5-8-01 Board Meeting

EVERETT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
EVERETT, WASHINGTON Regular Meeting

The Board of Directors of Everett Public Schools, Snohomish County, Washington, held a regular Board meeting on Tuesday, May 2, 2006, beginning at 4:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the Educational Service Center, 4730 Colby Avenue, Everett, Washington. Those in attendance were Sue Cooper, Kristie Dutton and Ed Petersen. Board member Madsen was on hand via speakerphone. Absent: Roy Yates. In President Yates’ absence, Vice President Dutton led the meeting.

ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Vice President Dutton called for any recommended changes to the agenda. Superintendent Carol Whitehead reported that there would be a revised personnel report. With that, Sue Cooper moved to adopt the revised agenda. Ed Petersen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ed Petersen moved for approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of April 18, 2006. Sue Cooper seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS
Dr. Whitehead opened her comments by announcing that May 7-13, 2006 has been designated as Teacher Appreciation Week. In fact, she said, teachers are appreciated every day. They work hard to ensure students learn to a very high standard.

Dr. Whitehead announced that the District is piloting a computerized parent notification process. Among its many uses is the ability to disseminate information quickly in an emergency. It has been used twice recently: 1) to notify Silver Lake Elementary School parents of police action in the neighborhood; and 2) during an incident at Heatherwood Middle School that prompted a brief evacuation of the school (it turned out to be a false alarm). Messages to thousands were relayed within seconds. Letters were sent home which provided greater detail about the incidents. Dr. Whitehead reported that feedback has been positive as witnessed by an e-mail to Heatherwood principal Greg Gelderman complimenting that school on the speedy and thorough communication process.
SUPT’S COMMENTS
Next, Dr. Whitehead reported on District energy conservation efforts that were put in place in the 2002-2003 school year. Director of Maintenance and Operations Gary Jefferis worked with the PUD and one of its consultants to develop a plan for energy conservation which, in slightly over three years’ ; time, has saved the District approximately $1.3 million in utility costs. This equates to the “capturing” of almost 600,000 therms of natural gas and over 9.5 million kilowatts of electricity. Although devised by Gary and the PUD consultant, the success of the energy conservation plan was the result of efforts by all District sites. The savings have been allocated throughout the District’s learning environment to help power, for example, almost 6,000 new computers as well as classroom additions at Penny Creek Elementary, Gateway Middle and Jackson High Schools. However, the actual costs per kilowatt hour and per therm have increased so that overall energy costs have risen. Dr. Whitehead extended kudos to Gary, the PUD and all staff who have worked diligently to conserve energy.

Dr. Whitehead announced that, within the next two weeks, she will be visiting each District site talking about the District budget. A letter to all staff, also concerning the budget, will be distributed at the end of the week. Copies will be included in the Board’s Friday packet.
Local historian and retired District administrator Larry O’Donnell recently conducted research which revealed that Board member Sue Cooper has served on the Board of Directors longer than anyone else in the District’s 114-year history. She was appointed in 1984 to complete the term of Dr. Bruce Lamus and then she was elected in 1985, equaling a total of 21 years and ten months. She surpasses the record of Myrtle Ferrell who served during two periods between 1951 and 1973 for a total of 21 years and 8 ½ months. In honor of this special occasion, Dr. Whitehead presented Mrs. Cooper with an arrangement of pink roses. Board member Cooper said her work on the Board has been extremely interesting and educational. She has enjoyed working with everyone and looks forward to many more years of serving on the Board.

SUPT’S COMMENTS
(cont’d.)
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.

PUBLIC COMMENT
RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
Director of Communications Gay Campbell introduced retiree Mike Quinn. Director of Maintenance and Operations Gary Jefferis said that Mike is a second generation employee—his father, Leonard Quinn, was a long-time administrator. He went on to say that Mike has been a great employee and helped Gary become acquainted with the District when Gary came to Everett 14 years ago. Mike led the grounds crew for many years and helped care for the fields. He will be greatly missed. Mike said he is looking forward to retirement and living in Arizona, but will miss the folks in Everett. He introduced his fiancé Suzy and thanked everyone for their assistance and cooperation over the years. On behalf of the Board, Vice President Dutton thanked Mike for his years of service and presented him with a crystal memento apple.
RECOGNITION OF RETIREES

ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
Dr. Whitehead introduced Miguel Perry who was present tonight representing the Northwest Building and Construction Trades. He is also a member of Carpenters Local 562 and is a field representative/organizer for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Mr. Perry provided information regarding apprenticeships. He referred to the “Apprenticeship Utilization Guide” (E:143/06). There is a skills gap approaching in the construction trades industry with the retirement of many in the “baby boomer” era. At the same time, according to Mr. Perry, approximately 80 percent of high school graduates will not go on to complete a college degree and have no other learning model available. Apprenticeships can help fill that void and can help

PRESENTATION:
A PPRENTICESHIPS
the District achieve its mission. He asked the District to place an addendum on its bid document for elementary school #17 for which there is a pre-bid conference on May 9. The addendum would specify that for public works projects estimated at $5 million or more, the District would require that its general contractors and subcontractors strive to achieve a goal of at least fifteen percent of the total labor hours be performed by registered apprentices enrolled in training programs approved by the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council. The City of Everett, the Port of Everett and the Marysville and Snohomish School Districts have incorporated similar language.

Larry Walters, apprenticeship coordinator for the Northwest Laborers Training program and chair of the Western Washington Coordinators Association representing all of the building trades, emphasized that they train both union and non-union apprentices. Mr. Walters is one of the “baby boomers” referred to earlier; he was once an apprentice and plans to retire within a couple of years. The apprenticeship program offers graduates and non-graduates the opportunity to receive training, learn safety techniques and possibly get a degree. He encouraged the District to adopt the apprenticeship language mentioned earlier.

The Administration provided an update regarding on-time graduation. Terry Edwards, Executive Director for Curriculum Alignment and Implementation, provided an update concerning challenges to graduation on time—earning 22 credits, passing the WASL and successfully completing the culminating exhibition (CE). He distributed copies of a PowerPoint presentation and discussed various WASL and CE interventions (E:144/06). A third area to address is academic classroom success. Terry outlined the District’s current graduation requirements and talked about graduation trajectory and academic rigor all across the spectrum of letter grades (A-F). He then discussed and shared graphs about students who are not successful in the system—What does it mean when students do not move along on trajectory? When the numbers are analyzed and distributed, it is found that most students who are failing to earn credit are doing so in just one out of six classes. He shared a list of the top ten classes that pose the greatest challenge for students as well as those classes presenting the greatest challenge for students that fail only one class. Terry described steps schools are taking, including addressing “incompletes,” offering school-based credit recovery opportunities, re-visiting grading practices and advertising for summer school. This is tenacious work and will take a while to accomplish, but he predicts that the efforts will result in an improvement in District graduation rates.

Terry talked about the GEAR-Up grant the District recently received at North Middle School which will work with 75 students at that school to help them transition to high school and on to college. The District has also contracted with a research-based group called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) which focuses on middle-of-the-road students who have been underrepresented in college. The program helps them in how they move through school and how they prepare for college.

When asked by Board member Petersen whether there are many children who graduate in more than four years, Terry said yes. When asked whether there are ethnic breakouts on District ELL students, Terry said work is being done in that area as well as special program breakdowns and socio-economic statistics. Board member Madsen asked whether there has been a review of the correlation between attendance and student grades. Terry said yes, if a student has missed a large number of classes, the correlation is fairly obvious. However, when fewer classes are missed, the correlation becomes less clear that attendance is making a difference for achievement. Board member Cooper said it is very encouraging to have this information and see that many students are so close to on-time graduation. However, she wondered whether the emphasis on getting students “over the hump” to get the grade will cause a lowering of standards. Terry said a series of checks and balances built into the system help ensure that standards are not lowered. He stressed that it is not good enough for a student to just get a “D,” they must also pass the WASL. The District is trying very hard to emphasize that standards are not being lowered; there is no “dumbing down.” A student does not graduate all at once nor do they drop out all at once. A combined effort by staff, students and parents will be needed to help the student succeed.

Associate Superintendent for Instruction Karst Brandsma complimented Terry and the District’s Director of On-Time Graduation Services JoAnne Fabian for their work in taking a complex subject and making it manageable.
PRESENTATION—ON-TIME GRADUATION

The attached proposed revised Policy 1712—Conflicts of Interest, was provided for first reading with adoption to be recommended at a future Board meeting (E:145/06). The changes relate to a clarification of guidelines. Gay Campbell commented briefly. PROPOSED REV. POLICY 1712—CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ( re clarifying guidelines)—1^st reading
The Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials, and awarded to Everett Public Schools for the 2003-2004 Comprehensive Financial Report, was presented for the Board of Directors’ information (E:146/06). Associate Superintendent for Finance and Operations Bob Collard introduced Director of Finance Jeff Moore who presented the award to the Board. This is the 18^th consecutive year the District has received this honor and demonstrates that the District continues be fiscally stable. Jeff also introduced Kim Walker (Finance Coordinator), Darla Van Duren (District Accountant) and Jennifer Farmer (Procurement Supervisor), who contributed to the overall preparation of the document. Special recognition goes to Darla who did a fantastic job filling in during the maternity absence of the District’s Manager of Accounting. Jeff also acknowledged the work of Jill Stoffel, the District’ ;s Capital Projects accountant.

Board members Petersen and Cooper said it is reassuring and encouraging to know the District maintains such consistently quality performance.
ASBO CERT. OF EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL RE-PORTING AWARD
ASBO CERTIFI-CATE OF EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING
AWARD FOR EPS 2003-2004 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINAN-CIAL REPORT
(cont’d.)
The attached 2004-2005 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report was presented for the Board of Directors’ information (E:147/06). Jeff Moore commented briefly. COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL RPT. FOR 2004-2005
Financial Reports were provided for the Board of Directors’ review (E:148/06). The reports include year-to-date information on revenues and expenditures, General Fund projections, a cash report and an investment summary. Jeff Moore said that the general fund balance projection is slightly less than the prior month. FINANCIAL REPORTS AS OF MARCH 31, 2006
ACTION ITEMS
Karen Madsen moved for approval of the revised Consent Agenda items. Ed Petersen seconded the motion.
1) Personnel Report (revised) (E:149/06);
2) Voucher Lists (E:150/06);
3) Certification & No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Teaching Assignment Requirements (E:151/06); and
4) Rental Rates & Priority Schedules for District Facility Use, Including Buildings, Athletic Fields, the Civic Auditorium, Memorial Stadium & Lincoln Field (E:152/06).
The motion carried unanimously.

CONSENT AGENDA
BOARD COMMENTS
Board member Petersen said he is looking forward to a more detailed briefing about apprenticeships. Vice President Dutton thanked all who ensure that monies are spent wisely as was clearly illustrated tonight.

With no further comments, Vice President Dutton recessed the regular meeting at 6:10 p.m. into a closed session for discussion of collective bargaining agreement proposals.
BOARD COMMENTS

BOARD ACTION AND/OR BOARD DISCUSSION
At 6:10 p.m., Vice President Dutton recessed the regular meeting into a closed session for discussion of collective bargaining agreement proposals. Prior to moving into the closed session in Conference Room C3 of the Educational Service Center, it was announced the session would be of approximately 90 minutes’ ; duration.

At 7:40 p.m., it was announced that the closed session would extend for ten more minutes.

Vice President Dutton re-convened the regular meeting at 7:50 p.m. and adjourned immediately.

CLOSED SESSION—DISCUSSION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT PROPOSALS
_____________________________ ________________________________
Carol Whitehead, Secretary Kristie Dutton, Vice President

The Board of Directors of Everett Public Schools, Snohomish County, Washington, held a regular Board meeting on Tuesday, May 2, 2006, beginning at 4:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the Educational Service Center, 4730 Colby Avenue, Everett, Washington. Those in attendance were Sue Cooper, Kristie Dutton and Ed Petersen. Board member Madsen was on hand via speakerphone. Absent: Roy Yates. In President Yates’ absence, Vice President Dutton led the meeting.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA Vice President Dutton called for any recommended changes to the agenda. Superintendent Carol Whitehead reported that there would be a revised personnel report. With that, Sue Cooper moved to adopt the revised agenda. Ed Petersen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.		ADOPTION OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ed Petersen moved for approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of April 18, 2006. Sue Cooper seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.		APPROVAL OF MINUTES
SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS Dr. Whitehead opened her comments by announcing that May 7-13, 2006 has been designated as Teacher Appreciation Week. In fact, she said, teachers are appreciated every day. They work hard to ensure students learn to a very high standard. Dr. Whitehead announced that the District is piloting a computerized parent notification process. Among its many uses is the ability to disseminate information quickly in an emergency. It has been used twice recently: 1) to notify Silver Lake Elementary School parents of police action in the neighborhood; and 2) during an incident at Heatherwood Middle School that prompted a brief evacuation of the school (it turned out to be a false alarm). Messages to thousands were relayed within seconds. Letters were sent home which provided greater detail about the incidents. Dr. Whitehead reported that feedback has been positive as witnessed by an e-mail to Heatherwood principal Greg Gelderman complimenting that school on the speedy and thorough communication process.		SUPT’S COMMENTS
Next, Dr. Whitehead reported on District energy conservation efforts that were put in place in the 2002-2003 school year. Director of Maintenance and Operations Gary Jefferis worked with the PUD and one of its consultants to develop a plan for energy conservation which, in slightly over three years’ ; time, has saved the District approximately $1.3 million in utility costs. This equates to the “capturing” of almost 600,000 therms of natural gas and over 9.5 million kilowatts of electricity. Although devised by Gary and the PUD consultant, the success of the energy conservation plan was the result of efforts by all District sites. The savings have been allocated throughout the District’s learning environment to help power, for example, almost 6,000 new computers as well as classroom additions at Penny Creek Elementary, Gateway Middle and Jackson High Schools. However, the actual costs per kilowatt hour and per therm have increased so that overall energy costs have risen. Dr. Whitehead extended kudos to Gary, the PUD and all staff who have worked diligently to conserve energy. Dr. Whitehead announced that, within the next two weeks, she will be visiting each District site talking about the District budget. A letter to all staff, also concerning the budget, will be distributed at the end of the week. Copies will be included in the Board’s Friday packet. Local historian and retired District administrator Larry O’Donnell recently conducted research which revealed that Board member Sue Cooper has served on the Board of Directors longer than anyone else in the District’s 114-year history. She was appointed in 1984 to complete the term of Dr. Bruce Lamus and then she was elected in 1985, equaling a total of 21 years and ten months. She surpasses the record of Myrtle Ferrell who served during two periods between 1951 and 1973 for a total of 21 years and 8 ½ months. In honor of this special occasion, Dr. Whitehead presented Mrs. Cooper with an arrangement of pink roses. Board member Cooper said her work on the Board has been extremely interesting and educational. She has enjoyed working with everyone and looks forward to many more years of serving on the Board.		SUPT’S COMMENTS (cont’d.)
PUBLIC COMMENT None.		PUBLIC COMMENT
RECOGNITION OF RETIREES Director of Communications Gay Campbell introduced retiree Mike Quinn. Director of Maintenance and Operations Gary Jefferis said that Mike is a second generation employee—his father, Leonard Quinn, was a long-time administrator. He went on to say that Mike has been a great employee and helped Gary become acquainted with the District when Gary came to Everett 14 years ago. Mike led the grounds crew for many years and helped care for the fields. He will be greatly missed. Mike said he is looking forward to retirement and living in Arizona, but will miss the folks in Everett. He introduced his fiancé Suzy and thanked everyone for their assistance and cooperation over the years. On behalf of the Board, Vice President Dutton thanked Mike for his years of service and presented him with a crystal memento apple.		RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION Dr. Whitehead introduced Miguel Perry who was present tonight representing the Northwest Building and Construction Trades. He is also a member of Carpenters Local 562 and is a field representative/organizer for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Mr. Perry provided information regarding apprenticeships. He referred to the “Apprenticeship Utilization Guide” (E:143/06). There is a skills gap approaching in the construction trades industry with the retirement of many in the “baby boomer” era. At the same time, according to Mr. Perry, approximately 80 percent of high school graduates will not go on to complete a college degree and have no other learning model available. Apprenticeships can help fill that void and can help		PRESENTATION: A PPRENTICESHIPS
the District achieve its mission. He asked the District to place an addendum on its bid document for elementary school #17 for which there is a pre-bid conference on May 9. The addendum would specify that for public works projects estimated at $5 million or more, the District would require that its general contractors and subcontractors strive to achieve a goal of at least fifteen percent of the total labor hours be performed by registered apprentices enrolled in training programs approved by the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council. The City of Everett, the Port of Everett and the Marysville and Snohomish School Districts have incorporated similar language. Larry Walters, apprenticeship coordinator for the Northwest Laborers Training program and chair of the Western Washington Coordinators Association representing all of the building trades, emphasized that they train both union and non-union apprentices. Mr. Walters is one of the “baby boomers” referred to earlier; he was once an apprentice and plans to retire within a couple of years. The apprenticeship program offers graduates and non-graduates the opportunity to receive training, learn safety techniques and possibly get a degree. He encouraged the District to adopt the apprenticeship language mentioned earlier.
The Administration provided an update regarding on-time graduation. Terry Edwards, Executive Director for Curriculum Alignment and Implementation, provided an update concerning challenges to graduation on time—earning 22 credits, passing the WASL and successfully completing the culminating exhibition (CE). He distributed copies of a PowerPoint presentation and discussed various WASL and CE interventions (E:144/06). A third area to address is academic classroom success. Terry outlined the District’s current graduation requirements and talked about graduation trajectory and academic rigor all across the spectrum of letter grades (A-F). He then discussed and shared graphs about students who are not successful in the system—What does it mean when students do not move along on trajectory? When the numbers are analyzed and distributed, it is found that most students who are failing to earn credit are doing so in just one out of six classes. He shared a list of the top ten classes that pose the greatest challenge for students as well as those classes presenting the greatest challenge for students that fail only one class. Terry described steps schools are taking, including addressing “incompletes,” offering school-based credit recovery opportunities, re-visiting grading practices and advertising for summer school. This is tenacious work and will take a while to accomplish, but he predicts that the efforts will result in an improvement in District graduation rates. Terry talked about the GEAR-Up grant the District recently received at North Middle School which will work with 75 students at that school to help them transition to high school and on to college. The District has also contracted with a research-based group called AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) which focuses on middle-of-the-road students who have been underrepresented in college. The program helps them in how they move through school and how they prepare for college. When asked by Board member Petersen whether there are many children who graduate in more than four years, Terry said yes. When asked whether there are ethnic breakouts on District ELL students, Terry said work is being done in that area as well as special program breakdowns and socio-economic statistics. Board member Madsen asked whether there has been a review of the correlation between attendance and student grades. Terry said yes, if a student has missed a large number of classes, the correlation is fairly obvious. However, when fewer classes are missed, the correlation becomes less clear that attendance is making a difference for achievement. Board member Cooper said it is very encouraging to have this information and see that many students are so close to on-time graduation. However, she wondered whether the emphasis on getting students “over the hump” to get the grade will cause a lowering of standards. Terry said a series of checks and balances built into the system help ensure that standards are not lowered. He stressed that it is not good enough for a student to just get a “D,” they must also pass the WASL. The District is trying very hard to emphasize that standards are not being lowered; there is no “dumbing down.” A student does not graduate all at once nor do they drop out all at once. A combined effort by staff, students and parents will be needed to help the student succeed. Associate Superintendent for Instruction Karst Brandsma complimented Terry and the District’s Director of On-Time Graduation Services JoAnne Fabian for their work in taking a complex subject and making it manageable.		PRESENTATION—ON-TIME GRADUATION
The attached proposed revised Policy 1712—Conflicts of Interest, was provided for first reading with adoption to be recommended at a future Board meeting (E:145/06). The changes relate to a clarification of guidelines. Gay Campbell commented briefly.		*PROPOSED REV. POLICY 1712—CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ( re clarifying guidelines)—1^st reading*
The Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials, and awarded to Everett Public Schools for the 2003-2004 Comprehensive Financial Report, was presented for the Board of Directors’ information (E:146/06). Associate Superintendent for Finance and Operations Bob Collard introduced Director of Finance Jeff Moore who presented the award to the Board. This is the 18^th consecutive year the District has received this honor and demonstrates that the District continues be fiscally stable. Jeff also introduced Kim Walker (Finance Coordinator), Darla Van Duren (District Accountant) and Jennifer Farmer (Procurement Supervisor), who contributed to the overall preparation of the document. Special recognition goes to Darla who did a fantastic job filling in during the maternity absence of the District’s Manager of Accounting. Jeff also acknowledged the work of Jill Stoffel, the District’ ;s Capital Projects accountant. Board members Petersen and Cooper said it is reassuring and encouraging to know the District maintains such consistently quality performance.		ASBO CERT. OF EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL RE-PORTING AWARD ASBO CERTIFI-CATE OF EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING AWARD FOR EPS 2003-2004 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINAN-CIAL REPORT (cont’d.)
The attached 2004-2005 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report was presented for the Board of Directors’ information (E:147/06). Jeff Moore commented briefly.		COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL RPT. FOR 2004-2005
Financial Reports were provided for the Board of Directors’ review (E:148/06). The reports include year-to-date information on revenues and expenditures, General Fund projections, a cash report and an investment summary. Jeff Moore said that the general fund balance projection is slightly less than the prior month.		FINANCIAL REPORTS AS OF MARCH 31, 2006
ACTION ITEMS Karen Madsen moved for approval of the revised Consent Agenda items. Ed Petersen seconded the motion. 1) Personnel Report (revised) (E:149/06); 2) Voucher Lists (E:150/06); 3) Certification & No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Teaching Assignment Requirements (E:151/06); and 4) Rental Rates & Priority Schedules for District Facility Use, Including Buildings, Athletic Fields, the Civic Auditorium, Memorial Stadium & Lincoln Field (E:152/06). The motion carried unanimously.		CONSENT AGENDA
BOARD COMMENTS Board member Petersen said he is looking forward to a more detailed briefing about apprenticeships. Vice President Dutton thanked all who ensure that monies are spent wisely as was clearly illustrated tonight. With no further comments, Vice President Dutton recessed the regular meeting at 6:10 p.m. into a closed session for discussion of collective bargaining agreement proposals.		BOARD COMMENTS
BOARD ACTION AND/OR BOARD DISCUSSION At 6:10 p.m., Vice President Dutton recessed the regular meeting into a closed session for discussion of collective bargaining agreement proposals. Prior to moving into the closed session in Conference Room C3 of the Educational Service Center, it was announced the session would be of approximately 90 minutes’ ; duration. At 7:40 p.m., it was announced that the closed session would extend for ten more minutes. Vice President Dutton re-convened the regular meeting at 7:50 p.m. and adjourned immediately.		CLOSED SESSION—DISCUSSION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT PROPOSALS
_____________________________ ________________________________ Carol Whitehead, Secretary Kristie Dutton, Vice President