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, January 27, 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.
[Board member Petersen was delayed in arriving until the beginning of the Superintendent’s Comments.]
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ADOPTION OF AGENDA
President Cooper called for any changes to the agenda. Interim Superintendent Karst Brandsma reported that there would be a revised Personnel Report. With that, Karen Madsen 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
Kristie Dutton moved for adoption of the minutes of the regular meeting of January 13, 2009. Carol Andrews seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
| | APPROVAL OF MINUTES
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[Board member Petersen arrived at this point in the Board meeting.]
SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS
Mr. Brandsma opened his comments by talking about the opportunity he had to attend the presidential inauguration. Two million people were there. It was an awesome experience. Also present for the inauguration was a group of 20 Cascade High School students along with CHS instructors Melissa Webster, Kelly Rogers and Mike Wilson. Melissa talked about the planning that went into making the trip. Local legislators helped them get tickets to the event. Some of the students attended tonight’s Board meeting & offered reactions to the experience such as, “It was democracy in action.” “It was lifechanging.” “The unity was great.” “I was excited to be a part of history.” One of the instructors said, “It is the best educational experience I have been involved in.”
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SUPT’S COMMENTS
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The new State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn recently unveiled his plans for a new state assessment system beginning in 2010, including the replacement of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Chief Academic Officer Terry Edwards said there is the worry among staff that students will lose focus on the WASL when, in reality, the WASL is still in place, is still important, is still a graduation requirement and will still happen this April. So far, there does not appear to be a lot of detail about the new assessment system, including how districts will accomplish the task of administering and managing the assessment. OSPI is conducting webinars and other meetings to work through the details. The District plans to continue to be involved wherever possible. Mr. Brandsma said he will keep the Board updated and inform them when and if there are actions the Board can take.
Mr. Brandsma continued, saying that the House will be voting on HR 1 in the other Washington this week. Passage will bring federal funding to the states to help stimulate the economy. Every school district across the country stands to financially benefit from this important piece of legislation.
Karst said the open house to showcase the Garfield Elementary School modernization will be May 11. The one for Silver Lake Elementary will be May 13.
Mr. Brandsma circulated a collection of thank-you notes prepared by some of the students who had the opportunity to attend a concert last October which was held at the Civic Auditorium and was the result of the District partnering with the Everett Symphony. The concert was made possible thanks to a grant from the Greater Everett Community Foundation and individual donations to the Everett Symphony Education Fund. Over 2,800 fourth and fifth graders from all District elementary schools registered to attend the event, which was held during the school day on October 30. The Symphony provided, among other things, the orchestra and a curriculum package for elementary music teachers, while the District provided, among other things, use of the auditorium, transportation for the children to the auditorium, and release time for the music teachers.
North Middle School principal Kelly Shepherd, representing the EASA (Everett Association of School Administrators), commended the Board on the work that they do on behalf of Everett’s students and its community. In recognition of January being School Board Appreciation Month, Ms. Shepherd announced that a donation from the EASA on behalf of the Board was made to the Everett Public Schools Foundation. She also presented the Board with a Certificate of Recognition (E:112/09). President Cooper thanked Ms. Shepherd and said it is an honor to serve with this Board and in this District.
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SUPT’S COMMENTS
(cont’d.)
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PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
| | PUBLIC COMMENT
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RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
None.
| | RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
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ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
The Administration provided a status report and addressed the following Strategic Plan actions: 2.3a—Implement the Everett Public Schools recruitment plan, with continued emphasis on expanding diversity and attracting quality substitutes; and 2.3c—Monitor staff retention data with emphasis on retaining paraeducators.
Executive Director for Human Resources Lynn Evans introduced Randi Seaberg (Director of Certificated Staffing/Benefits), Carol Stolz (Director of Classified Staffing/Substitute Employment Services), and Betty Cobbs (Director of Teacher Support/Recruiting). Via a PowerPoint presentation, Randi shared a look back at 2008, a look forward to 2009-2010 recruiting initiatives, efforts to address diversifying the employment pool, projecting 2009-2010 staffing needs and the focus of the recruiting schedule (E:113/09). The District is renewing its arrangement with City University for paraeducators to become teachers. The University of Washington (Bothell) Secondary Program is offering a two-year certificate and endorsement program and students are doing their student teaching at Jackson High School. Student intern/teacher affiliation agreements are in place for 100 student interns/teachers from 17 universities and four states. The District is using recruiting initiatives to “grow our own.” This includes Education Pathways for Students of Color. In terms of classified staff, recruiting includes in-person activities, and online as well as print advertising. Randi then talked about substitute staff as well as the Winocular online application system. She then talked about new-hires by ethnicity and results of a new staff survey about why the person chose Everett. She showed charts indicating certificated and paraeducator staff retention. She closed by talking about plans for the future. President Cooper thanked Randi for her thorough report and said she marvels at the depth of recruiting efforts.
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REPORT—EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
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Financial reports as of November 2008 and December 2008 were provided for the Board of Directors’ review (E:114/09). The reports include year-to-date information on revenues and expenditures, General Fund projections, a cash report and an investment summary. Director of Finance Jeff Moore said the ending fund balance for December was $9.183 million which is on target for projections. President Cooper said she is impressed with the effort that has been put into establishing cost-saving measures.
| | FINANCIAL REPORTS
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ACTION ITEMS
Ed Petersen moved for approval of the revised Consent Agenda. Kristie Dutton seconded the motion.
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CONSENT AGENDA
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1) Personnel Report (revised) (E:115/09);
2) Voucher Lists (E:116/09);
3) Resolution 932: Intergovernmental Purchasing Agreement for the Purpose of Establishing an Interlocal Agreement with Northwest ESD 189 for the Northwest Learning Center Cooperative (Res. 14/09);
4) Resolution 933: Intergovernmental Purchasing Agreement for the Purpose of Establishing an Interlocal Agreement with Northwest ESD 189 for the Snohomish Discovery Cooperative (Res. 15/09);
5) Resolution 934: Intergovernmental Purchasing Agreement for the Purpose of Establishing an Interlocal Agreement with Northwest ESD 189 for the Snohomish County Public Schools Information Cooperative (Res. 16/09);
6) 2009 Snohomish County Human Services Department Signature Authorization Form (E:117/09);
7) Amendment to Contract with Snohomish County for the Operation of the Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program (ECEAP) (E:118/09);
8) Final Acceptance: HVAC Upgrades at Cedar Wood & Mill Creek Elementary Schools (E:119/09);
9) Approval of Mitigation Agreement Between Everett School District and Terrence & Jennifer McNatt in the Amount of $1,728 (E:120/09);
10) Proposed Revised Policy 3610—Child Custody (regarding the absence of a court order) (E:121/09).
The motion carried unanimously.
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The Administration recommended the Board of Directors approve the attached 2009 Summer School Tuition Fee Schedule (E:122/09). The District offers a summer school option to students in grades 9-12 in order to provide students with an opportunity to recover missing credits or to take classes to move ahead in their high school program. The District does not receive state funding to support summer school and must charge tuition to cover the expenses of the program. The District sets fees for summer school tuition annually. Terry Edwards reported that the program is working harder at being self-sustaining. It costs approximately $5,500 to run one summer school session. Everett Public Schools Foundation (EPSF) will provide 100 scholarships which will be targeted for students who are credit deficient and qualify for free-&-reduced lunch status. The District is going out and finding those students and encouraging them to go to summer school. This year’s projected enrollment is murky, but will probably be over 500 students. Board member Petersen commended Terry for the good work of the program.
With no further discussion, Karen Madsen moved for approval of the aforementioned 2009 Summer School Tuition Fee Schedule. Ed Petersen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.
| | SUMMER SCHOOLTUITION
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BOARD COMMENTS
Board member Dutton noted two upcoming events:
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EPSF Benefit breakfast—April 9—7:30 a.m.
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Superintendent Scholar Awards—May 14—7 a.m.—
Everett Golf & Country Club
Board member Madsen reported that she recently attended an awards ceremony at Evergreen Middle School to recognize students who are successful in ways other than academic. Called the HIP Award, students are honored for being helpful, showing initiative and making progress during the trimester.
President Cooper reported that individuals are expressing interest in the superintendent vacancy and applications are arriving. A date after February 5 (the closing date for submission of applications) will need to be determined for the Board to review the applications.
| | BOARD
COMMENTS
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BOARD ACTION AND/OR BOARD DISCUSSION
The Board discussed the process for its self-evaluation. Board member Dutton reported that she and Board member Andrews did research and found some alternatives to the existing Board self-evaluation form. She distributed the new form (E:123/09). It offers more scoring opportunities and choices within each category. She suggested giving the new form a try among the Board members for this year and then next year consider asking others in the District to complete it as well.
President Cooper called for a 15-minute rest break at 6 p.m.
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BOARD SELF-EVALUATION
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President Cooper re-convened the regular meeting at 6:15 p.m. and moved immediately into a closed session for the purpose of discussing collective bargaining. It was announced the session would be of approximately 40 minutes’ duration. At 6:55 p.m., the door was opened to announce the session would continue for 20 minutes. The session concluded at 7:15 p.m. and President Cooper called for a five-minute rest break.
| | CLOSED SESSION—DISCUSS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
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At 7:20 p.m., President Cooper re-convened the regular meeting and moved immediately into executive session to review the performance of an employee; specifically, to conduct the Superintendent’s mid-year evaluation. It was announced the session would be of approximately 40 minutes’ duration. At 8 p.m., the door was opened to announce the session would continue for 40 minutes.
| | EXEC. SESSION—REVIEW PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEE—SUPT’S MID-YEAR EVALUATION
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President Cooper re-convened the regular meeting at 8:40 p.m. and adjourned immediately.
_______________________________ ________________________________
Karst Brandsma, Secretary Sue Cooper, President
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