| |
Schools...
Gambling, Homeless Kids, Costa Rica
on May 14 School Board Agenda
by Penny Chambers
The May 14 meeting of the Eatonville School Board began at 7 p.m.,
conducted by Vice Chair Donna Mettler as Chair Robert Bass was scheduled to
arrive late. Although public input on the spending of Initative-728 funds
(gambling proceeds) was encouraged, there were no non-school district
affiliated community members in attendance.
The meeting began with the unanimous approval
of the Consent Agenda, which consisted of the following items:
A.
Approval of the April 23 regular meeting minutes.
B.
Consider the following Certificated Personnel Action:
1.
Sandra Jordan, EES fourth grade teacher, extended maternity leave
request, through end of 2003-2004 school year.
2.
Accept the resignation of Lewis Reese, EHS Dean of Students and
Athletic Director, effective end of 2002-2003 school year.
3.
Employ Cathy Longpre, WES first grade teacher, effective 2003-2004
school year (Michelle Frink resignation).
4.
Employ Linn Ames, EES fifth grade teacher, effective 2003-2004 school
year (Jennifer Bosnick resignation).
5.
Employ William Nation, EMS math teacher, effective 2003-2004 school
year.
C.
Consider the following Classified Personnel Action:
1.
Accept the resignation of Tanya Nelson, EMS teacher assistant,
effective May 9, 2003.
D.
Consider the following Extra Curricular Assignment Recommendations:
1.
Sallie Myton, EMS Parent Involvement Coordinator (grant funded
position), May 15, 2003 – June 31, 2005.
Symphonic
Band’s Overnight Trip to Bellingham
There was no public comment and Mettler
moved to the first order of new business, the Symphonic Band’s
overnight trip to Bellingham May 21 – 23.
EHS Principal, Garth Steedman explained that the trip would entail
two overnight stays with one performance at Western Washington University
and one at Blaine High School. Mettler commented that it was great to see
the progress the band has made and to provide them with the opportunity to
perform at the two schools. The trip was unanimously approved.
“Target” donation of $10,000
The second order of new business was to
consider a “target” donation of $10,000 to the EHS library, made by
local resident Tina Laramie. Laramie won the $10,000 to be given to a
library of her choosing. Superintendent Ray Arment explained that the school
board must approve a donation of that size, as Legislative Director Ron
Springer exclaimed “no problem” and the board unanimously approved the
donation. Steedman commented “it’s great, we’ve known for about three
months but weren’t sure if it was real; it sounded too good to be true.”
Policy
4260 (Community Relations)
Arment explained that the third item of new
business on the agenda was a request by him to consider the intent of
Policy 4260 (Community Relations). Arment asked for the board’s input
on a portion of the policy pertaining to “school and child related groups
and other government related agencies using school facilities”. Examples
of child and governmental groups defined in the policy are Scouts, Campfire,
PTA, 4-H, city or county sponsored recreation programs, polling places,
political caucuses and governmental groups.
Fire District 15 had requested to use the high school physical
training facilities, specifically the weight room, for job related training.
Arment’s question was whether it was the
intent of the board’s policy to allow FD15 to use the facilities in this
way, and if so, should the same courtesy be extended to all fire districts,
police and other emergency services in the Eatonville School District?
Arment stated that if the answer was “Yes,” his recommendation would be
to limit the use to physical training that is work related conditioning and
testing.
“Those fire districts up the line as
well as locally, and the police department provide a tremendous amount
of services to our school district and the kids, whether it be helping to
park cars at Columbia Crest or Weyerhaeuser, help with open houses and
shows. But I don’t believe it would be in the best interest of the school
district to provide health club type services to individuals and family
members employed by these agencies.”
Board Director Rick Thompson stated he would
support the use of gymnasium, as there are no other gym facilities in town.
However, he expressed concern over the impact
the additional use would have on the already strained school
facility. Director Darold Holden said he would support use of the school
facility if it were for kids, but not adults.
Springer asked if the additional use would
entail more hours worked by school district personnel; over-seeing the
activities, cleaning up or merely unlocking and locking up the buildings, to
which Arment replied “No.” EC4 Committee (Extra
Curricular/Co-Curricular) co-chair Phil Nordstrom said in his opinion “it
wouldn’t be a bad idea if they would somehow propose in their budget to
somehow maintain or upgrade the facility which is in dire need of
upgrade,” otherwise he would not support the additional use. Mettler
commented that she would support the facility use in the interest of
improving community relations as “schools belong to the public,” but
also felt the aging equipment and schools could not bear the additional use.
Steedman noted the many ways the fire
districts and police department have lent a hand at the schools,
supporting the idea for use during non-school hours if the group(s) would be
willing to help in some way, such as purchasing at least one new piece of
equipment each year. Lucy Fountain, district Director of Curriculum, said
last year the district was able to add two new pieces of equipment to the
high school weight room, but noted the weight room is used five periods a
day and expensive, top of the line equipment must be purchased in order for
it withstand the heavy use it already bears.
She continued, “If we look at wear and
tear, I would agree that we need to look at the fact that we’ve got to
keep our existing equipment, look at the age of our equipment and how much
more wear and tear can it take?” Arment said he had his answer and the
board proceeded to the first order of business under the “work study”
portion of the meeting, EHS math teacher Judy Hills and Spanish teacher
Sharon Aguilar’s student trip to Costa Rica.
Student
trip to Costa Rica.
Along with students Travis Ashe and
Derek Harris, the two teachers gave a fascinating presentation on the
trip. The teachers were very impressed with the safety, culture and
government of Costa Rica which has two female vice presidents, it is the
only country in the world that has no military, twenty five percent of their
eleven percent sales tax goes to education, giving them the highest literacy
rate per capita of any country in the world, socialized medicine with
outstanding medical facilities available to all and the absence of a high
and low class society.
The
students put together a spectacular photo display showing the various flora,
fauna and Costa Rican landscapes they experienced. The two teachers
prepared a delicious “buffet” for all those at the meeting and the board
took a ten minute recess while sampling the Costa Rican food and beverages,
complete with palm hearts, black beans and rice, various fruits and
“waters”, refreshing drinks made from available fruits blended with
water and sugar.
“Title
X” - Homeless Students
Chair Robert Bass arrived and the
meeting reconvened, although Mettler continued to act as chair, with an
update on “Title X” presented by Laura Christian, EMS Special Education
teacher who is completing her administrative internship. While state law,
Title X is an un-funded program mandating that students who are
“homeless” have the right to attend their school of origin (the last
school they permanently attended), regardless of the district in which they
are sleeping.
The state has identified “homeless” as
being anyone who doesn’t have fixed, permanent, adequate housing with
plumbing, electricity and ample sleeping accommodations. If a family sells
their home and moves in with a relative while a new house is being built,
they fall under the umbrella of being “homeless.”
If the students (or parents) choose to maintain
enrollment in their school of origin, it is that school’s responsibility
to bus the student to and from, what the state defines as a “reasonable”
distance, while the two districts share the cost. There are kids from Kent
and Roy being transported to Sumner and at this point, Christian stated,
Tacoma School District transports over three hundred students per day.
Eatonville School District is
transporting three students, one of them being a half-day Kindergartner.
The intent of the law, Christian explained, is to keep kids in one school,
providing a more consistent education. Another student recently returned to
our district after living in a car for a month, not attending school at all,
who will probably have difficulty passing their classes and advancing to the
next grade level. One problem Christian said is that the public is not aware
of the law and students have to “self-identify”. Posters have been
ordered and will be hung in all schools in our district informing parents
and students of their rights under Title X.
Health Grant Fund
Linda Moffitt, district Health Services
Coordinator, provided the board with an update on plans being developed
on how to implement the six component health grant fund. The three-year
grant was awarded in Oct. 2002, with the district actually receiving the
funds in April 2003. Moffitt
explained, “Use of the funds came from a collaboration from folks in the
district; our high school core team discussed some of the options, I met
with the Parent Advisory at the middle school, so we had some input from
other folks.”
One component of the grant is mental health
care, which has been up and running since April. One day a week our district
is provided with a therapist from Good Sam, who based on referral, provides
“Brief Solution Focus Therapy” for students on site or in their homes,
at the parent’s choosing. Moffitt continued to explain the district is
really targeting students who are in crisis situations and the grant is
centered on violence prevention.
The district is most interested in the
therapist working with kids who are victims of violence or potential
perpetrators of violence. “We max-ed out her (the therapist) capacity very
quickly. Our district has many kids who fit the criteria and one of the
challenges has been to decide which kids go to the top of the pile. I’ve
struggled with who’s in greater crises when you have a limited amount of
service; we could use her every day of the week and keep her fully busy.
It’s a wonderful addition to what we’ve been able to offer, it really is
intense therapy for these kids.”
Moffitt continued, “The first component of
the grant is ‘Safe School Environment’ we used that money to purchase
radios for the high school security needs that we have. The second element
of the grant is Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug and Violence Prevention; we
have hired a parent from EMS to be given a stipend to coordinate parent
involvement there.
“Again, this is in the development
stages so we don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like. The
third element is the mental health, numbers four, five and six do not come
with funding directly to the district; however we’ll be able to do some
training with our pre-school program and early childhood development. The
last element, Safe School Policies will provide Safe and Civil school
training for high school staff.” Mettler asked Moffitt if the DARE Program
at Columbia Crest and Weyerhaeuser Elementary had an influence, to which
Moffitt responded most definitely. Mettler commented that Ranger Stevens,
who ran the program at Columbia Crest had transferred from the area and she
hoped the program would be able to continue there.
Methamphetamine
Awareness
Mettler asked Moffitt about the community Methamphetamine
Awareness meeting held last April. Moffitt mentioned that EYSA had made
a very generous donation of $500
to the Meth Awareness campaign, fully funding the event. She continued, “I
don’t see any additional money coming as a result (of the meeting); I do
see wonderful community collaboration that has grown out of it. It was
exciting to see that many citizens come out and be interested in learning
about Methamphetamine and Meth labs and what’s happening in our community.
“In the follow up meeting last
week there was an opportunity for citizens to ask a panel of
professionals questions about Meth. One of the things that struck me was the
interest in what are we doing in schools, what are our education strategies
and prevention techniques. I was so pleased to have community members ask
those questions and we were able to get some group responses and share with
them what we are doing.”
I-728 Proposal - Gambling Proceeds
The fourth item on the Work Study agenda was the I-728 Proposal,
or how the funds from gambling proceeds should be spent. The district
has not yet received this funding and does not know exactly what the dollar
amount will be. Arment gave a Power Point presentation explaining the state
mandates that the funds will establish a “Student Achievement Fund”,
calling for responsible decisions that support learning improvement for
students. Authorized uses for the funds include class size reduction in
grades K – 5, extended learning opportunities in grades K – 12,
professional development for educators, early childhood programs (birth –
age 5) and improvements to buildings for class size reduction.
Arment continued, explaining that due to
timelines this year, the district office used the recommendations from last
year, developing a package for faculty review and recommendations. He
further explained, “The key word here is substantially improve student
achievement”, listing various programs that have been found through
Meta-Analyses Research to substantially improve, modestly improve, programs
with mixed or controversial results and programs that rarely or never show
improved achievement. Arment noted that one mandated program, bilingual
education, fell under the “mixed or controversial results” category.
Secondly, themes brought forth from the 1999
Community Climate Survey and School Improvement Plans and Faculty
Recommendations were examined. The proposals included sustained learning in
various classes, class size reduction, tutoring, extended school year and
staff development.
Linda Ames, district Business/Personnel
Manager, stated that currently the state projects the district will receive
approximately $205 per student which is $30,000 less than the district
received last year. However the exact amount will not be finalized until the
State Legislature finishes their session this year, if gambling sales are
not at the level projected, the amount will be less.
Lucy Fountain mentioned that a parent who
teaches in the Bethel school district and has children in our district
asked if it was thought that Eatonville class sizes would change due to cuts
in funding. Bethel currently has larger class sizes than we do and faces
large funding cuts and even larger class sizes. Fountain noted other school
districts are very envious of the class sizes we have here in Eatonville.
EC4
Committee
The fifth and final item on the Work Study agenda was to provide
direction to the EC4 Committee on their thirty-two recommendations to
the board. There was some confusion among the board members as to what Bass
had directed them to do during the previous meeting; examine and understand
the thirty-two recommendations. As some of the board members were not
prepared, they discussed the recommendations in general and gave the EC4
Committee the go ahead to develop proposals centering around athletic
issues, such as a statement of athletic philosophy, a mandatory parent code
of conduct for athletic events that includes behavior expectations and
defines procedures for communicating with coaches and administration,
evaluate the usefulness of the WIAA (WA Intramural Athletic Assoc.) “Just
Play Fair” program and adopt a policy that gives the responsibility for
overall direction of any sports program (at all grade levels) to the high
school head coach.
Cheerleader Tryout
Mettler called for the “board comments” portion of the
meeting, as Thompson inquired about the interest level for cheerleader
tryouts, scheduled to take place on May 19.
Reese responded saying that of thirty original applicants, only eight
high school girls were eligible to tryout due to the high, cumulative GPA
(grade point average) requirement set by the ASB (Associated Student Body).
There are twenty cheer positions that need to
be filled. A lengthy discussion ensued concerning the strict requirement.
Reese stated that when he approached the ASB about the GPA requirement they
said it was the responsibility of the cheerleaders to change their own
constitution and only half of the current cheerleaders wanted to change the
requirement in their constitution.
Mettler commented that, “I just heard a sort
of Catch 22 in that we’re telling students that they’re ineligible due
to their GPA but on the other hand the ASB isn’t going to re-write this.
However, the cheer squad can re-write their own constitution. There’s
something wrong with this picture and I think we better fix it now so that
we don’t leave out students that once this constitution is changed could
have participated.” Phil Nordstrom added, “We’re trying to encourage
students to participate, it gives them something to do and be associated
with, be on a team. As long as they’re passing in school there’s no
reason they shouldn’t be on the cheer squad.”
Reese reminded the board members that
during the pervious meeting he broached the subject and said he had
recommended to the ASB that the requirement be lowered to be inline with
athletics (a 2.0 GPA).
Springer clarified that the GPA requirement was
cumulative, not current and said, “It’s wrong, it could take a Freshman
who had one bad class two years before they would meet the requirement; they
should use the current GPA.”
Mettler inquired about how much power the ASB
holds, to which Steedman replied it was his understanding the administration
has the final say on what the ASB approves, but the school has tried to
foster an ASB that does have some power. Arment explained that auditors and
state law protect the ASB as they are funded significantly. Linda Ames added
that unless illegal or in violation of board policy, ASB decision prevails.
Thompson said that he didn’t believe the
final say in direction of programs should be left to fourteen through
eighteen year olds. Nordstrom added that our boy’s soccer team had the
highest GPA in the state and being a part of a team is an incentive to do
better, “To say to a student you have a 3.2 GPA but need a 3.5 is a real
kick in the rear.”
Bass said he was struggling with how to
repair the damage at this point. Reese suggested holding two try-outs;
one after the GPA requirement was lowered. Mettler offered that the board
could give “direction” to the cheerleaders to change their constitution,
while Springer suggested that they allow the girls who don’t meet the
requirement to tryout anyway. This idea was defeated as it’s against the
cheer constitution. Arment said he encourages the administration to move
forward in changing the constitution to provide the most students an
opportunity to be involved.
Thompson stated, “Whoever is running the
program today is running a failed program; so do we say there’s nothing we
can do about it or do we step in and fix it?”
Bass asked Steedman to provide a close
comparison of other clubs or groups at the school who have a constitution
with a GPA requirement. The only others were academic groups such as the
Math Club, and the Knowledge Bowl. There were no closely aligned
non-academic clubs or groups with similar requirements.
After an hour-long discussion, Bass said he
was fine with handling it within the realm of the cheerleaders and the
ASB adding, “If you want to send Reese back to ask the current
cheerleaders if they want to change the requirement, I’m fine with
that.”
In his closing comment Bass thanked Reese for
all he’d done in his short time with the district, and expressed that he
was sorry to see him leave. Bass added that he saw a lot of positive changes
and always saw Reese’s presence at the football and basketball games.
Mettler said she certainly agreed and mentioned
the After Hours Program at Columbia Crest was putting on the play “Alice
In Wonderland” and that the Columbia Crest Kindergarten Graduation will be
held Wed., May 21 at 7 p.m.
Bass then mentioned that as part of the
board and district goals he and Arment have started visiting all the
schools and staff in the district.
Springer updated the board on legislative
activities in Olympia, saying the Driver Education Funding bill was sent
back to the House and is still alive. A bill was passed allowing children of
school district employees the option of attending school in the district
where their parents work.
Holden apologized for not being able to
participate in the “Walk A Bond” and asked how it went. Bass said he
thought it was really nicely done and well attended.
Investigation
Process & Bomb Threats
Arment stated he wanted to call the board’s attention to the
investigation process, saying “We had the dogs in the school on Monday
who found a couple items in the parking lot; one was some tobacco found in a
car and some old bullet casings. We also had two bomb threats, which are a
felony in the state of Washington. Sooner or later the person(s) who are
doing this are going to be held accountable; the police are working hard on
that. There was a difference between the two bomb threats; the board is
aware of some of the evidentiary items involved. Monday we evacuated and
today (Wed.) we did a lock down, search and walk through; that was after
consultation with the Police Dept. They (the threats) were different in
nature”.
Administering Medication At School
Arment next brought up Policy 3416, Administering Medication At
School. He explained that a situation arose at the high school in which
a student with a leg injury who was using crutches was prescribed a narcotic
to take while at school. In the professional opinion of Linda Moffitt it was
not safe to administer a “class three” narcotic to the student while in
school and that such a student should stay at home.
Class three narcotics are those that impair
judgment, cause dizziness, loss of balance and could cause a person to need
assistance with walking. The parent requested that the student be sent back
to class under the influence of the narcotic. Moffitt explained the problem
was that the board’s policy did not support her position, as it does not
contain an exclusion for administering narcotics. The board decided to
address the issue during a future meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m. as the board
moved into a “short” executive session to discuss a personnel issue.
The next scheduled meeting of the school
board is Wed., May 28, beginning at 6 p.m. rather than 7 p.m. in order
to discuss the EC4 Committee’s athletic proposals. The meeting will be
held in the district conference room at 208 Lynch St. The public is
encouraged to attend.
Back to Top
Back to Front Page
Planning and Cheerleading on April
23 School Board Agenda
by Penny Chambers
The April
23 meeting of the Eatonville School Board began at 6 p.m. with a
“Strategic Planning” discussion, presented by Monte Bridges from the
Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD). A definition of strategic
planning as provided by Bridges is “a structured effort to develop
future-oriented decisions and actions that shape and guide what a school
district is, what it does, and why it does it.”
Bridges began by addressing
the board, “I applaud you for coming forward and taking this on, taking a
look at strategic planning and what that will mean for some of your next
steps; it can be a real cumbersome process or it can be pretty smooth and
quick. You have the opportunity it make it whatever you want. This is a
cycle.
“We should start with where the district is,
where the district wants to go, how the district is going to get there
and how the district is going to measure the progress. Pulling that
information together creates the cycle; if it’s not continuous there’s
no need to go through with this, it should be a continuous process of
improvement.”
A matter of high priority for the board, last year
they had originally discussed development of a plan next year, beginning the
pre-planning stages this year.
Bridges’ agenda began with a discussion on the needs of the plan.
He posed the questions, what is the status of the existing plan, are the
goals being used or have they been set aside? Superintendent Ray Arment
answered that the existing plan was developed during school year 1995-96 and
is still being used. Bridges continued, “Is there any need for an interim
plan? What do you hope to accomplish and what are your questions? What
internal resources do you have to assist with strategic planning and what
external resources will you need? What is the scope of the process you want
to take on?”
Board
Director Donna Mettler stated that due to the time and effort that went
into the development of the current Strategic Plan, she would hope that many
of the goals contained therein are still viable and perhaps could be tweaked
or readjusted. After looking at the current plan, Bridges felt that it was
well crafted in terms of the general goals, that the goals were strong and
many could continue to apply or be readjusted.
The
second topic on Bridges’ agenda was change and leadership. He stated
“the reason that you’re taking this on is because you want to provide
leadership for the community and school district and ultimately for the
students.” Bridges presented the definition of productive change (taken
from a book “Total Leaders” by Schwan and Spady), or as he continued to
explain, “this is the test of what it really takes to affect productive
change.” 1) The things that matter actually change. 2) Results improve -
it leads to consistently improved outcomes. 3) Functions improve – it
involves more effective ways of operating. 4) It enhances – it motivates
and benefits all involved. 5) It lasts – the improvements keep on
improving.
Five
pillars of productive change Bridges explained are 1) Purpose – it has
meaning for me. Without purpose the district lacks the reason to change. 2)
Vision – it’s clear and exciting. Without vision the district lacks a
clear road map for change. 3) Ownership – “I want to be part of it.”
Without ownership the district lacks the commitment needed for change to
succeed. 4) Capacity – “I can do it.” Without capacity the district
lacks the ability to succeed. 5) Support – “Our leader is helping us do
it.” Without support the district lacks the opportunity to succeed.
Strategic
Planning Overview
Third on
his agenda, Bridges presented an overview of strategic planning. The
first step is a firm understanding of the “State-of-the-District;” where
are we as a community and a district? What’s been accomplished? We need to
be able to take stock of the accomplishments and know exactly what our
challenges are. Secondly, strategic plan direction must be established
asking the questions, “Where are we going, what do we want to achieve and
what do we want to be?” Thirdly, strategic alignment must be determined.
The board must define their blueprint for action and decide how to achieve
that blueprint. Finally, strategic accountability must be established,
posing the questions “How do we know if we are on track and how do we
measure our progress?” This leads back to creating an understanding of the
“State-of-the-District” and the cycle of continuous improvement goes on.
Bridges
stated that an important question is “How do we involve our community and
its’ constituents in this process?”
Further
defining the strategic planning process, Bridges continued, “We start
with 1) an internal and external assessment, looking at the accomplishments
in the district, student achievement, the systems from facilities to budget
to curriculum to community partnership to student learning and ultimately
the needs of the students. Make sure that the budgeting and resources are
allocated for your plan.” 2)
Mission, Values and Principals; valuate the current goals, “Does the
community still hold and value some of those goals?”
The values
of the community should be imbedded in the broad and comprehensive Mission
Statement. Establish a vision; combined with the mission and principals,
this identifies the district’s uniqueness and should offer a compelling
image of the desired future. 3) Goals and Strategies; looking at the desired
result after three or more years and at the general approaches to achieving
the goals. 4) Objectives and Action Plans; should be adjusted on an annual
basis and contain detailed work plans.
5)
Budgeting and Resource Allocation; should align with the strategic plan and
assist in achieving goals and objectives. 6) Performance Measures; methods
used to measure results, ensuring accountability and continuous improvement.
7) Monitoring and Tracking; develop a system of monitoring progress to
ensure that the plan is being accomplished, thereby compiling management
information which provides an ongoing assessment of what’s happening in
the district and keeps the plan on track, supplies information to
communicate the district’s progress to the community and assists in
determining the next steps to take for the following year.
Bridges
finished by stating, “I do recommend that you keep this as simple as
possible, it doesn’t have to be objective after objective. I think it
needs to be some key goal areas with some very powerful strategies that we
can match with the resources you have.”
Director
Rick Thompson asked Bridges to provide an example of the resources needed,
to which Bridges responded, “There may be internal staff members combined
with Ray (Arment), or with folks in the community who are able to take on
the planning process, you need the budget and time. What’s it going to
take in terms of people, time and money to pull the plan together.”
Chair Robert
Bass questioned the general time-line for developing a plan. Bridges replied
that a short, interim plan could be developed in approximately a few days
time, while a full plan could be completed during the next year. “It takes
consistency in community value and direction.”
Arment
suggested it might benefit the district in the short term to review and
update the existing plan to determine, “What areas are enduring that we
want to continue to work with, that at one time had a significant value to
the community and move forward from there. That way we won’t be treading
water while this process takes place and we’ll have something we can
really bite off and really work on; that would be helpful.” Bass commented
that some of the district and board goals might be applied, saying, “We
might already have the bridge in place for now.”
Director
Ron Springer expressed, “My take on this is the difference between our
board goals, short term and long term. The strategic plan is how far in do
you want to go, our board goals have been established (to be met) short
range and long range (3 – 4 years). To me this is our plan and if you want
to go years ahead of that you would consider it a strategic plan, but to go
five to ten years in the future won’t work. But our goal is the education
of the kids; that is our plan. Year by year we are amending.”
Thompson
stated that a lot of work went into the existing strategic plan and “I
don’t think the community values have changed that much.” Bridges
suggested that once the board has pieced a plan together, they could very
easily put it out in the community for input and feedback.
Thompson
added, “We have a great tool (the strategic plan) and our board member
turn over is large, during the next election there will be four board seats
up. It would be nice to have a road map for the new board members to
follow.”
Bridges
offered to prepare a summary and his recommendations based on the night’s
discussion.
The board
took a five-minute recess and resumed the regular meeting with Bass stating
the board needed to provide some direction as to the Strategic
Planning process and how the board wants to proceed. He expressed his
appreciation for PSESD’s approach and thought the board should choose to
work with them.
Consent
Agenda
The
next order of business was approval of the Consent Agenda. Bass
requested that item C, “to accept the resignation of EHS Cheer Advisor
(coach) Julie Clark,” be removed and addressed later in the meeting.
Springer asked that the minutes of the March 26 board meeting be removed as
he noted an error in the recording of the approval of a motion. The Consent
Agenda, consisting of the following items, was approved pending the
amendment of item A and with the removal of item C:
A.
Approval of amended March 26, 2003 regular meeting minutes.
B.
Approval of April 9, 2003 board meeting minutes.
C.
Consider the following classified personnel action:
Resignation of Julie Clark, EHS Cheer Advisor (coach), effective April 11,
2003
D.
Consider the Extra Curricular assignment of Linda Moffitt,
District Mental Health Coordinator, effective 5/1/03 – 8/31/03.
E.
Financial Items:
1.
March, 2003 Payroll - $954,449.35
2.
April, 2003 General Fund - $225,178.23
3.
April, 2003 ASB Fund - $13,355.57
4.
April, 2003 Capital Projects - $1,645.00
5.
February, 2003 Financial Report
At 7 p.m. the board moved into an
unscheduled Executive Session with Superintendent Arment, EHS principal
Garth Steedman and EHS Athletic Director Lewis Reese to discuss a personnel
issue.
Much
More About Cheerleading
The regular meeting resumed at
approximately 7:30 with “Hearings of Individuals and Groups.” Bass
noted the subject listed for discussion was cheerleading and presumed it
related to the resignation of the Cheer Advisor (coach), which had been
removed as a “Consent Agenda” item and moved to the regular agenda. Bass
continued saying “We need to set the stage for that. If public comment is
in support of the cheerleading program, then we would like to hear it in
public. If it’s a statement against or for personnel or an individual,
then the board would like to move that into Executive Session.”
The board heard from EHS football and
basketball cheerleader Crystal LaRance, who first addressed the recent trip
to state finals with the basketball team. Apparently there was some
confusion as to when the cheer squad was to return home. Bass asked Athletic
Director Reese to clarify, “The instructions I gave to the head coach was
that because the cheer fund was in a deficit, if we were to lose at a time
early enough that would allow them to get home safely, the cheerleaders were
supposed to be retuned back to school that day because of the cheer fund
being in the condition that it was, in the arrears $4,200.” The cheer
squad stayed an extra night, the cost being paid by the athletic department.
Crystal next asked why there were
no guidelines and rules for the Cheer Advisor and why the Cheer Advisor
should be punished for something she had, or hadn’t done, when there were
no rules governing them.
Bass asked if there were any specific
guidelines to which Reese responded, “I am not aware of any written
specific guidelines, but the cheer contract outlines certain things the
cheer squad is required to do. Conversely that would mean the person who ran
the program would have to oversee those activities.”
Crystal pointed out that there had been
many discussions as to whether cheering is an activity or a sport, and it
seems the rules bend and sway back and forth depending on convenience. Reese
replied, “The cheer constitution sets specific guidelines and it’s up to
the cheer coach to enforce those unilaterally.” Crystal, accompanied by
EHS cheerleader Kelly Brady, stated the EHS Cheer Constitution does state
that if a cheerleader misses a practice she is not allowed to cheer in the
event.
The parent of two EHS
cheerleaders in attendance, said she didn’t understand why
cheerleading is different from all other sports, which also are considered
extra curricular activities, i.e. if a member of the football or volleyball
team misses practice they’re punished, why not the cheerleaders? Reese
responded, “The WIAA (Washington Intramural Athletic Assoc.) does not
recognize cheer as a sport, they acknowledge the fact it is an activity in
support of a sport, but they do not have guideline control over cheer
activities. They do have over site control of our own guidelines and could
put us on probation for being in violation of our own rules.”
Reese continued, “The issue I’m hearing
is the attendance thing and that’s one of the issues I implemented to be
done, so I could verify everybody who should or should not be attending
events based on attendance issues.” Steedman added the WIAA supports the
Cheer Constitution and while the WIAA’s guidelines are the backbone of
athletic activities, the Cheer Constitution is the backbone of cheer
activities and that constitution is supposed to be written with the input of
the kids involved, the coach and the Athletic Director. It’s a living
document and can be revised.
Phil
Nordstrom Speaks for EC4 Committee
Phil Nordstrom, speaking on behalf of
the EC4 Committee (Extra/Co-Curricular Activities) noted that in the
Committee’s recommendations to the school board regarding coaching, they
did not include the word “advisor” and would like to do so also. He
asked that the issue be brought back to the EC4 Committee for further review
so cheering would be more in line with the other sports in the district. The
EC4 recommendations to the board include rules governing coaches,
hiring/firing procedures, grievance procedures and a plan for
improvement.
Bass clarified with Crystal that her
concern was with the Cheer Constitution not being adhered to. Reese said,
“All infractions that were brought to my attention were dealt with by my
asking for documentation, such as attendance records. That’s why I
implemented the attendance issues and the discussion I’m hearing is about
something that happened back in Sept., this is the first time it’s been
addressed to me in this way, in front of the committee (board).
So I’m a little remiss on exactly what
I did at that point, but there is a particular instance where I over
rode it (the constitution) because there wasn’t overwhelming information
to prove what had happened. I exercised my judgment on that particular
instance where a cheerleader was allowed to cheer and talked with the
advisor (coach) and explained why we need to have attendance records as
support, because we’re trying to be fair to everybody else.”
Crystal’s father asked exactly who is
in charge of the cheer program. Arment offered that the Cheer
Constitution which the students, and the ASB have agreed to, is in charge of
the program. We would look at the Advisor and the Athletic Director for
checks and balances to ensure the constitution is being adhered to. Steedman
added, “We would look for leadership from the Advisor first and foremost
to make sure that the constitution is being implemented under the spirit and
the letter that it was written.” Bass said “There’s a chain of command
there and it comes up to the superintendent and ultimately the board.” Mr.
LaRance responded, “So when my daughter has tried three or four times to
talk with Mr. Reese and gets no response at all, she has to go to the school
board in order to meet with him?” Bass interrupted, asking LaRance if
he’d like to go into Executive Session, while Steedman tried to explain
the chain of command, saying it’s like rungs of a ladder and one should
start with the lowest rung or the place closest to the issue.
Cheering
Not Sanctioned Like Athletics
Springer
clarified with Reese that the WIAA did not recognize cheering as a
sport, to which Reese responded they are recognized but not sanctioned the
same as athletics. Springer said, “In that case it would seem to me
several school districts should get together and make a concentrated effort
to get that changed.” Reese answered, “There was a big movement this
year to get it changed to a sport. When they went through to do that, and
the cheer advisors realized they were going to be held to the same standard
as a sport, they pulled out because they don’t want to have to have try
outs every season. Be held to the same GPA requirements under WIAA and do
separate seasons for everything. They realized they wouldn’t be able to
practice year round because of the sports standards and when you can
practice. It would effectively shut down all cheer programs.” Springer
ended, “In other words they killed their own argument.”
Reese
addressed the board saying that his recommendation to the ASB during
their meeting the previous week, was to lower the GPA requirement for the
cheerleaders making it the same as other sports, “But the ASB
overwhelmingly voted to keep it as is, I thought it was wrong but
unfortunately the ASB saw it that way.” Bass asked Crystal if she or Kelly
had attended the ASB meeting, to which Crystal answered, “I think we can
go at any time, but we didn’t know that was going to be brought
up.”
Bass asked
Crystal if she’d like to move into Executive Session and at 8:20 the
board, along with Reese, Steedman, Arment, the LaRances, Kelly Brady and her
mother moved into private session to discuss the personnel issue and
complaint.
The
regular meeting resumed at 9 p.m. with Thompson moving to accept the
resignation of Cheer Advisor Julie Clark, which was seconded by Springer
and unanimously approved by the board.
Committee
for Advanced Academic Achievement Dissolved
The
board heard the April Enrollment Report from Arment, who said the
numbers were very encouraging at 1,981.35.
The first
item of unfinished business on the agenda was to provide guidance for the
CAAA (Committee for Advanced Academic Achievement). Formed four years ago,
the committee felt they had done everything they could to this point and
were looking for a “sunset” date from the board, unless the board and
the district was willing to consider a special Advanced Academic Achievement
program, or independent class.
Lucy
Fountain explained that being a board appointed committee, that it was never
meant to be an ongoing, permanent committee. Fountain addressed the board,
“We started with the elementary schools, went to the middle school, then
the high school and now this year are back at the elementary level. We felt
that we made a lot of recommendations and did a lot of research, learned a
lot and brought some good ideas to the buildings that teachers can
use.
“If
the committee is to continue, we need a job to do. The committee is
concerned over the fact that there will always be something to keep gifted
kids recognized in the district. We discussed how to bring that into the
Strategic Plan and into the School Improvement Plan and making sure that
those kids are recognized and cared for.
I want to be
an advocate always for gifted education and making sure those kids are not
forgotten in the system, as we try to serve all kids. And that’s hard for
me too as I believe all kids are gifted, you have to look for the gifts in
all of them. I think it would be nice if the committee could come together
as an outside support group, involved in extra field trips, scholarships,
etc. We have many highly motivated kids who don’t fit in the state’s
defined three percent like the John Hopkins level. But we have a lot of
strong students who’ve been recognized through advanced placement and
honors. We’ve done grouping and brought higher-level courses down to those
students who could handle it, at all schools in the district and in classes
across the board. The district has supported it, if anyone says they
don’t, they do support those higher-level students.”
While expressing their appreciation and hopes that the committee
would continue as a support or advisory group, the board voted
unanimously to dissolve the CAAA at the end of this school year.
EC4
Committee's Thirty-Four Recommendations
The
second order of unfinished business was discussion of the EC4
Committee’s thirty-two recommendations to the board. In attendance from
the EC4 Committee were Chair Dan Fountain, Athletic Associate Phil Nordstrom
and Performing Arts Advisor/Director Jason Hunter. Bass began by saying some
of the recommendations will take more effort than others, some need more
answers and framework from the EC4 Committee, some are Executive Session
material as they deal with contracts, others are in progress and being
completed. The committee said
they were looking for direction from the board in prioritizing the
recommendations. Phil Nordstrom felt the inconsistencies in the Athletic
Department should be one of the first issues worked on. Arment suggested
the principals and athletic staff at the high and middle schools
draft an athletic code to be given to the EC4 Committee for revision, who in
turn would bring it before the board.
Steedman
stated he and Reese had planned to review at least the “grade check” portion
of the current athletic code. Arment said a code needs to be drafted and the
matter should not be let go for another school year. Jason Hunter said the
current code combines athletics and activities and is too vague and
confusing. There was a discussion about separating athletics, activities and
clubs, which will involve the sorting of many different components and
aspects. Steedman said we don’t want to put so many restrictions on clubs
and activities that the students won’t want to get involved, we want as
many kids as possible to get involved.
Bass made
the commitment to the EC4 Committee that during the next school board
meeting the board would let them know which recommendations they would like
the committee to work on first. Steedman requested the committee address the
athletic and activity code issues as soon as possible so that they would be
in place for the next school year.
Superintendent
and Board Relations
The
third item of unfinished business was Superintendent/Board Relations.
Bass said he’d put a copy of all the policies that apply to either the
board or the superintendent in the board director’s manuals and asked that
they read through them and understand them for discussion during the next
meeting, as one of the Management Review recommendations was that they
clarify the board/superintendent rolls and relationship.
Nike
Basketball Clinic
The
board next addressed the first order of new business, consideration of
the girl’s basketball coaches’ attendance of the Nike basketball clinic
in Las Vegas, Nevada. Steedman explained that it’s a great camp and they
are going to advance their skills. The coaches would pay for the trip out of
pocket and by using their “idea money.” which is intended to be used for
training purposes. After a short discussion the board unanimously approved
the trip.
School
Year Calendar, Trip to Yakima & Tech Plan
The
second topic of new business was to consider the School Year Calendar
for the years 2003 – 2004 and 2004 –2005. Arment explained this is a
component of the bargaining agreement between the EEA (Eatonville Education
Assoc.), the school employees and administrators.
The board unanimously approved the calendars as they were for school
year 2002 – 2003.
Thirdly, the
board considered the Math Team’s trip to Yakima. The team requested
the board approve an overnight trip in order that they be fresh in
the morning for the competition. Bass noted his only concern was that math
teacher Mrs. Hills intended to use her idea money for the trip and he
expressed that he hoped she wouldn’t have to do so. The trip was
unanimously approved.
A request
for the extension of the Approved Technology Plan to June 30, 2004 was the
fourth issue of new business discussed. Arment explained that next year
technology is coming up as a “curriculum review” item and they must have
a Technology Plan in place. The board unanimously approved the extension of
completion of the plan.
Citizen's
Oversight Committee Charter
The
final order of new business was the Bond Committee’s request for a
resolution adopting a Citizen’s Oversight Committee Charter, designed to
ease the minds of those in the community concerned that if passed, the bond
dollars will not be spent as intended. The Committee will be comprised of a
minimum of five community members (one representing each school) and one
member from the business community. Springer commented, “Over the years
the skepticism in the community about how has the district handled bond
money is still lingering out there, I hear it quite often. This is
important, showing the public that they will be involved in this, not just
the district.” Bass said, “I’m all for whatever it takes to pass the
bond, but the irony is that the elected officials the voters approved
aren’t the ones that are trusted in the bond issue.” After making a few
minor changes to the draft, the board unanimously approved the charter
adoption. (Please see Front Page)
Superintendent's
Comments - Board Discussion
Under
Superintendent’s Comments, Arment announced that during the next board
meeting the use of I-728 (gambling funds) will be open for public comment.
Secondly, Arment said that last year Eatonville was the only school district
in the state that had an Army Science Lab from the National Science Center
at EES. Thirdly, he said, “We had a wonderful gift from Ohop Grange who
gave each third grader, at all three elementary schools, a personal copy of
a dictionary with each child’s name in it. The Grange intends to do this
for the next three years. “I watched one group of boys at a table
comparing dictionaries and looking up words as if they were playing
Nintendo. One little girl just sat and hugged and cuddled her dictionary.
Some of the teachers pointed out that for some of the kids this was their
first book of their own.”
Under Board
Discussion, Springer mentioned earlier that afternoon at EES the fifth
graders had put on a “delightful” senior’s Tea. The tea is an annual
affair held for the senior citizens in the community and “we really look
forward to and enjoy it.”
Thompson
inquired about how cheerleading try-outs would be handled. In the past
the cheer coach/advisor and senior cheerleaders have selected the
cheerleaders. This Reese said, “Creates the air of major favoritism.”
Reese continued, “I’ve got some outside cheer advisors from other
organizations that will be coming in and actually doing the evaluation
process, I will be part of the committee, the senior cheerleaders if they
want to be present, nothing has been set officially. We’re working through
this process, but what I want to have in place is a cheer squad that’s not
chosen with the appearance of favoritism. That way the appearance of
impropriety that has lead to the circumstances
we’ve talked about the last couple of hours is alleviated.”
Thompson asked if the students would have a vote. Reese responded the
students will have a vote as well, but the committee will be large enough
they will not be the determining factor as in the past. The tryouts will be
held Mon., May 19, in the high school gym. The public is welcome to attend.
Mettler
mentioned how much she enjoyed the Columbia Crest student newspaper and
what a great learning experience putting a newspaper together is for the
students.
Bass brought
up (www.)EatonvilleNews.Net, commenting that if you ever want to know what
we say during the meetings, pretty much verbatim, just check them out.
The
meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m. The next School Board meeting is
scheduled to be held Wed., May 14 at 7 p.m. in the district conference room
at 208 Lynch Street. The use of I-728 funds will be open for public
discussion. All community members are encouraged to attend!
Back to Top
Back to Front Page
SRO at School Board Meeting
by Penny
Chambers
The school board met before a standing room only audience Wed.,
March 26. The meeting began at
7:30, following an executive session that started at 6 p.m. during which a
“personnel issue” was discussed.
The first order of business was the unanimous approval of the Consent
Agenda, consisting of the following items:
- Approval
of Feb. 12 Work Study meeting minutes
- Approval
of Feb. 26 Regular meeting minutes
- Approval
of March 12 Board meeting minutes
- Consider
the following Certificated Personnel action:
- Approve
retirement of Bert Morrison, EMS math teacher, end of 2002-2003 school
year.
- Accept
resignation of Michelle Frink, EES first grade teacher, end of 2002-
2003 school year.
- Accept
resignation of Jennifer Bosnick, EES fifth grade teacher, end of
2002-2003 school year.
- Consider
the following Classified Personnel action:
- Accept
resignation of Patricia Jensen, Support Services Assistant, March 4,
2003.
- Approve
retirement of Karen Woodward, Support Services bus driver and driver
trainer, end of 2002-2003 school year.
- Employ
Kathy Hugh, Support Services Assistant, March 13, 2003.
- Employ
Sheila Hoyer, Support Services custodian, March 7, 2003.
- Financial:
- Feb.
2003 payroll - $935,910.82
- March
2003 General Fund - $269,594.42
- March
2003 ASB Fund - $33,302.44
- March
2003 ASB Fund - $7,450.00 (For Senior Prom)
- March
2003 Transportation/Vehicle fund - $87,222.35
- February
2003 Financial Report
Bond
First Order of Business
Consideration of Resolution 473 – General
Obligation Funds (the school bond) was the first order of business
discussed by the board. Approval of the resolution is the first step in
putting the bond up for public vote again. Gwen Judd, Facilities Committee
co-chair, gave the board a brief recap of their March 24 meeting saying the
committee had a long discussion about what to do now that the school bond
has failed. Judd said that ignoring the problems at our high school and
middle school will not make them go away and these issues must be addressed.
Judd further stated that the Facilities Committee “pretty much
unanimously” decided to run the same $24 million bond again on May 20,
2003 via an “all mail-in election.”
Board director Donna Mettler
opened the discussion suggesting the election be conducted with polling
locations as well as mail-in ballots. Legislative representative Ron
Springer added he prefers going to the polls rather than mailing in election
ballots. Directors Darold Holden and Rick Thompson both said they like the
idea of polling locations, but they would stand behind the people who put so
much time into passing the bond, the Facilities Committee, and their
decision as to how to conduct the election. Chair Robert Bass noted there
was a better “Yes” margin with the recent “all mail-in” ballots than
in the previous, Feb. 2002 general election when a $38 million bond was put
before the voters.
Judd added the number of
“Yes” votes were double those received during the 2002 general
election. Holden raised the question of cost associated with conducting an
open poll election and Superintendent Ray Arment confirmed the costs are
significantly higher and suggested the board and Facilities Committee
consider the use of a drop off box as used in the recent March 11 election.
Moving for the adoption of Resolution 473 Chair Bass expressed his support
of the Facilities Committee and their recommendations. Resolution 473, to
request a special election of the Pierce County Auditor to be held May 20,
2003, was unanimously approved by the board.
Senior Prom in Seattle
Under “Hearings of Individuals And
Groups” Arment enthusiastically introduced EHS history teacher Davina
Serdahl, Amy Bowden, ASB Vice President, and Senior Class Advisors, who were
in attendance to ask approval of $7,450 in ASB funds (approved earlier in
the Consent Agenda) for this year’s Senior Prom, to be held at the
Experience Music Project (EMP), an inter-active music museum in Seattle.
Serdahl began by explaining the students had put a lot of effort into the
prom, working on the arrangements and conducting fund-raisers since last
summer.
Our Eatonville students will have
full use of the EMP facility (other than the bar), which includes a
large hall surrounded with big screens for the dance, the museum exhibits,
studio and sound lab where the public can play different musical instruments
and make use of the best in today’s audio technology, and a virtual music
library. The students were bubbling over with enthusiasm as Tara Foust
exclaimed, “It’s so cool, it’s like a movie prom!” The prom will be
held on April 26, the cost per couple will be $75 for seniors and $85 for
all others.
Teacher Tira Hancock Makes Academic History
Next Tira Hancock EEA co-president and EHS
biology and chemistry teacher, addressed the board, “I’m here
tooting my own horn.” Hancock recently achieved National Board
Certification in the field of chemistry, a major accomplishment for any
teacher. She is the first teacher in the Eatonville School District to
achieve this honor.
EHS principal Garth Steedman brought
two trophies to display to the board members, earned by the “Knowledge
Bowl” team for taking second and third place in recent competitions.
Dan Fountain, EC4 chairperson, reported
the committee has done really well and the break up into subcommittees has
worked very well. “We’re pretty happy with how the process is done.”
During the next board meeting the EC4 Committee will present thirty core
recommendations to the board.
Linda Ames, district
business/personnel manager, presented a report of district “levy
expenditures” to the board.
District 404 "Management Review Report
The completed “Management Review
Report” (see Jan. 22, 03 school board story below) was presented by
consultants Mike Boring and Eldon Lonborg. The purpose of the study was to
examine the management and organizational structure of our school district.
Boring explained the study was approached from two levels. One examining
documentary evidence which would indicate how the district is functioning,
such as budget, audit reports, policies, contracts and job descriptions.
Secondly, Boring and Lonborg looked at how the district is allocating funds
in terms of programs. This information is compared to that of other similar
school districts in our state in order to determine how Eatonville district
is functioning.
The study found our district, as are others
in our state, is facing a reduced financial level of support. In addition to
cuts in state funding, school districts are being strained as they are
charged with more and more responsibilities at the state and federal level.
Boring stated that if we were to summarize
the efficiency of the district, one of the standard measures would be
fiscal efficiency, “In other words, does it appear the district is using
it’s funds in a typical way that satisfies legislative requirements and
preserves an operating cash basis. The study found that the district is not
heavy in terms of administrators and has a typical ratio of administrators
to students.”
“Columbia Crest is somewhat inefficient in
terms of fiscal measures due to its small size.” Boring continued to
explain, “as with anything else, there is a reduction in efficiency if you
get too small because you have smaller groups generating funds to run the
school. However, there are good things going on there and reasons why it’s
a viable school.”
Personnel assignments appear to meet
the requirements, the study found that people who are employed by the
district fit well in the jobs they were hired to do.
The fund balance, which must be maintained by
the district, is appropriate but is declining a little, a fact which Boring
says many districts are facing. He cautioned the board that fund balance
must be sustained at a reasonable level in order to have the ability to draw
on their reserves when necessary.
Enrollment has been stable in our district,
while declining in many others throughout the state.
Allocation of revenues between major
programs looks very typical. Boring explained, “In other words, the
balance in terms of, for example regular education vs. special education, is
very desirable for Eatonville School District. The revenues that come in for
Special Education are indeed supporting the cause. Special Education
programming does not have to rely upon the general budget in order to
subsidize what they’re doing, as is the case in many other districts. The
percentage of students that the Special Education program is serving appears
to be typical.”
As far as organizational management
effectiveness, the district is operating effectively; “…not top
heavy and in compliance with the normal standards of measurement. There are
things that people think could be done better. However the areas we would
measure in terms of documentary information looks very, very sound.”
Perceptions of Staff and Taxpayers
Interviews of people who are either employed by
the school system, or are served by the system, were conducted and
comprise the second portion of the study results. Boring continued,
“Looking at the interview information gathered, is the perception that
people hate us in terms of programs, how things are running, how efficiently
they think things are running, problems in the district, things that need to
be included and so forth. I want to make very clear that concerning the
perceptions that people have, the board needs to be cognizant that when
people present their view or perception of reality, they may not have all
the information. No one person knows exactly what’s going on everywhere
all the time.”
Information gathered through the interview
process of the study showed educational achievement and the well being
of students was clearly at the top of everyone’s agenda. “There’s a
rich tradition in this district that we found evidenced virtually in
everyone we talked to. People have great regard for the school district and
for the programs that go on. They’re grateful for the contribution the
district makes and they support the schools.
Weak Morale and Strained Communication
“Communication is an area that appeared to
be strained. There were a number of ways we thought
communication could be improved. One of the areas would be to enhance or
build up a systematic program of communication with the community. People
welcome hearing what they can about the school district. One thing you need
to do is listen to the people in the community and try to have communication
going out on a regular basis.
“Some staff members feel like nobody really
knows what they’re doing or that they’re doing so many great things and
they wish more people could see that and they (the staff) could feel as if
that work is being recognized. We suggest you consider some different
possibilities in terms of staff recognition; it’s a universal need and
pays incredible dividends in the end."
“The board
expressed to us initially that they felt the topic of communication was
important; we think that communication is a priority. Communication within
the community and within the staff is most valuable when it focuses on
people or students and what they’re doing; it’s the example that tells
the story and gives people a real sense of what’s happening.
“Within the staff there doesn’t
seem to be a consistent newsletter or bulletin or regular vehicle for
communication. It’s not that the district isn’t communicating, but if it
were a more conventional plan it would reach further, be more complete and
people would begin to look to that for information on a regular basis. It
would enhance the sense being part of the whole district.”
The issue of morale came up in
a number of the interviews. “Some would say that morale in the
district is weak and maybe isn’t quite so good overall. The district needs
to create district awareness and a sense of district togetherness. There are
fears of isolation, and although that is not an unusual phenomenon, it is
worth addressing. It’s important that the superintendent try to be in the
schools as much as can be and that the visits be productive for the folks
you’re visiting as well as for the superintendent to learn.
Long Range Plans
“The issue of a
long range, or strategic plan, was mentioned in many of the interviews.
Not many people were aware of the older strategic plan; I think most people
would say it’s time to revisit and review or create another plan. It
provides an opportunity to bring a lot of the stakeholders together in a
positive kind of a project; looking ahead at what it is we want to
accomplish in the next several years.
“We discovered that universally, the
principals and staff members are interested in what is discussed at the
district level in the administrative meetings that occur. And yet they
weren’t always sure they got a complete report nor were they sure the
issues they were interested in made it up to that level for discussion. The
administration should be somewhat organized about how information gets out
to the staff.
“Both evidentiary information
and information gathered through interviews indicated that in the area of
business and administrative personnel function, the district is administered
very carefully and prudently.
“The transportation program appears to be
operating in a very normal fashion in terms of budgeting and the way the
vehicles are maintained. The maintenance department is challenged, no doubt
about it. There’s not a lot of money to use to maintain or repair
facilities and some of them are getting older and older. We concluded the
staff feels the buildings are under tremendous strain. Their challenge is to
continue to listen to and receive requests to improve things knowing
there’s a limit as to how much they can do. We would council the people
involved be as patient as they can and still do what they have to do and
live within the means that you have.
“Curriculum and instruction
appeared to be functioning very efficiently from what we observed. You’re
moving along well with the version of your curriculum to the framework the
state requires and you’re mapping that curriculum in a way that will fit
in the areas that you must teach and you must test.
“There were many, many
comments about the amount of contact the superintendent provides in the
community. He’s out enough that it’s noticeable to many people and that
was one of his first tasks as superintendent. There has been a change in the
board make up over the last five years. We feel the board needs to be sure
to continue to refine the understanding of what the board does, what the
superintendent does, what the school administrators do and that’s not an
easy task.
Board
Improving - Questions about
Executive Sessions
“Universally
people said they think the board is moving forward in a more organized
fashion, that it’s improving and strengthening. Building trust is an
extremely critical area. The atmosphere at the board meetings seems to be
improving. The question was raised about the proper use of executive
session. What we’ve done is include in our report basic requirements or
restraints of the use of executive sessions”. These requirements can be
viewed on the Washington State website under RCW42.30.110.
“In conclusion we would
point to that tradition, it’s clear there is a legacy here of values in
your education program and I think that’s continued to be supported and
identified in what we’ve seen.”
A copy of the fifteen
page Management Review Report is available for public viewing or may be
purchased at the district office at 208 Lynch Street.
Changes in Field Trips
Following
a short recess, the class trip to Spain this April was discussed. It was
decided that the class go to Costa Rica rather than Spain. The board
unanimously approved the change.
Eatonville Elementary School
Principal Diane Heersink requested the board approve a change in the
fifth grade Outdoor Education Camp from Camp Indianola to Camp Colman. Also,
there was a change from fourth grade to fifth grade attending the camp as
Heersink explained the focus will be on cooperation and team building to
help prepare the students for the important transition from elementary to
middle school. The camp curriculum will follow the aquatic focus that begins
in fourth grade and will carry on to fifth grade. Fund raising for the camp
will begin at the fourth grade level. Ours will be the only school at the
camp and the cost is less. The board unanimously approved the change.
Retiring Surplus Vehicles and New Courses
The board next discussed the issue of
retiring surplus vehicles. Arment pointed out that the three busses and
two vans, ranging in age from 1979 to 1993, are on the edge of the state
mandate to retire all busses made prior to 1977 and they are no longer cost
effective to maintain. He also pointed to the fact that as the state has
already paid the district depreciation on the vehicles, regardless of what
price the vehicles fetch at auction, the district must pay back that money
to the state.
Dan Dawkins, Support Services
Manager, explained one of the three buses has been used as a “parts”
vehicle for several years, the other two have become too labor intensive to
maintain. The 1980 Dodge van suffered a fire this school year and the 1993
Chevy Astro van has nearly 300,000 miles on it and is worn out. The board
unanimously approved the retirement of the vehicles, which will be put up
for auction.
Three proposed new courses, Technical
Science/Mathematics Core, Advanced Health and Golf Course Management, to be
offered at the high school was the next topic of discussion. Arment began by
introducing Lucy Fountain, the district’s Director Of Curriculum and
Instruction Assessment. Also Eatonville High School principal Garth Steedman,
Bob Fincham ninth grade Biology instructor and Mark Dawkins high school
Health instructor were in attendance awaiting the board’s decision.
Fountain began by explaining the
Science/Math classes are designed for students entering high school with
lower level math and science abilities. The class will also have the
component of mentoring for students who would like to become teachers.
Arment noted that although Fincham is a resident of our school district, he
is a “new hire” this year at the high school and has done a tremendous
job. Tira Hancock added that he was a fantastic “score” for our district
and advised that people should go visit his classroom to see the tremendous
job he’s done. She complimented Steedman for hiring him.
Fountain explained that while Mark
Dawkins is not new to our district, he is new to the high school this year
and “has brought a lot of energy to the health program and is very popular
with the students. There are those (students) who like his program so much
they would like to take health as an upper class elective.” Fountain
further explained this supports the path for those students who would like
to pursue a career in health.
Golf Course
Management, Fountain explained, has become very popular and many high
schools are now offering this class and community colleges are offering
degrees in this field. Fountain feels “it’s a great career opportunity
for kids.” There is now a text book for the course and it would offer
hands on “cross” training in areas such as grounds maintenance, tying in
with the Horticulture class.
The board unanimously approved the
three classes be offered at the high school next year.
Resolution 472 and Increases in Property Taxes
Consideration of Resolution 472, delegates
district authority to the WIAA (Washington Interscholastic Athletic
Assoc.), which is a rule making and monitoring body for athletic programs in
the state was discussed. Arment began by explaining this is an annual,
recurring resolution and states the district will abide by the WIAA rules
and regulations. If the
district were to decline, we would not be allowed to participate in state
tournaments. The board unanimously adopted Resolution 472.
OSPI (Office of the
Superintendent of Public Education) has proposed a statewide increase in
property taxes to fund public education. Springer began by stating the
proposed increase of $107 per $1000 would kill the chances of school
districts passing a bond for school improvement. He put a motion on the
floor that the district oppose the proposal by notifying state and education
department officials. Mettler noted the state is required to fund public
education by law and that not only is she is opposed to the OSPI proposal,
but also opposes Governor Locke’s proposed 36% levy lid.
Arment stated he didn’t think
it advantageous for the district to be on the record with a letter of
opposition for a proposal that “doesn’t seem to meet the common sense
test.” He felt the board should request the Director of Legislative
Affairs keep an eye on the proposal as it moves through the system and
reconsider opposition if it looks as though the proposal is building
momentum.
Springer disagreed with
Arment as he stated the proposal will be coming up in the process very,
very soon and the legislature is in the later part of their sessions now,
with budget currently being discussed. Springer urged the board to express
their concerns to the legislators now. Arment conceded a letter to our
legislators would be prudent, but not to the state’s offices of education.
Springer agreed and the board unanimously approved the motion to send a
letter of opposition to the OSPI proposal to our legislators.
Gambling funding down - Bomb Threats
Under Superintendent’s Comments,
Arment mentioned I-728 (gambling revenues) funding. The district was
recently informed they would not be receiving as much funding as they had
planned at the beginning of the year. They are losing a total of $40,000 as
gambling revenue has been down for the second year in a row.
Arment noted what a great
year it’s been for Tira Hancock and her achievement of National Board
Certification.
Board comments began with
Rick Thompson who expressed his appreciation of the staff and senior class
advisors who were in attendance.
Mettler asked about the recent
bomb threats occurring at the middle and high schools. Arment responded
that each threat is taken very seriously and the safety of the students and
staff is paramount. He stated a couple of students involved in the threats
at the high school have been expelled and are no longer in our district.
Arment noted that in the history of American education numerous bomb threats
have been received by schools, but none have ever resulted in a school being
blown up.
But, he continued, there
are a couple of real risks about which he is concerned. One was an instance
where students were properly evacuated from a school only to be shot by
nearby snipers awaiting the evacuation. He expressed that this is a real
risk and goes into the decision making of staff and student safety when they
evacuate or remain in the buildings. Where the students and staff stand when
evacuated must be considered, they can’t be near any danger of flying
glass and other debris.
The second concern is an
improper evacuation, which he witnessed at the high school a couple of
years ago. Some students ran to their cars or trucks speeding off recklessly
carrying too many passengers, some of whom were in the backs of pick up
trucks. The staff and students now have been instructed as to how to conduct
themselves and the staff stays with the students throughout the ordeal.
Arment said that he, the school principals and local police are working
together closely. Arment stated the music class at the middle school
calculated that a total of 250 hours was spent on each bomb threat. The
culprits may be caught through peer pressure, mentioning another student had
written on one of the bathroom stalls “bomb threats are nerdy.”
Roger Bush Votes "No" on School Bond Bill
Springer updated the board on current bills
still “alive” in Olympia. And he brought particular attention to the
fact our legislative representative, Roger Bush, voted “No” on a bill
that would have allowed school bonds to pass with a “simple majority”
vote. The bill is now out of the house and in the senate. He added there are
three bills concerning retirement before the legislature.
Holden expressed his
disappointment the school bond didn’t pass and that he’s glad the
district is putting it before the voters again.
Bass mentioned the next board
meeting, scheduled for Wed., April 9, will begin at 6 p.m. rather than 7
p.m. as PSED (Puget Sound Educational District) will be giving a
presentation on the Strategic Plan. The meeting will be held at the district
office at 208 Lynch Street, the public is encouraged to attend.
Back to Top
Back to Front Page
Your School Board in Action
by Penny Chambers
The
February 26 meeting of the Eatonville School Board began promptly at 7
p.m. and was once again held before a full house, consisting mostly of union
trade workers who had come to offer their support in the passage of the
school bond and to |
