Diane Blevins Posted May 15, 2007 Report Share Posted May 15, 2007 Proceedings of the Board of Trustees District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana May 7, 2007 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, April 20, 2007, at 5:30 p.m. Those present included: Trustees Joel Guthals, Mary Jo Fox, Katharin Kelker, Dale Getz, Susan Messerly, Dawn Achten, Malcolm Goodrich and District Clerk Leo Hudetz. Trustee Kathleen Aragon was absent. Superintendent Jack Copps and Trustee Sandra Mossman were absent. 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. There were no public comments. Letter to Area Legislators Trustee Guthals stated the purpose of the letter is to provide the legislators from Yellowstone County with facts and a statement from this Board’s perspective before the special session begins. He has been working on the draft since last Tuesday and has been corresponding with Thomas Harper and Leo Hudetz. The latest version was given to the Board members. The most important facts were included for the legislators so they have something authoritative as they go into the special session and it will help them make decisions. They will have no excuses in not knowing the facts. Trustee Guthals reviewed the letter. The reason for the deficiency can be found in the basic entitlement and the ANB funding. We know the basic entitlement does not provide for schools but for districts. We receive one basic entitlement for twenty-one elementary schools, which is $21,000 and $1,000 per school. If we were a school district that had one elementary school, we would still receive $21,000. The same is true for middle schools and high schools. $230,000 is received for each high school district. Per capita, funding declines the more students you have in your district. When a high school reaches 800 students, the amount drops from $5,704 to $5,304 per student. HB417 and HB809 contain funding for all day kindergarten. In 2009, the proposed increase from the legislative session is 1.4% but the District has estimated its costs at 3.5%. The elementary district would be short approximately $4,000,000 and the high school would also have a deficit. The Board supports the per educator payment of $2,000 not the $790 as proposed now. If the Board approves this letter to the legislators, it needs to get to them as soon as possible. Trustee Goodrich reported he spoke to one member of the legislature who said we did not communicate with any legislators running for office. However, the Board met with candidates before the election as well as legislators following that election. The Board set up the Legislative Committee consisting of Trustees Guthals and Mossman. Trustee Guthals began communications with the legislators on a regular basis. Trustees Mossman and Guthals also traveled to Helena for the Day of Advocacy to talk to the legislators. Following that, communications continued to be sent to the legislators. Trustee Kelker made the following motion with a second by Trustee Messerly: Motion to approve the letter and sign it this evening so it can be provided in a timely fashion to our local legislators. Trustee Fox suggested “aliquot” on page 3 be changed to fair or proportionate. Trustee Getz felt the language on page 5 was condescending and the fifth bullet should be changed to “based upon an appropriate index”. The Board agreed to make changes to both sections. Trustee Kelker recommended a cover letter be attached with contact numbers for any clarifications that the legislators may have. The letter would be sent by regular mail as well as by email. Trustee Getz commended Trustee Guthals for the very well written letter. Those voting in favor were Joel Guthals, Dale Getz, Katharin Kelker, Susan Messerly, Mary Jo Fox, and Dawn Achten. The motion passed unanimously. Clerk Leo Hudetz reported Trustee Mossman asked that he initial the letter for her. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m. Malcolm Goodrich, Chair Diane Blevins, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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