April 14, 2010 Board Meeting Minutes

MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF
BLAINE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 61
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010 - 6:30 P.M.
DISTRICT OFFICE

I.        Closed Executive Session

The NSPRA’s representative conducted a Communications Audit of the Board of Trustees.  

There being no further business to discuss in Closed Executive Session, Board Member Paul Bates made a motion to convene to Regular Open Session.  The motion was seconded by Steve Guthrie and passed unanimously.

REGULAR APRIL BOARD MEETING

II.       Call to Order and Welcome

Board Chairman Julie Dahlgren called the Regular April meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and welcomed everyone in attendance.  

Present were Board Members Dan Parke, Steve Guthrie and Paul Bates.  Also in attendance were Dr. Lonnie Barber, Superintendent of Schools, Mike Chatterton, School District Treasurer, and Laurie Kaufman, Board Clerk.  

Chairman Dahlgren stated that a quorum was present.  

III.      Pledge of Allegiance

IV.      Accolade

Julia Grafft, Cognitive Coach and Wood River High School teacher, sent a multi-department accolade for Wood River High School Vice Principal, Keith Nelson.

WRHS is lucky to have Keith Nelson in the front office.  Below are some comments from different departments within the building that explain just some of what Keith has done for us…  

Keith has been amazing. For the Math Department he rallied 15 new computers right at the beginning of the year.  They arrived so fast.  He also provided us with an additional 20 student TI-84 calculators at the end of last school year.  Several of us also received new printers over the summer.  He has been so supportive and very quick to respond.  I personally am also using the new ‘Turn It In’ within my calculus class.  I can't say enough about his help and positive attitude on a daily basis.
Math Department  

Getting computers into the science labs for students - we now do more tech related labs with high tech software and probe ware.  We also are able to do discussion boards and BLOG more frequently during class - not just as homework.  

With any item, if you go to Keith, he helps get it done, or he gets an answer.
Thanks!
Science Department  

Keith was instrumental in getting the side room set up as a mini-computer lab for mainly ESL students, but other students have benefitted from it, too.  It has been a HUGE resource for us as an ESL Dept.  He has been available and very patient if I have had any questions with equipment or programs.  He is a very valuable resource.  He has advocated for me for tech services. 
ESL Department  

Keith has been instrumental in helping to form a technology plan that makes sense for WRHS.  He has worked to find affordable solutions that allowed the HS to purchase a set of new lap tops that can be moved from classroom to classroom.  He has worked with the Social Studies Department to compare tech options and determine which technology would be used the most frequently, including smart boards, projectors, air liner slates, portable hard drives, Promethean boards and laptops.   

He takes time to research and purchase in a timely manner.  His decisions and actions improve our ability to bring a new platform of learning to our students.  If he says he will do something, he follows through immediately.  He deserves recognition for all these reasons.
Social Studies Department  

Keith has spent his own time organizing funds and coordinating upgrades of hardware and software in Olson’s Apple computer lab.  He also has the hottest mustache ever.
Chet Olson – Multimedia  

Keith has been wonderful to make sure the computer labs get what they need; printers especially.  

He fought for the new laptops and has helped with getting them user-friendly and everyone accountable.  He is an asset in many ways but his technology skills are wonderful.  

Getting equipment, staff WebPages, and the ability to view, download and use Facebook as a tool has been wonderful.
Jeannie Bradshaw – Computer Lab Guru

Krista Jones stated that Bellevue Elementary School's goal is to guide all of our students along successful paths to becoming caring citizens, confident leaders, and life-long learners. To reach this goal, Bellevue’s students are immersed in a culture of college awareness, service leadership, and mentorship.  The skills learned through this culture empower them to strive for higher personal, civic, and academic excellence; and ready them for the 21st Century and beyond.  The year-old program has 130 students enrolled as formal scholars but the whole school is now embracing the culture of college aspirations.  All students from preschool to 5th grade are involved somehow in the “College Aspirations Project” and we have a wonderful partnership with “College for Every Student,” the Lee Pesky Learning Center, and all of the Bellevue community.  

Please click here to view the CFES photo presentation.  

Please click here to view information regarding the Bellevue Cub Council.  

Ms. Jones introduced Bellevue Elementary School CFES/CAP Scholars.  Each student wrote their own speeches to explain their roles in the Bellevue Elementary School program

       ●    3rd grade:  Natalie McStay (Mentee with 5th grade)

Natalie McStay's speech to the Board:  

Hi I’m Natalie McStay and I’m in 3rd Grade.  I am proud that I am a CAP Scholar and Mentee.   

My Mentor—Jo Jo gives me courage, understanding and a lot of care.  CAP is a proud sponsor of my future.  I am proud to announce that if I stay at this school through the 5th grade, every single in between moment, I will remember that CAP will probably change my life forever.   

CAP is a very cool program for me because I get to interact with people who are higher than my grade so it’s really fun.  By knowing about this program and being a part of it ---it has really changed my thinking about college.   

For example, I used to want to be a veterinarian, animal rescuer, teacher and thousands of other things.  I thought that you would feel like you would have to choose and that it would be really hard.   

But with my friends and family at my side, I know it will come really easily.    

Thanks for listening.

       ●    4th grade:  Carter Gerringa (Mentee with 6th grade)
       ●    5th grade:  Bailey Lobey (Mentor with 3rd grade) Cub Council Member

Bailey Lobey’s speech to the Board:  

Hi.  I’m Bailey Lobey, and I am proud to be representing my school and more importantly, the Bellevue Elementary 5th grade Cub Council.   

Cub Council is a group of 5th grade students learning to be leaders and working together to help other students, our environment, community, and even charity.   

Our most recent project was a bake sale that raised $534 to help the citizens in Haiti.    

By being in this group, I feel like I have become a better person and a better student.  But most importantly be accepted into a good educational college.   

Please, if you have a son or daughter about to be a 5th grade Bellevue Bear; encourage them to be in the Cub Council.  Thank you for your time.    

       ●    5th grade:  Adelle Martin (Mentor with 3rd grade)
       ●    6th grade:  Brady Delgadillo (Mentor with 4th grade) former Cub
             Council Member

David Holmes presented the core strands of the national program “College for Every Student – CFES” and our local program supported by the Lee Pesky Learning Center “Wood River College Aspirations Project – CAP”.  

Please click here to view the outline of David Holmes’ presentation: Wood River College Aspirations Project: A Unique Public-Private Partnership.

VEX Robotics Wolverines Team – Wood River High School Architectural and Mechanical Design Academy Students John Siegel, Rusty Williams, Jason Tracy, and Tyler Wolfley – Kevin Lupton, Technology Education Teacher/Architectural and Mechanical Design Academy Instructor  

The VEX Robotics Wolverine Team decided to enter a robot building competition held January 9th in Logan, Utah to see how well they would do in preparation for next year’s competition.  They committed two weeks of time before winter break and a few times during the break to work on their robot.  The robot displayed this evening is the new and improved version.  There were many problems with the robot after arriving at the competition; every few seconds there was a change.  They barely made it in time because entire drives had to be changed out.  The students really worked well as a team; problem solving on the fly.  When they returned they basically redesigned the robot because “there were way too many problems with it.”   

The team placed first in the Utah competition but they had to make a choice whether they wanted to continue with the same robotic design or to start from scratch for the Worlds competition in Dallas, Texas on April 22, 2010.  They went with a new design considering other ideas from their former competitors, as well as viewing You-Tube videos.  The team combined ideas and worked all through the second trimester to produce the robot showcased this evening.  They strived to make the new version as simple and workable as possible.   

The team explained the game they designed utilizing their robot.   

A total of 300 teams from China, North America, and South America will be competing at the Worlds Competition.  Tyler Wolfley wrote a grant and submitted it to POWER Engineers.  As a result, POWER became one of the team’s biggest sponsors.  

Please click here to view Kathleen Turner’s article published in the January 13, 2010 edition of the WeeklyPaper. 

Paper Mache Sculptures Project – Betty Ervin, Wood River High School Art Teacher and First Trimester Ceramics Class  

Betty Ervin said that her inspiration for the Paper Mache Sculptures project at Wood River High School came from a book she read last year.  Former First Lady Laura Bush, a former children’s librarian, made story book paper mache characters and placed them in her library.  The idea really stuck with Betty.  Her first trimester ceramics class took this idea on as a project.  

Wood River High School Art Student, Tori Poole, displayed her finished paper mache character, “Olivia,” and explained how her figure was created, start to finish.

"Olivia" - Woodside Elementary School Library

The project started when Betty’s art students took a school bus to Woodside Elementary School.  They met and played with the Woodside students and together they chose the kids’ favorite story book characters.   

All of the Art students’ completed figures were taken to the Woodside Elementary School Library.  Books were taken off the shelves and displayed with the paper mache figures.  The kids were so excited to see the finished sculptures; -- they actually ran to get the books!  Additional copies of books were obtained because they were always checked out!  

Tori said she loved the project and thinks it was a great success because it instilled desire in the kids to read the books associated with the characters.  They were so inspired by the sculptures!  

Because the project was so successful and it does prove that art inspires reading, Betty has decided to repeat the Paper Mache Sculptures project every year.  She will coordinate this in the fall so libraries will be able to keep the figures for the entire school year.  

Betty’s Art Club kids are also working on an online nationwide contest for Vans Shoes.  They came up with an overall theme: Elements: Earth, Fire & Water, and painted one shoe for Street-wear (Earth), Music (Air), Art (Water), and Extreme Sports (Fire).  The national winner will get to attend the annual WARP Tour rock concert.  

Model United Nations – Berkeley, California – March 5-7, 2010 – Joel Zellers, Wood River High School Special Education Teacher and Model United Nations Advisor, Wood River High School Students and Model United Nations Members, Erica Evans and Jill Feldhusen  

Joel Zellers stated that Model United Nations (MUN) is about getting kids into the community, getting them to understand world politics, and getting them to understand what goes on beyond the Wood River Valley.  

Approximately 1,500 students attended the conference.  Our students were very confident, having spent months upon months researching their topics.  Seventy percent of the students attending were Asian; the Conference was not only an academic challenge, but a cultural challenge as well.  In MUN, he who speaks loudest wins, and he who speaks constantly wins.  Our students found out very quickly that if you’re not heard and if you’re not voicing your opinion quickly, you’re going to be pushed aside.  You will not get on Resolutions; and you will not be part of the group that’s actually going to win.  Most schools had 20 or more students attending with several years of MUN experience.  

The MUN experience is more than just speech and debate; in fact speech and debate are a minor aspect of what makes a student qualified for MUN.  The following traits are powerful qualities students learn to be productive members of a MUN:  

1. Communication skills
2. Networking
   
3. Acceptance of others (race, speech, appearance, etc)
   
4. Friendships
   
5. Diplomacy
   
6. Professionalism (in the business field
   
7. Parliamentary procedure
   
8. Appropriate dress (in the business field)
   
9.  The world economy
   
10. Competition – why we need competition in our education system  

The benefits of MUN go well beyond the above, the MUN allows students to bring forth many skills they have learned during their time in K-12 education in BCSD:  

1. Government – how countries become allies and why
   
2. English – students must write resolution papers
   
3. Speech – students are constantly giving speeches to over 8- students at a time
   
4. History – students need to know historical data on their given topics and countries
   
5.  Mathematics – students need to be able to quickly calculate math problems on the spot as they pertain to global economics
   
6. Socialization – students need to be able to address others in an appropriate, business manner
   
7. Sciences – students are involved with researching and designing new ways to overcome global scientific issues (water, solar energy, food production, etc)  

Erica Evans and Jill attended the Berkeley, California MUN Conference.  They shared their Conference experiences with the Board (please view the April 14th Regular Board meeting webcast for details).  

MUN Advisors
Joel Zellers
Maritt Wolfrom  

MUN Students                                     Committee
Hannah Baybutt                                   SPD
Benjamin Broderick                              DISC
Erica Evans                                         Legal
Jill Feldhusen                                       Legal
Carly Gustafson                                   SOCHUM
Rachael Blum                                      SPD
Rudolph “Bill” Rheinschild                     DISC  

Please click here to view the Model United Nations presentation.  

On behalf of the Model United Nations of WRHS, Joel Zellers thanked the Blaine County School District Board of Trustees and Principal John Blackman for allowing this powerful and engaging club to be part of Wood River High School. 

Special Meeting of March 8, 2010 – Trustee Workshop            
Regular Meeting of March 9, 2010

Please click here to view the March 2010 Financial Reports.

Classified Staff – Exiting  

Charles “Eddy” Green – Maintenance Custodian, District Support Building   

Classified Staff – Recommending for Hire

Holly Rubenstein – Special Education Behavior Support Paraprofessional, Bellevue Elementary School (District-wide)

Certified Staff – Exiting  

Susan Barnes* – 1st Grade Elementary Teacher, Hemingway Elementary School

Lindi Davis – Math Teacher, Wood River High School

Geraldine London* - Kindergarten Dual Immersion Teacher, Bellevue Elementary School

James Lee Pace – Math/Science Teacher, Carey School

Hannah Ragsdale – 5th Grade Elementary Teacher, Bellevue Elementary School

Carol Stilz* – Speech Teacher, Wood River High School

Certified Staff – Recommending for Hire
None.  

Administrative Staff – Recommending for Hire  

Approved at Special Meeting of the Board – April 6, 2010:  

John Blackman – Assistant Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer, District Office  

*Retiring

Board Member Dan Parke made a notion to approve items “a” through “d” of the Consent Agenda.  The motion was seconded by Paul Bates and passed unanimously.  

VI.      Public Comments

a.       Nicholas Smith – 4th Grade Bellevue Elementary School Student

I am turning in a petition for a three-day weekend or a four-day school week.  It would lower costs and transportation and help the environment and the heating and overhead costs.  It would open sports for events and you could spend more time with your loved ones.  There are 19 current states where schools already have this like Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.  The four-day week started 20 years ago to help the energy crisis.  By going to school four days a week, it saves $1.2 Million.  You have 50 fewer hours but you could change that by going to school until 3:30.

Chairman Dahlgren stated that the Board would take Nicholas’ well-worded thoughts into consideration.   

Board Member Paul Bates asked Dr. Barber if a four-day school week had to be state-wide.   

Dr. Barber:  It does not have to be state-wide; there are currently school districts in Idaho with four-day weeks.  Those Idaho districts are unfortunately out of money so it has been a necessity for them to do it.  I can get the Board some numbers of what their projections are for the amount saved.  There are some savings but it’s not a huge amount.  I can call the Superintendents to see if they will share that information. 

a.        Language In Our Schools

Please click here to view Matt Murray’s presentation.

a.        Continuous Improvement

Please click here to view Chairman Dahlgren’s Board Report.

X.        Information Agenda

Please click here to view the Environmental Practices Committee’s presentation.

Please click here to view the Naviance presentation.

XI.       Action Agenda  

Two sealed bids for the purchase of one new school bus with a wheelchair lift were opened on April 6, 2010.  Rex Squires recommends that the bid be awarded to Lake City Companies in the amount of $93,605.00.  The District is qualified for a $19,000.00 grant that will help offset the cost of this vehicle through the stimulus program and through the Department of Environmental Quality.  

Please click here to view the Bid Summary Recommendation.

Board Member Paul Bates made a motion to award the bid for the wheelchair lift equipped school bus to Lake City Companies in the amount of $93,605.00.  The motion was seconded by Steve Guthrie and passed unanimously.

Rex Squires stated that this is for the annual rotation of the School District’s school bus fleet.  Each year three busses are purchased and three of the older busses are sold.  

Mike Chatterton, School District Treasurer, stated that we may look at dropping the number to two busses.   

Board Member Steve Guthrie asked Rex if hybrid busses are available.  Rex replied that some manufacturers have hybrid busses but they are still cost prohibitive.  For example, approximately $77,000 was paid for each new bus last year.  If we wanted to get that very same bus in a hybrid model, the additional cost is about the same, approximately $77,000 more.  After eight years, battery cells need to be replaced in the hybrid models at a cost of $70,000.00 - $80,000.00. 

Please click here to view Rex Squires’ Memo to the Board.

XII.      Public Comments Regarding Tonight’s Regular Agenda

None.  

There being no further business to discuss, Board Member Dan Parke made a motion to adjourn the Regular meeting and convene to Closed Executive Session pursuant to Idaho Codes §67-2345(b) and §67-2345(c)for the discussion of personnel and property.  The motion was seconded by Steve Guthrie and passed unanimously.  

The Regular April meeting of the Board of Trustees of Blaine County School District No. 61 adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

The Board discussed personnel and property matters.  

No action was taken as a result of the discussion of personnel and property in Closed Executive Session.