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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-15-2024 Minutes Amended Work Meeting Executive SessionDr. Scott Woolstenhulme, Superintendent 3497 North Ammon Road, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 83401  (208) 525-4400  Fax (208) 557-6800  www.d93schools.org Board of Trustees  Paul Jenkins  Carissa Coats  Randy Smith  Mindy Clayton  Richard Hess Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 is an Equal Opportunity Employer Amended Work Meeting / Executive Session May 15, 2024 7:00 PM PLC Building 3442 E Iona Rd Idaho Falls, ID 83401 I. Chairman Jenkins called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. II. Roll Call Carissa Coats present Randy Smith present Mindy Clayton present Richard Hess excused Paul Jenkins present III. Opening Board Business A. Chairman Jenkins welcomed any visitors to the meeting B. Amend the Agenda (Action Item) Chairman Jenkins stated that A Board Member moves that the Board pursuant to Idaho Code §74-204(4)(a) AMEND THE AGENDA for this meeting as follows: To add: Idaho School Benefit Trust Document to the Consent Agenda under Contracts To add: Idaho School Benefit Trust Employer Participation Agreement to the Consent Agenda under Contracts To add: Bonneville County Commissioners Letter to Planning and Personnel Reports and Recommendations To add: Revised 2024-2025 District Calendar as an action item under Superintendent Reports and Recommendations To add: ISAT Proctoring Issue to the Executive Session as a discussion item under Litigations and Complaints These items were received today and are time-sensitive. Motion: Carissa Coats moved to amend the agenda. Randy Smith seconded. Motion carried. C. Approve the Amended Agenda (Action Item) Motion: Randy moved to approve the amended agenda. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried. D. Items on the Consent Agenda Related to an Individual Student or Personnel the Board Would Like to Discuss in Executive Session. – NOT NEEDED E. Approve Consent Agenda (Action Item) Motion: Carissa Coats moved to approve the consent agenda. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried. 1. Finance a. Contracts 2024-2025 School Status Renewal Agreement Services with the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Renaissance Renewal 2024-2025 Qualtrics 2024-2025 Idaho School Benefit Trust Employer Participation Agreement 2024-2025 Idaho School Benefit Trust Agreement b. Surplus Maintenance - Lawn Mower - Surplus 2 2. Employees a. Release of Contract Employee BM2024 b. Rescind Employment Employee BK2024 3. Students a. Early Graduations 4. School Support Organization Request Thunder Ridge Cheer Booster Club IV. Learning and Instruction Reports and Recommendations A. Instructional Materials / Media Resources Review Process Julie Briggs was introduced as a multifaceted employee who initially had a very different job role but evolved to handle various tasks, including working with instructional software and overseeing librarians. Elementary librarians are classified employees, while secondary librarians are certified teachers. She attended a conference three years ago, which led to a revamp of the district's challenge policy for books and curriculum, aiming to address concerns raised by parents. During the presentation, Ms. Briggs explained the process for handling book challenges. The policy required a committee review for removing any book from the library. Ms. Briggs highlighted that the district had always had a challenge book form but lacked a clear process, which was developed in collaboration with Jason Lords. The policy included steps for parents to follow if they had concerns, with the possibility of escalating unresolved issues to a higher level. Ms. Briggs also discussed the impact of Idaho House Bill 710, which imposed new requirements and penalties related to harmful materials in libraries and classrooms. The bill mandated that challenged books be removed within 60 days and specified penalties for non-compliance. She emphasized the importance of a community- based approach to reviewing books, involving librarians, teachers, and parents in the decision-making process. The district had created an in-house library review process and a formal review process, with the final escalation to the school board if necessary. Ms. Briggs shared that over her 20 years in the district, only one book had been formally challenged, but they had recently seen an increase in informal concerns, prompting a more structured review system. The presentation concluded with a discussion on the legal aspects and the district's proactive approach to handling book challenges while avoiding censorship. B. Curriculum Approval 1. The Candy Shop War (Action Item) Motion: Carissa Coats moved to accept the committee recommendation to approve The Candy Shop War as supplemental curriculum for third grade and above. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried. 2. Arcade Catastrophe (Action Item) Motion: Carissa Coats moved to accept the committee recommendation to approve Arcade Catastrophe as supplemental curriculum for third grade and above. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried. 3. There's a Boy in the Girls Bathroom (Action Item) Motion: Carissa Coats moved to accept the committee recommendation to approve There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom as supplemental curriculum for third grade and above. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried. 4. Wish (Action Item) Motion: Cariss Coats moved to accept the committee recommendation to approve Wish as supplemental curriculum for third grade and above. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried. 5. Guys and Dolls the Musical (Action Item) Motion: Carissa Coats moved to accept the committee recommendation to approve Guys and Dolls the Musical for high school drama or English classes. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried. C. 2750P Academic Honors for Final Adoption (Action Item) 3 Motion: Randy Smith moved to approve proposed Policy 2750P Academic Honors for final adoption. Carissa Coats seconded. Motion carried. D. Dress Code (Student Code of Conduct) Chairman Jenkins invited Levi Owen, Principal at Bonneville HS, Kristen McDaniel, Assistant Principal at Hillcrest HS, Jared Dotson, Assistant Principal at Rocky Mountain MS, Trent Dabell, Assistant Principal at Thunder Ridge HS, and Kent Patterson, Principal at Sandcreek MS. Two years ago, during the Student Code of Conduct update, the district and a group of principals decided to split the document into two sections: The Student code of conduct and Students' Rights and Responsibilities. This aimed to provide clearer guidelines, especially regarding disciplinary measures such as fights, now explicitly outlined. Our discussions highlighted challenges in uniformly enforcing the dress code across schools, with obstacles in addressing violations and managing social implications. In past conversations about dress code enforcement, the schools and district faced opposition from parents and encountered complex situations like a teacher being accused of misconduct after reporting a student for a dress code violation. These underscored the difficulties in maintaining consistent enforcement and navigating evolving social norms. Reflecting on dress code issues, the principals observed a shift in concerns from boys' sagging pants to girls' midriff exposure. Finding appropriate clothing for girls has become challenging, leading to enforcement inconsistencies. During the discusson some potential solutions like uniforms or modifying the dress code language, emphasizing the importance of balancing enforcement with parental rights was brought up. Reflecting on parenting experiences, principals found rule enforcement challenging and stressed the need to build trust with students. The principals, and the Executive Team also discussed challenges in enforcing the dress code while avoiding perceptions of bias and emphasized empowering principals to make judgment calls. Chairman Jenkins thanked the panel of Principal’s for the enlighting discussion. V. Superintendent Reports and Recommendations A. 2024-2025 Master Agreement (Action Item) Superintendent Woolstenhulme explained that negotiations concluded on Monday, May 13, 2024, which was met with great satisfaction. It was noted as one of the smoothest negotiations in recent memory. The teachers' association displayed an understanding of the financial constraints, leading to a prompt resolution in just two sessions. Several adjustments were made to the master agreement, including allowing teachers to take leave in two-hour increments for greater flexibility and ensuring 60 minutes of continuous planning time on Mondays for elementary school teachers during collaboration. Additionally, a reimbursement for professional development was discussed, with the association requesting $100 per year per teacher, which was negotiated to increase the existing recertification reimbursement to $500. The salary schedule proposed by the association initially requested approximately $3.5 million in additional salary, but a counteroffer more closely aligned with the state allocation of $1.7 million. Ultimately, there will be around a $2 million increase in teacher salaries, with the district needing to cover the remaining balance from discretionary funds. The district anticipates some reductions in positions due to budgetary considerations. The insurance recommendation to change providers to PacificSource was accepted, with costs remaining flat for the next year with a guaranteed rate cap for the following year. The master agreement governs teachers' salaries, with an average increase of 5%, primarily due to adjustments in the career ladder. Motion: Mindy Clayton moved to approve the proposed 2024-2025 Administrator Salary Schedule. Carissa Coats seconded. Motion carried. B. 2024-2025 Administrator Salary Schedule (Action Item) Superintendent Woolstenhulme explained to the Board that the district received a 2% increase from the state, and thus proposed to incorporate it into the admin salary schedule at every level. This year, we opted for simplicity and applied the 2% increase uniformly across the board, unlike previous years where adjustments wer e made. While teachers received a 5% increase, administrators received a 2% raise. Additionally, discussions were held regarding increasing classified staff salaries by 2% as well, although it may strain the fund balance and require finding ways to reduce costs elsewhere. However, considering the significant raise received last year, the 2% raise was deemed appropriate, especially given the starting salaries in the district. Motion: Mindy Clayton moved to approve the proposed 2024-2025 Administrator Salary Schedule. Carissa Coats seconded. Motion carried C. Deletion of Policy 4110P General Appeals, Complaints, and Grievances (Action Item) Motion: Carissa Coats moved to approve the deletion of Policy 4110 P General Appeals, Complaints and Grievances. Randy Smith seconded. Motion carried. 4 D. GATE Program Since 2017, the school district had three teachers running the GATE program, which had been reinstated after being previously cut. Due to financial constraints and changing teacher salaries, the district re-evaluated the program. One teacher transferred to Bonneville Online Elementary, prompting a shift in the GATE program. Previously a full-day program with students bussed to Sandcreek MS, it was proposed to reduce it to a half-day program, lasting about two hours and ten minutes. This change aimed to maintain the program with only two teachers, still providing transportation and lunch arrangements. The proposal was intended to save on staffing costs without requiring a board action, unless there were significant concerns. E. Revised 2024-2025 District Calendar (Action Item) Samantha Williams, Executive Team Assistant diligently worked on our instructional hours from the state and identified a discrepancy in school days. The parent-teacher conference makeup day for the second trimester was scheduled too late in the year, in February, around the 8th week of the trimester . To address this, we proposed a minor change to move the comp day to January 31st, aligning it better with the timing needed for parent-teacher conferences. Motion: Randy Smith moved to approve the revised 2024-2025 District Calendar. Carissa Coats seconded. Motion carried. F. Revisiting PLC's Chapters 7-9 Discussion Board members attended the District Wide Collaboration Day. Special education teachers were present in all programs, but general special education classes in the elementary school were held in different rooms with ELA and math teachers. There were discussions about implementing talk-to-text tools to aid communication, especially for students in the STEP program. It was observed that there's a discrepancy between idealism and realism in terms of the number of behaviors teachers are expected to address versus what they can realistically focus on. The challenge lies in finding a balance between intervention and enrichment, as well as in developing productive home partnerships, especially with parents who may lack the necessary skills. The Board reflected on the coaching role of administrators in supporting both parents and teachers in addressing academic and behavioral challenges. Additionally, discussions touched on the diverse learning needs of students and the need for flexibility in education to accom modate different learning styles and career paths. Despite the challenges, there was recognition of progress being made, albeit at different paces across schools. The Board will attend a PLC conference in July in conjunction with the Board retreat. VI. Planning and Personnel Reports and Recommendations A. Letter from Bonneville County Commissioners Concerning Willow Creek Elementary and 49th N Frontage Design (Action Item) John Pymm, Director of Facilities and Maintenance presented to the Board a letter from the Bonneville County Commissioners office regarding participating in the design costs to improve 49th North. The cost was approximately $90,000, with the district having already spent $30,000 on its own civil engineer. Despite the potential loss of those costs, it was deemed worthwhile to participate with other developers. The agreement involved engineering for the road and designated the project as a joint effort, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Motion: Randy Smith moved to approve that Bonneville Joint School District 93 participate in the proposed design cost from Bonneville County to improve 49th North. Carissa Coats seconded. Motion carried. VII. Executive Session (Action Item) The Board will enter into Executive Session pursuant to Idaho Code 74-206(1)(b) to consider the evaluation, dismissal, or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member, or individual agent, or public school student; and (1)(j) To consider labor contract matters authorized under section 74 -206A (1)(a) and (b), Idaho code. The Executive Session will be closed to the public as permitted by law. Motion: Carissa Coats moved to enter Executive Session. Mindy Clayton seconded. Roll Call Vote: Carissa Coats yes Randy Smith yes Mindy Clayton yes Richard Hess excused Paul Jenkins yes The Board entered Executive Session at 9:18 p.m. 5 A. Litigations and Complaints Case 24-05 Update ISAT Proctoring Issue B. Superintendent Evaluation VIII. Close Executive Session (Action Item) Motion: Randy Smith moved to close Executive Session. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried at 9:31 p.m. IX. Closing Board Business A. Action Items from Executive Session (Action Item) NOT NEEDED B. Requests for Agenda Items for Upcoming Meetings • Board Self-Evaluation X. Adjournment (Action Item) Motion: Carissa Coats moved to adjourn the meeting. Mindy Clayton seconded. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:39 p.m. APPROVED: ______________________________________ Chairman ATTESTED: _______________________________________ Clerk DATE: ___________________________________