WESTSIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS DISTRICT 66 Board Meeting Minutes April 7, 2014

Transcription

1 WESTSIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS DISTRICT 66 Board Meeting Minutes The Meeting of School District 66 was convened in open and public session on at 6:30 p.m., at the Westside ABC Building, 909 South 76th Street, Omaha, Nebraska. Board members present: David Woodke, President Rosie Zweiback, Vice President Scott Hazelrigg, Secretary Martha Slosburg, Treasurer Tom Baker, Director David Williams, Director Notice of the meeting was given in advance by publication on the district website ( beginning on April 2, 2014, a copy of which is attached to the official minutes. Notice of this meeting and the availability of the agenda was simultaneously given to all members of the and available to anyone at the offices. All proceedings hereafter shown were taken while the convened meeting was open to the attendance of the public. District Administrative Office Staff Members in attendance: Blane McCann, Peggy Rupprecht, Bob Zagozda, Rick Avard, Kami Jessop, Enid Schonewise, Susan Johnston, Paul Lindgren, Ruby Larson, Mark Weichel, Garrett Mueller, Anna Waitt, Molly Hurley. Other District Staff and Visitors: Laura Iliff, Garrett Higginbotham, Jonathan Pingel, Greg Betts, Crystal Bolamperti, Theresa Gosnell, Maria Neesman, Matt Lee, Steph Hornung, Russ Olsen, Lee Madsen, Jon Preister, Carrie Turner, Hannah Dickson, Gabi Christensen, Doug Krenzer, Dave Richardson, Beth Pepitone, Joe Pepiton, Elena Pepitone, Jim Solheim, Joyce Solheim, Jenny Solheim, Beth Morrissette, Colleen Evans, Kim Hare, Jenni Gurney. Board President David Woodke called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. He acknowledged that the meeting had been publicly announced and the agenda was available to any interested parties. Board member roll call was taken and attendance is noted above. Mr. Woodke welcomed the audience and encouraged everyone to sign the attendance sheet. This information is part of the official minutes of the Board meeting. Mr. Woodke told the Board that the Nebraska Open Meetings regulations have also been posted. He announced that handouts of supportive documents dealing with issues being discussed during the meeting were available. Mr. David Williams, Board Director, made a motion to approve the minutes of the Board of Education Meeting held on March 24, 2014 as presented. Mr. Scott Hazelrigg, Board Secretary, seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote, with Ms. Martha Slosburg, Board Treasurer, and Mr. Tom Baker, Board Director, abstaining.

2 Page 2 of 6 Treasurer s Report Ms. Martha Slosburg, Board Treasurer, presented the Treasurer s report with a motion to approve $6,211,556 for expenditures in all accounts. General Fund expenses where higher for utilities and transportation; Nutrition Services Fund expenses were higher due to supply purchases for new contract meal schools; and in the Debt Service Fund, expenses were for issuance expenses and the underwriter s discount. Revenues were up in Nutrition Services due to additional contract schools and federal reimbursements. Tax receipts are beginning to be reflected in the Special Building Fund as part of the levy. One less weekend of church rentals caused a loss in revenue in the Enterprise Fund. Mr. Tom Baker, Board Director, seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote. (A copy of the financial report is attached to the official minutes.) Communications Dr. Blane McCann, Superintendent, welcomed Westside High School Student Advisory Board co-presidents, Hannah Dickson and Gabi Christensen. Ms. Dickson and Ms. Christensen reported that they made $6,301 on Winter Formal and that $2,014 would be given to Make-A- Wish. Another fundraiser they held recently, with proceeds also going to Make-A-Wish, was a pie-throwing contest. The top three teachers who won the right to be human pie targets were: #1 Mr. Brad Metzler; #2 Mr. John Brian; and #3 Mr. Chad Schmeckpepper. SAB members will be participating in a school exchange with SAB member students from Glenwood, IA. The Annual Talent Show fundraiser will be held on April 10, Dr. McCann introduced Westside Middle School students, Sara Evans and Jenny Solheim, Westside High School student Elena Pepitone. Middle School Art Teacher Cindy Royer joined them. Sara, Jenny and Elena were being honored for winning medals in the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition. It is the longest running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S. Sara and Jenny were both awarded silver medals. Jenny, a past gold-medal winner in the competition, was awarded her second gold medal this year. Ms. Theresa Henson, guidance counselor at Westside High School, was recognized for being named a semi-finalist for the National School Counselor of the Year Award by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). Ms. Henson recently traveled to Washington, DC where she was honored with other semi-finalists at a gala of the ASCA. Mr. Jon Preister, Social Studies teacher at Westside High School, and high school students Daniel Coyle, Max Slosburg, Reece Watanabe, Thomas Kutilek, Aren Rendell and Tyler Schneiderman were in attendance and recognized for their recent participation at the Harvard Model Congress. A program for high school students, the Harvard Model Congress provides an opportunity to learn about the process of American Government through experiential learning, engage in open debate, caucuses, trials and press conferences. Mr. Preister expressed that the students were excellent representatives of Westside and are anxious to return next year.

3 Page 3 of 6 Dr. McCann shared good news on grants that the District received recently. The $2.6 million Youth Career Connect grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor, and Westside Community Schools was one of just 24 organizations throughout the country to receive this new federal grant. The grant will be used for STEM education and ties in with the District s goals of providing school-wide enrichment, developing school and business partnerships and supporting teachers with personalized learning strategies. Dr. McCann thanked Dr. Mark Weichel, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, for heading up the grant-writing effort. In addition, Westside Community Schools also received a $298,000 School Improvement Grant. This is Federal grant money that is distributed through the Nebraska Department of Education. The grant money will be used to hire an instructional coach at Westbrook Elementary. The instructional coach is a master teacher who will support the work of other teachers at this Title building. Dr. McCann thanked Ruby Larson, Director of Teaching & Learning, Analysis Focus, for her work on the grant application process. Personnel Report Dr. Enid Schonewise, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, presented for the Board s approval recommendations for eight resignations; one retirement; one leave of absence and three probationary contracts. Ms. Rosie Zweiback, Board Vice President, made a motion to approve the Personnel Report as presented by the Administration. Mr. David Williams, Board Director, seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote. (A copy of the Personnel Report is attached to the official minutes.) Continued Employment of Certified Staff Members Dr. Schonewise requested the Board s approval for continued employment of all full-time and part-time certificated staff members through the school year, with the exception of any certified staff currently on a temporary contract, and also with the exception of any certified staff that the Administration has recommended, or recommends in the future, for non-renewal, termination or cancellation of their contract in accordance with Nebraska Law. Mr. Williams made a motion to approve the Administration s request. Ms. Zweiback seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote. Annual Human Resources Report Dr. Schonewise and Anna Waitt, Human Resources Specialist, presented an update on Human Resources (HR) initiatives and progress for the school year. The data presented in their comprehensive Annual Report will assist in establishing trends and patterns that will allow for informed decisions in recruiting, hiring and other personnel matters. In addition, HR will continue to maintain accurate staffing demographic data to ensure that employees success is recognized and that all staff members are aware of their rights, responsibilities and benefits within the District. (A copy of the Executive Summary and HR Annual Report is attached to the official minutes.)

4 Page 4 of 6 Elementary Scheduling Report Dr. Mark Weichel, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, presented a report on the new Elementary Master Schedule. Dr. Weichel expressed his thanks to all elementary principals for their help in developing a schedule that: is driven by learning; honors instructional and academic time; assures daily common planning time for teachers; focuses on literacy and math; guarantees teacher collaboration; and is consistent across the District. With the beginning of the school year, the elementary school day will begin 10 minutes earlier, running from 8:40 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Time reserved for Specials (Art, PE, World Language, Music and Library) is better distributed across grade levels. There is also time built in to the daily schedule for intervention and enrichment (I/E) activities, based on individual student needs. This I/E time would be used for students involved in strings and / or band, eliminating the need to pull the student out of instructional classroom time. In addition, time is also built in, both at the beginning and at the end of each day, for daily tasks such as announcements, study halls, reading buddies and class parties. (A copy of the Executive Summary is attached to the official minutes.) Technology Refresh / Apple Lease Dr. Weichel, Dr. Paul Lindgren, Director of Technology, and Ms. Cristin Rold, Director of Learning Innovation and Professional Development presented information on Westside Community Schools use of technology and the important role it plays in the learning experiences for our students. Instructional technology has long been a defining strength of our District and it is imperative that, as technology evolves, so does the technology we provide to all students. After considering the District s existing instructional technology plan and reviewing data from a BrightBytes study and a SAMR model survey that evaluated how teachers use technology in the classroom and their level of proficiency, District Administrators determined that the next step should be to expand the District s current 1:1 initiative in grades 8-12 to include grades K-7. This expansion would provide a laptop to each student in grades 7-12 and ipads for each of our K-6 students. Additionally, the District will be able to refresh the wireless network infrastructure at each instructional building. The costs associated with expanding the 1:1 implementation can be accomplished while maintaining the existing technology funding level because of four key factors: (1) The evolution of the ipad over the last few years has made it an attractive option for elementary grade students; (2) Apple no longer charges for applications and operating system updates; (3) We will be able to sell all of our existing laptops (anticipated revenue of over $1 million); and (4) with every student getting either a laptop or ipad, the District can stretch the hardware refresh cycle from three years to four years, lowering our lease payment.

5 Page 5 of 6 To ensure that the District is meeting it s key vision goals of literacy, personalized learning, technology integration, community and global partnerships, and opportunities to discover individual strengths, it will be critical to provide ongoing and sustained professional development for teachers, principals and administrators. This training will be available during District-wide professional development days as well as at the building level during team collaboration time. Knowledge of best practices and access to powerful technological learning tools are crucial aspects of helping our students become confident lifelong learners. (A copy of the Executive Summary is attached to the official minutes.) Approval of AdvancED District Accreditation Process Ms. Susan Johnston, Director of Assessment and School Improvement, presented for the Board s approval a request to submit a Letter of Commitment to Dr. Mark Elgart at AdvancED regarding Westside Community Schools intent to pursue District Accreditation in the school year. Ms. Johnston provided a recap of her report from February 3, 2014, when the Board was briefed on the District s effort to move from Individual School Accreditation to District Accreditation. This move will enable the District to more clearly align the work of each building to the District-wide vision and goals. On March 10, 2014, a representative from the Nebraska Department of Education Accreditation Office conducted a readiness visit with District staff. The purpose of the visit was to determine the District s eligibility for District Accreditation. The District received a Report of Readiness from AdvancED certifying Westside as a candidate. The detailed results of the report were provided to each Board member and a copy of the report is included with the official minutes. The next step will be to send a letter of our District s commitment, along with evidence of Board approval. During the school year, Westside will have a District external team visit consisting of members from Nebraska as well as other states. Ms. Zweiback made a motion to approve Westside Community Schools involvement in the AdvancED District Accreditation Process. Mr. Hazelrigg seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote. (A copy of the Executive Summary is attached to the official minutes.) Legislative Update Dr. McCann provided a brief update on legislative issues impacting Westside Community Schools. The most significant piece of legislation was the passage of LB725, which amends the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA) by moving the scheduled decrease (from $1.03 to $1.00) in the local effort rate (LER) up one year, going into effect for the school fiscal year instead of the school fiscal year. Other legislative developments being monitored include learning community legislation, statutory changes for school safety, tax increment financing and election law changes.

6 Page 6 of 6 Announcements Dr. McCann acknowledged our candidates in attendance: David Woodke, Doug Krenzer and Beth Morrissette. He then reviewed upcoming event dates which include: April 14-18, 2014 Spring Break; April 28, 2014 Meet the BOE Candidates Forum at 7:00pm; May 5, 2014 BOE Meeting at CCC 6:30pm; May 13, 2014 Election Day; May 19, 2014 BOE Meeting; May 22, 2014 Commencement at Ralston Arena at 7:00pm; May 26, 2014 Memorial Day / No School; May 30, 2014 Last day of School. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:13 p.m.