HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-25-2015 Minutes Work Session Mountain ValleyDr. 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
Work Session of the Board of Trustees
Mountain Valley Elementary
February 25, 2015
11:30 AM
I. Call to Order
Chairperson Winchester called the meeting to order at 11:44 a.m.
II. Roll Call
Those Board members in attendance were Chairperson Annette Winchester, Vice-chairperson Kip Nelson, Treasurer Amy Landers, Trustee Jeff Bird was excused, and
Trustee Brian McBride. Others in attendance were, Energy Education Specialist Don Trauntvein, Director of School Improvement and Technology Scott Woolstenhulme,
Communications Liaison Phil Campbell, Director of Plant Facility/Purchasing Roger Hill, Curriculum and Instruction Director Michaelena Hix, Chief Financial/Operations
Officer April Burton, Principal Gordon Howard, and Board Clerk Valerie Messick
III. Welcome Visitors and Delegations
Chairperson Winchester welcomed the following: Amy Hales, Stephanie Gifford, and Karla Harris.
IV. Items for Discussion
A. University of Idaho Extension 4-H Benefit Sponsorship Program – Brenda Chamberlain
Chairperson Winchester stated that Ms. Chamberlain was unable to attend the meeting today.
B. Student Growth Assessments - Michaelena Hix
Chairperson Winchester asked Mrs. Hix to discuss the student growth assessments with regard to personnel evaluations. Mrs. Hix stated that this concerns the law having to
do with 33% of teacher’s evaluation needs to be based on student growth percentiles. She wants to make the Board aware of what our principals have decided on as the
assessment measurement to comply with this law. It looks a little bit different with Bonneville Online, Telford, and Lincoln. They believe this a fair evaluation for teachers this
year. Mrs. McConnell will talk about the administrator evaluation piece and how this will affect them. Mr. McBride wondered what the feeling was with the new law. It is
another piece of the puzzle to make sure teachers are teaching standards and the students are getting the knowledge they need. Teachers are a little frustrated with this
legislation. Our schools have been exceptional in achieving growth. We have tried to look at it in terms of not being punitive but being something that we can celebrate. We
based it on what we did for pay for performance and tried to make it a realistic measure and something our teachers can be comfortable with. The growth standards in
elementary are the ISATs. The standards are different at the alternative schools. The 33% of our administrator’s requirement will be based on the averages in the schools.
We all have to reflect 33% in our evaluations. We will rework the policy to make sure we cover the state requirements. During an audit, the state will tell auditors what to look
for. They look for agreement between policy and practice. It could change next year. There was a question regarding whether all the principals had a part in the decision.
There were five or six who initially look at it and then it was presented in principals’ meeting yesterday so all have seen it. It went into law in 2014. We looked ahead to let
teachers know what this is based on. It will be encouraging. Teachers always worry but, they work hard and do well. Mr. Nelson wondered if this is something that will help
some struggling teachers. There are several things in play, one is the career ladder legislation. They will work through this to do a good job. We can target professional
development to help our teachers. It will help us to fine tune what we are doing. It is not a “got you” but an opportunity to help and use master teachers in the process. It gives
us information to help us know how we can help teachers to be successful. We want to look at a three year rolling average once we have growth averages. The 33% of an
evaluation will not cause an individual to lose their job. JPAS will give us an opportunity do professional development and help we need to give. We can also use end of
course assessments, ACT scores, graduation rates, etc. It is hard for non-core teachers to know how they fit in but, we will figure a way to make it work for teachers, kids, and
the community
C. Professional Standards Commission Clarification – April Burton
Chairperson Winchester asked Mrs. Burton to discuss the information from the Professional Standards Commission with regard to use of school property to run camps. They
said there is no problem with the coaches holding summer camps as long as we treat them like would any other community member using our facilities. We change
community groups and this would not be a commercial entity. These camps benefit our students. We need to look at our policy and Mrs. Burton will do some more research
on the subject. There was a question regarding whether sports clubs are charged to use the schools. That will also need so research. The board has a policy stating the rates
to be charged but the approval needs to come through the principal. The State Standards Commission is not always consistent. We need to be consistent regarding the
amount we are charging groups. We may need to change our practice. We will ask Mr. Trauntvein to look into this further. We want to protect our teachers and our coaches
from any violation of the code of ethics. We also don’t want to stop opportunities for kids. The Professional Standards Commission recommended that the coaches maintain
their own liability insurance. We will continue to look at our policy to make sure it is consistent with Professional Standards, research the question further, and get back to the
Board in another work session. We need to keep camps separate from the school. We also need to be careful with communication regarding participation in the camp.
D. Growth Projections for Future Schools – Scott Woolstenhulme
Chairperson Winchester asked Mr. Woolstenhulme to discuss growth projections with the Board. Mr. Woolstenhulme stated that now on social media is reported that we have
several bonds planned in the future that we haven’t planned. He wants to get on record that there has been a discussion about when to bond next. He wants to discuss some
key questions with the Board. He has responded to people with this is what we have done in the past and not obligate future Boards with having a discussion first. The model
that the Board has done in the past is a good one to look at going forward. There has been a question regarding whether the new high school will be filled in five years. The
chances are that it will. The practice of the Board has been that we haven’t built schools and waited for kids to show up to fill them. We have built schools to be 70-100% full.
He using enrollment numbers from State Department’s website. These are reported the first Friday in November. This gives us a consistent look back for almost 20 years.
Hillcrest opened in 1992 with an enrollment of 1066 that translates to 85% capacity filled. It was filled five years later in 1997. What we did with Hillcrest is not a lot different
with what we are proposing with the new high school. We have also continued the same pattern with our elementary schools. This a good model to look at so when we open
a school we want to see that it is at least ¾ full. The new high school, Hillcrest, and Bonneville would open with 90% capacity. Hillcrest and Bonneville would drop down to
1125 students and the new school would open at 1350. They would all then be at 90% capacity. Then they would all be at capacity somewhere around 2022 or 2023. When
those schools are at 125% capacity it might be time to ask for another high school. We are looking at about15 to 20 years after the new school is built.
Mr. Woolstenhulme presented information on the rainbow chart showing enrollment going back to 1995 – 1996 from the state department. Information from 2000 -2002 we
flat lined and dropped for a few years. Then the growth started up again. It also dropped in 1996-1998. Our overall growth rate in the District for the last decade, we have had
a 3.3% growth rate. If you want to average growth rate year after year it comes out as 3.5% or a median of 3.4%. We are basically looking at a 3.3% growth rate every year in
our elementary schools. Every year, we have more students in our schools than the year before. We have been inaccurately criticized because people have looked at the 3%
growth rate assumed that every class would be 3% larger. He talked about cohort growth that shows what happens to our classes year after year. That represents a 1.1%
growth rate for the kindergarten cohort year after year through 6th grade. The last five years it was below 1% growth. The reason may be that a number of charter schools
have opened and we have our online school. The cohort isn’t growing at 3% every single year. The 3% growth is for the District as a whole. We have larger classes coming in
but that doesn’t mean we are getting 3% in every class every single year. Historically we are at 1.1% average growth at the elementary level. The criticism calculation is three
times higher than we should actually assume. We need to base our assumption on what has happened historically Districtwide. We are dropping off smaller classes of
seniors and rolling up larger classes through the elementaries. We t get an atypical bump from charter schools in the 8th and 9th grade that are kids that haven’t been in our
system prior to that grade level. We do lose about 15% from the time they are freshman to twelfth grade. Our 8th grade class increases and then is gradually smaller up
through 12th grade. The 3% growth is for all grades and all schools.
The growth projections are based on historic data. For last three years BOS has been excluded from the numbers presented in order to look at enrollment versus capacity.
Technical Careers and Lincoln have not been excluded. Mr. Woolstenhulme talked about the projection going forward using a 3% growth number for high schools. Every year
our 9th through 12th population is increasing by 3%. We are showing 31,072 that we have now. In 9th through 12th grade. So assuming 3% growth, you can see where the
enrollment will go through 2039 (which is not a safe assumption) if we keep with the 3% growth we have had for the last decade. Mr. Woolstenhulme is uncomfortable looking
beyond our current kindergarten class because there are a lot of variables that we can’t control for in the next decade could cause the number to be higher or lower. With the
new high school in 2023-2024, the new school would be at capacity and Bonneville and Hillcrest would be just under capacity. Mr. Woolstenhulme will check his numbers
because he may be 100 students off because of the exclusion of Bonneville Online student enrollment. He asked that the charts he handed out be returned so he can double
check the numbers.
At the middle school level, we haven’t talked as a Board or District leadership team about when the right time o build a new school would be. In November, we were 24
students below capacity at Sandcreek and Rocky Mountain. We are past that now. Next year the projection would be 10 students above capacity. If we were to open a 3rd
middle school and drop both Rocky Mountain and Sandcreek back to 75% enrollment, we are looking at around 2021-2022 to open a new school at 75% capacity. That
would mean that each Rocky Mountain and Sandcreek would be 230 students over capacity. We would have trailers available but, those two buildings would be very
overcrowded. We can track that forward to look at when the right time to talk about when opening a new middle school would be. We would be looking at 2021 or 2022 to be
talking about the public about opening a new school in two years at 85% capacity based on a 1200 student middle school. Looking at homes platted down south and the
homes platted down Iona Road, it depends on how many people move in to the area. Looking at kids we have and growth rate we have had, we should be ok until 2021 or
2023. Mr. McBride is concerned that there are problems with overcrowding now in middle schools. The middle schools are actually at the same enrollment as in 2006 when
we had three grades in them. But at this point we can’t pull another grade out and put them somewhere. It will be overcrowded and there will be challenges but we can
sustain for a few years before we have to talk about a bond for a middle school. .We don’t want to open a middle school until is at least ¾ full. We are dependent on funding
from the state with regard to the number of teachers we can have and the number of administrators we have. If we don’t have the students when we open the school, the
funding will be impacted.
The city of Ammon is predicting a 3% growth in commercial. As long as Idaho Falls and Ammon are attracting businesses they will need people to fill those businesses. We
need to go by these indicators as well. In 2005 we had an enrollment of just over 1000 students at Sandcreek with four modular units. At Rocky Mountain the enrolment has
been as high as 800. These numbers are before we moved the 6th grade out and before we moved the boundary between Hillcrest and Bonneville. We will probably need to
open a new middle school in 2021. We need to talk about it in 2018 when the new high school opens.
E. Bond Overview – Annette Winchester discussed the Bond Election and the need to get everyone signed up to cover the cottage meetings and PTO meetings. Mrs.
Messick will post the Bond Questions meeting on Monday March 9th.
F. Advocates for Education - Heidi Southwick
Chairperson Winchester asked Mrs. Southwick if she had any questions comments or concerns for the Board. Mrs. Southwick thanked the Board for so many hours spent
attending cottage meetings and discussions at elementary schools. They have been a real benefit and she recommended that the Board continue doing those types of
discussions after the bond is over. The feedback they are getting is that people appreciate discussing their concerns with you in a smaller setting. People who are open
minded, they feel good about what you have told them because they have had their questions answered and they feel their concerns have been validated. There is a change
with the cottage meeting on Thursday the 5th.of March. It needs to be moved to March 4th at 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. There will be an Open House at the District Office on
Monday, March 9th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for anyone who has questions or concerns. There was a question regarding whether this could be advertised at the schools.
You can advertise that meeting in the schools and anywhere else they would like. In addition to they have done the following: cottage meetings, PTO meetings, and
representation at school events, we have signs that we went through very quickly. Unfortunately, we have lost a lot of them. In every area we have had a few disappear.
There is not a lot you can do about that. They have distributed flyers, the FaceBook page, editorials in the newspaper, and business contacts in Ammon and Idaho Falls.
They have had a pretty good response so far. They give the contact assignment to someone who already has a relationship with the business owner. They have planned
several other things to promote the bond in the next couple of weeks. Chairperson Winchester asked if the Advocates were doing editorial or letters to the editor. They have
an editorial submitted and it will be printed. Most are letters to the editor. There is a need for an editorial from the District to address numbers to let people know what the plan
is and what the District hasn’t planned. We also need someone to write an editorial on what the school will look like. The high schools are involved in encouraging their
seniors to go out and vote. That is a great civic opportunity. They are considering a competition between the schools to see which school can get the most seniors that are 18
out to vote. They are also talking about how to distribute the District’s informational materials. We need to encourage kids to express themselves. They will specifically target
certain demographics over the next two weeks and until the night before the election. Mr. Nelson wants encourage additional committee to attend the cottage meetings Mrs.
Southwick will email committee members to let them know when the cottage meetings are scheduled. These meetings are very helpful and they have built a link between the
community and the board. We need to continue to have cottage meetings in different areas to talk about the need for a middle school and elementary needs. Just having
them advertised gives people the idea the District really is interested.in their concerns and the District can also communicate their concerns. It gives a good impression even
if only a few come.
V. Call for Agenda Items for Upcoming Meetings
A. Regular Meeting - Wednesday, March 11, 2015 - 7:00 p.m.
B. Work Session - Wednesday, March 18, 2015 - Ucon Elementary School Media Center - 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
C. Regular Meeting - Wednesday, April 8, 2015 - 7:00 p.m.
D. Work Session - Bonneville Student Council - Wednesday, April 22, 2015 - Bonneville High School Media Center - 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
E. Work Session - Lincoln Student Council - Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - Lincoln High School Room #3 - 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
VI. Executive Session
Chairperson Winchester stated that the Board will enter into Executive Session pursuant to Idaho Code Section 67-2345 (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 Idaho Code
Section 67-2345 (1)(c) To consider deliberations to acquire an interest in real property which is not owned by a public agency. The Executive Session will be closed to the
public as permitted by law.
She then asked for a motion to move into executive session for the reasons stated at 1:09 p.m.
MOTION: Amy Landers made a motion to move into executive session for the reasons stated. Kip Nelson seconded. The roll call vote was:
Jeff Bird excused
Brian McBride yes
Amy Landers yes
Kip Nelson yes
Annette Winchester yes
VII. Adjournment
Chairperson Winchester asked for a motion to adjourn at 2:06 p.m.
MOTION: Kip Nelson made a motion to adjourn. Amy Landers seconded. The vote was 4 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstentions. The motion was carried.
APPROVED: ______________________________________________
Chairperson
ATTESTED: _______________________________________________
Clerk
Date: _______________________