EVERETT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
EVERETT, WASHINGTON
Regular Meeting
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The Board of Directors of Everett Public Schools, Snohomish County, Washington, held a regular Board meeting on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, beginning at 4:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the Educational Service Center, 4730 Colby Avenue, Everett, Washington. Those in attendance were: Carol Andrews, Sue Cooper, Kristie Dutton, Karen Madsen and Ed Petersen.
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ADOPTION OF AGENDA
President Cooper called for any changes to the agenda. Superintendent Gary Cohn indicated that there would be a revised Personnel Report. With that, Ed Petersen moved for adoption of the revised agenda. Kristie Dutton seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
| | ADOPTION OF AGENDA
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Karen Madsen moved to adopt the minutes of the regular meeting of September 8, 2009. Carol Andrews seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Karen Madsen moved to adopt the minutes of the special meeting of September 14, 2009. Carol Andrews seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
| | APPROVAL OF MINUTES
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SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS
Over the weekend, Dr. Cohn attended a male vocal workshop. The talent of these young people was superb and he thought it would be enjoyable to have a small team share their skills at tonight’s meeting. As such, he and the Board welcomed five performers from Cascade High School who sang the National Anthem a cappella. Each student was introduced and spoke of why they are in the chorus. Their instructor is Laurie Capello.
Dr. Cohn reported that this year’s beginning of school was outstanding. He called on Executive Director for Finance and Operations Jeff Moore who talked about enrollment and staffing. He reported that enrollment is 61 over projection and anticipated to grow to 110 over the official October 1 projection. In terms of levels, the enrollment numbers show 124 over at elementary, 16 over at middle, and slightly under at high school. Staffing has been very accurate, things went better than normal, and the final steps have been a matter of placing the right people in the right places. Dr. Cohn said the staffing and enrollment meetings have been incredibly well done; they are extremely efficient and effective, with outstanding teamwork, positive energy and strong dedication to keep commitments to staff, parents and the board.
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Next, Dr. Cohn reported that Gateway Middle School has won recognition as a Great School by Phi Delta Kappa (PDK)-Washington State in collaboration with the Center for Educational Effectiveness. Gateway is among 104 schools in the state that will be honored at an upcoming luncheon recognizing sustained improvement in student achievement as measured by seven years of WASL test scores. He shared the media release and extended kudos to the whole team at Gateway (E:16/10).
Dr. Cohn said a note was received from organizers of the Seattle Breast Cancer three-day event thanking the district for its assistance. Approximately 2,200 walkers gave of their time; $5.5 million was raised. District facilities rental staff did a superb job helping prepare for the event.
Dr. Cohn’s office is arranging a luncheon with community members of color.
In closing, Dr. Cohn spoke of a few of the many encounters he has had since the beginning of school. For example, he had a conversation with the Everett High School ASB president while at that school. He and Jim McNally went to Jackson High School where they visited the cafeteria and had lunch with several JHS students. At North Middle School, Dr. Cohn had wonderful conversations with 7th grader Mitch Wehalt and instructor Mary Stolmeier. At Madison Elementary, Dr. Cohn toured the school and visited classrooms. Prior to the first day of school, Dr. Cohn also recorded a video for Madison students welcoming them to the school year. Each school visit has been unique and special.
| | SUPT’S COMMENTS
SUPT’S COMMENTS
(cont’d.)
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PUBLIC COMMENT
Following a reading of the guidelines for public comment, President Cooper welcomed Kristi Gillihan. She is the parent of two students at Eisenhower and Cascade High School. She is also the president for the band boosters and is a color guard booster. She invited Dr. Cohn and the board to the Puget Sound Festival of Bands, to be held October 24. She stressed the importance of music in the core curriculum.
| | PUBLIC COMMENT
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RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
None.
| | RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
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ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
The Board heard a WSSDA presentation concerning the Lighthouse Project and discussed possible participation in the project. Present tonight were Phil Gore, Director of Leadership Development Services, who led the presentation (E:17/10). Also on hand were members of the Monroe School Board (Greg Accetturo, Debra Kolrud, Jim Scott) and the superintendent (Ken Hoover); Rich Parker, who is training to be a facilitator and is a board member in South Whidbey School District; and Dr. Kenneth Jones. The Lighthouse Project is an 11-year study of the relationship between school board leadership and student learning. Washington’s Lighthouse Project is a collaborative, research-based leadership and governance undertaking that leads to high and equitable student achievement. Following a PowerPoint presentation, Phil reviewed findings and key results from Phases I, II, and III (attached). He outlined the seven conditions and indicators for productive change, talked about the preliminary conclusions and the challenges. During training, boards are involved in highly interactive activities that are engaging, thought-provoking and challenging. Training is every other month plus other meetings with the superintendent and data people. It is best to have a dedicated workshop rather than attaching it to a board meeting. WSSDA requests a five-year commitment to the project, but it is a two-year training span. Phil said there will be flexibility in scheduling the meetings and the district would likely have the same facilitator throughout. When asked why the district should take time from other issues and put it into Lighthouse, Phil replied that it has the potential to focus work and bring it in under one purpose.
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LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT PARTICIPATION
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The Administration presented an update of 2009 summer projects (E:18/10). Executive Director for Facilities and Operations Mike Gunn reviewed a PowerPoint presentation showing some of the many projects from summer 2009.
| | 2009 SUMMER PROJECTS UPDATE
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The Administration provided an overview of the status of the class of 2009 with a discussion of summer school intervention activities and a projection of graduation status for the class of 2010 (E:19/10). Chief Academic Officer Terry Edwards reviewed a PowerPoint presentation and outlined the district graduation rate for the period 2003-2009, showed cohort graduation rates, shared demographic data, discussed summer school and credit recovery, and shared the total number of credits earned in summer school 2009. Everett’s graduation rate is 81.5 percent, and the extended graduation rate is 77 percent. At the conclusion of Terry’s presentation, Dr. Cohn said this is remarkable data. President Cooper concurred and said it is great to hear about it. The data gets more sophisticated all the time.
| | PROGRESS TOWARD GRADUATION—SUMMER SCHOOL 2009
PROGRESS TOWARD GRADUATION—SUMMER SCHOOL 2009 (cont’d.)
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ACTION ITEMS
Ed Petersen moved for approval of the revised consent agenda. Karen Madsen seconded the motion.
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CONSENT AGENDA
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1) Personnel Report (revised) (E:20/10);
2) Voucher Lists (E:21/10);
3) 2009-2010 OSPI Drug Omnibus Grant in the Amount of $41,340 to Provide Drug & Alcohol Interventionist Services (E:22/10);
4) Transportation of Students in District-Owned Vehicles (E:23/10);
5) Membership on Gertrude Jackson Advisory Board (E:24/10).
The motion carried unanimously.
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The Administration recommended the establishment of the attached facility use fee schedule for the Everett High School Little Theater to be incorporated into Procedure 4333P, effective October 1, 2009 (E:25/10). Mike Gunn reported that the Little Theater renovations are complete and the facility is ready to be made available for use. Rates with other facilities were compared and the attached schedule was derived.
The category groupings are the same as the civic auditorium. Mike noted that a correction needed to be made in the second bulleted item at the bottom of the document, deleting the words “Saturday, Sunday, non-school days and holidays.” The sentence should read, “A minimum of two hours in technician charges, at $30 per hour for use shall be charged; however, the District reserves the right to waive the technician requirement based on the type of use.”
With no further discussion, Karen Madsen moved for adoption of the attached facility use fee schedule, as amended, for the Everett High School Little Theater to be incorporated into Procedure 4333P, effective October 1, 2009. Kristie Dutton seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
| | ESTABLISHMENT OF FACILITY USE FEE SCHEDULE FOR EVERETT HIGH SCHOOL LITTLE THEATER
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BOARD COMMENTS
Board member Petersen reported that a meeting is being arranged with the Rotary Club and district staff who are in Rotary to brainstorm ways to establish a strong connection with a significant constituency in the community. For example, principals might be asked, “If you could dream of anything that Rotary could do to support the district, what would that be?” Board member Madsen suggested that one answer might be to provide dictionaries for youngsters fluent in their own language (Swahili, for example) who want to learn English—e.g., English/Swahili dictionaries.
| | BOARD
COMMENTS
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BOARD ACTION AND/OR BOARD DISCUSSION
The Board reviewed and considered for adoption its Board Operating Protocol (E:26/10). Board member Dutton said this is a wonderful document and represents a great game plan. It will be reviewed on an annual basis.
With no further discussion, Ed Petersen moved for adoption of the Board Operating Protocol. Carol Andrews seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
Dr. Cohn said the operating protocol will be broadcast widely.
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ADOPTION OF BOARD OPERATING PROTOCOL
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The Board reviewed and considered for approval its Board Work Plan (E:27/10).
Karen Madsen moved to adopt the Board work plan for 2009-2010. Ed Petersen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
| | APPROVAL OF BOARD WORK PLAN
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The Board reviewed and discussed the list of reports to the Board for the 2009-2010 school year (E:28/10). The only recommendation is to consider holding the art show receptions on non-Board meeting days.
With no further comments, President Cooper called for a 30 minute recess at 7:30 p.m.
President Cooper re-convened the regular meeting at 8 p.m.
| | REPORTS TO THE BOARD
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The Board and the Administration discussed potential levy structures and scheduled dates to support a ballot measure(s) to be placed before the voters in early 2010 (E:29/10).
Executive Director for Finance and Operations Jeff Moore reviewed a PowerPoint presentation which included information about state funding shortfalls, the significance of local levy funding, other forms of local support for Everett, preliminary recommendations, next steps and communications timelines.
| | STUDY SESSION—M & O LEVY, CAPITAL LEVY PARAMETERS
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The Board discussed its legislative priorities (E:30/10).
| | LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
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With no further discussion, President Cooper adjourned the regular meeting at 9 p.m.
_____________________________ ________________________________
Gary Cohn, Secretary Sue Cooper, President
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