Minutes of March 5, 2007 Board Meeting

Regular Meeting March 5, 2007
5:00 PM Midtown Center Meeting Room

Minutes

At 5:08 p.m. Chair Vern Newby called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Trustees Edie Brooks, Sid Fredrickson, Diane Zipperer were present.

Approval of Minutes: Motion by Mrs. Zipperer, second by Mrs. Brook to approved the minutes of February 20, 2007, passed 3-0-1 (Mr. Fredrickson abstained). Motion by Mrs. Zipperer, second by Mr. Fredrickson to approve the minutes of February 21, 2007, passed 4-0.

Approval of the Agenda: Motion by Mr. Fredrickson, second by Mrs. Zipperer to approve the agenda, passed 4-0.

Coeur d’Alene Education Association Report – Paula Marano, Vice-President of CEA thanked CFO Steve Briggs and the Payroll Department for their efforts to process February payroll including the payroll increase. She appreciated Superintendent Amend’s attendance at the Education Support Professionals meeting last week. The professional negotiations survey is being formulated; they are in the midst of a mid-year membership drive, and asked the administration to listen to the needs of their members. A coalition of Board members, administrators and CEA members met recently in Boise with legislators.

Trustee Christie Wood arrived at 5:40 p.m.

High School Student Body Reports
Brianna Holt and Shelby Bogart from Bridge Academy were pleased to announce that 21 students are in attendance tonight as part of their senior summit. Students made 50 valentines for residents of Beehive Homes; students will volunteer at the upcoming Safety Carnival, and parent teacher conferences are scheduled for March 14.
Lane Wooley from CHS spoke about the freshman class dance scheduled for March 23. Students are participating in a “change” drive fundraiser with Canfield MS. Other events coming up include the Senior Mother Daughter Tea, Mr. CHS and the Senior Ball.
James Souza and Nick Cotton from LCHS reported about the girls basketball team who brought home the State Title; a movie produced by LCHS film students played at CDA film festival; DECA students are competing at State, and Key Club is planning fundraising to begin to build a school in Sierra Leone.
Alex Burrell from Project CDA reported that they heard a speaker who talked about date rape. Students have been volunteering at Headstart and enjoy working with kids; the Valentine Day balloon fundraiser made over $200.00. She invited Board members to attend the “Unstoppable You” presentation on March 20th.

Identification of Citizens Wishing to Address the Board:
Jennifer Symons, CDA, is a junior at CHS taking IB English and has concerns about required reading materials that contain foul language. Her wish is to have positive uplifting materials to read especially when reading out loud in class. She feels that teachers purposely choose controversial materials to make for better discussion: Some of the titles in question are: Catcher in the Rye, Their Eyes are Watching God, Stories by Edgar Allen Poe, Othello by Shakespeare, and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. She asked the Board to provide a list of better reading materials in schools.
Sara Finney, CDA, is a freshman at LCHS. She enjoys sports and attended school for many years with Slade Groene. She objects to a book about the rape of a young child, and feels that schools are assigning books that are not appropriate; it is unsettling reading and not good for students especially in light of two students who recently committed suicide.

Rachel Finney, CDA, is a 5th grader at Fernan who loves to read. She asked the Board to change the required reading. She does not use bad language and does not want to hear bad words or be made to leave the classroom when books are being read out loud.
Mary Jo Finney, 6451 E. Kingswood Lane, CDA asked if the board is aware of text contained within some books and read an excerpt. She asked that books be age-appropriate, and requested the adoption of up front-informed consent documentation and would like to bring back for board discussion in the future.
Debbie Morris, 2039 Sundown Lane, CDA is troubled by the Finney family predicament, and trusts that the district is overseeing reading material for students. She also suggested a better alternative to offer up front parental consent. She asked to be included in a future Board discussion. Reading should be family-friendly for all users, and the district should provide the best product possible. She shared information about a program called “EyeQ” which helps increase reading comprehension.

Approval of Consent Agenda Items
A. Personnel
B. Approve Accounts Payable Check List Dated February 27, 2007
C. Approve Postage Meter Lease for Lake City High School
D. Approve Affidavit of Habitual Truancy

Motion by Mr. Fredrickson, second by Mrs. Brooks, passed 5-0.

Consideration of Action/Information Items:

Sorensen Magnet School Update – Elementary Education Director Pam Pratt reported that the magnet school concept has taken off and as of today, the district has received 69 completed applications; 40 are new to our district.

1997 Bond Refinancing Review – Steve Briggs introduced Eric Heringer from Seattle Northwest Securities. He explained that his firm has been looking at the potential for refinancing opportunities for the last 3 years. He reviewed an executive summary detailing that a portion of the 1997 bonds can be “called” for optional redemption without penalty beginning July 30, 2007. Due to federal tax law, these bonds could not be refinanced, without a penalty, until now. He said it would reflect wise management of district money to take advantage of this opportunity within the next three months. Costs to refinance include: Bond Counsel, Escrow Agent, Underwriting, Bond Insurance and Bond Rating. No costs will be incurred if circumstances change e.g. interest rates change.

Mrs. Brooks asked if refinancing will extend the original maturity date; Mr. Heringer replied it will not. Mr. Fredrickson asked about the costs of refinance and if $170,000 is the net savings; Mr. Heringer replied yes. Mrs. Zipperer asked if the upcoming levy would affect this bond process; Mr. Heringer responded no, and added that savings from this bond refinance must go toward reduction of the bond debt. Mr. Briggs noted that this is the second opportunity to do this, and carries forward the Board philosophy to be good stewards of districts funds.

New Course Proposals – Curriculum Director Jim Facciano outlined procedures that were followed to bring these proposals to the Board.

a) Education Assistant Course: approved by Idaho Professional Technical Education. Mrs. Wood asked how we can offer a course without guarantee of funding. Superintendent Amend shared the process to meet the criteria, and that instructors must be certified. Mrs. Wood noted that there may not be unlimited funding from the State Level and the district should be aware for future requests.

This offering means that course will be offered but offered dependent on student interest and enrollment. Mrs. Zipperer asked about the extra load on the teacher who will mentor the student. Assistant Superintendent Hazel Bauman suggested sharing the list of mentor teacher guidelines, and spending time with mentor teachers so they understand the level of responsibility. Mrs. Wood asked about conversations that may have taken place between the district and NIC about this series of courses. She recommends using State dollars wisely and working together with higher education. Ms. Bauman suggested holding a mini strategic plan for professional technical education, a good contact person is Dr. Barbara Hanson from NIC. Mrs. Wood suggested that the administration check to see if this course is acceptable for credit at NIC, Mrs. Brooks asked for a report back to the Board.
b) Reading Mystery and Detective Fiction:
c) Multicultural Crafts: Mrs. Brooks asked about fees (student fees and costs involved to implement). Mr. Facciano responded that student fees pay on-going costs. Are implementation and materials costs the same?
d) Hot Lit: Reading Nonfiction and Fiction on Contemporary Issues: Mr. Fredrickson asked to change the name of this course, the title will be updated to discuss topics and events to fit with literature.

Motion by Mr. Fredrickson, second by Mrs. Wood to adopt the new course proposals as presented, passed 5-0.

Update Graduation Requirements – Curriculum Director Jim Facciano provided a handout detailing committee recommendations and areas of dialogue. Committee members recommend that all students participate in a test day. A majority of students currently take more than the required number of math credits. Additional Math and Science Teachers will be needed. Chair Newby recommended to bring this back at a future meeting. Mrs. Wood asked how much computer keyboarding/technology have students taken from K through high school, and is it necessarily a requirement at high school? What are other districts doing about PE requirements. PE could include participation in a sport. Mrs. Brooks asked if students can test out of computer keyboarding classes. She also inquired about an avenue for students to graduate early, and to make sure it is written into procedures.

Finance Report – Chief Financial Officer Steve Briggs will present the amended budget at a future hearing. He commented about HB 743 and how it relates to maintenance operations expenditures. Questions were asked about State payments. Mr. Briggs and Treasurer Julie Day will provide a schedule of payments received from the State.

Call for Committee Reports – Mrs. Zipperer reported that the Wellness Committee is looking beyond nutrition portion to incorporate fitness and self esteem. She also attended Report Card Committee meetings as they work on the Language Arts portion and alignment between the grades.

Superintendent’s Report – Superintendent Amend hosted State Superintendent Tom Luna last week at a variety of events in the area. The districts are pleased with the budget he has proposed which includes additional dollars for classroom teachers for remediation and textbooks.

Levy plans are in full swing; an excellent meeting took place last week with PTA leaders and Principals. Each school was provided with voter registration cards. More than 60 community leaders are invited to the District Office on March 15 to hear about the levy campaign and volunteer to serve. Ms. Bauman reported working with Janet Feiler and media teachers to produce a 5-10 minute video to be used during presentations and a 30 minute video to run on channel 19. She is looking to key community members to serve as co-chairs of the levy committee.

The Spring into Safety Fair will be held March 10 at CHS from 9:00 – 1:00. Janet Feiler reported that 32 agencies and businesses will set up booths; breakfast and lunch items will be available. Christie Wood is one of the presenters. Levy Fact Sheets will be available at Carnival as well as a voter registration information booth.

Board Comments – Questions asked include if there is any movement toward getting school elections on same date as November elections? Mrs. Wood asked if legislative updates could be included in the Superintendent’s Report. Mr. Newby and Mr. Fredrickson suggested looking at the ISBA website regularly as they keep up with pending legislation.

Motion by Mr. Fredrickson, second by Mrs. Zipperer for Executive Session: Idaho Code 67-2345 (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; Roll Call Vote: Newby, Brooks, Wood, Fredrickson, Zipperer each “yes”.

Returned to open session at 9:35 p.m.
No action was taken.
Meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

Summary Statement of Executive Session

At 8:40 p.m. in accordance with Idaho Code 67-2345, Subsection (b), the Board held an Executive Session 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.

Vernon L. Newby, Chair, Board of Trustees

Lynn M. Towne, Clerk, Board of Trustees

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