Special Meeting of May 8, 2006

[Diane Blevins]

Proceedings of the Board of Trustees

District No. 2, Yellowstone County

High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County

Billings, Montana

 

May 8, 2006

 

Call to Order

 

The Special 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, May 8, 2006, at 7:00 p.m.

 

Those present included: Trustees Katharin Kelker, Karen Moses, Sandra Mossman, Mary Jo Fox, Dale Getz, Joel Guthals, Conrad Stroebe, Dawn Achten, Malcolm Goodrich, Superintendent Rod Svee, Interim Superintendent Jack Copps, and District Clerk Leo Hudetz.

 

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.

 

Those speaking in support of Crossroads were Courtney Hamblin, Carol Blades, Fred Petak, Brandy Long, Dave Allen, Julie Graham, and Dennis Paxinos. Those speaking in support of activities were Jeff Casey, Tom Oberweiser, Mary Kay Rottrup, and Kari Kufeld. Theresa Stroebe recommended an exit poll be conducted to determine what the voters would like since the mill levies failed.

 

Budget FY2006-2007

 

Before any decisions could be made on May 15th, the Trustees requested the following information from administration:

 

· How many sections/classes would be eliminated if the minimum of 18 enrollment was enforced?

· How many graduates entered college last year?

· How many students have enrolled in Crossroads and which schools did they come from? Were any of those turned away and, if so, what criteria was used to turn them away? What is the dropout rate at Crossroads?

· In regards to liability insurance, what is the risk if we go self-insured?

· If $90,000 were to be cut in activities, what are the effects?

· If 5-10% were reduced in activities (a balanced cut), would that make better sense?

· Recommendations from administration as to what it sees as the most balanced cut number for all activities, including sports, in-school activities, non-accreditation activities, and extra-curricular activities. What is the budgetary line item for all sports (how much is spent on travel, stipends, etc.)?

· What would the results be in going forward with the vacancy savings?

· For Crossroads, is there a potential of getting balanced cuts made while trying to preserve the integrity of the program? Is there a balanced trimming there?

· What set of cuts the administration would add in order to provide for some recovery of the reserve?

· Recommendations from administration of how to close the budgetary gap in both elementary and high school districts. Administrators should also provide the Board with the educationally relevant impact to both lists.

· What could be saved in actual expenses if we had mandatory thermostat controls, raising the temperature in the summer and lowering it in the winter? Also, what could be saved if the watering schedules were adjusted and custodial schedules were adjusted? (If custodians were to clean classrooms every other day.)

· Are there other areas that could be cut in maintenance and custodial?

· If Crossroads were to be closed, recommendations from administration as to the alternatives for those students. (Trustee did not consider NovaNet an answer.)

· What is the actual number for the vacancy savings? If the vacancies were not filled, those positions would not be considered – not an accurate conception, as it would be a number, not necessarily positions but a total number.

· Is there a proposal that could be put together by the Crossroads staff for a higher teacher/student ratio? If so, could it make it more palpable economically. What would the savings that would occur minus the ANB that might be lost?

· How the loss of 8 middle school teachers would not affect the students?

· How many students do not participate in high school activities?

· How many classes at Crossroads have more than 18 students?

· Considering the self-insurance for liability could be 1 possibility of raising funds for the reserve.

· Suggestion to start looking at alternative sources of revenue.

· Determine what could have been done to help the students who dropped out between their freshman and senior years.

· Endowment funds could be used to raise money. Investigate how income taxes could be used to generate revenue. Sales taxes is another possibility, as well as charging premium rates for user fees.

· Transportation – come to a reasonable conclusion that $5,000,000-$6,000,000 is spent transporting students every year and what type of alternatives are available.

· Ask the state if the District could have the basic entitlement for each one of the high schools, instead of $200,000 for all of our high schools.

· How many ‘AA’ school districts have middle school programs?

· What is the cost to run the Crossroads building? Cost to remodel Crossroads (warm, safe & dry)? Is the offer still on the table to sell the building?

· Outline what the State gave and what is needed.

· What the effect would be on college-bound students if the minimum class size of 18 were enforced? The effect on other students in the District.

· Balanced set of cuts in the administration and what those cuts would be.

· Would there be any cost savings by trying to fully implement Crossroads as a 4-year high school?

· Inventory all surplus property, and the location of those properties. Obtain a survey of other large cities who have eliminated funding for varsity sports – what do they do and how do they do it?

· How many advanced placement classes or remedial classes would be lost or affected (Reading 180), if resigning teachers were not replaced?

· Would like administration to look at more ways to cut.

· Concerned about spreading out over a period of 5 years for 5% for the reserve – enforce the cuts that were listed before the election.

· Report answers to the requests in layman terms.

· Concept of development director to raise funds for the school district – what would the cost be to hire a development director or in conjunction with the foundation, and what types of funds could be raised?

· What would the effect of teaching to the accreditation standards versus where we are now? (Report on file from legislative work.)

 

Chair Kelker felt the new ideas coming forward this evening might not be able to be considered at this time, but at a later date. She did not feel it was fair to the public to start on new ideas at this time. Mrs. Kelker would like to see two or three specific ways the reserves could be funded over the next few years. Trustee Stroebe urged the Board to be careful on the reserves, as the public does not want any building reserves. He did not feel the public would want programs cut to build up the reserves. Trustee Fox stated it is the Board’s responsibility to fund the reserves, and, as the public voted against the mill levies, the consequences must be faced.

 

As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Katharin Kelker, Chair

 

 

Diane Blevins, Recorder