Regular Board Meeting June 12, 2007
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UINTA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NUMBER ONE
MINUTES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
June 12, 2007
7:00 P.M.
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees for Uinta County School District Number One, State of Wyoming, was held on the 12th day of June, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Educational Service Center, 537 Tenth Street, Evanston, Wyoming.
1. Open Meeting – Chairman Cummings noted a quorum present and called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. Board Members present were Bob Faddis, Kerby Barker, Bruce Hudson, Linda Cummings, Phil Petersen, Mike Davis, Kim Bateman and Kendra West.
Others present were administrative, certified and support staff members, community members. Approximate number in attendance was 25.
2. Adopt Agenda – Mrs. Bateman moved to approve the agenda as presented; second by Mr. Petersen; motion carried.
3. Approve Minutes – Mr. Davis moved to approve the May 8, 2007, May 22, 2007 and May 29, 2007 minutes as written; second by Mrs. Bateman; motion carried.
4. Approve Payment of Bills – Mr. Faddis moved to approve the payment of bills as presented; second by Mr. Davis; motion carried.
5. Communications
a. Public Comments – Ryan Berger, Special Education Teacher at Evanston High School, 229 Bodine, Evanston, Wyoming, thanked board members for their participation in the high school graduation ceremony. As one of the senior advisors, he felt it was a great event and everything went very well. If any board members have comments or feedback, please let him know. Superintendent Wilson commented on how well the students and parents did throughout the ceremony. He thanked the advisors and EHS staff for a great job. Chairman Cummings stated she had received several comments this was the best ceremony we’ve ever had. Mr. Berger informed the board that he will be the new EEA President for 2007-08. He thanked the board for all their efforts during the negotiations process this year. He commented on the trial wellness incentive proposed by the district, which he thinks is a great step for staff and working to keep them in the classroom. Chairman Cummings thanked Ryan Thomas, Asst. Superintendent for Operations, for his work on the wellness incentive. Mr. Thomas stated the draft will now go to the personnel committee for review. This will be a voluntary program for certified staff to participate in. Mr. Berger stated that EEA has already reviewed the draft and is happy with the wording.
6. Presentation – Vocational Training Center Proposal (Mike Williams)
Mr. Williams stated that an opportunity has arisen that will benefit the BOCES and allow expansion, as well as help the city and community. The SENTO Building has become available for purchase and the city is willing to work with the BOCES on this. It would be an adult shared use facility with the school district to house vocational programs. Mr. Williams have an overview of how the facility would be used and the benefits to the community of an expanded vocational program. The cost to purchase the SENTO Building would be $1 million, plus the cost of any remodeling. The city can assist in the cost to purchase and remodel the building through a business council grant of up to $3 million. The BOCES can assist with some of the cost, but they do not have enough money to cover the entire purchase, fund vocational programs and all the remodeling needs. He discussed the estimated costs for remodeling that Dan Selleroli, Director of Facilities/Maintenance had discussed with him after the walkthrough of the facility.
Mr. Williams asked the board to consider approving to place a vocational mill levy on the November 2007 ballot to pay for expenses above what the business council grant will cover. The project can not be completed without the vocational mill levy. This board would need to approve a resolution for an adult vocational education mill levy for the November 2007 ballot and notify the county clerk no later than August 28th. He reviewed his discussion with the mayor on the grant to fund this project, the possibility of additional money from the city with repayment options. Superintendent Wilson noted that before we go to the public, we will need to have a well defined plan with involvement from the BOCES, school district and city. Mr. Williams stated that the types of vocational training programs this will provide are what local businesses and Evanston Workforce are asking for. It is a great location and allows EHS students to walk to classes from the high school. Mr. Williams feels we have a great opportunity and need to move on this as soon as possible. Because this building just recently became available, there hasn’t been a lot of time to notify this board. Board members expressed their need for further discussion on this topic and having specific information to review before voting on a resolution. The board did agree to move forward and support the concept, with further information provided at the July board meeting and allow discussion prior to the August 28th deadline for notification to the county clerk.
7. Action Items
a. Approve Recreation District Budget, Operating Agreement, Board Member Appointment – Dennis Poppinga, Director of Evanston Parks and Recreation District, reviewed the annual budget and operating agreement for 2007-08, which includes assessing one mill for recreation purposes. The agreement details what the funds will be specifically used for and allows joint use between facilities the city owns and those that belong to the school district. Also, two of the five board member terms appointed by the school board are expiring. Mr. Poppinga recommended reappointment of Kay Fackrell and Orrin Martin to another term. Mr. Davis moved to approve the Recreation District Budget, Operating Agreement and board member re-appointments for 2007-2008 as presented; second by Mrs. West; motion carried.
b. Approve Special Services Consulting Contract and OT Services Contract – Glenna Calmes, Director of Special Services, requested approval of the contract renewal for the contract for services with Cumberland Therapy Services for a full time Occupational Therapist not to exceed $96,040.00 for the 2007-08 school year. The cost for this will be credited back to the district on the foundation program for the 2008-09 school year. Ms. Calmes also requested approval of the contract renewal for the consulting services of Rod Price in the amount of $27,150.00. Mr. Price works with students who have vision impairments, severe to profound disabilities and behavioral concerns. He will provides services both during the school year and durint the summer (Extended School Year0ESY) for students with the most intensive vision needs. The funding for this contract is from the IDEA Part B 611 portion of the Consolidated Grant. Mrs. Bateman moved to approve the special services consulting service contract and OT services contract as presented; second by Mr. Hudson; motion carried.
c. Approve Dairy Bids – Judy Rossmeisl, Director of Food Services informed the board that Bear Claw Distributing, a local vendor, was the only bidder for dairy products for the 2007-08 school year. This company provided good service and products during 2006-07 and she recommends accepting the bid. The price of milk is going up, due in large part increasing gasoline prices and the decline in dairy farms in operation. Mr. Faddis moved to approve the bid from Bear Claw Distributing to provide dairy products for the 2007-08 school year as presented; second by Mr. Davis; motion carried.
d. Personnel
i. Accept Resignations – Ryan Thomas, Asst. Superintendent for Operations, requested approval of the following resignations:
John Pesky Strings Teacher – Evanston High School
Charles Flickinger Technology Coach – District
Jennifer Peterson Title I Teacher – North Elementary
Mr. Hudson moved to approve the resignations as presented; second by Mr. Faddis; motion carried.
ii. Approve Hiring of Certified Staff – Ryan Thomas, Asst. Superintendent for Operations, recommended approval of the following certified contracts:
Jennifer K. Sharp Special Education – North Elementary
Austin Moon Teacher – Uinta Meadows Elementary
Karen Cook Title I Teacher – North Elementary
Mr. Davis moved to approve the certified staff contracts as presented; second by Mr. Faddis; motion carried. Mr. Thomas gave a brief update on certified staff openings left to fill.
e. Approve Delta Dental Renewal – Ryan Thomas, Asst. Superintendent for Operations, informed the board this represents an increase of 8% ($27,000.00) to the district. He briefly reviewed the history of increases with Delta Dental, which were included in the board packet. Mr. Petersen moved to approve the Delta Dental renewal as presented; second by Mrs. West; motion carried.
f. Approve Board of Trustee Meeting Dates for 2007-2008 – Superintendent Wilson briefly reviewed the list of dates:
July 18, 2007 January 22, 2008
August 7, 2007 February 12, 2008
August 14, 2007 February 26, 2008
August 28, 2007 March 11, 2008
September 11, 2007 April 8, 2008
September 25, 2007 April 22, 2008
October 9, 2007 April 29, 2008
October 23, 2007 May 13, 2008
November 13, 2007 May 27, 2008
November 27, 2007 June 10, 2008
December 11, 2007 June 24, 2008
January 8, 2008
Mrs. West moved to approve the board of trustee meeting dates for 2007-2008 as presented; second by Mr. Davis; motion carried.
g. Approve Bus Lease – John Williams, Chief Financial Officer, stated that on January 3, 2007, the board approved the purchase of four school buses, which are scheduled to arrive on July 31, 2007. The state will reimburse the district one fifth of the approved purchase price each year on a lease purchase. The district proposes to lese the four buses to the amount of $417,609.00, with payments beginning June 30, 2008 and ending June 30, 2012. Bids were opened on May 25th and six proposals were received from the nine that were sent out. Mr. Williams recommended approval of the proposal from Kaiser and Company (Cheyenne, Wyoming) to provide financing at a rate of 4.195%. They specialize in bus financing and come highly recommended by many school business managers in Wyoming. Mrs. Bateman moved to approve the proposal from Kaiser and Company to provide financing of four school buses as presented; second by Mr. Davis; motion carried.
8. Discussion Items
a. 2007-08 District Draft Budget – John Williams, Chief Financial Officer, gave a slide presentation of the draft district budget for the 2007-2008.
Ø Budget Calendar
§ June 12th – Draft Budget 2007-08
§ June 26th – Approve Amended Budget 2006-07
- Review Draft Budget
§ July 12th-13th – Finalize calculations for General Fund
§ July 18th – Approve Annual Budget 2—7-08
Ø Revenues
§ Legislative Services Office (LSO) in November ’06 calculated SY 2007-08 guarantee of $33,663,469.00
§ The district calculates revenues on the WDE-100
§ The district’s calculated guarantee stands at $33,410,956.00 of which $13,332,608.00 comes from the state
Ø WDE-100
§ The model
· Block grant
· Suggests funding amounts
· Audited by the Department of Audit
Ø Expenditures
§ Budget is a formula driven Excel sheet
§ We have asked school and departments to provide rationales and descriptions
§ Charge is to stay within the Foundation Guarantee
Ø Fund Balance
§ June 7th estimate of Fund Balance at June 30: $3,797,026.00
b. Coaches Incentive Plan – James Bailey, Asst. Superintendent for Instruction, reviewed the incentive plan for coaches that would allow them the possibility of earning the base increase and step movements totaling $2,750.00 afforded to all other instructional staff. He explained in detail the three measurable objectives that the incentive would be based on.
o One objective would be based on teacher growth in those resulting from professional development/coaching as measured by developed teacher continuums in those schools the coach is supporting. This growth would be determined by principals and central office administrators. This would be worth 25% of the total or a maximum of $687.50.
o One objective would be based on teacher growth for those specific teachers who act as studio teachers as a result of actual coaching cycles as measured by developed teacher continuums in those schools the coach is supporting. This growth would be determined by principals and central office administrators. This would be worth 50% of the total or a maximum of $1,375.00.
o One objective would be based on deepening of personal content knowledge which moved into the coach’s practice through professional development as measured by plans an artifacts. This growth would be determined by principals and central office administrators. This objective would be worth 25% of the total or a maximum of $687.50.
All objectives would be set as the 100% payout basis, but prorated according to actual growth shown.
c. End of Year Data Review – James Bailey, Asst. Superintendent for Instruction, reviewed the end of year results for the NWEA-MAP test given to students in grades 3-10 and DIBELS test given to students in grades 3-10 (PAWS results will not be available until later this summer). Analysis of the data shows that we need to be cautiously optimistic in that the strategies chosen to improve math achievement in the district seem to be working, and that our literacy program will need some serious revamping if we are to meet the goal of 90% by 2010.
Highlights of the data:
Math
Ø 95% of the cohorts are above national mean in math, 100% in grades 3-8 compared to only 60% this fall and 61% last spring. Our goal is to have all cohorts in the 70th percentile overall, which is a correlate to being proficient on PAWS.
Ø At some schools and some grades, the National School Percentile, or where our schools rank in relation to other schools across the nation giving NWEA in showing growth in students, we rank in the 90th percentile or higher. Again, we need to aim at the 90th percentile, which means we are adding value to a great majority of our students.
Concerns in the data:
Reading
Ø On NWEA, only 67% of cohorts are above national mean with some grades being significantly below this indicator. The National School percentile in reading or the value added measure of a school’s reading instruction in most cases is lower at our elementary schools than it is in math. At our middle schools, the National School percentile is equal to or above math.