November 9, 2010 Board Meeting Minutes

MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF
BLAINE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 61
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2010 – 6:30 P.M.
DISTRICT OFFICE

Board Member Dan Parke made a motion to convene to Closed Executive Session pursuant to Idaho Code §67-2345(1)(b) to conduct a formal Expulsion Hearing for a Blaine County School District student.  The motion was seconded by Paul Bates and passed unanimously.  

Present were Board Chair, Julie Dahlgren and Board Members Dan Parke, Paul Bates and Kathryn Graves.  Also in attendance were Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Lonnie Barber, Assistant Superintendent, John Blackman, and Board Clerk, Laurie Kaufman.  

Board Chair Julie Dahlgren stated that a quorum was present.

I.        Closed Executive Session

The Executive Session for the purpose of conducting a formal Expulsion Hearing commenced at 4:30 p.m. in the Blaine County School District Office located at 118 West Bullion St, Hailey, Blaine County, Idaho, to determine whether or not the recommended expulsion of Student No. 2010-2011:02 should be approved by the Board of Trustees of Blaine County School District No. 61.  

Dr. Barber then declared that he was the duly appointed Hearing Officer for the purposes of administering the hearing.  

Present at the hearing on behalf of the Administrative Staff were Principal, Fritz Peters and Assistant Principal, Rob Ditch.  

Present on behalf of the student was his step-mother.  

The Hearing Officer verified with both parties that they had received a copy of the Notice of Hearing, which set forth the charges, location, time and date of meeting, and rights of the student as provided by statute.  

Thereafter, upon conclusion of opening remarks, the Administrative Staff presented its evidence.  

Following the Administrative Staff’s presentation of evidence, the student presented his evidence.  

The Hearing Officer then allowed both the Administrative Staff and the student to give closing remarks and excused the parties so the Board would deliberate and make a decision.  

After a full and complete deliberation and being fully advised in the premises, the Board of Trustees of School District No. 61 hereby find as follows:

CONCLUSION  

The Blaine County School District Board of Trustees, after consideration of the facts and testimony presented, concluded that the student had violated the policies, rules, and regulations of the School District and such student is guilty of conduct which endangers the health and safety of other students.  

There being no further business to discuss in Closed Executive Session, Board Member Kathryn Graves made a motion to convene to Open Session.  The motion was seconded by Dan Parke and passed unanimously.  

Board Member Dan Parke made a motion by stating: The Board of Trustees hereby renders its decision to expel Student No. 2010-2011:02 from attendance at the District schools for one calendar year based on a violation of Blaine County School District Policy 507.5.  However, Student No. 2010-2011:02 will have the opportunity to re-enroll January 3, 2011:

1. Student must complete ten (10) community service hours, with a certificate of completion from the agency provided to the Clerk of the Board;

2. Student will have a risk assessment coordinated by Tod Gunter;

3. Student will meet three (3) times with Tod Gunter (Risk Assessment will count as one session);

4. Student will complete his school packets as assigned by teachers;

5. Student must comply with all current and future Blaine County School District rules, regulations, and policies;

6. Student will write a report on the Gun Free School Zone Act;

7. Completion and documentation of the above criteria must be supplied to the Clerk of the Board for each of the requirements stated above prior to re-enrolling, which is the sole responsibility of the student and the parents;

8. If student meets all requirements imposed by the Board, he may be readmitted to Wood River Middle School on January 3, 2011 under a strict Behavioral Contract;

9. The Board expects student compliance with the above stated criteria.

The Behavioral Contract shall include, but not limited to, the following:

1. No tardies;

2. No truancies;

3. A good faith effort to do well in all classes;

4. No intimidation or harassment of students or staff;

5. No consumption or possession of tobacco, drugs, alcohol, or other prohibited/illegal substances;

6. No weapons of any kind;

7. No vandalism;

8. Be respectful of other students and staff members;

9. Must comply with all current and future Blaine County School District rules, regulations, and policies;

10. The Board expects compliance with the Behavioral Contract;

11. If the Behavioral Contract is violated, the student will immediately appear before the Board of Trustees in a formal Expulsion Hearing.

The motion was seconded by Board Member Paul Bates and passed by roll call vote:   

Julie Dahlgren:  Aye
Dan Parke:  Aye
Kathryn Graves:  Aye
Paul Bates:  Aye

There being nothing further to discuss, Board Member Paul Bates made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:40 p.m.  The motion was seconded by Kathryn Graves and passed unanimously.

REGULAR NOVEMBER SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

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

Present were Board Members Dan Parke, Steve Guthrie, Paul Bates and Kathryn Graves. Also in attendance were Dr. Lonnie Barber, Superintendent of Schools, John Blackman, Assistant Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer, Mike Chatterton, School District Treasurer, and Laurie Kaufman, Board Clerk.  

Chairman Dahlgren stated that a quorum was present.

Approval of a District application to the Idaho State Department of Education for an Alternative Authorization – Teacher to New Endorsement in the area of Speech for Jill Bailey due to Speech being an area of need at Silver Creek High School.

Board Member Steve Guthrie made a motion to accept the agenda as modified.  The motion was seconded by Dan Parke and passed unanimously.

Teacher Email to Parents:

Subject: Check Skyward this weekend  

Dear Parents,  

Please check Skyward this weekend for any missing assignments or retakes on tests. I have to have all my grades in by Monday afternoon.  I still have time to make changes by lunchtime on Monday.  

Thanks, Brian  

Brian Sturges
Wood River Middle School 

Parent Response:

Hi Brian,  

Just wanted to say thank you for giving my son the "love of math" back!  

Noah is so happy to be in your class, and totally enjoys math again.  He is even excited to do his math homework.  

He says you’re the best teacher ever, so I just wanted to pass that on.  

Thank you!
Holly Leininger

Rebecca,  

The Spookestra Orchestra Concert was great!  Alain said to me at one point, “Boy, she’s really organized.”  And it showed.  Everything went smoothly.  Joël was really impressed with the high school orchestra (“They played so well!” he said).  He also said he can’t wait to be in high school to play with them.  

It was really fun to see all the kids in their costumes.  That was a great idea.  I think they enjoyed it a lot, too.  

Thanks for all of your hard work.  We’re looking forward to the winter concert.  

Karla (& Alain) Rinckwald  

P.S.  Of course, it goes without saying that the true star of the show was Pierre!  I hope he’s in the next concert.

Dear Dr. Barber:  

I would like to recommend a school board accolade for the following Elementary teachers at Carey School.  Last year I asked our teachers in grades 1 – 6, Mrs. Sarah Hatch 1st grade, Mrs. Lacee Hennefer 2nd grade, Mrs. Barbara Tingey, Mrs. Julie Simpson 4th grade, Mr. Ron Martinez, and Mrs. Susan Coon to set up college visits this year for their students.  I asked 1st and 2nd to go to CSI, 3rd and 4th to go to ISU and 5th and 6th to go to BSU.  They organized the trips and have all completed their visits.  

This is part of our pledge that every child will go to college.  I wish you could have heard the stories that they came back with.  I believe each child is excited about going to college.  The 1st and 2nd grade students had a great day at CSI, visited some classrooms and saw some of our students that graduated last year from Carey School.  They then visited the pumpkin patch on their way home and each picked out a pumpkin.  Mrs. Hennefer said when they got home and she said “we can’t get off the bus until all the garbage is cleaned up”, one of our little 2nd grade boys jumped up, pumped his fist in the air and said “Let’s synergize!”  The 3rd and 4th graders had a great day at ISU.  The 5th and 6th grade trip started to evolve into quite a college experience for our students, teacher and parents.   

BSU played on ESPN Tuesday night that week.  Mr. Martinez started making phone calls, contacting “his contacts” and it started to balloon.  A potato sale, some shirt printing and they were ready to go!  BSU did a great job for us.  Our students and adults had a tough start to the day, had some time to cry on the bus ride over there, but made it through that and got there in time for lunch.  The excitement began right away; they ate in the cafeteria and some of the BSU football players were there to greet them, sign some autographs and make a big deal of our students!  They had a great tour; some of the red shirt football players talked to our students about staying in school and going to college (BSU I’m sure).  Then the football game!  They were walking across the parking lot and ESPN saw them and asked them to do a cheer and said it would be on before the game.  Many parents went with them, sat with them in the stands and made it an unforgettable college experience for our students.  When I asked Mrs. Coon about the day she said “It was a magical experience.”  

Dr. Barber, I am so grateful for our amazing teachers, their excitement for learning, their beginning with the end in mind attitudes, and most of all, they are great people making a difference in the lives of our students each and every day.  Please ask them to share some of their experiences from these three amazing trips.  

Thanks for your consideration of this accolade.  

John M. Peck
Carey School Principal

Dear Dr. Barber and School Board,  

My name is Cara Gillingham.  I am a 4th grader at Hailey Elementary.  I am writing to you to talk about “The Leader In Me” program.  I think that all the schools in the district should have the program.  The schools should have it because its teaching kids how to stand up to bullying.  I am writing this to you because I feel strongly about “The Leader in Me” program.  My mom made me change schools because of the program.  I used to go to Hemingway Elementary.  I would love to see the program at Hemingway.  Before “The Leader In Me” program I would have cried and told my mom I miss Hemingway.  But now I am being proactive and trying to think win-win.  I like Hailey Elementary but I miss my old friends.  Maybe if Hemingway got the program I would go back to Hemingway.  

Sincerely,
Cara Gillingham  

P.S.  I began this letter with the end in mind.

Please click here to view Principal Brad Henson’s and the Woodside Elementary School students’ homage to their Teachers.

Special Meeting of the Board – October 7, 2010
Regular October Board Meeting – October 19, 2010
Special Meeting of the Board – October 21, 2010

Please click here to view the October financial reports.

Rosalyn Leon, Wood River Middle School Paraprofessional

Classified Staff - Exiting:

Shane Cotee – Software Developer, Technology Building

Classified Staff – Recommending for Hire:

Mildred Gaitan-Gonzalez – Translator/Administrative Assistant – DSB-Student Services

Board Member Kathryn Graves made a motion to approve items “a” through “g” of the Consent Agenda.  The motion was seconded by Paul Bates and passed unanimously.

IX.    Public Comments

Hello, thanks for letting me speak out.  My name is Mike Burchmore and I’m a parent of two kids in the District and a resident of Sun Valley.  I would like to make a couple of comments about supporting the Communications Director position that is on the agenda tonight.  I’ve been here for about four years and what I’ve seen throughout my time here is there is a lot of inconsistency in the communication that comes from the Board and the Administration.  As a parent I hear lots of rumors; when is IB going to start, are the Levy priorities correct, does the Strategic Plan really support what the people want it to support?  It’s hard for me as a parent, to know what’s real.  I look to the School District, the Administration and the Board, as the source for that credible information.  If a communications professional is hired, that person will be able to help get clear, accurate and consistent information out to the constituents and the School District, parents, teachers, the people that pay the taxes around here.  I’d like to urge you to consider hiring that person.  The one thing that I think is important is, we have to be very careful as a school that we don’t take on too many expensive people. A Communications Director is an expensive hire; so one thing that you might consider is possibly hiring that person half time to make sure that it’s right and it works and will be fitting the needs of the school.  Thank you.

Board Clerk Laurie Kaufman proceeded to read five written comments submitted for the record.

I have two brief comments on two separate subjects:  

1.      Regarding hiring a Communications Director:  

I think you should not rush to throw money at your communications problems by loading up on administrators. That is not to say I am against this position but rather think you should apply the first things first rule. This person will be another gate‑keeper. You are now taking steps to change your District culture to one of open and transparent communication. The district as a whole must actively work together: principals, administrators, teachers, parents to change the culture. It will not happen overnight with the hiring of a PR person. You have now, in‑house, those PR capabilities with Heather Crocker and Kate Heinecke. Please work through the recommendations given before that hire takes place.  

2.      Regarding respectful communication between the public and the board, and also between board members:  

Respectful comments should be welcome. You may not agree with their content but they should be welcome. Over the years I have witnessed and have been dismayed by Board members denigrating the public as well as each other. Now I am seeing name calling by the public to the board. Roberts Rules are your tools. Mutual respect and civility should be your expectation from each other as well as the public.  

Sincerely,
Penfield Stroh

I urge you NOT TO HIRE an individual to handle communications for the district.  We already have talented employees who can work together to improve our communications.   

This proposed position WOULD NOT further enhance our children's education and would be another useless expense for the district.   

PLEASE, DO NOT GIVE THE OK FOR BLAINE COUNTY SCHOOLS TO HIRE FOR A COMMUNICATIONS POSITION.   

Comments submitted by: Annie Weber

First I must say whoever thinks that members of the Board waste taxpayers’ money is truly the uneducated one – it is a volunteer position.  

Second – The district in NO WAY should spend a dime on a Communications Director – period.  The administration and Board’s responsibilities should in no way take funds away that could be better utilized in educating our children.  

Sheri Thomas

I am unable to attend the meeting tonight, but wanted to make sure my comment was heard.  I feel very strongly that we should hire a communications director.  I know you have heard a number of comments both for and against and you will have to make your own decision.  I just hope you will take my comments into consideration when you make that decision.  

Currently I am the only person in the district whose job is specifically related to communications.  I am an administrative assistant and communications is just one of many aspects of my job.  I feel I have made great strides in regard to communications, especially with our website, but unless I have the support and guidance of a director I cannot accomplish much more.  Over the past several years I have seen our administrators become very bogged down by communications related aspects of our district.  While communication is going to be a large part of anyone’s job, I feel that our administrators’ time has been overwhelmed with this.  Their time would be much better spent dealing with the education of our children.  

There has been such a strong desire from our community for increased transparency and public engagement.  I see so many areas that we could capitalize on that would really make a difference for our district, help the public to better understand the complexities of their children’s education, and engage the community more meaningfully.  I do not think that if everyone just chipped in a little bit more that we could accomplish this.  Everyone, especially our administrators, are working at maximum capacity.  There is nothing left to give, especially when so much of their time is being taken by communication efforts now.  

In order to further the great strides we have made in communication, transparency, and public engagement, I urge you to support the hiring of a communications director.  It would be unfortunate to have to halt the positive direction we are going in.  If we do not hire a communications director we will be halting these efforts.  Please let our administrators focus on education.  

Thank you for your consideration,  

Kate Heinecke
Administrative Assistant
Blaine County School District

One Person  

My name is Millie Reidy.  I currently have a child in the middle school, a child in the high school and two recent graduates that have gone on to college at the University of Oregon and Stanford University.   

Over the years, I've become very familiar with the all the schools in the district. It wasn't unusual for me to have children in multiple schools at once.  In addition, my previous jobs have been in sales and engineering.  From raising four children and these job experiences, I have come to deeply understand the importance of communication done in a consistent and clear manner and the disaster that ensues when ignored.  The idea of having multiple people manage our district's new communication program is a huge mistake.  It is just too important for us to divide up the responsibility and hope for a consistent message to all of our stakeholders.  

One person should focus and own this job.  One person should control the "key messages" sent out to the school staff, community, parents, seniors, students, businesses, newspaper, website, handouts, etc.  One person, who understands how to communicate clearly and effectively, is needed.  One person who is very familiar with all forms of reaching our stakeholders (Facebook, email, text, newspaper, radio, website, mailings, phone. etc) is required for this position.  One person who is an expert in this field.  Our district needs that one person but more importantly our stakeholders deserve one person to implement the suggestions made in the Communications Audit Report.  The communication improvement task should not be handed out in pieces to those with a little free time here and there.  Please, I implore you to hire one person for the communications manager/public relations job.  Thank you!  

Millie Reidy

Please click here to view Patty McLean’s Curriculum Update outline and ‘Developing Mathematical Thinking with Effective Questions.’.

Periodically we reload the Strategic Plan; we take a look at what we do as a school district and make sure that we’re still focused and on the right road.  Dr. Barber spent an hour reviewing the ten goal areas of the Strategic Plan.  

What is shown in black typeface is the original Strategic Plan and strategies for accomplishing the ten goals.  The red typeface lists what has been accomplished to satisfy those strategies.  

Angie Martinez, Bellevue Elementary School Principal, and Debi Gutknecht, Student Services Director, demonstrated the proposed ‘Bridges’ website (Strategic Goal #10) that will launch January 2011.  

Please click here to view Dr. Barber’s update of Blaine County School District’s Strategic Plan.

Architect Jolyon Sawrey of Vital ink and Paul Conrad of Conrad Brothers Construction discussed the Maintenance Facility design and the preliminary proposed schedule of events once the project proceeds.  

Please click here to view Jolyon Sawrey’s Design Review Guidelines Narrative and design drawings.

Board Member Dan Parke made a motion to approve the Maintenance Facility design as presented.  The motion was seconded by Kathryn Graves and passed unanimously.

A year ago Board Steve Guthrie suggested the District hold town hall meetings.  Board Members Kathryn Graves and Paul Bates formed a sub-committee and worked with the PTA Chairs to orchestrate the first Town Hall meeting held November 8, 2010 at the Community Campus.  An estimated 60 people attended to listen and comment on the Communications Audit.  Kate Heinecke designed the flyer and personally invited every single patron and person that participated in the Audit’s eleven focus groups.  She also designed posters with the ten recommendations that were made by the communications group.  The Board is dedicated to improving communication between all of the District’s 501 employees and the public.

Principal Pete Jurovich:  Wood River High School would like to move senior graduation from the typical last Wednesday of the school year (June 8) to the second to last Friday (June 3) of the school year.  A team of teachers, support staff, and administration met to discuss the viability of the proposed switch.  We communicated the findings to all WRHS staff and to our PTSA representatives.  The proposed change was endorsed unanimously.  Several factors were considered: accessibility of the ceremony to visitors from outside of the valley during the middle of the week, working families within the community, same amount of senior days during the school year, less disruption during final week of school for the rest of the student body.  We ask for your support to make the switch.  If the move is approved, Wood River High School will implement an extensive advertising campaign to inform our community.   

Board Member Paul Bates made a motion to grant permission to change Wood River High School graduation to Friday, June 3, 2011.  The motion was seconded by Steve Guthrie and passed unanimously.

Dr. Barber:  I would like to speak to you about the recommendations made in the Communications Audit.  There has been much discussion about communication in the District in the last two years.  Fifty-nine recommendations for improved communication were made in the Audit and we want to do a better job of communicating with the public.  We’re not hiding anything; the issue for us is time.  We would like to carry out everything recommended in the Audit.  There is a voice in the community that says, no, don’t do it, and that’s a hard thing for me to understand.  We will need someone who’s focused on education because the work that we do is focused on the Strategic Plan.  This is what is stated in the Communications Audit:  “The most significant overall finding from the communication audit of Blaine County Schools is that the district has accomplished as much as it can given its current level of investment in communication.  The district is to be commended for its efforts in communicating with stakeholders.  However, in order to address many of the issues outlined in the ‘Key Findings and General Observations’ section, it is critical to increase the investment of time and resources in communications functions.  Without it, the district is not likely to see much improvement in the quality or quantity of communication with its internal and external stakeholders.  Recommendation:  Consider creating a full-time position to direct and manage the district’s communication program.”  

Kathryn Graves:  I’m wondering, has there been a job description and salary for this position?  

Dr. Barber:  I’m working on it right now.  We want a person to fit our needs but there are some criteria that are very important.  Besides understanding communication, I think that they need to understand the community very well and they need to be connected in the community.  We’re in the process of putting that together.  We just had our Town Hall meeting; I think we need to hit the ground running on this and we can stretch it out for six months if we want to stretch it out, or we could get someone in the next two months; if we’re going to do that we need approval to move forward.  

Kathryn Graves:  I guess what I’m concerned about is not knowing exactly what this position includes; whether it’s going to be a part time or three quarters time or full time?  

Dr. Barber:  It’s a full time position and I’ll tell why.  We may be able to start with half time.  I’m asking for a full time position because, first of all, that’s what the Communications Audit calls for and I don’t want to revisit this again and again and again.  If we need to add to this position, we have the room to do it.  

Kathryn Graves:  There has been some talk about putting together a communications committee; I think we talked about that a little bit in our workshop about a month ago.  I guess I’m not for or against it right now because I feel like there could be a little bit more discussion about what the position entails, where we need to go with it, what the job description is, what the salary is.  We are creating a new position and to look at the budget, I don’t know if this falls into our budget, we did not budget for a new position.  I would like to table the issue until next month.  

Dr. Barber:  To answer your question, staffing needs come to us all the time.  I guess once in awhile you have to put some trust into the people who are working for you, because this is not putting another layer, as some people have suggested, between the Board and the community at all, and in fact, I think the communication committee needs to be run by the person that we hire, to set up a communication strategic plan for us to move forward with these projects.  That’s my opinion.  One other thing, I think we vetted it pretty well, we had a whole Town Hall meeting on it; it’s not new.  We’ve also talked about it in the past.  I think we need to make a decision whether we need to move forward with it or we don’t.  I want to be honest with you.  If we don’t, we’re going communicate the best we can, but the expectation that we’ll carry off the Communication Audit as presented to us is not nearly as bright as if we have someone running that show.  

Kathryn Graves:  I guess I just wanted to slow it down just a little bit for a month to bring it back up, to not rush into this.  I know that the School District likes to do things in a deliberate manner.  I just want to make sure that we’ve got everything right; that’s what I would like to see happen with this.  Like I said, I’m not against it; I don’t see it as putting another layer.  I know we had a meeting last night and we haven’t had time to talk about that and the suggestions that came out of it.  

Dr. Barber:  We have had the Communications Audit for a number of months, though.  At this point in time, the Board should have fully reviewed it and understand what its recommendations are.  I don’t tell you how to vote; you will either be supportive of it or not, and either way, we will come to work tomorrow.  I see that we need to go to work on it, people are expecting us to go to work on it, and we can wait and come to the same conclusion or we can wait months and still not do it.  

Dan Parke:  I don’t think we should wait.  I think that we’ve had the Audit which has been done for a long time, we’ve met with the gentleman that did the Audit, he gave us the update on it, we discussed it, we had an executive summary on it, we had a town hall meeting about it, and I just don’t think we should delay.  We should put our trust in the administrators that we hire.  They are the ones that are in the trenches every day; they know the needs and the things that need to be communicated much better than we, as a Board, do.  I think we should put our trust in our administrators and allow them to come up with a job description and do the hiring.  

Paul Bates:  I don’t think that there’s any question that there’s going to be some sort of financial investment we’re going to have to make if we’re going to improve communication.  It’s quite unclear to me whether we’re talking about public relations or communication; some of that is rather vague to me.  There’s a lot of talk about bringing the public in and getting them to understand it.  I think that with good communication the public would understand an investment is a good tool.  However, we have no idea what that tool looks like or what its job description is, or what the qualifications we want in that person.  I personally would move that the Board appoint an advisory committee to understand those things and also maintain the leadership role in this process; and I’m willing to put time in on that because I feel profoundly that the buck stops with us.  You shouldn’t be taking the heat for this; this is Board responsibility.  That’s my opinion.  I move that we create an advisory committee; that’s my feeling.  

Steve Guthrie:  I think it’s no secret that I’ve supported this in the past, and as I’ve said before, I’ve seen it in my professional life, that I think if the District wants this communication plan, and to implement it successfully, we’re going to have to hire the resource to do that.  This will only support our community’s continued love they have for education and our kids.  That’s where I stand and I think we should move forward.  

Dan Parke:  I would just like to add something.  I don’t think we need an advisory committee because we have a 60-page document to guide us through that.  We just spent all this money for the Audit and we need to fulfill what’s in the Audit, and hire someone and that’s their job description.  This Audit helps us to communicate better; we have recommendations, we have outlines in that Audit, and I don’t think we need to meddle with it anymore.    

Steve Guthrie:  I do like what Dr. Barber said, that you will look at the very best financial model as we move forward; whether that’s half time or utilizing existing resources, and then review it in a year’s time to see how the program is working.  

Julie Dahlgren:  I just want to read a paragraph from our Audit:  “The District’s ability to accomplish more through its communication efforts will depend on its future investment in the function, maintaining the current investment (J. Dahlgren: ‘which is nothing!’) will likely provide the same results as in the past.  To this end, we recommend that Blaine County Schools consider a fulltime director of communications position to oversee the District’s communication program.  This position could help expand resources and focus on communication and engagement in the district.  We strongly believe that any additional investment in this area will pay huge dividends in the future.”   

Julie Dahlgren:  And on that quote, I definitely trust our excellent Superintendent to go hire somebody.  

Dr. Barber:  The job description that will fit our needs will come out of the Communications Audit.  

Board Member Steve Guthrie made a motion to authorize the hiring of a Communications Director.  The motion was seconded by Dan Parke.  

Paul Bates:  From what I’m gathering the Board is washing its hands of the Communication Audit if it so chooses to authorize this hire?  

Julie Dahlgren:  I don’t know what you mean by washing your hands of it.  

Paul Bates:  This is the Board’s responsibility and now we just as well put it in Lonnie’s lap.  I feel like we should maintain some leadership in this, that’s my feeling.  Only because this school district is run by this Board and I feel a strong connection to seeing that its executed results and the recommendations are executed well.   

Julie Dahlgren:  Our leadership in this case is giving our Superintendent the authority to hire this person.  

Dan Parke:  Sometimes delegating responsibility is leadership.  

Paul Bates:  I’m not questioning that; I’m also not questioning the cost of this.  That’s why I made a motion to create an advisory committee and no one seconded it so I’m in the minority, and that’s okay.  My concern is that we don’t really have a clue what this person’s job description is.  We have all these recommendations, however; when people start talking about it, when you started talking about it Lonnie, you were talking about public relations issues, and I think a lot of my concerns come back to, what is happening within the District and is the person that you’re looking for as concerned with what happens within this District as what expands beyond the District?  

Dr. Barber:  I will answer that; good communication is good public relations.  I will tell you that the intent of the hiring is to perform a communication audit and implement the recommendations.  Do I feel that brings good PR to the district?  Yes I do.  

Paul Bates:  My gut feeling is, is if we solve the issues of communication that were addressed in the Communication Audit, that addressed communication within the District, a lot of what is outside of that, what resonates with the public, will fade away.  I feel like there will be a lot of positiveness come out the communication issues that seem to be dysfunctional within the District.  I’m just terribly concerned; we have no idea what this, you’re talking about hiring somebody and you want us to authorize it without knowing what the job description, what is it they’re doing?  

Dr. Barber:  We’ve written a lot of job descriptions in this school district; we write them all.  I don’t think the Board’s written a single job description yet, and I think that the people working for us are well suited to the positions that we’ve written most of the job descriptions for.  

Paul Bates:  I’m not going to go there.  

Steve Guthrie:  I understand where Trustee Bates is coming from and I don’t see that there’s any reason that the Board can’t work closely with whoever this person may be and be an intricate part, and maybe even we assign a Board Member or two that responsibility directly.  

Dr. Barber:  I think that would be a great idea.  

Julie Dahlgren:  We authorized this to be done, we authorized the $14,000 it cost to have it done.  We have a big investment in this and I know we will continue to have an investment in this.  We’re not paid employees, but we, above everybody, are affected by communication.  

Dr. Barber:  Just remember, the Administration and the Board want the same thing; we want to communicate well with our public, we want them to know what we’re doing.  I kind of understand what you’re saying, Paul, but I don’t really, because the insinuation is that we would hire someone that wouldn’t do the best job for the Board and the Administration; and I don’t think that would ever happen.

Kathryn Graves:  There’s a motion on the table and I would like to just say that I would love to respectfully agree to disagree because I would like to just see this come up in another month after it’s talked about a little bit more in a committee.  So that’s it and I will support whatever decision comes up.  

Julie Dahlgren called for a vote for those in support the motion to authorize the hiring of a Communications Director.  The roll call votes were cast as follows:  

Dan Parke:  Aye
Steve Guthrie:  Aye
Julie Dahlgren:  Aye
Paul Bates:  Nay
Kathryn Graves:  Nay  

The authorization is approved to hire a Communications Director.

None.  

There being no further business to discuss, Board Member Dan Parke made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  The motion was seconded by Paul Bates and passed unanimously.  

The Regular November meeting of the Blaine County School District Board of Trustees adjourned at 9:55 p.m.