PHOENIX-TALENT SCHOOLS
Regular School Board Meeting
Thursday, April 7, 2016
7:00 p.m. – Talent Middle School
MINUTES
CALLTO ORDER / · The meeting was called to order at Talent Middle School at 7:07 p.m. by Chairman Craig Prewitt. Other Board Members present: Shana Vos, Dawn Watson, Sara Crawford, Rick Nagel, Vice-Chair Marina Piacentini. Absent: Nate Shinn. Also present: Jeff Johnson, Suzanne Foster, Clint Rodreick, Shawna Schlief, Aaron Santi, Jackie Brody, Toby Walker, Jeff Carpenter, Curt Shenk, Brent Barry, representatives from the Family Nurturing Center, Cally McKenzie, Brandi Randall, Jani Hale, Superintendent Teresa Sayre, Business Manager David Marshall and Board/Executive Asst. Sarie Wu.
ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE / · TMS Principal Aaron Santi announced that Senior Citizen Night was being hosted by TMS. About 25 members of different retirement homes in the community were attending. Mr. Santi thanked Fire District #5 and the Leadership Team for organizing the evening. April 9th, the TMS marching band will march for the Pear Blossom Parade. The School of Design and Innovation will be accepting applications through April.
· OHES Principal Brent Barry shared that SBAC assessments are starting. OHES is also doing 80% EBISS meetings and it’s great for staff to see the amazing progress of students since the beginning of the school year. The SBAC testing can be stressful so it has worked well to hold the 80% meetings now to alleviate some stress. Mr. Barry recognized Anna Karp and Kelly Reid. During April and May they both conduct annual IEP reviews. While doing that, they continue to do their classroom prep and serve students. They also help new students transition into OHES who have high needs. Both individuals have caring hearts and they work so hard.
· TES Principal Curt Shenk welcomed the newest Members of the Board. The TES Book Fair is going on. Mr. Shenk thanked Gwen Barret for her effort and time, along with several parent volunteers, for organizing the fair. It brings in several thousand dollars to the building. April 21st is Family Science Night, free for TES families at Science Works in Ashland. TES will be sending out a newsletter announcement and providing transportation. The Ashland YMCA has offered free swim lessons to TES 2nd grade students.
· PES Principal Jeff Carpenter stated that EBISS 80% meetings were also going on at PES. The data and graphs have shown great growth and that the teachers’ work is starting to pay off. The Spelling Bee Champion was 4th grade student Sara Davis. She will be going to SOU to compete with students from other district. The YMCA has approached PES about an after-school program. Mr. Carpenter will be updating the Board more on this program.
· PHS Principal Jani Hale recognized PHS alumni Alex Young who just finished playing in the state basketball championships at UC Irvine. PHS is very proud of him. Ms. Hale thanked the organizers of ‘Say Yes to the Dress’. They collect formal clothing donations for students to wear. The PHS performance of Grease will begin on April 14th. PHS FFA will host a silent auction, dinner and auction on April 15th. Ms. Brody shared that tardies and unexcused absences have decreased by 62%, chronic tardies have decreased by 29%, and unexcused absences have decreased by 39%. Ms. Hale recognized Kim Porter for successfully running a lockdown for the color guard students on Friday when a tragedy occurred in Phoenix. Ms. Porter did a great job communicating with the administration and the parents and ensuring the students were safe.
· Asst. Principal Toby Walker recognized Coach Boone and his team for hosting a great track meet at PHS. He also thanked the Board for supporting him for the past 7 years as the Head Football Coach at PHS. He will be resigning from that position next year so he can spend more time with his family.
· Sodexo Operations Manager Melinda Lidbetter announced that 5th grade OHES student, Cyrus Emery won the Future Chef Competition. The last couple days the NSLP was audited for PTS. There were three findings on the report. Two will be eliminated shortly, leaving just one. Ms. Lidbetter presented the Board with a $1,000 scholarship for a deserving PHS graduate. Farm-to-Market will be on April 27th at OHES.
· ATI Teacher Jeff Johnson informed the Board that the NSLP audit of the charter school went well and involved a lot of question/answer sessions. ATI is working to build up greater student and staff community. They are also working to improve student’s testing scores. Math is an area of particular challenge, but the school has some good ideas for approaching the issue.
· Director Dawn Watson shared that she recently attended a trip with the Civics Club to Washington DC, New York, and Philadelphia. There were about 23 students and 5 chaperones and 4 parents who joined in. The chaperones did a great job preparing and coordinating activities. Ms. Watson recognized Andrew Kemp, Anna Redding, Stephanie Hayes, Erin Mahanay, and Amy Tegner.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE REPORT / · Student Rep. Ethan Shepherd stated that Coach Boone did an excellent job hosting the track meet. Mr. Boone is an efficient and genuine guy. The end of quarter is this coming week. It is a time of both panic and excitement for students. Mr. Rodreick leads a great speech and debate team this year. Noah Thompson placed 1st in the Lincoln-Douglass Debate and 3rd in impromptu. He will be going on to the State competition at Western Oregon University. Joining him will be Jonah Liden, David Teague, Jonathan Knowles, and Evan Schweikert. Pear Blossom and the PHS Prom will be this Saturday. Prom will be at the Ashland Hills this year. The juniors did a great job organizing the event. At a recent PHS assembly some of the seniors who were accepted into prestigious universities were recognized including Hunter McAlister who will be going to the U.S. Naval Academy, Audrey Hazel who will be going to John Hopkins University, and Mr. Shepherd who will be attending West Point.
CITIZEN’S COMMENTS / · None
SUPERINTEDENT REPORT / · Supt. Sayre announced that Open Enrollment opened on March 1st and closed on April 1st. Last year PTS had 35 applicants and this year we received 87. This speaks volumes to the work everyone is doing in PTS. We have students requesting transfers from Wilsonville and Illinois. Supt. Sayre provided the Board with a handout outlining the number of students by grade level, their school preferences, and resident districts.
· The next Safe Schools Inter-Agency Meeting will be on April 20th at 9:30. Supt. Sayre invited the Members of the Board to join her and Director Nagel at that meeting. Sarie will send out a follow-up email invitation.
· Supt. Sayre recognized Asst. Principal Walker for applying and receiving the Jackson Care Connect Grant. It was a competitive grant application, only 5 districts were awarded and it amounted to about $47,000 dollars which will fund after-school activities for the elementary schools.
CONSENT AGENDA
· Approval of Agenda
· Approval of Minutes for 3/10/16
· Personnel Report / · Chairman Prewitt presented the Personnel Report for review which included the following:
Employment:
Kaila Calhoun, as 7 Hour Special Education Instructional Assistant at TMS
Effective: March 28, 2016
Extra Duty/Coaching:
Shelby Marshall, as Assistant Track Coach at TMS
Guy Tauer, as Head Girls Tennis Coach at PHS
Transfer:
Denette Sellers, from 2.5 Hour Instructional Assistant/2.5 Hour Playground Assistant at TES to 8 Hour Student Services Clerk at TMS.
Resignation:
Rachel Berry, as Grade 2 Teacher at TES
Effective: June 16, 2016
Kelly Singleton, as Language Arts Teacher at PHS
Effective: June 16, 2016
· On motion by Director Rick Nagel, seconded by Director Dawn Watson, to approve of the consent agenda as presented was approved by unanimous consent.
RESOLUTION 15-8: OSBG PROGRAM CONTINUATION / · Chairman Prewitt presented Resolution 15-8 to the Board. This resolution relates to the Oregon School Bond program. PTS will participate in this resolution because we’re interested in continuing our facility updates.
· On motion by Director Rick Nagel, seconded by Vice-Chair Marina Piacentini, to adopt Resolution 15-8 OSBG Program Continuation as presented was approved as per the following vote:
Ayes: Vos, Watson, Crawford, Nagel, Piacentini, Prewitt
Noes: None
Absent: Shinn
Abstain: None
BOARD POLICY GCDA/GDDA
Criminal Records Checks/ Fingerprinting / · Chairman Prewitt presented Board Policy GCDA/GDDA. The changes in the policy relate to statute changes relating to fingerprinting. Supt. Sayre informed the Board that the optional language of ‘may’ and ‘on probationary status’ would work best for the District as it provides the most flexibility and reflects current practice.
· On motion by Director Rick Nagel, seconded by Director Sara Crawford, to adopt Board Policy GCDA/GDDA as presented with the inclusion of the optional language as recommended, was approved as per the following vote:
Ayes: Vos, Watson, Crawford, Nagel, Piacentini, Prewitt
Noes: None
Absent: Shinn
Abstain: None
BOARD POLICY IL
Assessment Program / · Chairman Prewitt presented Policy IL to the Board. The changes involve legal language updates and include opt out language for the SBAC assessments.
· On motion by Director Rick Nagel, seconded by Director Dawn Watson, to adopt Board Policy IL as presented, was approved as per the following vote:
Ayes: Vos, Watson, Crawford, Nagel, Piacentini, Prewitt
Noes: None
Absent: Shinn
Abstain: None
FAMILY NURTURING CENTER / · Chairman Prewitt welcomed the representatives of the Family Nurturing Center and invited them to share some background on their work with the Board. Lee Murdoch, Lisa O’Conner, and Daniel O’Conner reviewed the services provided by the Family Nurturing Center and requested consideration for placement of a satellite FNC building on the PHS campus. The FNC provides intervention and prevention services to families with high risk factors. They also provide daycare services for children between 6 weeks and 6 years of age. The center is hoping for a long-term partnership with PTS and all they’re asking for is space. The funding would be taken care of by the FNC. Chairman Prewitt stated asked the Board to consider their request. This will be an action item at the April 21st Meeting.
RECESS / · 8:05 – 8:23 p.m.
FACILITIES UPDATE / · Business Manager David Marshall shared with the Board that PHS will be hosting an SOU Pow-Wow. He presented the Board with a summary update of the Facility Master Plan from CSA Planning. This plan shows us how to get ready for a 2017 General Obligation Bond.
· Mr. Marshall will be providing the Board with an Energy Efficient Measure which they’ll be asked to consider for action. The two least expensive items on the measure could result in savings of $90,000 per year at no cost to the general fund.
FINANCIAL UPDATE / · Mr. Marshall stated that PTS has all the raw material needed for the budget. The District would like to transfer $250,000 into a PERS reserve. Payroll has been finalized and PTS will now see what happens to the contingency and transfer funds. The Budget Committee Meeting will be on May 3rd.
2016-17 ACADEMIC CALENDAR / · Chairman Prewitt asked the Board to review the draft Academic Calendar for next year. Supt. Sayre noted that a change had to be made because of the way the calendar days fell this year. PTS staff surveys indicated that employees would prefer to take two full weeks plus one day during winter break and extend the school year by one day to meet our calendar requirements.
BOARD GUIDING PRINCIPLES / · Chairman Prewitt presented the Board Guiding Principles to the Board. He asked them to review these principles and consider whether or not they’d like to make any changes at the next meeting. Supt. Sayre bases her goals upon these principles.
GRAD NIGHT 2016 / · Principal Hale shared with the Board that work on a Grad Night this year has been challenging. Denise Meer has been a driving force in coordinating some fundraising events. A Grad Night Auction will be held on May 15 and the money earned at that event will determine their next step. If enough money is raised, Grad Night will be held at the Family Fun Center. Otherwise Grad Night will be hosted in the PHS commons.
BOARD POLICY REVIEW / · Chairman Prewitt presented Board Policy JEA and JEBA to the Board for review. These policies related to compulsory attendance age, which has been changed to 6. They will be up for action at the next meeting.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE / · Director Watson shared that a Legislative Policy Committee Meeting will be held in April. The committee will talk about how they want OSBA to represent Board Members in 2017. Other hot issues include funding, partnering with teachers and PTAs, mandates that are unfunded, and fair distribution of grants. Director Watson invited the Board to share any input they would like brought to the table at that meeting.
REVIEW OF NEXT MEETING AGENDA / · Chairman Prewitt reviewed the draft agenda for the meeting on April 21st, at Talent Middle School. The next meeting will be a day meeting and Regular Session will begin at 10:00 a.m.
· Items for the next meeting include:
Program Report: Discussion with TMS Students
2016-17 Academic Calendar
Family Nurturing Center
Grad Night 2016
Board Policy JEA
Board Policy JEBA
Facilities Update
Financial Update
Board Meeting Dates 2016-2017
Board Guiding Principles
Resolution 15-9: PACE Declaration of Trust
Board Policy Review
Legislative Update
ADJOURNMENT / · 8:39 p.m.
Teresa Sayre, Clerk of the Board Craig Prewitt, Chairman of the Board
Recording Secretary: Sarie Wu,
Board/Executive Assistant