SD2 Governance Special Meeting - July 28 2014

Committees:

• Board members, who have been on the board for a while, are presenting a history of committees the last 5-10 years. These committees became open to all members because of trust issues...which increased workload on board members. 
• They are looking at a committee to vet the budget before it gets to the monthly board meeting.
• Now there is no committee structure. Every thing is done in ad hoc.
• It was noted that the board as a group needs goals and a vision that unifies the group. Then committees can be trusted to do work on behalf of the board.
• They are considering committees...Shareholders...Planning and Development...Performance Monitoring.
• Motion made to make these committees and it passes.

Notes from SD2 Board Meeting 7/21/2014

Superintendent Report:

• There is an opportunity to raise more money for Project Lead The Way
• Plans are in place in getting all elementary schools and middle schools in the project in 4 years.
• If the graduation rate continues to go up, the school district is looking to make the career center a full high school. SD2 is putting together a planning team needed one trustee representative. 
• Naming of facilities...policy 9250...board will need to appoint a committee. 
• Aug 7th Strategic Planning...Ned talking to leadership team. This is a training session.
• Big Sky Games - SD2 had reps there.

Middle School Update:

• Offsite Development package - Bid comes in this week. Work starts on Aug 1 - through Nov.

Deferred Maintenance:

• 77 out 78 given to local contractors.
• McKinley and Broadwater only has one out of town contractor (brick restoration...none in town)

Cottonwood Land Site:

• 2007 SD2 purchased 10 acres of land. School district has 3 years to put a school on it per agreement. Better to put elementary school on existing middle school site (in addition) on 56th and Grand. 
• Board Approved meeting with parties involved. Superintendent wants a public hearing.

Redistricting Committee:

• Approved rescinding board reps to committee.
• Approved converting board reps to committee liaisons.
• Approved Committee members in board packet.
• 3 members are school employees...requested they act as community members.
• Approved Roles and Responsibilities of committee in board packet.
• Criteria/Guidelines in the board packet tabled to discussed at next Planning and Development Committee meeting.

Budget:

• Charter Disputing taxes caused a lower taxable value for them. Might cause an tax increase to other taxpayers.
• Budget is balanced and does not use one-time money. 
• Goal is to not spend 1% of the budget and put in reserves.
• Expanding capacity (teachers) to get ready for new middle schools.
• Added some money to capital improvements for high schools.
• Increased pay for substitutes. +$15 for Certified teachers and +$10 for non-certified.
• Prelim Budget approved.

Superintendent Contract:

• 2% raise and cell phone.
• Approved by the board.

Notes from SD2 7/7/14 Planning and Development Committee Meeting

On Bond Projects

• Stairwells in McKinley - Looking at converting one stairwell into breakout space. There were historic concerns, but utility of the space is more important for upper level classrooms. $70 a square foot to repurpose space and will cost $20,000 total. Community will not know that there used to be a stairwell there. Project budget may not allow this. Project needs bids to come below expectations to pay for this. Teachers want breakout space. Decision was made to delay to next board meeting.
• Annex in McKinley is gone. Boiler and Gym is gone. Working on restrooms on 1st floor and 2nd floor.
• Broadwater - Late permit created delays. Did some duct work and in process of re-roofing. Carpeting discussion has ensued. Restoring hard surfaces are not in the budget for classrooms. Suggestion to go with hard surfaces with a rugs. 
• Heights Middle School - Off site bid package is out - development of Barrett Road and utilities. Includes regrading of one site property. CTEP funding was received for path from school to bike path. Goal is to get baseball fields ready for Spring 2015. Grass seeding needs to get done soon enough.

Redistricting

• Approval of team members - Criteria for selection: Members spread out across the district. Rush hour considerations. 26 people were selected. Keller and Lundgren are chair and vice chair. Board approves sending this to full board.
• Roles and Responsibilities - School Board and Superintendent encouraged to stay hands-off. Showing the community that the board trusts the community. Cropper wants to let the committee to do the work. Board members expected to serve as a resource. District will provide information via website...everything. Looking to rescind board motion that put board members as part as the committee. Board approved the roles and responsibilities. Hoping to bring two scenarios to board to approve one.
• Guiding principles and criteria - Cropper wants to look at all criteria as a whole. Criteria is below. Question of feeders to middle schools. What if a county wants to send 6th graders to SD2 middle schools? Target of 92% capacity for middle schools. Lots of unknowns, so may have to develop scenarios. Bouck contacted all feeder school districts. He wants to keep them informed. Blue Creek will vote to go to K-5 once schools are opened. Might be others. Onus on school district to provide good assumptions in this area. Cropper will give a number of students impacted by each plan (change schools). Motion carries.

 Minimize impact on students: Move as few students as possible during the process. 

 

 Balance building utilization 

 

 Contiguous boundaries: Remove ‘satellite’ zones that exist in the district and create zones that are contiguous around the schools (1 zone per school) if possible. 

 

 Make all efforts to not split identifiable community components: Do not split apartments and/or subdivisions if at all possible 

 

 Maximize transportation efficiency and walk-ability whenever possible 

 

 Maximize safety of students by defining boundaries along major geographic features such as roads, rivers, and railroads. Try to minimize students crossing over major roads if possible. 

 

 Examine the impact on socio-economics of schools with any redistricting change 

 

 Try to have 100% feeder pattern continuity if possible: Try to feed entire elementary zones into a single middle school i.e. Minimize the number of times elementary school zones are split when continuing to middle school. 

 

 Be pro-active for future potential growth if at all possible 

Cottonwood Land Site

• 10 acre land site in the west end. Agreement in 2007 between some individuals, city, and SD2.
• November 2017 deadline to build elementary school or SD2 has to sell land back to city for $200,000. 
• Attorney that wrote the agreement thinks that SD2 cannot build an elementary school by Nov 2017. Agreement amendment unlikely to extend time.
• Not saying that west-end will not need an elementary school.
• Prefer elementary and middle school on the same site for cost savings.
• Demographics will be reviewed in 2016...in regrads to elementary school needs. SD2 does not know if an additional elementary in the west-end is needed. 
• Superintendent will be looking for direction at the next full school board meeting. 
• Middle school site a better location for an elementary school. 
• There is a high school piece on 48th and Central if a new high school is needed. 39 acres.

Planning Committee Schedule

• Redistricting committee meeting on the first Tuesday of the month. 
• Proposal to move Planning on the second Monday of the month starting August 2014. Passes.

Board Governance Meeting

• Look at August. Halter will recommend dates. Only 90 minute meeting. July 28 530 pm.

Technology Infrastructure RFP

• switches...wifi...etc. Motion passes
• bond funding source.

Chromebooks RFP

• Technology levy funding source. Motion passes.

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