Diane Blevins Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Proceedings of the Board of Trustees District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana September 26, 2011 CALL TO ORDER The Special 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, September 26, 2011, at 5:00 p.m. Members present included Trustees Connie Wardell, Greta Besch Moen, Lindy Graves (via phone), Barbara Bryan, Travis Kemp, Kathy Aragon, Teresa Stroebe, Travis Smith, Pam Ellis, District Clerk Leo Hudetz, Associate Superintendents Josh Middleton and Gail Surwill, and Superintendent Keith Beeman. Registered guests were Decora Jorgensen, Diane Bertand, Jeri Anton, Barb Fettig, Patty Pinter, Liz Ester, Jan McCandless, Robyn Driscoll, Bonnie Hofmann, Eric Anderson, Kathy Wilkinson, Mary Westwood, Lori Booke, Ruth Ferris, Chris Goodridge, Lisa Meyer, Helene Ranweiler, Kim Petersen, Laura Repnak, Jeff Weldon, Karen Moses, Marjorie Flynn, Valerie McMurtry, Wade Sportz, Dennisse Williams, Rose Sample, Sarah Sample, and Dee Neiter. PROPOSAL OF TERMINATION OF SUPERINTENDENT BEEMAN’S CONTRACT Chair Bryan asked for an explanation of legal concerns of terminating the superintendent contract from legal counsel Jeff Weldon. Trustee Ellis made the following motion with a second by Trustee Kemp: Motion to stay with the agenda as printed in the packet. Those voting in favor were Travis Smith, Teresa Stroebe, Travis Kemp, Pam Ellis, and Lindy Graves. Those opposing were Greta Besch Moen, Con nie Wardell, Barbara Bryan, and Kathy Aragon. The motion passed. 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. Chris Goodridge felt the board took the appropriate action in the last meeting regarding Dr. Beeman but now felt firing the superintendent might be going too far. Kelly McCarthy believed, after talking to community members, that terminating the superintendent’s contract is appropriate in order to allow the district to move forward. Joe Sukut, Senior High Associate Principal, read a letter from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. The letter stated, if the practice of ‘use it or lose for vacation days’ is used, it is a violation of the state statutes. Jeff Weldon, legal counsel, reported the state statute regarding vacation days does not apply to school administrators. He will send a reply letter to the State Department of Labor office and also send a copy to the board members. Danette Cerise, Skyview High Associate Principal, stated the administrators felt it was disrespectful to avoid meeting with district union groups by the superintendent. People should be the top priority in the district. Karen Moses did not feel Dr. Beeman was a good fit for the district. Trustee Kemp reported he discussed the termination of the superintendent with Trustee Graves and both felt the process should begin to find a new superintendent. Mr. Weldon stated a recent Supreme Court case may affect the unilateral termination by the board. He advised the board for the termination agreement to be in writing in order to reduce the possible litigation. Trustee Ellis made the following motion with a second by Trustee Kemp: I move that the Board 1) unilaterally terminate the contract with Dr. R. Keith Beeman as set forth in his contract, “Section 14. Termination of Employment Contract, Part A by mutual agreement of the parties; 2) We authorize the Billings Public Schools’ attorney Jeff Weldon to work with an attorney from MTSBA to negotiate termination of Dr. Beeman’s contract in accordance with the terms of his contract; 3) set the termination date of the contract no later than October 14, 2011; 4) obtain board approval for the termination agreement at a special board meeting tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 4, 5:30 p.m. and that we appoint Lindy Graves as a liaison from the board. Trustee Moen asked for reasons from the trustees why they wanted to terminate the contract. Trustee Ellis stated the district does not have a budget for 2012, negotiations have not been conducted with two union groups and grievances have been filed. She believed the district needed to move forward with a more positive approach. Trustee Kemp addressed a previous 5-4 board vote on September 13th and his discussions with community members. Travis Smith wanted to speak to the process, have an evaluation process, and have an effective session to discuss things. We need to move forward for the sake of the students, staff, and community. Trustee Graves agreed with Trustee Kemp regarding responses he has received from community members. The main reason is the taxpayers’ dollars and things need to go through the board to make changes in the district. Trustee Smith reported he did not make the decision lightly and the district needs to move forward in order to concentrate on teaching students. Trustee Aragon stated Dr. Beeman has cut various items in order to balance the budget. Trustee Moen addressed the savings of $2,500,000 by Dr. Beeman. Trustee Stroebe reiterated that the state legislators are not properly funding education. Trustee Wardell believed the board members are not trustees for the teachers but for the taxpayers. The board needs to be able to resolve to work together as a board. She suggested a board retreat to review all of the concerns and further recommended a trustee from the minority of voters to work with Trustee Graves on Dr. Beeman’s contract. Trustee Wardell made the following amendment with a second by Trustee Moen: Motion to appoint Trustees Aragon and Graves to serve as liaisons to work on Dr. Beeman’s contract. Those voting in favor were Greta Besch Moen, Travis Smith, Connie Wardell, Teresa Stroebe, Barbara Bryan, Kathy Aragon, Travis Kemp, Lindy Graves, and Pam Ellis. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Wardell made the following amendment with a second by Trustee Bryan: Motion to remove the timeline from the motion. Trustee Wardell felt more time was needed for a definitive process to go back to the board in order to move this district forward. She urged the board to take the necessary time to come to a consensus decision by October 31, 2011. Mr. Weldon reported he would talk to Trustees Graves and Aragon first and then speak with the superintendent. Those voting in favor of the amended motion were Lindy Graves, Travis Kemp, Teresa Stroebe, Pam Ellis, Travis Smith, Greta Besch Moen, Connie Wardell, Barbara Bryan, and Kathy Aragon. The motion passed unanimously. The amended original motion made by Trustee Ellis and seconded by Trustee Kemp is as follows: Motion that the Board 1) unilaterally terminate the contract with Dr. R. Keith Beeman as set forth in his contract, “Section 14. Termination of Employment Contract, Section Part A, by mutual agreement of the parties; 2) We authorize the Billings Public Schools’ attorney, Jeff Weldon, to work with an attorney from MTSBA to negotiate termination of Dr. Beeman in accordance with the terms of the contract; 3) set the termination date of the contract no later than October 31, 2011; 4) obtain board approval for the termination agreement at a special board meeting tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 4, 5:30; and 5) that Lindy Graves and Kathy Aragon serve as liaisons from the board in this process. Those voting in favor were Lindy Graves, Travis Kemp, Teresa Stroebe, Pam Ellis, Travis Smith, Kathy Aragon, and Connie Wardell. Those opposing were Greta Besch Moen and Barbara Bryan. The motion passed. Chair Bryan stated she believed this board has to figure out what type of superintendent it wants as it is evident it is not one who is fiscally responsible. INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT POSITION Trustee Kemp stated he hoped the board could reach out to the community to help with the process of finding an interim superintendent. Trustee Ellis made the following motion with a second by Travis Kemp: Motion that the board meet with Jack Copps at a special board meeting tentatively scheduled on Tuesday, October 4 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss his possible appointment as interim superintendent of Billings Public Schools effective no later than October 31, 2011. Trustee Wardell spoke in opposition to Jack Copps as interim superintendent. Chair Bryan stated Trustee Ellis had no authority to speak to anyone regarding this position prior to this meeting. She suggested a substitute motion as follows with a second by Trustee Wardell: Motion to form a committee of board members, Trustees Kemp and Wardell, and community members to design a process to appoint an interim superintendent. Trustee Ellis suggested the meeting be noticed in order to give all board members a chance to attend. Chair Bryan stated that decision will be made by the entire board and suggested the committee speak to the associate superintendents as part of the process. Trustee Stroebe reported it is important that we all work together during the development of the process. Those voting in favor of the substitute motion were Greta Besch Moen, Pam Ellis, Kathy Aragon, Travis Kemp, Teresa Stroebe, Barbara Bryan, and Connie Wardell. Trustees Smith and Graves opposed the motion. The motion passed. PUBLIC REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Travis Kemp read the suggested motion: Authorize District Clerk Leo Hudetz to make a determination of the best route to direct reasonable information requests with copy of any requests sent to the superintendent. Requests are to be handled in a timely manner. Questionable requests or requests involving significant staff time are to be reviewed by the full board. Lindy Graves stated he wanted to review how we get information as all board members do not receive the information. Chair Bryan reported some of the suggestions can be regarded as policy and should be referred to the Policy Review Committee and recommended Lindy Graves serve on the committee during the review. Trustee Ellis made the following motion with a second by Trustee Kemp: Motion that the board directs the staff of Billings Public Schools to answer questions from community members, trustees, and the media in compliance with District Records Policy 4340. Requests are to be handled in a timely manner. All board documents and all emails not involving individual privacy issues need to be available for public inspection on the Billings Public School website. Questionable requests or requests involving significant staff time are to be reviewed by the full board. Trustee Wardell made the following substitute motion with a second by Trustee Bryan: Motion to refer the issue to the Policy Review Committee. Mr. Weldon stated there might be a problem when board members direct staff members to make the decisions. Those voting in favor of the substitute motion were Greta Besch Moen, Connie Wardell, Kathy Aragon, Barbara Bryan, Pam Ellis, Lindy Graves, and Teresa Stroebe. Those opposing were Travis Smith and Travis Kemp. The motion passed. Trustee Bryan voiced her concern that the original motion would get into the email issue and require staff to provide information for anyone requesting it. Trustee Graves stated everything that he has requested is nothing special but comes out every week. Title I figures were not disseminated when requested and the itemization of the $2.500,000 reported to be saved were also not given out. Trustee Stroebe made the substitute motion with a second by Trustee Wardell: Motion to authorize District Clerk, Leo Hudetz, to make a determination of the best route to direct reasonable information requests with copy of any requests sent to the superintendent. Requests are to be handled in a timely manner. Questionable requests or requests involving significant staff time are to be reviewed by the full board. Those voting in favor were Greta Besch Moen, Connie Wardell, Kathy Aragon, Barbara Bryan, Pam Ellis, Lindy Graves, Teresa Stroebe, Travis Smith, and Travis Kemp. The motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:12 p.m. Barbara Bryan, Chair Diane Blevins, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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