Education Committee Meeting--June 13, 2005

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

School District No. 2, Yellowstone County

High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County

Billings, Montana

June 13, 2005

 

Board Chair Kathy Kelker called a joint meeting of the Education, School/Community and Business Committees to order at 5:30 p.m.

 

Update on 20-Year Facilities Committee

The Committees met jointly to hear an update on the 20 Year Facilities Committee progress from Barbara Bryan. Ms. Bryan explained that the 20-Year Committee would have their final recommendation ready for the Board next month. She asked that the meeting be scheduled at 7:00 p.m. instead of 5:30 so there could be more involvement from the 20-Year Committee as well as the public. She also asked that the presentation be done either in the Lincoln Center Auditorium or the Lewis & Clark Auditorium. The Committees will discuss these possibilities and get back to Ms. Bryan. Ms. Bryan explained that a final recommendation would be made at the July 11th meeting, and they would not be releasing any “drafts” before that time. She asked how many committee members want copies of their entire report or just the Executive Summary. Numbers will be taken at each Committee meeting and then relayed back to Ms. Bryan. Ms. Bryan asked again if a time and place could be decided upon tonight, and she was told no.

 

Daylis Stadium Discussion

 

Dave Williams, Executive Director of Activities, gave the Committees a brief explanation of some of the suggestions that had been made about the use of Daylis Stadium, and also some of the solutions his committee suggests. After talking with the County about using Metra Park for a football stadium and also talking with the City of Billings, the group suggests that for the foreseeable future, it is best to use Daylis Stadium. The issue now is to find the funding to build new bleachers to replace the east side bleachers that were removed for safety concerns. Dave further explained that his committee is suggesting four phases of construction: 1) bleacher replacement ($300,000; 2) bathrooms ($400,000; 3) security and safety ($50,000) and 4) synthetic turf ($700,000). Dave reported that the Daylis family was contacted about naming rights if corporate sponsors could be found, and said the family would be willing to work together to get something accomplished. Members of the West High and Senior High booster clubs were in attendance and were very enthusiastic that their groups could help with fund-raising. Also discussed was the fact that there is approximately $600,000 - $700,000 remaining from the Skyview bond. The money can be used for a few ways, and using the money to help build the bleachers would be an acceptable use of the funds. The Committees were given instruction to go back to their individual meetings and discuss what they felt would be most beneficial for funding the bleachers.

 

The meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

 

The Education Committee meeting was called to order at 6:05 by Conrad Stroebe. Attending the meeting were Sandy Mossman, Malcolm Goodrich, Karen Rice, Kyle Cooling, Karen Ziegler, Kathy Olson, Patty Fain, Shaun Harrington and Kathy Olson.

Election of Committee Chair

 

On a secret ballot, Conrad Stroebe was elected chair of the committee. After the election, Conrad welcomed new committee members Sandy Mossman and Malcolm Goodrich. Malcolm had previously served on the Business Committee, and Sandy is a newly elected trustee.

 

Daylis Stadium Review

 

Malcolm Goodrich told the Committee that he has some concerns about some of the issues with using the Skyview money to help fund the bleachers. There are issues such as the District’s reserve capacity, bonding issues and overcrowding issues. He believes that meeting the educational needs of the kids of Billings should be the number one goal of the District. Others on the committee agreed with his opinion, but also see the need to replace the bleachers at Daylis as a safety issue. Noel Cicero, a West High parent and football booster club president, was at the meeting to discuss what the West High Boosters are willing to do in order to get the project underway and completed. He believes that most of the funds can be raised in the community, but we all have to work together to make it happen. Following a lengthy discussion about ways to fund the stadium, Malcolm Goodrich moved to support construction of phase 1 only of the project while bearing in mind the following priorities: 1) educational impact and 2) financial solvency of the District looking at the funding for phase 1 to come through the combination of or exclusively a mill levy, a loan for the bleachers to the Billings Education Foundation or another appropriate entity, matching funds, but except for a mill levy in no event will the total dollar participation of the District exceed $150,000. Karen Ziegler seconded the motion. There was further discussion before the vote the called. The motion passed with all but one member voting in favor of the motion.

 

20-Year Facilities Committee Review

 

A poll of the members was conducted as to where and when they would like the formal presentation of the 20-Year Facilities Committee. The group wants the meeting to be held in the Lincoln Center auditorium and the 7:00 p.m. time would be okay too. They also decided that 10 hard copies would be enough for the Committee. The entire report will be available on the District’s website for anyone who doesn’t need a hard copy.

 

Minute Approval of May 9, 2005 Education Committee

 

Patty Fain moved to approve the May 9, 2005 minutes as presented. Karen Rice seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

 

Response On Special Education External Review Recommendations

 

Kathy Olson, Executive Director of Elementary Education, gave a brief summary of the Special Ed. Review process that took place earlier this year. After the review, members of the teams reported to the Education Committee their findings/recommendations, and a directive was given at that time to summarize the findings and try to put a cost with each recommendation. The committee reviewed the recommendations, and then asked the administration to prioritize the list so it could be presented to the Board. Because the Special Ed External Review was one of the Board goals, it will be important for the District to implement some of the recommendations so prioritizing them will inform the Board what is seen as the most critical needs or issues. Some of the recommendations are currently in place, and some are in the planning stages.

 

Appointment of Special Education Advisory Council

 

Kathy Olson reported that one of the recommendations of the Special Ed Review teams was to establish a Special Ed Advisory Council. The Committee examined the list that was presented, and suggested that a Southside representative would be helpful. Conrad also asked if Steve Kukic would be involved in some way. Kathy Olson said she would contact him. Malcolm Goodrich moved to recommend to the Board appointment of the listed individuals to the Special Ed Advisory Council. Sandy Mossman seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Kathy Olson then explained about the results of a Special Ed survey, and briefly told what the scoring indicated.

 

Drop Out Study

 

Kyle Colling, Education professor at MSU-B and Education Committee member, presented the information about the Drop Out Study that she, Susan Barrow and Deb Richau conducted last year. Kyle explained what participation groups were used for the survey. Four focus groups from Senior High included two groups of males and two groups of females. The researchers were also given access for 497 essays that were written by juniors and seniors in February and March of 2004 from 90 school districts from across the state. The researchers were also provided paragraphs written by 72 students attending Senior High. These students were asked to share their thoughts as to why students drop out of school. The data was then broken down into themes. The themes were reviewed and discussed. Kyle also had some recommendations that she wanted to make. She identified that there is no standardized identification system for all three high schools. In order to collect data for different studies it is necessary that each school ask the students for the same information and more hard data should be collected. She also believes that the consequences for rule infractions should be revisited. Student-teacher relationships and making learning fun and exciting are things that need to be looked at by every school. The role of the counselor should also be evaluated. Discrimination is also an issue that needs to be addressed. She also believes that high school is too late to be remediating reading. Students need access to interventions sooner. Sue Robinson, history teacher at Senior High, added that many of the students that are at risk could be helped with smaller class sizes. She told of her own classroom experiences with block scheduling with World History and World Languages and being able to work together to make learning fun and applicable to the students’ lives. Because not enough students signed up for the classes for next year, these classes will not be offered. Karen Ziegler added that it is important that the District look at different ways of delivering education and finding new solutions for these issues. Rod Svee, Superintendent, also gave some input about new guidelines and definitions of at-risk and LEP students that have come down from the State. There should be funding next year for at-risk students, and the District will be required to have an at-risk program a year from now. He also explained some of the options that could be available if the school within a school concept is used to help at-risk students. Conrad Stroebe told the Committee that he believes that in order to accomplish anything, it is imperative that Committee recommends to the Board to run a mill levy. Sandy Mossman said she thinks the District must have very specific articulated programs before going to the public with a mill levy. Malcolm agreed stating that he would have no problem backing a levy, but each need must be identified, the programs planned and then presented to the public.

 

Reading Intervention Grades 4-12

 

Kathy Olson explained to the Committee that currently in the District, students needing reading intervention have access to help in grades K-3. Grades 4-8 currently do not have any regular district-wide program for reading intervention unless they’re a Special Ed student. The high schools this year introduced Read 180 for their students needing reading intervention, and the educations directors would like to adopt Read 180 for grades 4-8 also. Read 180 would be a seamless approach that could be used at every school at these grade levels. Their research indicates that Read 180 for regular education students and Language! for special ed students have been proven to be very successful to help students in need of reading intervention. Read 180 is a software program that also includes leveled books, CD’s and upgrades. It is a one-time purchase. The price tag to implement 4-12 throughout the District is a million dollars. Kathy further explained that some of the funding would be out of Title I and IDEA, and also some of the Microsoft class action settlement funds could be used. The amount that would not be covered by these programs is around $400,000, and Kathy recommended that the District should look at an inner cap loan. After further discussion, Sandy Mossman moved to recommend to the Board to strongly endorse adoption of Read 180 and recommend the District investigate any and all funding sources including an inner cap loan. Karen Rice seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

 

Attachments – FYI

 

Conrad suggested everyone read the article about the Indianapolis Schools, and thanked Kyle again for all the hard work she did on the dropout study.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted:

 

 

 

Kathy Gonzales

Recorder

 

Conrad Stroebe

Chair