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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-15-2014 Minutes Administrative Opening MeetingDr. Charles J. Shackett, Superintendent 3497 North Ammon Road, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 83401  (208) 525-4400  Fax (208) 529-0104  www.d93schools.org Board of Trustees  Annette Winchester  Kip Nelson  Amy Landers  Brian McBride  Jeff Bird Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 is an Equal Opportunity Employer Marjean McConnell, Deputy Superintendent Administrative Opening Meeting August 15, 2014 11:30 AM Those Board Members in attendance were Chairperson Annette Winchester, Vice-chairperson Kip Nelson, Treasurer Amy Landers, and Trustee Brian McBride. Dr. Shackett asked Chairperson Winchester to talk about the Board’s goals for the 2014-2015 school year. Chairperson Winchester began by asking the new administrators in the District to stand. Tina Orme will be taking over at Rimrock. John Murdock was new last year but was unable to attend the Opening Administrative Meeting. The Board’s first goal has to do with Student Achievement by focusing on (1) improving the District’s network infrastructure; (2) fully integrating and implementing existing classroom technology; and (3) continuing to implement the Idaho Core Standards. Chairperson Winchester asked if there were any comments for the Board from the administrators. There was some concern that the Wi-Fi needs to be improved so students can use IPads more effectively. The elementary schools are using the Neos for word processing. The elementary schools currently have six to eight access points with Wi Fi. There was a suggestion to incorporate mobile computer labs for the elementary schools. They need access to laptops because testing uses a lot of the technology resources in the spring. There was discussion regarding the status of the Fast ForWord program. It would cost the District $85,000 to renew district-wide. The decision was made not to renew districtwide however, individual schools can purchase a site license for approximately $5,000 per year or an individual student license for $85 per year. There was discussion regarding whether the license could be paid through Title I funding. Most of the teachers are on board with these standards. Chairperson Winchester asked if teachers are on board with regard to the Idaho Core Standards. The majority of the teachers are on board, open to learning with technology, and see the benefits of the standards. The Board is supportive of the Idaho Core Standards. There was discussion regarding opting out of testing. Because of Idaho State Board Rule, we cannot give students the option to opt out of state mandated testing. The principals requested clear direction on how to handle those requests. Kids who at school will be required to take the test. Parents can check their kids out for the day, but there are ramifications with regard to the students’ absences. Students are required to pass the test to graduate. Principals should continue to schedule students to take the tests. Students cannot chose the alternate route to graduation if they do not first take the test. We need to educate the parents and students regarding the consequences of not participating in the testing. There will need to be a meeting with the secondary principals so they can present a united front and handle requests in the same manner. We do not want to put any student on the spot for not being able to take the test. We need to work on a solution to make it less punitive for students whose parents do not want them to take the test. The consequence is that you won’t be able to graduate. Parents need to be made aware of this consequence. Chairperson Winchester asked the principals to express their feelings about the common Core State Standards. There was discussion regarding why people are frightened and what parents want for their children. We need to raise the bar. If we went to the Massachusetts standards, that would be too difficult for the majority of our students. The teachers have been working with the standards. They need to explain this to the parents who do not understand or who are against the standards. The Board’s second goal has to do with Safety and Environment by (1) emphasizing security in the secondary schools by improving physical safety through structure and protocol and (2) improving respect for all by understanding and following Board policies and procedures. There was discussion regarding the progression of establishing single point entries at the schools. There was also discussion regarding playground security and our definition of security. The Board’s third goals is with regard to Community Relations. We have amazing administrators and teachers, and we use our tax dollars well. People are not aware of this. The Board wants to hire a community relations person to help us let the community understand how great the District is and we need to publicize what we offer as well as our needs. Hopefully when we have bond and levy elections, many of the patron’s questions will have been answered. People seem to be aware that there is a problem with overcrowding but, they do not seem to be willing to increase taxes to alleviate that problem. If we run a well-coordinated campaign it will help. There was some discussion regarding partnerships with the various cities within the District. There was also discussion regarding parents who are not affected by the overcrowding and how to help them see the need for additional space. Chairperson Winchester asked the administrators to give any recommendations they had to the Board regarding the next bond election. There was concern that we really need a high school and a middle school, so we should not compromise and we should continue to ask the patrons to support that need. If the Board changes that request, the trust will go away. If we lower the amount of the bond amount, we still have the top priorities and we can look at the other needs at a future time. We need to find people in the community who will support the bond and who will let others know of the District’s needs. We are forming a committee that will look at options. We are hoping that these will be the people who will support the bond in the community. The amount of the bond was a factor. A lot of people didn’t like the 30 year term. Maybe a 20 year term would be better. There was concern that if we ask for less than the $92 million, we will lose trust. Overcrowding is the main issue. There was discussion surrounding why people will not pay more taxes. There was discussion regarding the possibility of split sessions. Chairperson Winchester thanked the principals for all they do and asked them to let the Board know is there is something they need to do for the administrators. APPROVED: ____________________________ ATTESTED: ___________________________ Date:_______________________ Chairperson Clerk