News from June 2014 Board Meeting

Public Comment...

• Lynn McKinney - School employee. Concerned about the elimination of Library Clerk positions in West, Senior, and Skyview. 3.0 FTEs of positions. Says that this will decimate Library programs. Libraries will not be fully staffed. These positions provide student services. She wants budget passed this summer to bring back these positions.

Broadwater and McKinley update...

• No updates.

Middle School...

• Second Middle school design cost will be included in first bond issuance.
• Demographics checkup coming.
• Retractable seating in commons area: Dusty said it is not worth doing and cannot do it with quality and stay under budget.

Superintendent Report...

• Working on High School security. Auto Door Locks. Student cards. Security Cameras at 5 entrances with buzz in. Senior first, Lincoln Center second, West, Skyview, and then Career Center. Finish shortly after the school year starts. Lots of pots to pay for Lincoln Center system. Cards are one fits all...building access, library, etc.. Still thinking about after school activities, like basketball games. Trustees bring up concern about interacting and developing relationships with students. Help students before they become shooters.
• 45 people submitted applications for redistricting committee. Sent to Cropper for review and selection. Team will be announced in July. Applicants names will be put in a newsletter.
• Tours of Broadwater and McKinley during Summer. 95% of work will be done by local contractors. 
• Community 7 did onsite interviews at these locations and new middle school site.
• MTSBA Delegate Assembly. 4/5 of our resolutions were passed. 6 grade funding as middle school. Debt subsidizes. Evaluate equality of funding. 
• We are going to have great news in 7 days, but he cannot tell us.

School based health center and Orchard...

• Scott McColough public comment:  BEA supports this. Schools should make sure students are healthy.
• Superintendent: 67% free and reduced lunch. Some parents cannot drive. Supports development of proposal. Board will have a chance vote to approve proposal in a future meeting. Aragon: Do we have space to do this? There is space in Library. Some space where custodians work. Some small learning group rooms. 
• MOA Draft passed 5-0.

Budget Update...

• Budget will be approved Monday August 18th.
• 1 percent savings goal for this school year will be met this school year.
• Books close end of July
• Reserves will all be above 5%. This will help on the rate on the next bond issuance.
• Aragon: Wants FTE information to ensure that 1% savings is not cutting staff too much. Revenues are going up and enrollment is going up, but FTEs are not as much as 2008 for school teachers and staff. Vacancy savings too much. Hudetz resistant in providing this information.
• Stroebe: 1% savings...did they cut staff. Savings with replacing retirees with younger staff? Is on budget documents. Activity Bus fee increase? No legislation to fund this at the state level. Paid by general funds. Will add 5 middle school teachers this summer.
• Toolhill:  Want details of 1% savings. Vacancy savings only replacing retirees. Board Contingencies will pay for facilities and textbooks. 
• Aragon: Wants to know teacher FTE changes over the last 10 years. Calculation of student/teacher ratios important for budget decisions. Stroebe: How we balance the budget is important. CFO will try to put in budget documents.
• Superintendent: Lost 400 students at high school level. Staff paid for using one time money was a problem. 

Board Appointments to redistricting team...

• Toolhill and Ludwig proposed as Trustee representatives. Toolhill encourages others to attend meetings and participate. Layton is Alternate. Hafer added as representative. Motion passed 7-0.

Trustee Vacancy...

• Two applicatons:  Rob Rogers and Sara Neff.
• 60 days to fill vacancy for zone 5.
• Need a special meet to fill seat. July 15 deadline.
• June 30th 530 pm is the special meeting. Decision will be made. passed 7-0.

AA Caucus...

• Resolution #9 still going...Lockwood High School. Everyone wants MTSBA unified for legislative session.
• Toolhill: constant battle between districts...if one gets more, then another will get less.
• Stroebe: Wants to hold on cololition. 
• MQEC dues: Paying for a voice at the legislature. For 10 year review. Passed 7-0.

An Opinion on Teacher Tenure

On Tuesday, a court in California ruled that teacher tenure was unconstitutional. There were previous rulings in California related to the funding of schools. School districts in poor communities had to be funded at the same levels as rich districts. Since poor school districts were more likely to have poor performing tenured teachers that could not be fired, this resulted in a poorer quality education for students in lower income areas, just like the result of unequal funding.

This morning the Billings Gazette asked "Will California's tenure ruling mean anything in Montana?" There are no lawsuits in Montana related to this, nor will Governor Bullock allow changes to tenure to occur over the next two years.

Some quotes from the article: President of the BEA...

While some might criticize the system for creating an environment where it’s impossible to remove bad teachers, McCulloch said that the claim is simply not true. In Montana, he said, teachers have to go through a three-year probationary period before they are “awarded” tenure, during which time they are evaluated twice a year. The evaluations are based on things like a teacher’s understanding of students, of the curriculum and their pedagogy. If a teacher is ineffective, there is a process for removing him or her, he said.

On the Gazette facebook page...Christian Bourn described the removal process...

Here's the process for canning a tenured teacher:

1. A contract is renewed in the spring with the understanding that the teacher will be placed on a professional plan of improvement for the next year. 

2. The teacher is then observed over the next year and continually given evaluations. They're given the opportunity to contest poor evaluations with a union representative present. They're given the opportunity to schedule meetings with the administration and the union when they feel they need to.

3. After their final evaluation of the year, they're told whether or not they'll be recommended for rehire. Now, they have the further ability to contest this. But, at this point, an administrator has enough information to can them so the teacher will opt for retirement or resignation.

4. Here is something else to bear in mind; most unions don't cover legal fees. The reps are their to make sure you're getting proper legal advice and to stand with you if you're being railroaded. Generally speaking, the union reps in Montana will not go to bat for you if you're a f- up teacher. I'm a part of the teachers union and I've been involved in several mediation sessions. Every time, the union has told the teacher on the hot seat to follow the administrator's instructions. We have not told them to "fight the man" or go to court. 

Also Eric Olsen was quoted to provide the other side...

When it comes to the budget, if they can get two inexperienced teachers for the price of one experienced teacher, Olsen said they should do it. “That’s just part of the system. You see that in the corporate world,” he said, adding that he didn’t think it’d bother kids too much. “Kids are real flexible. They’re probably the most flexible creatures on earth.”

This comment was not helpful for the reform side. After parents, the most important factor in a successful education is a quality teacher. Mr. Olsen's plan works against that. In general, most of our community are willing to pay excellent teachers a good salary to keep them in the system. But the current steps and lanes/tenure system pays all teachers the same regardless of each teachers performance. Reforms should be made towards a merit system, rather than how cheap we can be in paying teachers.

The first question that came my mind was how many SD2 teachers been let go strictly because of bad performance in the classroom over the past five years? That question was posted on the board email page by myself. I am not sure if the administration will answer the question, but it is a question that should be asked and answered. I would like to know how serious the school district is when they determine that a teacher is not doing their job. If the administration hasn't done anything about bad teachers, then the trustees have to turn that around. 

Now let's step into the shoes of parents. I am a parent with children in the public schools, so I know what this is like. When our children our assigned teachers (we generally do not request individual teachers), I do not know if I am getting a high performing teacher or a teacher that needs to be let go. That information is hidden from parents. And if a parent realizes that their child is not learning as much as they should, how would that parent know if it is an issue with a child's effort or if it is an issue with a bad teacher. How would a parent know when teacher evaluations are hidden from the parent? What if the issue is the curriculum or a school policy negatively affecting education? It is not fun being a parent sending children to this system. 

In a lot of ways, public schools are monopolies where some parents have no choice to send their children to public schools. The trustees has to hold the administration accountable for the service they provide. Administrators have to hold employees accountable for the job they were hired to do. I can live with some due process, but maybe parents should know that they are getting a teacher that is on a plan of improvement. Maybe parents should be notified that they had a child in a classroom where a teacher wasn't doing their job and be offered free tutoring to make up lost education. 

All I know that the discussion of this topic rarely involves what parents think. I do not care about the battles between the tea party and unions. How about putting students first for a change?

Virgil

Notice of School Board Meeting

The agenda was posted on Thursday. The meeting starts at 530 pm, Monday, June 16th. The meeting is at the Lincoln Center board room. Here are some of the items that will be discussed...

• Updates on the Broadwater/McKinley remodel
• Updates on the design of new East Billings Middle School
• Determine process how to select someone to fell the vacant trustee position
• Preliminary budget presentation for next school year. Must be approved in July or August.
• MOU on school based health center at Orchard Elementary
• Update on appointments to school redistricting team. Two trustees will be appointed to team.
• Update on MTSBA activities

Remodeling of two Billings Schools have started

As reported by the Billings Gazette major remodeling of McKinley and Broadwater schools has started. This is great news for students that live in this area of Billings. Classroom conditions were not pleasant for quite some time.

Virgil

Positve Impact of Involved Fathers

Yesterday, this article caught me attention. I am a father and I try to be involved in my children's lives as much as possible. Here is the premise of the article...

Children with involved fathers are more likely to graduate from college—particularly among middle- and upper-income families but also among those from lower-income backgrounds, a recent study found.

According to this new research by Brad Wilcox at the University of Virginia, the family structure that best promotes this involvement is a married, intact family. This is the case for youth from lower-educated homes as well as those from more highly educated homes.

I know from personal experience that this is true. My wife and I tag-team alot when it comes to our children. Sometimes my approach reaches our children, whereas sometimes my wife's approach reaches the children.

There are some single parents out there that I know that make this work on their own. Such parents should get heaps of praise because they must sacrifice and work much harder than I do to keep their children on the right track. Unfortunately, this is the exception rather the rule.

In our community there are many unwed mothers, a high divorce rate, substance abuse issues. Their children attend the public schools and these are the children more likely to struggle in school. These are the children that SD2 struggles to serve. I do not think I have an answer to this, but it is something our community needs to address. It is impacting the educational quality of our public schools.

Virgil

School Rezoning Team Members Needed

School District 2 in Billings is looking for 20-25 people to join a team that will adjust elementary and middle school boundaries. The application is here. The deadline is COB June 13th.

Team Meetings will start in September and I would expect 1-2 meetings a month during the school year. Each meeting will be about 2 hours.

My view is that parents need to step up and apply for this team. Students are being bused all over the place on the west end. This team will set the priorities on what will be the basis of redrawing boundaries. I would hope this team also discuss transition plans and discuss a plan to adjust boundaries in the future on a more frequent basis.

Virgil

Latest on SD2 Contruction projects

SD2 bid out window replacements for Broadwater and McKinley elementary schools. The bids received didn't meet the specs for window quality. As a result, SD2 expects not all windows to be replaced this summer as they hoped. The delay is because they will have to rebid this project.

Design work for the East Billings Middle school continues. They are currently putting together an "offsite" package to be bid on this month. This package includes road work, utility work, and work on grounds. The offsite work will start in late July and continue until Thanksgiving Day. Construction of the building will start when the ground thaws in 2015 and the school will open late in the summer of 2016.

Virgil

SD2 - Riverstone Health - Billings Clinic Pact in the works

School District 2 is actively working on a MOU between them and Riverstone Health and Billings Clinic to create a Heath Center at Orchard Elementary School. The SD2 Trustee Planning and Development Committee approved an action for this MOU to be voted on during the June Board Meeting. 

Orchard Elementary serves the largest number of children of low income families in the school district. If a student receives free or reduced lunch, there is a 90% chance they are receiving Medicaid health services. For a variety of reasons, parents are not taking their children in for medical services and the problems get to a point where the more expensive ER is used. If a health center is put in the school, health professionals will be able to address issues before they get expensive. 

I missed the mental health presentation from Billings Clinic, but it appears that some parents are taking their kids to the ER for mental health issues instead of making an appointment with a specialist. 

The presenters sited single mothers that do not have transportation to take their children to an appointment and single mothers that cannot leave their job to take their children to an appointment as a reason to put a Heath Center in Orchard.

Parents will have to either opt into the program or opt out of the program, so parents, who do not want the school health center to provide medical care outside of emergencies, can have some peace. 

Here is some commentary. As a parent, I take the health of my children seriously. In fact, I view that as a responsiblity of myself, because I brought those children into the world. One thing that should be in this MOU is that parents should be required to be in attendance for every appointment. This program should never take any responsiblity from the parent. The government should not be raising children. There are parents that view the school as free childcare. There are parents that like the fact they do not have to make lunch and breakfast for their children paid by the taxpayer dime. Let's not add health services to this list. The government should not take care of children's healthcare and allowing the parent shift this responsiblity off too. A parent not raising their children is bad all around. This Health Center should not encourage this behavior. The MOU should address this specifically.

Virgil