MINUTES
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Washington County School District
121 W Tabernacle, St. George, Utah 84770
September 14, 2010
4:00 p.m.
A regular meeting of the Board
of Education of the Washington County School District was held after
due, legal, and timely notice being given to all members and interested
parties. Board President Kelly Blake called the meeting to order
and welcomed all visitors. Board members present were Wendell
Gubler, Craig Seegmiller, Carole Morris, Laura Hesson, Travis
Christiansen. Board member Wes Christiansen was excused.
Staff members present were Superintendent Max H. Rose and Business
Administrator Brent Bills.
OPEN MEETING – 4:00 p.m.
Board President Welcome – Kelly Blake
Pledge of Allegiance – Member Morris
Reverence – Member Seegmiller
CONSENT AGENDA
A. Minutes:
August 10, 2010
B. Purchases over $10,000
C. Personnel Items
D. 150-mile Reports
E. Little Valley Elementary School LAND Trust Plan Change
F. Bloomington Elementary School LAND Trust Plan Change
G. UCA Goals
Richard Holmes explained the UCA application we are required to
complete and return to the state. He mentioned it is similar to
CSIP. The five goals for our District include improving academic
achievement in English Language Arts, improving academic achievement in
math, increasing parent involvement and improve parent/school
communication, expanding the scope and fully implementing Professional
Learning Communities to address the whole child, and increasing our
graduation rates. All departments also add their goals as part of
the application. Richard Holmes said the application includes the
goals and the actions and strategies to complete the goals.
Superintendent Max Rose said that there are goals to target the gifted
students as well.
A copy of the completed documents will be given to the Board at the end of the month.
Richard Holmes explained the TSA migrant teacher expense on the over
$10,000 report. He said that we qualify for some migrant funds in
the Enterprise because it is considered an agricultural farming
area. Funds are being used to hire a teacher, purchase computer
lab equipment, and provide evening classes for those needing extra help
in both the elementary and the high school. Funds can also be
used to help cover the cost for students to participate in extra
curricular activities. The TSA makes contact with the parents to
make sure they are aware of the program funds. The amount we
receive will fluctuate from year-to-year.
Brent Bills explained the Korean intern housing expense. He said
that it is actually a flow through expense. The government pays
for the Korean interns to come for one month.
Brent Bills said that the literacy program for the 1st year would cost
about 1.5 million. Rex Wilkey said we are receiving very positive
feedback on the program. The District is monitoring schools and
trying to provide as much support as possible.
The expenses for machine maintenance are all pre-paid expenses.
Member Seegmiller presented a motion
to approve the Consent Agenda items A through G. Member Morris
seconded the motion that passed. Member Blake abstained for
personal reasons.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON BOARD ACTION ITEMS
No comments were given.
BOARD ACTION ITEMS
NIMS Policy Adoption
LuAnne Forrest reported on the emergency shooter after action
meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to review the
exercise, evaluation and review communications, and review the
collaboration with the first responders in an emergency. They did
find an error with the lockdown procedure. They also found that
the IT department needs continued live updates for the website
communication. The exercise also brought up questions with
training protocol such as who has the authority to call 911, how to
deal with the injured, and should teachers open doors to let students
in once they are in lockdown. The exercise also taught staff that
it could be difficult to do things under stress. The level of
collaboration with the first responders was awesome. Four
scenarios were done during the exercise to let different law agencies
practice. Equipment from Dixie High School was used in the last
scenario allowing school personnel to talk with law enforcement
agencies. LuAnne Forrest played a video clip and sound bite from
the last scenario. LuAnne Forrest said that collaboration is
necessary which is the basis of the NIMS resolution. Several of
our policies have bits and pieces that she would like to review in the
future. She said at this point she would like Board
acknowledgement and support of the NIMS resolution. The NIMS
resolution was provided in the August Board Meeting. The Board
would like to review the resolution wording but approved for LuAnne to
proceed in the direction she is going. The policy adoption was
shelved with no changes to the policy.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
2011-2012 Calendar
The 2011-2012 Calendar already received Board approval except for the
Fall Break dates. Having Fall Break on Friday/Monday seemed
to work last year. It was mentioned that secondary schools argued
that two 4-day weeks are easier than a 3-day week. The only
response received related to calendaring were issues with the fair and
Back-to-School Nights.
Policy 3510 Bullying and Hazing
Marybeth Fuller explained that the revisions to Policy 3510 are to
address conflicting and duplicated procedures. The changes
include clarifications to give students a better understanding and will
bring in curriculum to address issues. She said that she did
consult with Carol Lear at the State Office of Education.
Employee conflicts and grievances should be handled differently than
students. Students should be covered under this policy and
employees should be covered under Policy 1720. Travis
Christiansen said she should make sure we do not have any gaps in
policy.
Student Achievement – 2010 CRT & DWA
Brad Ferguson reviewed the CRT and DWA results. He said that the
state software allows the students to practice the DWA. Results
for fifth grade show that the state caught up with our District, which
may be due to keyboarding skills. The eighth grade students are
still above the state average. Brad Ferguson said we are at
or above the state on the CRT in all grade levels 2nd -11th. In
Language Arts 82% of our students are proficient. Intervention
programs are making a difference with ESL and low-income students and
with all students in secondary schools. Brad Ferguson pointed out
that math can only be compared the last two years with the new program
implementation. Results show that 72% of our students are
proficient. He mentioned that we are starting to see a payoff
with placement. He also pointed out that we are starting to see
students’ come through that used the Growing with Math
program. Algebra II was added this year for the first time.
The District showed nice gains in science with 75% of the students
proficient. This is one area that doesn’t have a lot or
resources. PLCs may be helping with the improvements in science.
INFORMATION AND REPORTS
District Recognitions and Awards
Superintendent’s Award for Excellence
Laurel Peterson, Teacher, Dixie High School
Susan Walker, Secretary, Dixie High School
Kristi Rich, Teacher, Panorama Elementary
Terol Johnson, Take Home Library Assistant, Panorama Elementary
Ana Csere, Bilingual Assessment Technician, Special Education
Volunteer of the Month:
Roger Christensen, Dixie High School
Lisa St. Thomas, Panorama Elementary
Hollee Cullen, Special Education – 2010 Chrysalis Make a Difference Award
Superintendent Max Rose reported on the presentations done in the
schools. He recognized Hollee Cullen for the award she received
from Chrysalis. He made mention of the article in the St. George
Magazine recognizing Kathryn Leany.
The Board presented Ana Csere with the Superintendent’s Award for Excellence.
Reports:
Superintendent
Board
Carole Morris mentioned the ATC Technology Board presentation.
She said that the ATC needs a facility to accommodate the
students. Superintendent Max Rose agreed it might be an area to
support. Kelly Blake suggested that the Board could look at
property owned by the District that could be leased to them. It
would need to be a large track of land. Wendell Gubler said he
would be concerned about it affecting our bond.
Association
Kathleen Wagner, WCEA, said that the Education Jobs Act has been in the
works for months. The National Legal Council said that the state
has no authority to say how the funding is used. It is up to the
local school districts.
She also shared concerns with the calendar. She said she has
heard from the building reps that the calendar was not shown to
them. They can concerns with the Fall Break and the SEOP Comp Day
being used on the minimum day before Thanksgiving Break.
Superintendent Max Rose suggested that she email the teacher input to
the Board. Kathleen Wagner suggested setting up a Survey Monkey
poll to see what teachers would like. Laura Hesson suggested
putting the survey on the District website. Kathleen Wagner said
that elementary teachers said the extended SEOP days were too
long. Nadine Walters said her teachers appreciated the comp day
off.
Kathleen Wagner shared concern with the bullying policy. She said
that the employee grievance policy doesn’t address all the
issues. There are different types of harassment. She also
made reference of a book from a professional training.
Curtis Cozzens, AFT, said he was grateful to visit with the
administration on negotiations. He said they also appreciate the
incentive and think they have an idea for the classified employees
incentive funds.
PTA/PTO/Community Council
No comments were given.
PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD – 3 min. each
1. Pam Graf, WCSD Foundation, invited Board members to attend the
annual Foundation Rodeo Fundraising Breakfast. The breakfast will
be held at the Elks Field, Saturday, September 18 from 8:00 –
11:00 a.m. The cost is $5.00 per plate and is a great opportunity
to raise funds for the students of Washington County.
The Board adjourned back to a working session.
