Marta McAllister Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 Proceedings of the Planning and Development Committee School District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana November 12, 2007 The Planning and Development Committee Meeting of School District No. 2, Yellowstone County, Montana, and the High School District, Yellowstone County, Montana was duly held at The Lincoln Center, 415 North 30th Street, Billings, Montana, Monday, November 12, 2007, at 5:30 p.m. Members present- Committee Chair Sandra Mossman, Executive Director of Elementary Education Kathy Olson, Trustee Peter Gesuale, Cheryl Malia-McCall, Margaret Aukshun, Anne Barlow, Jeff Dunham, Michael Iverson, Ali Manning, and Dr. Sara Nyquist, Executive Director of Human Resources Dan Martin, Trustee Tim Trafford. Special guests attending were Superintendent Jack Copps, and the Lockwood Steering Committee members Carlotta Hecker, Don Reed, Conrad Stroebe, and Teresa Stroebe. Chairwoman Sandy Mossman presided. Call to Order Pledge of allegiance Introduction of members and guests Communication from the Public - There were no comments from the public. Presentation by the Lockwood Community Steering Committee- Conrad Stroebe shared information that was in a packet that was distributed to committee members. Information in the packet contained educational issues in Lockwood, the feelings of the community in the form of a survey, and the packet contained comments from the Lockwood Board meeting. The Steering committee wanted to approach both school boards as the high school board has legal authority over the high school students in Lockwood. The elementary board in Lockwood has a vested interest in the students after 8th grade. Originally, Lockwood 9th graders went to the school in Lockwood and after Skyview was built, the students were bused to Senior High. As Senior became overcrowded, students had the option to go to either Skyview or Senior High School. As Lockwood isn’t incorporated, they are governed by boards. In the past few years, 5 elective boards, Fire Department, Irrigation Department, Water and Sewer Department, Transportation Department and School Board to put together a community plan. Lockwood prefers the neighborhood school concept. Don Reed taught in the Billing’s district for 25 years. He feels that District 2 is doing the best with what it has but that may not necessarily mean it is the best. He would encourage the district to look at long- range planning. He felt West and Senior High School were at capacity. He said he believes smaller schools are better than large schools for educational value. He said Lockwood has approximately 1,200 students and that would be enough for a high school. He said they are looking to get dialogue going with the district to see where District 2 is going with their development plans. He reported they were looking at developing their own community to take care of itself and becoming a corporation as Lockwood, MT. Teresa Stroebe commented that when you grow up in a smaller community you know the families. She would encourage the board to be proactive not reactive. Teresa spends a lot of time in her car commuting her child to school. She would like to see both communities working together and for the district to consider all options and to serve all students. Trustee Gesuale questioned how many 8th graders Lockwood has. He determined 0 dropout rate for a school with 150-500 high school students. Superintendent Copps stated that schools that have over 800 students would have larger drop out ratios. The average dropout rate of AA districts is 20%. Helena has a 22% dropout rate. Schools over 3,000 have a 45-55% dropout rate as students tend to disconnect in larger schools. Senior High and West High School are at capacity. Skyview High School is at functional capacity. There will be infrastructure needs and eventually a new high school will need to be built. Trustee Gesuale questioned the Steering Committee how Class “A” & “B” schools fit in with our Class “AA” schools. Conrad Stroebe said that one size doesn’t always fit all. Most kids want to participate regardless of classification of the school. Education was the important factor. Don Reed said Lockwood would be a class “A” school and more kids could participate in all activities. Teresa Stroebe said when the Lockwood district hooked up sewer lines, the community would grow. Trustee Trafford commented when Cabelas moves in, Lockwood would grow by default. Trustee Mossman asked if legal, financial, or legislative implications have been explored. Conrad Stroebe said there would be options to explore if Lockwood becomes a cooperative. He said moving the 9th graders out of Lockwood could have been a bad decision. He felt as Lockwood grows the impact on Senior and Skyview High School would be felt. He stated that ½ of Lockwood homes are free and reduced lunch homes. He implored the district to consider Lockwood’s situation and look at solutions cooperatively when making long- range plans. Chair Mossman thanked the Steering Committee for coming and sharing the information and noted it would be studied. School Capacity Discussion- Chair Mossman related the results of the public vote for the purchase of the Cottonwood property. She stated the community overwhelming voted for the purchase of a potential elementary site. She said that the central office had been working diligently to provide pertinent information. She asked that the committee study it. Superintendent Copps commented that the district has made an assumption that the community supports neighborhood schools according to the recent vote. Parents want to have easy access to their neighborhood school, the teachers, and the kids that attend that school. Neighborhood schools are not inexpensive. Schools can partner together to help with costs. One class per grade would be cost effective. 150-350 students per class would be a cost effective school. If you built a new school it should be no larger than 350. Some schools have classes in rooms that aren’t designated as a classroom. The maximum standard ratio is 25.1. That is 25 students per class. He reported if a school is at capacity, there would be no room for growth and students would need to be bused. He felt ideally, the school would be at optimal capacity at 94%. That leaves room for growth and there would be 23 students per class. Copps shared a map of the Billings area where the concentrated student area is located and where every student lives. He noted there is no elementary school west of Shiloh road. The map showed 350 kids west of Shiloh. Jeff Dunham questioned where the kids were located relating to King Ave. Superintendent Copps said they weren’t looking at those areas. If he included those students the numbers would be over 400. Superintendent Copps stated as you discuss growth and building you must talk about deferred maintenance. He felt there should be a bond measure to decrease the existing debt by 30%. He was confident that the Billings community would support that. Ali Manning questioned if rebuilding would be a more sound decision over renovating a school. Superintendent Copps stated the average age of our elementary schools is 46 years old. Anne Barlow commented where she was principal before retirement, her district had holding schools. When a school was renovated the students and staff would be moved to a holding school until completion. Chair Mossman noted that hypothetically Rimrock Elementary could be a holding school if an existing school was renovated. Kathy Olson and Dan Martin reported on information that was in the distributed packets. Dan commented the current enrollment for the district schools were approximately 7,455 students. Kathy Olson explained what the auxiliary rooms were. They are rooms for programs such as libraries, read 180, resource room, speech therapy, extended studies, etc. The spreadsheet documented which schools had auxiliary rooms. Dan Martin said as Beartooth Elementary was opened it alleviated a problem in the Heights but eventually there will be a need for an elementary school north of Wicks. Dan informed the committee that in 2002 while he was a chief operations officer he predicted the growth would be 7,523 students and we have 7,455 students to date. He stated forecasting is difficult. He believes that Billings will continue growing. Sara Nyquist questioned if there was other school properties in midtown. Superintendent Copps said that is what needed to be discussed. If a new school was built on the west end, it could possibly alleviate some of the pressure in midtown. Trustee Gesuale commented that there are parcels of land owned by the district. The parcels are at 46th and Grand Ave. for a middle school, an elementary site at the Career Center property, and eight acres in the Heights for an elementary school. Ali Manning questioned if a midtown school could be added on to. Superintendent Copps reported that there wasn’t a school on a site large enough. Dan Martin stated that it may be a good idea to build 2 floor elementary schools. Anne Barlow stated that the current trend is for districts to build 2-story schools. Superintendent Copps reported the district uses portables. The schools that have portables are Boulder, Central Heights, Miles Ave., Bench, Bitterroot and Ponderosa. The portable at Ponderosa is rented. Kathy Olson explained the information in the packet was a snapshot of each Billings Public schools. She chose a school at random and detailed the data. She pointed out that each school receives funding according to number of students. Title schools and special education students receive an additional amount per student. Each school details programs they accommodate such as; Waterford (K-2 early reading enhancement program). All of the additional programs require additional space. The data also included a map of school boundaries. Trustee Gesuale requested a map where students are in comparison to the grid. Kathy Olson stated that there are 9 buses at Rimrock Elementary School at any given time and they are babies on buses, which is not right in her opinion. Ali Manning questioned busing grades 4, 5, and 6. Kathy Olson said that busing grades 4, 5, and 6 was discussed last year, but the parents wanted their kids to stay with the school the student has been going to for the last 5 or 6 years. Michael Iverson questioned how many para-pros per grade. Kathy Olson reported that for 26 students there is an assigned ½ day para- pro and for 28 students in grade 4, 5, and 6 there is a ½ day aide assigned. Dan Martin remarked that there is the law of reasonableness. The raw numbers don’t always tell the story. Prior studies used square footage. Senior High and Skyview High had the same number of classrooms but Skyview had more square footage. The district no longer uses square footage to determine if a school is at capacity. Trustee Gesuale asked what they were to do with all the information. Superintendent Copps explained what the charge of the committee was. The committee was to make recommendations to the board in what direction they should be headed. Trustee Gesuale motioned that a recommendation be made to the board that the committee members have a month to go over the data before they make a decision to buy the site. Michael Iverson seconded the motion made by Trustee Gesuale. Superintendent Copps stated the community voted 16,000 to 8,000 to purchase the Cottonwood site. He felt the community spoke and their wishes should be respected. Trustee Gesuale wanted to have more time to look at all of the data and to be sure the SD2 Board and Planning and Development Committee makes the right decision for the community. Ali Manning said she would like to have more time to talk to committee members about this decision. She felt she was representing the community. Chair Mossman stated a recommendation must be made to go ahead to purchase the site or not purchase the site. Jeff Dunham requested geographic information on where the students are from King Ave. to the southern border. Dan Martin said the district owns four acres by the district warehouse, eight acres by Senior High, one acre at Beartooth, thirteen acres behind the Career Center, eight acres at High Sierra and forty acres by Grand and 46th. Chair Mossman commented that the committee was over on the time limit determined that a recommendation needed to be made. Anne Barlow commented that if the district did not purchase the land then the district could use the money for deferred maintenance. Chair Mossman asked Trustee Gesuale to restate his recommendation. Trustee Gesuale made a motion to make a recommendation to the board to let the Planning and Development Committee consider the data before they make a decision to purchase the land. Chair Mossman asked if Trustee Gesuale could give a time limit. Trustee Gesuale said that time frame would be when the committee made a recommendation. Superintendent Copps stated that the district just spent $30,000.00 for an election, which was board approved for this move. Dr. Sara Nyquist commented we are already behind the 8 ball and this is a decision that needs to be made. She said the people have spoken. Michael Iverson said the people said the public wanted a school, not necessarily at that site. Trustee Gesuale said the people didn’t understand what they voted on. The public does not know the board has not debated the purchase of this land. The board debated an election to site the property and explicitly discussed they were not making a decision to purchase that land or build a new school. Chair Mossman stated that if she understood Trustee Gesuale correctly, he needed more information. Superintendent Copps stated that he was to prepare a purchase agreement for the purchase of the land the city and run the agreement by the city attorney and then present it to the Board. He was to bring it to the Board on November 19, 2007. Ali Manning suggested we recommend building on land we do have. Michael Iverson suggested the district build an elementary and high school on the 40-acre parcel the district owned as he has kids that will be at both schools and he found it convenient. Dr. Sara Nyquist strongly suggested that high school and middle school are never built close to an elementary school. She said research states it relates to serious problems. Dan Martin said two major roads border the 40-acre parcel, which would not be conducive to elementary students. Kathy Olson said Will James is filling up and a middle school will soon need to be built. Superintendent Copps stated a completion date is needed as per the contract language. He confirmed there already had been an extention request. Cheryl Malia-McCall motioned a friendly amendment for the committee to come together by November 30th to make a decision. Anne Barlow seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Gesuale restated the amended motion for approval by the committee. We would recommend that the Board not make a decision on the purchase of the land until the Planning and Development Committee has an opportunity to consider it and that we would do that by November 30th. Those voting in favor were Peter, Anne, Michael, and Jeff Those who opposed were Cheryl, Sarah, and Ali The motion passed. Chair Mossman discussed the timeline for the next meeting and the 26th of November at 5:30 pm was decided upon. Sara would not be able to attend on the 26th but would recommend the purchase of the land. Approval of the amended Planning and Development Committee Minutes for February 12, 2007, and September 10, 2007 - Trustee Gesuale moved to approve the minutes and Cheryl Malia-McCall seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous for approval. As there was no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:15. _________________ Sandra Mossman, Chair _________________ Barbara Gustafson, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.