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, June 23, 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 & Ed Petersen.

          		  
    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, Kristie Dutton moved for adoption of the revised agenda. Carol Andrews seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

          		 ADOPTION OF AGENDA
    APPROVAL OF MINUTES

    Karen Madsen moved to adopt the minutes of the special meeting of June 5, 2009. Kristie Dutton seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Carol Andrews moved to adopt the minutes of the regular meeting of June 9, 2009. Ed Petersen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Ed Petersen moved to adopt the minutes of the special meeting of June 11, 2009. Kristie Dutton seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

          		 APPROVAL OF MINUTES
    SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMENTS

    Mr. Brandsma called on Executive Director for Area One Jim McNally who announced that Madison & Silver Lake Elementaries have each received $2,335 from OSPI for being selected to receive the state’s 2009 Title I, Part A, Improvement Award which will be used to support their school’s continuing efforts to increase student academic success. Mr. Brandsma said that at the June 4 Leadership Team meeting, the group developed a list of accomplishments from the 2008-2009 school year. It consists of approximately four pages of single-spaced feedback which is being put into booklet format and should be ready for distribution by this fall.

     

    Karst said this year’s high school graduations saw well over 1,000 students crossing the stage, which is more than we have ever had.

          		 SUPT’S COMMENTS

     
    As has been reported in the past, the District will be removing petroleum-contaminated soil from four locations in the southeast corner of the Memorial Stadium site. The contamination was generated by previous owners of the property. It was originally planned as a site for a new central administration facility but, as previously announced, that building is on hold, given current economic conditions. However, during the initial soils testing of the site, the District learned that prior businesses located there (including gas stations), caused soil contamination that must now be eradicated. Once contamination is discovered, Department of Ecology regulations require removal of such materials even though the District was not responsible for the contaminating. The soil removal project is scheduled to begin in late June (following Board approval), with final completion anticipated by September 15. Director of Facilities & Planning Mike Gunn said the project will involve removing 2,650 cubic yards of soil and replacing with structural fill. Neighbors have been notified of the plan to remove the soil. The plan is for the project to begin on June 26. Tonight’s Consent Agenda contains Item 7a(9) seeking Board approval to award the bid for the soil remediation at a cost of $311,064.90 plus WSST, which is less than the $457,000 authorized by the Board in its call for bids on May 12, 2009.

     

    In the recent past, Board members have sought clarification regarding items on the Voucher List showing reimbursements to “Everett Public Schools.” Associate Superintendent for Finance & Operations Bob Collard reported that these payments represent interfund transfers that are made so that Payroll can charge the Capital Fund for their part of the payroll, to reimburse District imprest funds, and the reimbursement of the District’s bank fund for procurement cards, to name a few.

          		  

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    SUPT’S COMMENTS

    (cont’d.)
    PUBLIC COMMENT

    None.

          		 PUBLIC COMMENT

     
    RECOGNITION OF RETIREES

    None.
    		 RECOGNITION OF RETIREES

     
    ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

    The attached proposed revised Policy/Procedure 2410/2410P—High School Graduation Requirements was provided for first reading with adoption to be recommended at a future Board meeting (E:246/09). The proposed revisions relate to a name change in WASL, modification of the annual WASL testing requirement for students not meeting standard in mathematics, and clarification of Directed Athletics. The graduation requirements are modified periodically by the State and/or District. Tonight’s presentation was a follow-up to a previous Board presentation on the argumentative paper requirement.

     

    Chief Academic Officer Terry Edwards discussed the highlights of the proposed changes, as listed above. The argumentative paper will continue to be taught.

          		  

    PROPOSED REVISED POLICY/PROCEDURE 2410/2410P—H.S. GRAD. REQUIREMENTS  

    (regarding WASL testing requirement related to mathematics, name change in WASL, modification of argumentative paper requirement & clarification of Directed Athletics)—1st reading

     
    The attached proposed revised Policy/Procedure 3240—Student Conduct was provided for first reading with adoption to be recommended at a future Board meeting (E:247/09). The proposed revision relates to the misuse of laser pens and the unauthorized use of over-the-counter medications. Director of Communications Mary Waggoner commented briefly.

          		 PROPOSED REV. POLICY 3240—STUDENT CONDUCT   (regarding laser pens and over-the-counter medications)—1st reading    

       
    The attached proposed revised Policy/Procedure3323—Long-Term Suspension & Expulsion, was provided for first reading with adoption to be recommended at a future Board meeting (E:248/09). The revision is provided to clarify application information required according to the readmission section of this policy. Director of Communications Mary Waggoner commented briefly.

          		 PROPOSED REV. POLICY 3323—LONG-TERM SUSPENSION & EXPULSION   (regarding readmission)—1st reading

     
    The attached proposed revised Policy/Procedure 7141/7141P—Financial Management, was provided for first reading with adoption to be recommended at a future Board meeting (E:249/09). Revisions reflect recent changes in staff titles. Director of Communications Mary Waggoner commented briefly.

     

          		 PROPOSED REV. POLICY/PROCEDURE 7141/ 7141P—FINAN-CIAL MGMT.   (regarding changes in staff titles)—1st reading

     
    The attached proposed 2009-2010 Strategic Plan was provided for first reading with adoption to be recommended at a future Board meeting (E:250/09). The Strategic Plan is revised annually to direct the work of the District in the coming school year. Deputy Superintendent Matt McCauley distributed and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation for this topic (attached). It included a timeline for the processing of the plan, beginning in January, 2009 and up to and including this evening’s presentation, as well as noteworthy elements, one of which is Strategic Action 1.1c regarding implementation of the District Improvement Plan—this is a new component of the Strategic Plan. It was discussed later in tonight’s meeting. President Cooper said she is pleased to see the partnering with pre-school providers. The Board appreciates the inclusive nature of the Strategic Plan process this year and the ample opportunities the Board has had to contribute to the process. Board member Petersen echoed Mrs. Cooper’s comments and said he has a better understanding of the plan and feels more ownership of it. He clarified the name of the Superintendent’s Task Force on Diversity as well as the reference to “10%” in Strategic Action 1.3c. He further indicated that he appreciates the addition of the verbiage, “cultural awareness & multi-cultural competencies” in Strategic Action 1.4d. Board member Dutton said the draft plan is easy to read and the language is clear-cut. Board member Madsen commented on the brevity of the plan, but said she realizes this work is on top of the massive amount of work that has been done. Matt said the Administration appreciates the interest the Board has shown in being involved in developing the plan.

          		 2009-2010 STRATEGIC PLAN— 1st reading

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    2009-2010 STRATEGIC PLAN— 1st reading

    (cont’d.)
    Each year, the Board approves action items in the Strategic Plan to provide direction to the Administration to assist in focusing their work for the upcoming school year. The Strategic Actions are summarized annually at the conclusion of each year. The purpose of tonight’s report was to review the End-of-Year Strategic Plan report for the 2008-2009 school year (E:251/09). Karst reviewed how the Strategic Plan was presented in the past and called on Matt McCauley to describe this year’s process. He reviewed highlights related to the 2008-2009 Strategic Plan; presented information on the Superintendent’s Task Force on Diversity; and then during the Action Items part of tonight’s meeting, the District Improvement Plan was described and presented for adoption. Matt talked about the Reports to the Board that have happened throughout the year that relate to the Strategic Plan; and shared highlights of Student Learning Objectives 1, 2 & 3. Matt then talked about the composition, presentations, key learnings and, lastly, the recommendations of the Superintendent’s Task Force on Diversity (attached). Karst indicated that he accepted the Task Force recommendations with the caveat that the planned Diversity Committee include parents.

     

    President Cooper asked about the principals’ portal. Board member Madsen asked whether there is a mechanism in place to note that some teachers are especially effective in certain areas, to which Karst said yes. In fact, these teachers are sent ‘on the road’ to share with others. He suggested future Board presentations regarding the Professional Learning Communities and transition activities. Board member Madsen asked whether there is an increasing use of field testing, to which Terry Edwards said yes. Board member Petersen commented that this is a powerful and impressive collection of evidence. He then asked about the use of Spanish or heritage speakers and Terry elaborated.

          		 2008-2009 STRATEGIC PLAN END-OF-YEAR REPORT

     
    ACTION ITEMS

    Karen Madsen moved for approval of the revised Consent Agenda. Kristie Dutton seconded the motion.     		  


    CONSENT AGENDA
    1)  Personnel Report (revised) (E:252/09);

    2)  Voucher Lists (E:253/09);


    3)  Proposed Revised Policy 4333—Non-School Use of Buildings, Grounds & Equipment—(regarding non-discrimination) (E:254/09);

    4)  Proposed Adoption for Title I Elementary—Good Habits, Great Readers by Celebration Press/Pearson Education for Grades K-5 (E:255/09);  

    5)  Proposed Adoption for High School Novel for English Grades 9-12 (E:256/09);

    6)  Proposed Adoption of High School Mathematics Text—Modeling with    Mathematics by W.H. Freeman, 2006 (E:257/09);

    7)  Highly Capable Students Program (E:258/09);

    8)  Resolution 957: Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement for the  Purpose of Establishing an Interlocal Agreement with Northwest ESD 189 (Res.37/09);

    9)  Award of Bid: Memorial Stadium Soil Remediation (E;259/09);

    10)  Declaration of Surplus Property—Used Vehicles (E:260/09);

     

    11)  Final Acceptance: Building Network Infrastructure Modernization Data—    Package 5 (Sequoia High School, Maintenance/Operations and Athletics) (E:261/09);

    12)  2009-2010 Classified Non-Represented Non-Exempt, Maintenance/Operations &  Paraprofessionals Vacation Schedule & Technical Employees Vacation Schedule  (E:262/09);

    13)  2008-2009 Final Certificated Salary Schedule (E:263/09);

    14)  Revision of Salary Schedule for the Service Employees International Union,  Local 925, for the 2009-2010 School Year (E:264/09); and  

    15) Approval of Lease Between Everett School District and Stadium Espresso, Inc., for

       Property Adjacent to Everett Memorial Stadium (E:265/09).

    The motion carried unanimously.

           		  

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    CONSENT AGENDA

    (cont’d.)
    The Administration recommended the Board of Directors adopt the three-year (2009-2012) District Improvement Plan for mathematics (E:266/09). This multi-year plan will be reviewed and updated annually. The District annually adopts a Strategic Plan that also addresses improvement of student achievement.

     

    Terry Edwards described the three-year District Improvement Plan which is for math only and is a requirement of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Terry reviewed a PowerPoint for the evening’s presentation (attached). A district moves into NCLB Needs Improvement status when a sub-category in all levels fails to meet proficiency for two consecutive years. To exit needs improvement the District must meet proficiency in all cells at all levels. With the 2008 testing window, Everett moved into Needs Improvement status Step 1 in mathematics and is on the verge of moving into Needs Improvement status in reading. Once a district moves into Needs Improvement, they must notify parents in the district that the district failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress; and develop a three-year Plan of Improvement to guide the district’s efforts in helping all students reach proficiency in mathematics. The District Improvement Process begins with an in-depth examination of student achievement data. Student achievement data from across the District was disaggregated and analyzed. Terry shared data by special populations (Basic Education, Special Education, ELL, ELL/Special Education), grade level, socio-economic status, ethnicity, WASL levels, and met/not met standard. Findings were that poverty is the biggest obstacle to student achievement; poverty and membership in a special population creates a double hurdle for students; and ethnicity as an obstacle to student achievement is muted by the factors of poverty and membership in a special population. The impact of ethnicity on achievement was not clear in the data.

     

    A survey of educational effectiveness was conducted through the Center for Educational

    Effectiveness asking administrators across the District to give input in four broad categories: effective leadership; high quality teaching and learning; support for system-wide improvement; and clear and collaborative relationships. He showed a chart summarizing the data. Terry talked about the overlap between the Strategic Plan and the District Improvement Plan. There is also overlap between our School Improvement Plans, our Strategic Plan and our District Improvement Plan. District improvement strategies are to align District mathematics curriculum, instructional materials and formative and summative assessments to increase student achievement; foster a culture of academic excellence, equity and rigor by providing individual student data disaggregated by academic sub-group and student demographics; improve teacher practice through ongoing focused professional development; improve student academic engagement and achievement through extended day and extended school year interventions; and increase school to home and community to improve student learning. He then shared a sampling of the activities associated with the strategies, one among them being to create an office of On-Time Graduation (OTG) and District Improvement, to be staffed by JoAnne Fabian. Terry then distributed copies of an article by Richard Rothstein entitled, “Whose Problem is Poverty?” (attached).

    Following Board approval, the plan will be submitted to OSPI for their review and approval. Implementation of the plan will begin tomorrow. The plan will be modified if additional assessment data becomes available.

     

    The District Improvement Facilitator for Everett, Rich McCullough, commented briefly. Karst thanked him for being Everett’s District Improvement Facilitator.

      

    The Board asked why some low-income students achieve and others do not; the consequences of not getting out of AYP; and the use of stimulus and Title I dollars to work on the plan.

     

    President Cooper thanked staff for their work and diligence.

     

    With that, Karen Madsen moved to approve the 2009-2012 District Improvement Plan. Carol Andrews seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously.

           		 APPROVAL OF 2009-2012 DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    APPROVAL OF 2009-2012 DISTRICT IMPROVEMENT PLAN

    (cont’d.)
    BOARD COMMENTS

    Board member Andrews said she enjoyed this year’s graduations. They went smoothly, the graduates were well-behaved and the venue was excellent. Board member Madsen said she regretted missing this year’s graduations—she was out of town attending her daughter-in-law’s graduation in Chicago.

     

    In closing, Board member Petersen noted that tonight is Karst’s last Board meeting as superintendent. Mr. Petersen expressed his appreciation for the outstanding work Karst has done. Among the issues Karst dealt with this year were the surveillance challenge; media issues; the Board’s interest in elevating the dialogue with the diversity community; the Board’s desire to be more involved in the Strategic Plan; their desire for rebuilding good communications along the labor relations front; reduction of legal costs; having an open and transparent process regarding the budget; supporting legislation to secure six-year Board terms of office; working on property acquisition; planning a Central Administration facility; and the Board’s desire to have individual support for each Board member. He tackled many issues and did it well and should very feel good about it. Karst thanked the Board and said it takes a team to be successful and ours is fantastic. He appreciates the opportunity and it has been an honor and a pleasure. President Cooper said the list of accomplishments is even longer; she thanked Karst for all that he has done and extended best wishes upon his retirement. The Board and audience gave Karst a standing ovation.

          		 BOARD

    COMMENTS

     
    President Cooper adjourned the regular meeting at 7:20 p.m.

     

     

    _____________________________ ________________________________

    Karst Brandsma, Secretary     Sue Cooper, President     		    


     

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