Diane Blevins Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Proceedings of the Board of Trustees District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana March 16, 2009 CALL TO ORDER The Regular Board Meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2, Yellowstone County, Montana, and High School District, Yellowstone County, Montana, was duly held at The Lincoln Center, 415 North 30th Street, Billings, Montana, March 16, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. Members present included Trustees Peter Gesuale, Mary Jo Fox, Sandra Mossman, Katharin Kelker, Joel Guthals, Malcolm Goodrich, Kathy Aragon, Tim Trafford, Dawn Achten, Superintendent Jack Copps, and District Clerk Leo Hudetz. Registered guests included Mike Tuss, Keith Rupert, James Niemeyer, Julie Anderson, Weldon Birdwell, Nancy Fellows, Wendy Jam, Rachel Romei, Gary Romei, Kevin Nelson, Brad Kimball, Jerry Hansen, Deana Elder, Jon Dyer, Lee Kvilhaug, Alissa Brock, Stuart Dais, Carmelle Dais, Brady Dais, Pat Kennedy, Dennis Deppmeier, Marge Flynn, Bruce MacIntyre, Becky Shay, Janet Baum, Tom Frisby, and Nikki Laurenzo. COMMUNICATION FROM THE PUBLIC The Board recognizes the value of public comment on educational issues and the importance of listening to members of the public in its meetings. The Board also recognizes the statutory and constitutional right of the public to participate in governmental operations. The Board encourages members of the public to participate in and express opinions about issues important to the District. This part of the Board’s meeting is dedicated to public comment on any public matter that is not on the agenda of this meeting and is within the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees. Members of the public may also address particular items on this agenda either now or at the time the Board considers the particular item. Monica Fellows addressed the Board to voice her support of a new school on the Cottonwood property. She also supports the McKinley and Broadwater projects. Brad Kimbal reported he favored the Cottonwood project as the city is developing more areas around that property. Kevin Nelson voiced his opposition to the concept of a mill levy and urged the Board to ask the City to stop from establishing Tax Increment Districts (TIDs). APPROVAL OF AGENDA Leo Hudetz, District Clerk, reported there was an error on the original agenda for the date of the minutes to be approved. Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Achten: Motion to approve the amended agenda. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, and Tim Trafford. The motion passed unanimously. RECOGNITION AND GIFTS AND DONATIONS The Board recognized the following students as the Montana Science Bowl winners: Cate Hanna, Miles Otstot, Brady Davis, Madeline Carmody, Mikayla Nelson, and coaches Patrick Kenney and Debbie Bomar. Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Goodrich: Motion to accept the gifts with gratitude. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, and Tim Trafford. The motion passed unanimously. The following are the gifts and donations: Burlington -- Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc., $100 on behalf of Dena Robinson Mr. and Mrs. Edward Erickson, $40 for new computer lab Miles Avenue -- Good Earth Market, recycling bin Newman -- Downtown Billings Exchange Club, dictionaries for 3rd graders United Way of Yellowstone County, books for all K and 1st graders Pat Karell, coats for students Will James -- Lori Bell, TV, armoire, lighted Christmas tree STUDY SESSION ON FACILITY ISSUES Julie Anderson, Broadwater Task Force Chair, reported the committee is recommending renovation of the original building and construction of a new addition for Broadwater Elementary. School for students would not be interrupted during the construction. The proposed plan was reviewed by Keith Rupert, Christine Keller and Mike Tuss of CTA Architects. The proposed plan could support 400 students and would be similar to the Orchard project. The energy approach is similar to the plan proposed for McKinley. New lighting, windows, and ground pump heat is included in the plan. The proposed budget for 400 students is $12,203,488 for renovation and $11,778,703 for a new facility if the original were torn down. Broadwater Elementary School is listed on the National Historical Society’s registry. Trustee Guthals asked how comfortable the architects felt with a 15% contingency in their price. Mr. Rupert replied the amount was figured on the conservative side. Trustee Guthals asked what the architects would do to make Broadwater energy efficient. The historical building has very thick walls, which are energy efficient and new energy efficient windows would be installed. The roof would also be brought up to current standards. The annex would be torn down and a new addition put on the east side of the current building. Mr. Rupert recommended purchasing more land, if it were available, for more play area for students. Julie Anderson reported the residents of the area, during a neighborhood meeting, wanted to save the original building due to its historical value. A portion of the basement flooring would be replaced. It was projected that the Broadwater project would take less time than the proposed McKinley project. The original classrooms in the older section could not be enlarged and the wood floors would be redone. ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM OVERVIEW (ANNUAL REPORT) Woody Jensen, Director of Adult Education, along with Suzette Fox and Barb Gustafson, reported on the Adult Education Program. There were 243 students in the evening high school program for 2007-2008, with a total of 305 GED/High school diplomas awarded. For 2007-08, there were 660 students enrolled in the Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) program, 2,577 signed up for Community Education/Nite Owls, and 128 in summer school. There were 20 students recovered from the dropout rate who received their GEDs. Dr. Jensen reported the two major education industry growth areas are technology driven programs and the home school market. Suzette Fox reported Adult Education is developing work certificates for the work permit program. Adult Education staff has a goal to prove to the community that its programs are designed to serve them. Barb Gustafson stated staff is working on a line of certificates for the medical field. She has visited with various health department heads at the hospitals to develop certificates for the work program. Bruce MacIntyre reported there are 1,123 members of the Chamber of Commerce who are the recipients of those students coming out of these programs. The Chamber has received $250,000 per year for two years to educate employees of small businesses. Adult Education has the ability to react to economic times. The staff works closely with public services on soft skills for students. Tom Frisby, Montana Department of Industry, stated, with the number of layoffs in the work force, they look toward Adult Education to hone the students’ soft skills and computer skills. Dr. Jensen reported a report would also be given to the Budgeting for Results (BFR) Committee in the near future. INFORMATION ON STIMULUS PACKAGE Superintendent Copps stated money is coming from President Obama’s stimulus package for Title I and Special Education programs. There is maintenance of effort which would mean the District would have to maintain our funding for these programs a few years down the road and the District must maintain 50% of maintenance of effort of those expenditures. Stabilization funds are a significant amount of money to support and stabilize the schools. The total amount the state will receive is $149,000,000. Billings has 10% of the students in the State which would mean $14,900,000 to stabilize programs and for maintenance items. But that amount deteriorates because $12,200,000 is for K-12 education and 27% can be used for other educational programs. The legislators are now trying to capture some of the money that is supposed to go to K-12 education. Mr. Copps stated $86,000,000 should be a guarantee for K-12 schools. Legislator Bill Glazer wanted to replace $112,000,000 of State money with stimulus dollars. $10,000,000 in at risk dollars was taken by the legislators in school funding which would be replaced by one-time money so the $10,000,000 would be lost at the end of two years. Superintendent Copps stated this District is in dire straits as the State is only giving us a .7% increase. Without a reasonable amount of stimulus dollars, the District will be in serious trouble. It will be up to the Montana School Board Association (MTSBA) to file a challenge in court if the money does not go to education as stated in the stimulus plan. BUDGETING FOR RESULTS COMMITTEE REPORT Trustee Goodrich stated the BFR committee is looking at the District to start saving money. A good presentation was received by David Munson on special education programs. BFR will be looking at K-6 education next week, then on to the administration. Trustee Guthals reported $16,000,000 is being spent from the school budget’s general fund for special education programs with the remainder coming from the State level. REMOVE MILL LEVY ELECTION ITEMS FROM TABLE Superintendent Copps stated he recommended, given the times that we live in, that we do not go for a levy as it is a very difficult time for the District taxpayers. Trustee Guthals asked what the statutory criteria was. Clerk Hudetz reported the Board would have to make a decision by March 26th if it wanted to run a mill levy. A mill levy can also be run on another date as long as there is time to set the budget by August. Mr. Hudetz stated the Board has time if it preferred waiting to see what the legislators decide. Trustee Goodrich stated he had a hard time calling for a mill levy now due to the economy. If we run a mill levy, the legislators may think that they won’t have to shore up the funding. Trustee Goodrich felt the Board would be better served to wait until the end of the legislative session. Trustee Guthals stated he did not favor removing the item from the table. It was the consensus of the Board that the item should not be removed from the table. APPOINTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR Trustee Mossman reported the first order of business for the Planning and Development (P&A) Committee will be to solicit members to serve on the committee. Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Gesuale: Motion to approve Sandra Mossman as chair and Kathy Aragon as a member of the Planning and Development Committee. Trustee Aragon offered to co-chair the committee. Trustee Gesuale believed the last P&A committee members were left stranded and hoped they would be given the opportunity to return. Trustee Gesuale amended the motion to have Trustees Mossman and Aragon co-chair the committee. Trustee Achten seconded the amendment. Trustee Mossman stated she had some concerns in co-chairing as it could give the wrong signals to the members of the committee. Those voting in favor of the motion were Peter Gesuale, Mary Jo Fox, Dawn Achten, and Kathy Aragon. Those opposing were Malcolm Goodrich, Sandra Mossman, Katharin Kelker, Joel Guthals, and Tim Trafford. The amended motion failed. Those voting in favor of the original motion were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, and Tim Trafford. The motion passed unanimously. SCHOOL CALENDAR The Chair reported public input was sought and meetings were held with the bargaining units in regards to the school calendar. Human Resources Director Dan Martin stated meetings were held with MPEA, BCEA and the BEA regarding the District’s proposed calendars. The units agreed to move the spring break to the beginning of April for the best interest of the students. The bargaining units requested a discussion on school calendars in the near future. Any proposed changes to the 2010-11 calendar would go before the Calendar Committee before coming before the Board for approval. Trustee Trafford asked if the proposed calendar was not approved, would there be labor problems. Mr. Martin reported there would be no labor problems. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Mossman: Motion to adopt the proposed 2009-2010 as presented in the agenda. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, and Tim Trafford. The motion passed unanimously. 2009 LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE -- BPS BILLS Trustee Guthals reported that all eyes are on HB2 (funding bill) which has a good chance of moving to the Senate. Two other bills to watch are the cash reappropriation bill and HB15 which is a major bill to carry 3% for education by State funds. HB69 and HB70 offer more money for schools and are in limbo at this time. Trustee Mossman felt the relationship that the Board members have built with the legislators is starting to pay off. Trustee Guthals believed the communication with the legislators is very good and the AA caucus meetings are going well. POLICY 1130 COMMITTEES Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Gesuale: Motion to approve Policy 1130 Committees on third reading. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, and Tim Trafford. The motion passed unanimously. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT Superintendent Copps reported on the update of the Montana Quality Education Coalition’s (MQEC) case. A meeting was held this past week in a timely manner to decide whether to proceed by appealing the decision to the Supreme Court. A motion was not passed to proceed further and the motion was tabled. The deadline to appeal to the Supreme Court has passed and a new suit would have to be filed if MQEC decides to proceed. Mr. Copps did not believe the committee would decide to file a new suit. Superintendent Copps reported on the situation of unauthorized bank accounts for extracurricular activities and a particular case that was brought to the District’s attention. He has not determined that a school policy has been violated and the problem has now been corrected with the closing of all of those bank accounts. No general fund monies were held in these accounts. An audit report was conducted to determine if any charges should be filed. The finding was there was some inappropriate activity but it was determined that no charges should be filed. The full report will be made public next week. Trustee Fox asked, as there was a misrepresentation in an amount close to $400, should the District make consequences known on what would happen if there is a violation. Mr. Copps stated there are consequences if a person violates policy which would be determined at the time of the violation. The employee in question is no longer an employee of the District. Trustee Trafford asked if there would be any redefining of the procurement card (P-card) use. Mr. Copps reported that there has been as some employees to not need the use of a P-card in the summer months as occurred last summer. Superintendent Copps further stated that his recommendation is to continue to foster the community’s help in raising funds that help fund activities. Mr. Copps stated the results of the Berkley Survey regarding school facilities would be made available to the Board members if they wish. MONTHLY LEGAL REPORT There were no new lawsuits. There were no long-term suspensions. BILLS PAID -- FEBRUARY 2009 Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Achten: Motion to approve the bills paid for February 2009. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, and Tim Trafford. The motion passed unanimously. The following are the bills paid: Claims $4,241,734.39 ACH Tax Deposits 1,686,751.36 Payroll Warrants & Direct Deposits 5,598,913.34 Procurement Card 477,759.51 INTERCAP Loan 83,076.23 Network Infrastructure & Vehicle purchases TOTAL $12,088,234.83 FINANCIAL REPORTS -- FEBRUARY 2009 (UNAUDITED) The financial reports have been reviewed by the Budgeting for Results Committee. The following are the reports received: CS101 Account Expenditure by Fund CS102 Account Receipts by Fund CS105 Statement of Estimated and Actual Revenue CS108 Object Cost Analysis PERSONNEL REPORT There was nothing unusual to report in the Personnel Report. Trustee Gesuale made the following motion with a second by Trustee Achten: Motion to accept the Superintendent’s employment recommendations as presented in the Personnel Report. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, and Tim Trafford. The motion passed unanimously. CONSENT AGENDA Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Goodrich: Motion to approve and accept the items within the Consent Agenda without objection to recommended action. Those voting in favor were Dawn Achten, Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, and Tim Trafford. The motion passed unanimously. Items contained within the Consent Agenda are as follows: Regular Board Meeting Minutes, February 16, 2009 Special Board Meeting Minutes, February 9, 2009 Special Board Meeting/Retreat Minutes, February 19, 2009 Budgeting for Results Minutes, February 9, 2009 Budgeting for Results Minutes, February 23, 2009 Policy 1700 Complaint-Board Panel Recommendations Southside Boundary Change Addition of RAD Grad ECA Fund Account at Senior High Addition of Touchdown Club Trust Fund Account at Senior High As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Katharin Kelker, Chair Diane Blevins, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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