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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-15-2020 Minutes Special 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  Amy Landers  Chad Dance  Greg Calder  Paul Jenkins  Scott Lynch Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 is an Equal Opportunity Employer Special Meeting/Executive Session April 15, 2020 5:00 PM Via Telecommunication at https://www.d93schools.org/News/live I. Call to Order Chairman Amy Landers called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. II. Roll Call Chad Dance present Greg Calder present Paul Jenkins present Scott Lynch present Amy Landers present III. Welcome Visitors and Delegations A. Chairman Landers stated the District is continuing to take measures to protect the health and safety of its students, parents, patrons, employees and members of the board of trustees. Such measures include providing for members of the Board of Trustees to participate remotely in this meeting. In addition, the Board of Trustees has adopted an abbreviated meeting agenda to include only statutorily required and other matters deemed essential. Per guidelines recommended by the Center for Disease Control, all open meetings will be held via telecommunication platforms until further notice. Others in attendance were Superintendent Dr. Scott Woolstenhulme, Chief Financial/ Operations Officer Guy Wangsgard, Executive Director of Instruction & Learning Jason Lords, Executive Director of Planning & Personnel Heath Jackson, Director of Safe Schools & Technology Gordon Howard, Director of Secondary Special Education and Federal Programs Julian Duffey , Director of Elementary Special Education and Federal Programs Rex Miller, Community Relations and Communications Phil Campbell, D93News Samantha Williams, Food Services Supervisor Heather Plain, and Board Clerk Mary Hansen. IV. Action Items A. Approve/Amend the Agenda MOTION: Greg Calder moved to approve the Agenda. Paul Jenkins seconded. Motion carried. B. Consent Calendar Items Chairman Landers asked if any Board Member would like to remove any item from the Consent Calendar to the regular Agenda or if any Board Member had questions with regard to the Consent Calendar. Hearing none, she asked for a motion to approve the Consent Calendar. MOTION: Paul Jenkins moved to approve the Consent Calendar. Chad Dance seconded. Motion carried. 1. Early Graduation Requests 2. Leave Request 3. Bid Recommendations 4. School Bus Purchase Request C. Extension of State Board of Education Year End Soft Closure - Dr. Woolstenhulme, Superintendent Chairman Landers invited Dr. Woolstenhulme to present information on the extension from the State of Board of Education soft closure dated April 6, 2020. Dr. Woolstenhulme reviewed the recent update from the SBOE which directed school districts to remain on soft closure through the end of the 2019-2020 school year; districts could have students return under certain criteria. Governor Little extended the Stay-In order through April 30, 2020. The curve has lowered, however, the state has not seen a decline in COVID-19 cases. The earliest anyone could return to school would be May 15th; this is the date that has been set as the last day year end assessments are to be given and most basic work is to be completed for students. District administration recommends to stay closed through the end of the school year, and possibly have teachers available to provide extra instructional time for students who are not proficient in the five required outcomes for each course. He stated that most districts in Region 6 will remain closed through the end of the year. Instructional time has increased with the state testing dates cancelled for the year. 2 MOTION: Greg Calder moved to proceed with the extension from the State of Board Education Soft Closure of April 6, 2020 for the remaining of the 2019-2020 school year. Paul Jenkins seconded. Further discussion included topics of spring sports, upcoming SBOE meeting, 6th grade track meets and preparing for alternative graduation events. Chairman Landers restated the motion and asked for a vote. Motion carried. D. Mastery Based Learning Resolution Revision - Dr. Woolstenhulme, Superintendent Chairman Landers invited Dr. Woolstenhulme to present revision of recently adopted resolution. Dr. Woolstenhulme and the district administration’s main goal for this resolution was not to harm students. This past week they were informed that the deadline for scholarships from universities in Utah is June 1, 2020 and students in our district working to earn an out-of-state residency waiver scholarship would not earn this scholarship if their transcripts showed a “P” grade for the 3rd trimester report and a solid GPA. Therefore, the revision shows that all “P” grades given by the teacher would be changed to an “A” grade on the transcript. This would boost the student’s GPA no more than 3/100ths and remain equitable for all students. All secondary grading is affected by this trimester’s grading procedures. Senior students who have dropped classes to raise their GPA can reenroll in those classes. He stated during in depth discussions with principals and district leadership, principals feel this is the right option at this time. Many teachers support administrative proposal. A lot of discussion revolved around giving student/parents the choice on how their students would be graded: letter grades or “P” & “I” grades. Dr. Woolstenhulme stated choice is not equitable for all students; teachers find it harder to give letter grades during the soft closure while teaching remotely and not face-to-face with students. Dr. Woolstenhulme mentioned there are two key things to consider: first, the internal implications, such as class ranking and academic honors; and second, external factors for scholarships and NCCA, etc. Self- selection would require more family support; family support not always equitable for all students. It was noted that the NCCA looked at a “P” grade as a “D”; the NCCA is revising their policy during the pandemic grading period, looking more at credits received vs. GPA. MOTION: Greg Calder moved to approve the revision of the Mastery Based Learning Resolution, paragraph 8, as presented. Paul Jenkins seconded. Further discussin topics included the importance of following policy, revision harms less students, but having a choice is a better option. Chairman Landers restated the motion and asked for each individual vote. Chad Dance: Yes; Greg Calder: No; Paul Jenkins: Yes; Scott Lynch: Yes; Amy Landers: No. Motion carried. Discussion continued in reviewing paragraph 7 of resolution which states the current grading procedures. MOTION: Amy Landers moved to add letter grading scale as a choice for secondary students and parents. Chad Dance seconded. Discussion included reference to the grading policy and that adding another grading scale would require a policy revision. Chairman Landers restated the motion and asked for each individual vote. Chad Dance: No; Greg Calder: No; Paul Jenkins: No; Scott Lynch: No; Amy Landers: Yes. Motion did not carry. E. Suspension of Item #1 in Policy 2750 Academic Honors - Jason Lords, Executive Director No action required; voided by resolution revision. F. Student Code of Conduct Revision Recommendation - Dr. Woolstenhulme, Superintendent Chairman Landers invited Dr. Woolstenhulme to present changes to Student Code of Conduct. He explained that due to a recent breech of the Google Meet platform used by teachers to connect with students, this revision provides procedure for student discipline for inappropriate activity during use of the platform or unauthorized entry into the Google classroom. MOTION: Paul Jenkins moved to approve revisions to the Student Code of Conduct regarding student discipline for misuse of remote/online teaching instructional services as presented. Chad Dance seconded. Motion carried. V. Administrative Reports (COVID-19) A. Soft Closure and Online Learning 1. Student Meals - Heather Plain, Child Nutrition Supervisor Chairman Landers invited Heather Plain to present on Student Meals. The Child Nutrition and Transportation departments have been busy preparing and delivering meals since March 19, 2020. The food service department has submitted many waivers to the state to allow D93 to provide meals to students during the soft closure time. As compared to the number of meals served during open school, the department has prepared and delivered over 80,000 meals in fifteen days!! The food service executive team is maintaining social distancing, staffing the work teams to ten employees or less and sanitizing everything in all ten work locations and busses used. Breakfast and lunch meals are served together in a bag; each bag contains seven food items. The biggest challenge is providing the sack/bag for the meals to be delivered in; many have been donated, or on back order and are still needed for the remainder of this school year. In order to use food on hand, cook-at-home foods are provided in plastic allowing students to prepare food at home, if necessary. Food service staff are stressed and concerned for their health and families. Transportation department has been able to deliver to students who otherwise would not have a chance to have a meal. Parents are grateful. When schools are closed, students who do not come to the building, do not eat. Mrs. Plain also stated that a donation has paid for all overdue charges. 2. Internet Connectivity & Hotspot Deployment - Gordon Howard, Director 3 Chairman Landers invited Gordon Howard to present on internet connectivity and hotspots. Mr. Howard stated that 100 hotspots have been distributed to English language learners and families with more than one student. More hotspots are on order. Verizon has discounted pricing for outside Wi-Fi access points installed in parking areas of school buildings where lunch is being delivered. District Chrome books will automatically connect at these access points. 3. Google Meet Security - Gordon Howard, Director Chairman Landers invited Gordon Howard to present Google Meet Security. Due to pandemic circumstance, Google Meet is a free platform used by teachers to connect with their students. Having all the classrooms working remotely, is a new challenge for the Tech department in providing training to teachers, parents and students. Students can connect using their d93mail.com accounts and d93mail.com accounts have been set up for all contracted support staff. There have been no complaints relating to the current breech with Google Meet. 4. Special Education Updates - Julian Duffey & Rex Miller, Directors Chairman Landers invited Julian Duffey and Rex Miller to present updates for Special Education programs. Mr. Duffey stated that working remotely with Special Education students and programs has been a challenge. Most of the Special Education students require hands-on instruction and assistance. Teachers and aides are using the Google for Education platforms, and teleworking from home. A parent newsletter has been sent out. Other online services include speech pathology, counseling, behavioral services, social work and assessment platforms for psychologists. Mr. Miller included services to help with the social and emotional unrest felt at home during the soft closure period. The mental health team has provided self-help for parents, mindfulness and mediation options, behavior centered programs and webpages on how to deal with trauma at this time. The district has provided 150 Chromebooks and d93mail.com accounts to aides who work with district students. It’s important to stay in communication with parents. 5. Teachers & Students - Dr. Woolstenhulme, Superintendent Report postponed to next week. B. Policy for Initial Consideration - Guy Wangsgard, CFO 1. 7236 Employees Paid with Federal Funds and Unexpected or Extraordinary Closures Chairman Landers invited Guy Wangsgard to present policy for initial consideration. This new policy refers to paying all employees, either by federal or state funding, during unexpected or extraordinary closures and when teleworking from home. This policy must be adopted by end of fiscal year and will go to 21-day review at the next scheduled meeting. VI. Call for Agenda Items for Upcoming Meetings (via telecommunications until further notice) All upcoming Work Session will be changed to Special Meetings during the soft closure period. 21 Day Review for policy 7236 - April 22, 2020 Report on Teachers and students - April 22, 2020 Retirement Open House has been cancelled. Negotiations postponed until state funding is determined for 20-21 school year Curriculum policy review - April 22, 2020 A. Work Session (Bonneville HS Student Council) - Wednesday, April 22, 2020 - Via Telecommunication at https://www.d93schools.org/News/live - 11:30 a.m. B. Work Session (Thunder Ridge HS and HHS Student Council) - Wednesday, April 29, 2020 - Via Telecommunication at https://www.d93schools.org/News/live - 11:30 a.m. C. Retirement Open House - Tuesday, May 5, 2020 - District Board Room - 3:30 p.m. Cancelled D. Regular Meeting - Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Via Telecommunication at https://www.d93schools.org/News/live - 7:00 p.m. E. Work Session (TCHS, LHS, BOHS Student Councils) - Wednesday, May 20, 2020 - Via Telecommunication at https://www.d93schools.org/News/live - 11:30 a.m. VII. Action Items A. Executive Session – Chairman Landers stated the Board will enter into Executive Session pursuant to Idaho Code 74- 206(1)(b) To consider the evaluation, disciplining or dismissal of an employee or staff member. The Executive Session will be closed to the public as permitted by law. MOTION: Greg Calder moved to enter into executive session for the reason stated. Chad Dance seconded. The roll call vote was: B. Roll Call Vote Chad Dance yes Greg Calder yes Paul Jenkins yes Scott Lynch yes Amy Landers yes 4 Chairman Landers recessed the meeting at 7:58 p.m. for a short break. VIII. Discussion Items A. Employee J2020 Heath Jackson recommended to accept resignation letter from employee J2020 at the close of this school year and to end probation effective next school year. Discussion from 8:05 p.m. to 8:09 p.m. C. Employee N2020 Heath Jackson recommended to extend suspension with pay and benefits for employee N2020 for the remaining of the 2020 contract. Discussion from 8:09 p.m. to 8:14 p.m. IX. Action Items A. Move Back into Open Session MOTION: Chad Dance moved to enter back into open session. Greg Calder seconded. Motion carried. B. Employee J2020 Decision MOTION: Greg Calder moved to accept resignation letter from employee J2020 at the close of this school year and to end probation effective next school year. Chad Dance seconded. Motion carried. C. Employee N2020 Decision MOTION: Greg Calder moved to extend suspension with pay and benefits for employee N2020 for the remaining of their 2020 contract. Chad Dance seconded. Motion carried. X. Adjournment Chairman Landers adjourned the meeting at 8:19 p.m. MOTION: Chad Dance moved to adjourn. Greg Calder seconded. Motion carried. APPROVED: ______________________________________ Chairman ATTESTED: _______________________________________ Clerk DATE: ___________________________________