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, September 9, 2003, 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, Karen Madsen, Paul Roberts and Roy Yates.

ADOPTION OF AGENDA President Madsen called for any recommended changes to the agenda. Superintendent Whitehead reported that the Board would be presented with a revised Personnel Report. With no further changes, Paul Roberts moved for adoption of the revised agenda. Kristie Dutton seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES Kristie Dutton moved for approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of August 26, 2003. Sue Cooper seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS Superintendent Whitehead reported that the 2003-2004 school year began smoothly and is the best opening she has experienced since coming to Everett. There is a positive atmosphere among the staff; enrollment numbers are approximately as expected; and the buildings looked wonderful, especially those facilities that received recent upgrades. The Administration will provide a presentation to the Board, including photographs, of the upgrades at a future Board meeting.

Regarding enrollment, Associate Superintendent of Finance and Operations Jeff Riddle reported that yesterday’s fourth-day headcount was 18,107, and is on target with projections. Kindergarten numbers are above projection and that is a good sign. K-5 numbers are slightly above projections. Middle school numbers are near target. High school numbers show some changes. Ninth grade enrollment is not what was expected, which is the second year this has happened. It appears more of the freshman population is enrolling at Archbishop Murphy High School. Eleventh and twelfth grade numbers are running higher than projected. Overall, it is expected that enrollment figures will be on target for the District’s budgeted projections. Dr. Whitehead added that, as is the case with enrollment projections, students do not always appear where anticipated, so adjustments must be made. Friday, September 12, will be the deadline by which the Administration makes final decisions about staffing placements. Thanks to the use of conservative budgeting practices and because the District started the year by hiring several guest teachers rather than permanent hires, it will be possible to offer contracts to some of those guest teachers while others will be let go, depending upon final enrollment numbers. Overall, said Dr. Whitehead, during the first days of school, the District transported its students to and from school safely and efficiently. However, it is clear that the construction work in the south end will present transportation challenges. Dr. Whitehead referred to last week’s Friday packet to the Board, in which it was mentioned that Mill Creek, Penny Creek and Jefferson Elementary Schools have been selected as sites for the United Way Day of Caring on September 19—Sonosite, JCPenney and Fred Meyer have “adopted” these schools for that day and will perform landscaping and grounds maintenance. Two more schools, Emerson and Whittier Elementary Schools, will be adopted by Premera Blue Cross and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Dr. Whitehead went on to note that Director of Maintenance Gary Jefferis is meeting tonight with neighborhood residents of the Educational Service Center who are interested in “ adopting” its rose garden and performing some light maintenance. Gary will provide the guidelines for this arrangement. Similar volunteer efforts are in place at some of the schools and are a good example of community involvement and cooperation. Everett’s Assistance League recently opened its new facility and Dr. Whitehead attended the ribbon cutting of this beautiful facility. Operation School Bell, a program designed to clothe children in need, is also housed at the site. The new building contains attractive dressing rooms and a nice shopping area. Last year, Operation School Bell operated out of a portable structure at Hawthorne Elementary School while it awaited completion of its new permanent facility. They credited Everett Public Schools’ Board of Directors with making it possible for them to use the space at Hawthorne. While at Hawthorne, the program clothed more than 1,800 children. Over the life of Operation School Bell, more than 40,000 children have been clothed. Associate Superintendent for Instruction Karst Brandsma shared copies of a brochure entitled, “Saving Lives in Schools.” This educational supplement is presented by The National Center for Early Defibrillation and will be inserted into a number of national magazines and journals (E:02/04). The insert outlines the benefits of having AEDs (automatic external defibrillators) on school sites and spotlights Everett Public Schools. It contains photos of EHS students, the school, Dr. Whitehead and Mr. Brandsma. The advent of this program is an important step in helping schools to be a safer place for students and staff. By the end of this school year, each of Everett’s secondary schools will have an AED, as will most auxiliary sites. Dr. Whitehead shared a portion of a training video concerning the District’ ;s new telephone and computer systems. She also shared a folder about the systems (attached).

PUBLIC COMMENTS There was no public comment.

RECOGNITION OF RETIREES Director of Communications Gay Campbell announced that no retirees were present.

ITEMS FOR INFORMATION Financial Reports were provided for the Board of Directors’ review (E:03/04). The reports include year-to-date information on revenues and expenditures, General Fund projections, a cash report and an investment summary. Jeff Riddle said the District will end the year slightly “in the black,” which is considerably better than when the year began. This is the third consecutive year where drastic reductions in spending have been seen late in the year, which is indicative of a level of economic caution as well as looking forward to future needs.

ACTION ITEMS Roy Yates moved for approval of the following Consent Agenda items. Sue Cooper seconded the motion.

Personnel Report—REVISED (E:04/04);
Voucher Lists (E:05/04);
Contract Between Everett School District No. 2 & Acute Care, Inc., to Provide Nursing Services for 2003-2004 School Year (E:06/04);
Approval of Grant for Title V Part A Innovative Programs (E:07/04); &
Approval of Annual Grant for State Transitional Bilingual Funds (E:08/04).

The motion carried unanimously.

BOARD ACTION AND/OR BOARD DISCUSSION President Madsen announced that a Board work session will be held following the November 4 Board meeting to conduct the Board’s self-evaluation. The Board will use the feedback from the series of questions that are being distributed to a variety of audiences. The results of the survey questions will be tallied and distributed to the Board by Friday, October 31. In addition, the Board will complete two self-evaluation documents—one that has been used in past years, and one that Board member Dutton obtained at a national conference. Board members are to complete and return the two self-evaluation documents to the Superintendent’s office by October 21.

BOARD COMMENTS Board member Roberts thanked all for a great opening of school. With no further comments, President Madsen adjourned the regular meeting at 4:55 p.m.

_________________________ ________________________________ Carol Whitehead, Secretary Karen Madsen, President