WOODLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 404 DIRECTOR'S MEETING MINUTES
November 14, 2011 7:00PM Regular Meeting-District Meeting Room
MEMBERS PRESENT
Jim Bays, Janice Watts, Bill Woodard, Tina Cayton, Katie Longrie-Student Representative, Michael Green-Secretary and Tegan Steen-Recording Secretary
OTHERS PRESENT
Shari Conditt, Deb Kernen, Cari Thomson, Dan Uhlenkott, Chris Wiseman, Randy Sorensen, Don Stuart, Paul Cline, John Shoup, Malinda Huddleston, Carrie Sweyer, Mark Houk, Asha Riley and Stacy Brown.
MINUTES
Janice Watts moved to approve the October 24, 2011 regular meeting minutes.
Tina Cayton yesBill Woodard yes Janice Watts yes carried
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Report and Recommendations of the Ad Hoc Facilities CommitteePaul Cline reported on the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee. The recommendations are for the construction of a 130,000 square foot high school building to accommodate 850-900 students upon opening, included in the footprint must be space for future expansion. As part of the proposed timeline, the Board will select an architect by January 9, 2012, to develop a preliminary design for a new building and work with the District on pre-bond planning. The preliminary estimate for the bond request recommendation is $39,875,000, contingent upon closer appraisal of projects. The bond will be presented to voters on April 17, 2012.
Bill Woodard moved to accept the proposal as presented by the Ad Hoc Committee, and direct the superintendent to move forward with the project.
Tina Cayton yesBill Woodard yesJanice Watts yesJim Bays yes carried
Jim Bays thanked the committee for their work. Michael Green will be working with a consulting architect that Doug Nichols recommended. Michael has worked with Jim Christensen before and says he's very skilled.
REPORTS TO THE BOARD
Student Representative ReportKatie Longrie reported the WPS is getting a new design for their Beaver Kit logo for WPS sweatshirts and tee shirts. Dream Team Dental will provide dental services to over a hundred students at WPS next week. Three 4th grade classes sold bracelets and raised over $300 for the CAP program. This was organized by former Woodland teacher Jan Borhnsen. WMS collected food for World Food Day, which went to the Community Center. They also participated in Make a Difference Day and Mix It Up Day. (Mix It Up Day helps students not participate in cliques by having students sit at different tables and participate in different group activities than what they usually do.) High School winter sports started today. They had an ASB meeting last Wednesday and heard the first reading of the Challenge Club and second reading of the Trap Shooting Club.
Other ReportsBill Woodard asked John Shoup about when the Board will hear another report on "F" data. He said the next one should be around semester when grades are reported. Jim Bays asked Chris Wiseman about the survey he sent home to parents about student involved conferences. Chris said he had done a survey a few years back, but wanted to survey the new group of parents for the school to see how they like these conferences. Jim asked how parents at other schools like the student-led conferences. Dan Uhlenkott said that some parents like them and others don't.
SUPERINTENDENT REPORT
Michael Green said that he had reviewed a State Board report on credit requirement changes for the class of 2016. The State Board approved credit changes on Thursday, November 10th. The update showed what was approved, and what the State Board would like to have, but would require funding. The Board will see a recommended policy revision including the new requirements in the spring.
CORRESPONDENCE
Acceptance of Steve Madsen's Resignation The Board received Steve's formal resignation letter.
Janice Watts moved to accept Steve Madsen's resignation.
Tina Cayton yesBill Woodard yesJanice Watts yes carried
CITIZENS REQUESTS
None.
BOARD REPORTS AND REQUESTS
KWRL Joint Meeting DebriefJanice Watts reported on the KWRL annual joint meeting. The group discussed the property that KWRL bought recently, and how the State cuts would affect what they do. La Center and Ridgefield need facilities for their buses. They are talking with an architect to see what low-cost steps can take with the property. The Board discussed the project and what the State match would contribute.
WQCC Meeting DebriefTina Cayton and Jim Bays went to the WQCC meeting. The group had started as the School District, Port and City a couple of years ago. They wanted to share communications about how the groups could help each other and share information. Recently the group had branched out and started heading in other directions. This meeting, it went back to focus efforts on economic development and how we could make Woodland stronger. Partnerships are yet to be determined. Jim said that it's important to Woodland to have people working and paying taxes to help run schools. The meetings will continue to lay the groundwork. There will be committees. Our piece will be to help host forums. Jim said this will be determined later. Jim said that he isn't aware of any other communities forming this type of group. We are ahead of the curve.
Other Reports and RequestsJim said that he's worried about cuts to levy equalization (LEA) and wants to see the Board contact legislators. He said that if the State is making cuts, those cuts should be equal. If LEA is cut, some districts in the State won't lose a penny while others will lose millions. Woodland, under the Governor's proposal, would lose about $500,000 per year. Michael said there is a special session beginning the Monday after Thanksgiving. He will see if they can find a way for the Board to discuss their concerns with them.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Process for Filling Director District 5 SeatMichael recommended the following timeline for filling the Director 5 Seat:
November 14th: Acceptance of Director Madsen's ResignationNovember 15th: Posting of Information and application on District Web SiteNovember 16th: Mailing of Postcard to postal patrons in Director District #5December 13th: Deadline for application to the BoardDecember 19th: Interviews of candidates by Board, Executive Session to consider applicant's qualificationsJanuary 9th: Appointment and swearing in of appointee
The Board agreed to follow this timeline. Jim said he and Michael will work on the structure of the December 19th meeting, potentially beginning with interviews before the regular meeting.
Report on Full-Day Kindergarten OptionsThe Board heard a presentation by WPS Principal, Mark Houk, regarding full-day Kindergarten. The Board is very interested in having full-day Kindergarten, but decided that they need to know what the State cuts will be to the budget, in order to make a decision to add this program. They do not want to be locked into a position of expanding one program while having to dramatically reduce other areas. They said they are curious to hear about what the cost of a half-day every-day Kindergarten program would cost.
Report on "Fundraising" CommitteeThe Board heard a presentation by WHS Principal, John Shoup, regarding fundraising in the District. His presentation included a new draft policy called School and Student Fundraising. The policy prohibits groups from invasive, disruptive and poor public relations fundraising during school, including during extracurricular or co-curricular events and team practices. The Board discussed the presentation. Jim said he thinks the elimination of fundraisers is less important to the community than it is to staff. He said he doesn't think it should be included in the levy because, people can say no to fundraisers, but all taxpayers would have the tax whether they would have said no or not. He also thinks some of the sport expenses should be paid for by the District. All other Board members agreed that the policy was good. Without knowing how the State cuts will affect the budget, the Board decided not to include this item on the M&O levy.
CONSENT AGENDA
Tina Cayton moved to approve the consent agenda.
Janice Watts yesBill Woodard yesTina Cayton yes carried
ACTION ITEMS
Approval of Policy No. 5253-Maintaining Professional Staff/Student BoundariesMichael said this was the policy recommended by our insurance pool. It helps lower insurance rates. This is the second reading and there were no changes from the first reading.
Tina moved to approve Policy No. 5253-Maintaining Professional Staff/Student Boundaries.
Janice Watts yes Bill Woodard yes Tina Cayton yes carried
Approval of HVAC Vendor, NCCThis item was removed from the agenda for further research and information.
Approval of 49th Street Academy Contract 2011-2012The Board discussed the contract and costs. Stacy Brown said they are mostly refunded by the Safety Net money.
Bill Woodard moved to approve the 49th Street Academy Contract 2011-2012.
Approval of ESD 112 ContractsThree ESD 112 contracts were presented for approval. There will be more on the next agenda.
Tina Cayton moved to approve the ESD 112 contracts presented.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
President, Jim Bays, recessed the meeting into executive session at 10:13pm to discuss personnel, with no action to be taken upon return.
President, Jim Bays, reconvened the meeting into regular session at 10:20pm.
ADJOURNMENT
President, Jim Bays, adjourned the meeting of the Board of Directors at 10:20pm.
ATTEST:
_______________________________ Secretary to the Board
WOODLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT #404 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
____________________________________ President
____________________________________ Director