Marta McAllister Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Proceedings of the Planning and Development Committee School District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana February 1, 2010 CALL TO ORDER Chair Kathy Aragon called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, February 1, 2010, in Room 219 of the Lincoln Center. Committee members in attendance were Trustee Kathy Aragon, Trustee Mary Jo Fox, Sandra Abraham, Doug Armknecht, Margaret Aukshun, Annette Cabrera, Deana Elder, Amy Griffin, Krista Hertz, Lance King, Jodi Schreiber, Josi Wilgus, and Kathy Olson, Elementary Executive Director. Also in attendance were Trustees Barbara Bryan, Peter Gesuale, Teresa Stroebe, Miles Principal, Dr. Shanna Henry, and Pam Dimich. COMMUNICATION FROM THE PUBLIC Hearing no communication from the public, Chair Kathy Aragon moved to the next agenda item. REVIEW CHARGE OF THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Kathy Aragon stated the charge of the Committee is to compile School District 2 demographic data to prepare for outcomes of the strategic planning process that will guide future decisions and provide direction for the development of a comprehensive long term capital improvement plan. Also, to consider a motion for the suspension of the District’s current 3 Page Plan. Kathy Aragon handed out sheets which contained compiled information for K-6 enrollment from the year 1988 to 2010, Yellowstone County Population census data from 1970 to 2000, and Historical School District High School Enrollment. Kathy Aragon asked the Committee to focus on the fact that since 1988 elementary enrollment in School District 2 has stayed nearly flat while the city’s population has grown. Kathy Aragon suggested that once the Board determines how many schools are sustainable through the strategic planning process, the Committee will use current data to decide how to best configure the district’s schools boundaries. She explained the Board and the Montana School Board Association have begun strategic planning sessions, which will include deciding the optimal number of schools the district should maintain based on its student population. The Planning and Development Committee will look at which schools should serve which student population when a decision is made. Kathy Olson will provide a compiled comprehensive enrollment data sheet for the next Committee meeting. Barbara Bryan noted that the American Community Survey has estimated that for the year 2008 the under age 5 population represented on the Yellowstone County population census is 6.9 percent, which might reflect a slight bump in the elementary district at this time. Amy Griffin asked if the Planning and Development Committee data will be shared with the Strategic Planning Committee and/or if the information will run parallel. Kathy Aragon stated when the Strategic Planning Committee process makes decisions such as; number of schools the district can afford, size of schools, how best to serve School District 2 students, the Planning and Development data will be used to decide where the schools will be. Barbara Bryan stated that when the Strategic Planning Committee addresses the Facility Strategic plan the Planning and Development Committee data will be used for detail planning. Peter Gesuale indicated at a later level of planning the Planning and Development Committee’s data could be used for a particular piece of an action plan. Peter Gesuale asked what the borders indicate on the maps. Kathy Aragon stated that the borders are the census tracks. Annette Cabrera explained at times the city will split the boundaries due to increased density. Kathy Olson explained that historically boundaries shifted as schools closed and opened. Peter Gesuale suggested that even though boundaries may have changed grouping of students stayed the same for the most part. Kathy Olson will provide a current map of boundaries for the next meeting. It was noted that the current boundary map is on the school district web page. DENSITY MAP PREVIEW PROVIDED BY THE CITY/COUNTY Kathy Aragon passed out maps for Committee members to work with. She explained this will be the data collection process that will be used for overlays on the map, including information on: - Maps reflect children under 5 years of age at 2010 census data (these children are now 10-15 years of age) and population density per sq. mile - Students represented in the heights, south side, downtown and west end areas of Billings by elementary school - Population changes from the year 1996 to 2009 per area by elementary schools - School District 2 enrollment data - 8 schools that do not bus students, include: Eagle Cliffs, Sandstone, and Bitterroot, heights area, Rose Park, Poly, Broadwater, and Highland, down town/core area, Orchard, south side - Annette Cabrera to provide an outlined area of the two Tax Increment Finance Districts - Kathy Olson to provide an analyzes on the distance students are from a school to see if boundary shifts will improve or lessen the distance students are from schools using the district’s GEO-Coded mapping - GIS analysis - Affects on transportation i.e. what changes will be made/are made in transportation when district consolidates or expands? Increase or decrease transportation needs? - Major street crossing - City base line information of the city’s infrastructure that is currently in place - Rich Whitney will provide facility capacity data at a later date Kathy Aragon explained that all information will not be done at once. She noted for the next meeting she will provide a larger map that the Committee will use to analyze additional information, including information on: - Any obstacles that students are being bussed for regarding safety reasons - Sandra Baker will be asked to provide safety route data - Sub division that are currently being plotted - Examine current residential density throughout School District 2 boundaries - Affordability housing, Howard Sumner - Vacant land/infill capacity plan by the city (Annette Cabrera noted that any available downtown vacant land is considered improved at the present time, but infill may increase density in the down town area at a future time - Tax Increment Finance Districts - Analyze capacity of each school by education standards - Evaluation of existing school space consistently school by school - Analyze educational space per educational program data APPROVAL OF MINUTES Malcolm Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Lance King: Motion to move to approve the December 7, 2009 and January 4, 2010 minutes with two additional amendments: Page 6, add “Board Committee”, planning and development was disbanded after Feb 08 meeting. Pg 10, under 3 page facilities plan, add “Peter Gesuale and Kathy Aragon” voted against the plan as the opposed motion was omitted. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Trustee Mary Jo Fox, Sandra Abraham, Doug Armknecht, Margaret Aukshun, Annette Cabrera, Deana Elder, Amy Griffin, Krista Hertz, Lance King, Jodi Schreiber, and Josi Wilgus. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment Kathy Aragon, Chair Brenda Cross, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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