Diane Blevins Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 Proceedings of the Board of Trustees District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana July 16, 2007 Call to Order 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, July 16, 2007, at 5:30 p.m. Vice-Chair Kathrin Kelker presided and led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call Members present included Trustees Kathy Aragon, Joel Guthals, Peter Gesuale, Katharin Kelker, Sandra Mossman, Mary Jo Fox, Superintendent Jack Copps, and District Clerk Leo Hudetz. Trustees Dawn Achten, Tim Trafford and Malcolm Goodrich were excused. Registered guests were Ron Sexton, Terrie Iverson, and Jeff Weldon. 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. Allan Audet, Billings Education Association President, announced to the Board he would be returning to a teaching position at the Career Center. Jeff Greenfield would become the new president. The Board thanked Mr. Audet for his service and for communicating very well with the Board and District. Approval of Agenda Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Fox: Motion to approve the agenda. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Elementary School Property – Cottonwood Park Superintendent Copps requested authorization from the Board for a siting election in November to purchase ten acres of land in the Cottonwood area for an elementary site. The District has $200,000 available to purchase land for an elementary site. Trustee Gesuale asked if the City were willing to sell it for $200,000. An offer has not been made to the City as of this date. Jeff Weldon, legal counsel for the District, reported the District entered into the option to purchase the land from the City in 2002. The District would request permission from the public to site the land for an elementary school. If the siting were approved in November, the District would enter into a buy/sell agreement. If the District does not act, the 2002 option would expire in five years which would be December 2007. The District would have ten years to put up a school and if ten years goes by without any construction, the City would purchase the property back. The land was donated to the city with the statement that a portion should be designated for an elementary school. Trustee Guthals felt the agreement stating the purchase price to be fair market value does not provide for any increase in price since the appraisal was completed. Trustee Aragon hoped the Board would hire a consultant/school planner to work with the District. Trustee Gesuale wanted to make it clear that if he supports this, he was not advocating for the construction of an elementary school at this time and was not sure land should be purchased now. Superintendent Copps reported the American Education Planning Association stated that elementary schools should be built on at least ten acres with an acre for each additional 100 students. This property would be plentiful in size with a park built around the property. Trustee Kelker reported she represents Zone 6 where this property is located and there is an increasing number of children in that zone. Some of those kindergarten students are bused passed Arrowhead, their home school, to attend another school. Trustee Gesuale made the following motion with a second by Trustee Fox: Motion that the Board authorize the Superintendent to plan for a siting election to be held this November in conjunction with the city election and to proceed with developing a purchase agreement for the Cottonwood elementary site with a purchase price of no more than $200,000. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Guthals is ineligible to vote on elementary issues. Approval of Property Sale Agreement Between District and MSU-B College of Technology Superintendent Copps reported he was making the recommendation to the Board that an agreement to sell District land be made with MSU-Billings and the price be in the mid range of the appraisals for the land by the Career Center. Mr. Copps said there is no road access coming in from the Shiloh site and the property is landlocked. The appraisals came in at $237,000 and the other for $353,000. The price was suggested at $300,000. The property was owned by the elementary district and was traded to the high school district a number of years ago. Trustee Gesuale asked if it would take any existing parking area from the Career Center. Superintendent Copps reported it would not. Trustee Guthals asked if there were any plans to construct school field areas. Mr. Copps said there are none at this time. Chancellor Sexton, of MSU-Billings, stated the conceptual work started five years ago and at least six community meetings were held to receive input from the public. The plan is designed to access facilities at the College of Technology. In the future, the College of Technology would like to work with the District to develop the other areas holding the current soccer fields. There is also a plan for the development of a library that could be used by the students at the Career Center. Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Aragon: Move that the Board authorize the Superintendent to finalize the purchase and sale agreement between the Billings High School District 2 and the Montana State University system, MSU-Billings, for the sale of approximately 7.2517 acres for the price of $300,000 and to authorize the Chair of the Board to execute the purchase and sale agreement. Trustee Guthals felt this was an excellent opportunity for the university, District, and the city to have an educational campus that would benefit the community. Trustee Kelker declared a possible conflict of interest as she is employed by MSU-Billings but she did not believe that her employment had much relationship to this matter. Trustee Fox stated she supports the motion but asked the Board and administration to keep in mind all of the students in School District #2 and to help those students who can not afford college classes now. Trustee Guthals asked where the funds would go if the motion is approved. Mr. Harper stated it would go into the building fund to be used for future construction or the building reserve and possibly the general fund. The Board could designate the funds at a later date. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Approve Resolution to Reopen Beartooth and Rimrock Elementary Schools FY2007-08 Superintendent Copps stated that the statute must be followed to open Beartooth and Rimrock and that is why official Board action is needed. Trustee Mossman made the following motion with a second by Trustee Gesuale: Motion to approve the Resolution to Reopen Beartooth and Rimrock Elementary Schools FY2007-08 and request that the process outlined in section 20-6-502, MCA be expedited. Trustee Gesuale asked how much it would cost to reopen the schools. Mr. Harper reported it would cost approximately $1,300,000. Trustee Gesuale stated the schools were closed to save $246,000 and will now cost $1,300,000 to reopen. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Guthals is ineligible to vote on elementary issues. Lunch Price Increase – 10 Cents Trustee Gesuale made the following motion with a second by Trustee Aragon: Motion to approve the lunch price increase of paid lunches by $.10 effective with the 2007-08 school year. Trustee Guthals asked for a clarification on the costs. The cost the District pays for a meal is $2.024 now and the cost will increase to approximately $2.10. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. MTSBA Delegate Appointment Trustee Mossman reported she has resigned her position as the Director to the Montana School Board Association from the Billings Public Schools. Trustee Guthals has agreed to fill that position. Trustee Mossman made the following motion with a second by Trustee Gesuale: Motion to appoint Joel Guthals as a director to MTSBA. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Recognition of Meritorious Budget Award Thomas Harper reported the Association of School Business Officials International has awarded the Meritorious Budget Award for excellence in the preparation and issuance of the 2006-2007 school system annual budget to the Billings Public Schools. Mr. Harper and his staff were applauded for their hard work and diligence. Superintendent’s Report Superintendent Copps reported Beartooth will be reopened and will have approximately 350 students and will be ready by August 15th. The carpet should be down by August 3rd and the furniture in by August 10th. Work at Rimrock began this week for kindergarten. The biggest project is bringing the kitchen up to current codes. The playground at Orchard is a wonderful area for the students and will be ready by the beginning of the school year. The District will plan a media event, as it is a playground for the entire south side. A KABOOM playground is going in at Broadwater. Home Depot has donated approximately $1,000,000 money to build 1,000 playgrounds in 1,000 days nationwide. The Broadwater PTA has accepted the challenge to raise $10,000 for the project. Young Families is in the process of erecting a facility at Washington Elementary School. Young Families is taking donations for the project at this time. Castle Rock’s roof will be fixed and ready by the first day of School. Skyview’s hot water boilers have been installed and new boilers will be installed by October. $200,000 for that project was received from the insurance company and will cost $350,000 with a $10,000 deductible. A computer lab is being installed at the Senior Academy. Monthly Legal Report Jeff Weldon reported that there was nothing to add on pending litigations and no long-term suspensions to approve. Policy Approvals on Second Reading; Policy 2100-School Year Calendar and Day; Policy 3231-Searches and Seizures;Policy 3250-Student Discipline: Gambling; Policy 7320-Purchasing: Bid Limits Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Gesuale: Motion to approve the changes to policy 2100 on second reading. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Mossman made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Motion to approve the changes to policy 3231 on second reading. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Gesuale: Motion to approve the changes to policy 3250 on second reading. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Guthals suggested a change in wording on page 105 of the agenda (adding ‘as required and’). Trustee Guthals made the following motion Motion to approve the changes to policy 7320 on second reading with the wording addition on page 105 of the agenda. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Bills Paid – June 2007 Trustee Mossman made the following motion with a second by Trustee Gesuale: Motion to approve the bills paid for June 2007. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. The bills paid are as follows: Claims $ 4,566,443.23 ACH Tax Deposits $ 660,500.61 Payroll Warrants & Direct Deposits $ 4,230,335.31 Procurement Card $ 168,244.46 (June) INTERCAP Loan Network Infrastructure Elem. Bond payment $ 2,610,975.00 TOTAL $12,236,498.61 Financial Reports – June 2007 (Unaudited) The following financial reports were received for review only: CS101 Account Expenditure by Fund CS102 Account Receipts by Fund CS205 Statement of Estimated and Actual Revenue CS108 Object Cost Analysis Personnel Report Superintendent Copps reported that Nancy Hines has been hired as the Communications Director and will work through the Office of Development and Advancement. Mr. Copps also reported the District is prevented from paying stipends for coaching and other extra curriculars to hourly wage employees as stipulated in the Fair Labor Act. If hourly wage employees were hired, they would have to be paid time and one-half which is more than the stipend. The positions affected have been opened for applications. If the District violated the law willfully, it would have an obligation but there was no willingness to violate the law on our part. However, there may be an obligation over the past two years. The Board will be informed of any obligation at a later date. Trustee Gesuale made the following motion with a second by Trustee Fox: Motion to accept the Superintendent’s employment recommendations as presented in the personnel report. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Consent Agenda Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Gesuale: Motion to approve and accept the items within the consent agenda without objection to recommended action. Those voting in favor were Kathy Aragon, Mary Jo Fox, Peter Gesuale, Joel Guthals, Katharin Kelker and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Items contained within the Consent Agenda are as follows: Regular Board Meeting Minutes, June 18, 2007 Special Board Meeting Minutes, June 28, 2007 Letter Agreement – Donation to Billings High School District #2 Add Agency Fund 291 – Pcard Clearing Fund Addition of Special Funds Trust Account at Broadwater Elementary Recognition and thanks was given to Yellowstone Bank and Jim and Jay Harris for their $100,000 donation to the West High track project. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m. Katharin Kelker, Chair Diane Blevins, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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