LRP Commiittee February 26, 2007

Long Range Plan Review Committee
Minutes
February 26, 2007

Members in Attendance:
Harry Amend* Jane Curtis Katie Harris Vern Newby* John Swallow
Rosie Astorquia* Scott Fischer* Doug Jaworski Joel Palmer Dianna Walde
Jeff Bengtson Lana Hamilton Mary Larson Dave Patzer
Steve Briggs* Chris Hammons Bryan Martin* Pam Pratt*
Susan Clayton Russ Hansen Jill Neal* Lori Smith

*Ex-officio members

Welcome:
Dave Patzer called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. The meeting was held at the Midtown Center meeting room.

Approval of Minutes:
Motion by Lana Hamilton, second by Jill Neal to approve the January 8, 2007 minutes, approved unanimously with one change on the second page (halfway down), change sided to sighted.

Sorensen Update:
Dave Patzer reported that he carried Long Range Planning’s message regarding Sorensen Elementary to the Board and provided them with some documentation. The Board thanked the committee for all their time and hard work.

Review of Levy Information:
The committee was provided a handout on the Supplemental Maintenance & Operations (M&O) Levy. This information has been reviewed by the Pachyderms and several staff members. Harry stated that the handout is still being changed and asked for feedback from the committee on any improvements that needed to be made. He proceeded to go over the graphs. The District had two major efforts to gather input from the community and staff regarding what should be in the levy and the amount which ranged from $7,300,000-$10,200,000. After receiving this input, the Board itemized the items in the levy and decided on an amount. At the last Board meeting, they approved $8,828,687 per year for 2 years. Harry went over the levy proposal breakdown. He stated that, as part of the campaign, three videos are being put together that will be shown on cable Channel 19. The proposed increases in the amount of $1,524,137 came mainly from the input process. The class size reduction amount represents 6 teachers, the Advanced Learning amount includes more staffing at the larger elementary schools and the other building staffing amount is for two half-time elementary assistant principals (over 600 enrollment). The IB program has been trimmed back in that the director positions have been assigned to the assistant principals at the high schools (did have half-time directors). There will be additional staffing for one period a day for the IB program. The following are the comments, questions and suggested changes made by the committee members:
• Will this levy restore any of the program cuts that have been made? Some of the $2,100,000 cuts have been re-instated (in part or whole) and some have not. For example, there are some dollars in the budget for transition programs. These programs are available for incoming 6th and 9th graders (may not look the same at every school). Some of these dollars also come from Safe & Drug Free School monies.
• The numbers under the proposed increases need to be consistent (all rounded, etc.)
• At the top, up above the first graph it needs to be made clear that this after the homeowner’s exemption (even though it is mentioned halfway down the page).
• Can it be made clear that this is an operational levy, not maintenance? It is not a facilities levy, but a significant amount of these monies go to facility operations (safety and health).
• Technology is an additional line item because it was a part of the S.P.F.L. that failed.

Harry asked for the committee’s feedback on the balance between “don’t use scare tactics” and “tell us what’s in it.” He stated that those are two opposite concepts. The following comments were made:
• What does other critical support mean? What is other building staffing? Rather than using the word other, the word like should be used and then everything should be listed. There will be detailed information on the website and more details are provided at presentations. This is intended to be a one page informational sheet (simple message).
• Safety and health of students is too broad.
• Do we have more involvement from the public at-large in regards to the amount this year than in past years? It is not the same. It is a whole new chapter in how the District has been running it.
• People need to know how much involvement has gone into this process. It would carry more weight with the taxpayers. Maybe we should put a couple of bullets at the top of the sheet that explains that.
• Professional development – Is this an increase or a new program? It is bringing back a program that existed at one time (teacher training).
• What is professional technical education? Professional technical education is industrial arts and/or vocational programs.
• Need more detailed information at meetings (PTA, Rotary, etc.) When the campaign gears up, the District will be mailing out factual information (no advocacy). It will be considerably more detailed and will be provided as widely as possible. We need to send out as much information as we need to communicate appropriately but we don’t want to overburden with too much detail.
• It would be beneficial to tell people that if this levy does not pass, these are the things that will go away. It is not a scare tactic.
• The voters of this District do want to have good education. Need to promote what a good value they are getting.
• What are we doing to get voter activation? There will be voter registration at every school. When is the factual information sent out? The fact sheet usually goes out a week before the absentee ballots (factual information paid by the District). An advocacy letter (try to reach as many people as possible) will be sent out by the Levy Steering Committee and is paid for by fundraising. The goal is to raise $10,000. There is a meeting on Wednesday with representatives from all the PTA’s/PTO’s. This will be the kickoff for what every building is going to do. We have begun early this year.
• The fear of loss is a greater motivator than the opportunity to gain. You need to flip your message to say this is what would go away but look at the great value you are getting.
• We need to have answers for the taxpayers.

Harry thanked the committee for their great input. He pointed out that the levy cost will be less than $20 per month for a $275,000 home and that if the levy does not pass the District will not look the same (cuts will result). The election will be held on May 15th.

District Strategic Plan Copy:
The committee was provided with a copy of the Strategic Plan for their review and to put into their binders.

Review of Robinson Research Report:
Dave referred back to the Robinson Research survey. We need to keep these survey results in mind not only for the upcoming levy but also for future S.P.F.L. planning. It shows an anti-tax sentiment, be specific and exacting as well as right to the point on what the money is being used for, let voters know that the levy is capped, avoid attempts to over-educate, stick to key message points, simplify the list of uses for the levy, do not assume that all parents with children in public schools are in support and retirees against and acknowledge it will be an uphill battle since the last levy failed.

By-Laws Subcommittee Update:
The following are the subcommittee’s suggested changes to the By-Laws:
• Long Range Program – change program to planning throughout entire document.
• Page 1, Article IV, #3 – change objectives to purpose.
• Page 2, Article V, #4 - possible addendum to the By-Laws stating who the Nominating Committee is or a list (need to define or clarify). Dave Patzer stated that the Nominating Committee is supposed to be appointed by the Chairman. In the past, this has fallen on the outgoing Chair (canvassing the buildings to make sure all schools are represented, etc.) A Nominating Committee (approximately 3 people) will be put in place in the spring.
• Page 2, Article V, #6 – Is there an alternate list? No, not at this time but there has been in the past. This can be difficult to fill because they do not have voting rights. There was committee discussion regarding changing the By-Laws so that alternates could vote. Article VI, Page 3, #1 does state that alternates shall take the place of absent regular members at any meeting and each shall have one vote. Wording needs to be added regarding alternates being in good standing, per the By-Laws, in order to vote.
• Page 2, Article V, #8 – Does anyone keep track of the attendance? Yes, Jill and Cheri have worked on this.
• Page 2, Article V, #9 – Delete original members of the Committee for the 1992-93 term will be assigned length of terms.
• Discussed placing the outgoing chair on the alternate list or adding to the By-Laws that the outgoing chair may remain on the committee for one additional year with voting rights (#11).
• Page 3, Article VIII, #1 – Change October to after the commencement of the school year. There was a suggestion to change it to no later than the first week in October.
• Page 4, Article VIII, #1c – Add originally after School Board.
• Page 4, Article VIII, #3 – Change Section 5 to Section 6.

Dave asked the committee how they felt about the four defined meetings. He feels the committee has evolved from that scenario. Some felt that the meetings essentially have followed that scenario and it does state that the agendas are just suggested. The committee will be provided with the proposed changes at the next meeting. The changes will be voted on at that time and then forwarded to the Board for approval.

Board of Trustees Report:
Vern stated that House Bill 196 would consolidate elections to 2 per year for every entity in the State. It would be difficult for school districts to implement these elections. School district boundaries do not match up with the precinct boundaries (these change every 10 years with the census). He encouraged everyone to contact the legislators to relay the difficulties this would cause if it were passed.

District Report:
Steve informed the committee that the District is co-sponsoring a “Spring into Safety” carnival at Coeur d’Alene High School on March 10th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Details can be found on the District’s website.

Vice-Chair:
Dave reported that Doug Jaworski has volunteered to become the Vice-Chair this year and would then become the Chair of the committee at the beginning of the next school year. He opened it up for nominations. No other nominations were made. Motion by Lana Hamilton, second by Jeff Bengtson to elect Doug Jaworski as the Vice-Chair of this committee, approved unanimously.

Next Meeting:
The next Long Range Planning meeting will be held on Monday, March 26, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. at the Midtown Center meeting room.

Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheri Beard
Administrative Secretary

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