grant.

REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:

School Board Reports

Lynch reported on the following activities that she and other Board members attended over the past few weeks: Superintendents’ Parent Advisory Committee last Thursday morning; Bring Joy to a Child assembly at Sehome on Friday, December 8; a meeting with Communities in Schools on December 6; the Gate’s Reinventing High School Conference at SeaTac on December 6-7; Board site visit to Squalicum High School on December 1; WSSDA Conference in Spokane, November 15-18; County superintendents and school board members meeting with 40th/42nd District legislators; Red Cross Heroes breakfast; meeting in Mount Vernon on December 11, with legislators, PTA, and school district representatives to discuss common issues and priorities; and numerous phone and personal contacts with community members and parents.

Leu reported on the site visit to Squalicum High School and a meeting of the WSSDA DMAT Committee. Leu stated that he would be gone in January for one month on a trip to Africa. He also asked about revisiting the District energy conservation plan.

Gass reported on the WSSDA conference, the County legislative meeting, and the Board visit to Squalicum. Gass also reported on the Honor Student night and his son’s student-led conference at Kulshan.

Whitmyer reported on the WSSDA conference, noting the announcement at conference of Superintendent Dale Kinsley’s selection as State Superintendent of the Year. Whitmyer reported on the County legislative meeting, the Red Cross Breakfast, and the Bring Joy to a Child assembly at Sehome High School. She commended the work of the Sehome committee for their review and revisions of the program.

Superintendent’s Announcements/Reports

Dr. Kinsley shared an article from In the Loop staff newsletter that highlighted high school graduation requirements.

Kinsley reported on a meeting in Mount Vernon involving PTA presidents, School Board members, superintendents and legislators that focused on issues in the upcoming legislative session.

Dr. Kinsley noted that the winter holiday begins this Friday. School will resume on January 3.

Audience

• Kerry Chappell, Marc Thomas, Grant Bowles, Mark Polhamus, Jay Boenig, and Greg Stern addressed the Board regarding the adopted Health curriculum.
• Henry Jones spoke about the weight of student backpacks and the need for additional textbooks at Squalicum.
• Matt Petryni, Tim Petryni, and Jeff Siegfried, Editors of RAT addressed the Board regarding the distribution of their newspaper to District students.

REPORTS:

Whatcom County Community Network

Brigid Flynn Sevier, Coordinator of the Whatcom County Community Network (WCCN) was not present at the meeting. She provided written materials about the work of the Network. It is one of 53 state-funded citizen groups in Washington State that were created as part of the 1994 Youth Violence Reduction Act. The task of WCCN is to create a ten-year plan to reduce domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, violent criminal acts by juveniles, teen pregnancy and male parentage, teen substance, and teen suicide attempts. The District Board of Directors has a representative on the WCCN. The Board must decide to continue current representation or nominate a new representative by January 1, 2001.

Substitute Teachers

Executive Director Nora Klewiada reported on the status of substitute teachers. The report included information on the history and types of absences, funding for substitutes, proactive measures being taken to manage resources, availability of substitute teachers, recruitment, and compensation for substitute teachers. Since the spring of 1994, employee absences and substitute assignments have been made through the Districts automated Substitute Assignment and Management System (SAM). The District currently has an adequate pool of substitute teachers; however, the pool has been declining. District administrators and staff are looking at ways to minimize “optional” absences; manage available resources wisely; monitor high usage days; and recruit, retain, and competitively compensate substitutes.

Conducting School Needs Assessments

Adrienne Nelson, Professional Development Coordinator, provided information on District efforts this year to conduct a needs assessment at each school to revise the current strategic plan or create a new strategic plan. This work builds on Board Policy and requirements of the Gates Grant to outline goals and strategies to improve student learning. Schools will gather data across four measures: demographics, perceptions, student learning, and school processes. Victoria Bernhardt, administrator and professor at California State University in Chico, will facilitate the needs assessment process.

Executive Director Ann Marie Hanel gave an update on the school climate surveys that are being conducted at each building to find out the perceptions of parents, staff and students. This will help schools to identify what is working and what needs to be changed to improve student learning. The surveys are being administered online and the results are sent to California University in Chico. Once the surveys are completed, each school will receive a data analysis to be used with other data to develop goals for their strategic plan.

Special Education Report/Revision of Procedures

Director of Special Education Sue Thomas outlined the revisions to Procedure 2161P – Education of Students with Disabilities. Changes in the requirements from the previous procedure include: increased parent involvement; more complete childfind activities; revisions in criteria for eligibility and reevaluation for developmentally delayed; criteria for District access to public insurance; definition of the Individual Education Program (IEP); collaboration between public school and private school service providers; discipline procedures; and certificated and classified personnel development. The revisions were in compliance with state law requiring the new procedures be in place by December 31, 2000.

ACTION ITEMS:

Policy/Procedures 2320 and Policy 3800 Approved

Blair moved and Lynch seconded approval of revised Policy/Procedures 2320 – Student Field Trips, and Policy 3800 – Music Programs and Uniforms. The motion carried unanimously. There were some minor edits to the policies/procedures since the first reading at the November 9 Board meeting.

First Reading of Counseling Plan

The Board heard a first reading of Grades 6-12 Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Plan and Policy #2140 – Student Counseling and Guidance Program. Director of Student Services Kenn Robinson and counselors Gayle Copenbarger, Sue Jampsa, Steve Wiley, and Marilyn McClellan reported on the development process of the plan and the policy and their contents. Counselors Terri White and Sharon McConnel were also present. The plan is modeled on the state plan and contains goals for a comprehensive program in four critical areas: curriculum support; individual planning; responsive services; and system support. The policy also addresses program goals and activities. The proposed policy and plan represent many years of effort by community members, representatives from higher education, parents, students, and District staff.

BASE Bargaining Agreement

Blair moved and Gass seconded the motion for approval of the Bellingham Association of School Employees collective bargaining agreement for 2000-2001. The motion carried unanimously. Dr. Kinsley commended the District and BASE teams for a positive bargaining process.

Resolution 10-00

Blair moved and Gass seconded the motion for approval of Resolution 10-00 – for the final acceptance of Bellingham High School replacement and modernization. The motion carried unanimously.

Student Trips

Gass moved and Leu seconded the motion to approve the following student trips:

• Sehome Debate Team and coach to attend three out-of-state tournaments.
• approval in concept for Bellingham High School annual Concert Choir tour to Victoria, B.C., May 13-15, 2001.

The motion carried unanimously.

Call For Bids

Blair moved and Lynch seconded approval to call for bids on the following:

• tennis courts and track re-surfacing at Sehome High School.
• telecommunication equipment maintenance.

The motion carried unanimously.

Personnel Recommendations

Blair moved and Gass seconded the motion for approval of the personnel recommendations as presented. The motion carried unanimously. Dr Kinsley recognized Chuck Ayers, physical education teacher at Carl Cozier, who is retiring after 30 years with the District.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 9:28 p.m.