Members Present: Dan Ingalls, Vice PresidentVicki CoashLeon LeachmanChris Locke (arrived at 6:23 p.m.)Bernie SpradlingTom Storrer (arrived at 5:57 p.m.) Member Absent: Jim Waugh, President Others Present: Sue Givens, SuperintendentNorm Wilks, Director of Fiscal & Support ServicesJackie Clark, Board ClerkDavid Wagner, Director of Operations Julie Jensen, Director of CurriculumMike Wheeler, Butler County Commissioner (Work Session)Jim Neese, Butler County Administrator (Work Session)Grant Helferich, Butler County EMS (Work Session)Jim Shum, Lincoln TeacherMelissa Smith, Food Service CoordinatorLora Meirowsky, ENEARobin Nixon, El Dorado TimesGarrett White, Circle High StudentStan Ruff, Washington Principal
Butler County PresentationJim Neese, Grant Helferich and Mike Wheeler from Butler County were present to overview new FCC communication standards. Jim Neese, Butler County Radio Systems Administrator, reported that the county commissioners have decided that the most cost effective approach to meeting the requirements would be to install a new digital communications system. He said the county commissioners will ask voters to approve a quarter-cent sales tax for a new public safety communications system. Neese said the sales tax revenue would be used to pay for the estimated 12.9 million dollar expense for the new system. He said voting would be conducted by mail-in ballot with ballots delivered to voters on November 10, 2009. He said a sales tax would put the burden on everyone who comes into Butler County to shop. Neese said if voters do not approve the ¼ cent sales tax then the County would fund the new communications system with an increase in property taxes.Neese said the County wants to reach out to school districts to let them know that once the backbone of the system is in place school districts would be able to purchase radios which allow them to access and be part of the system. He said these radios should expand our coverage from our current radios.Dan Ingalls adjourned the Work Session at 6:20 p.m.
At 6:30 p.m., Tom Storrer moved to recess into an executive session for a period of 30 minutes to discuss matters of non-elected personnel in order to protect the privacy rights of the individuals to be discussed, and to discuss student matters in order to protect the privacy rights of the individuals to be discussed with board members, the Superintendent and the Director of Fiscal and Support Services present. Vicki Coash seconded the motion; the motion carried 6-0.The board returned to general session at 7:00 p.m. with the same people as listed above present.
Bernie Spradling made a motion to approve the agenda plus the addendum (14a—Additional BCSEC Purchase Card Request and Contracts for Services). Seconded by Vicki Coash, the motion carried 6-0.
Vicki Coash made a motion to approve the consent calendar as presented. Seconded by Tom Storrer, the motion carried 6-0. Minutes of the September 14, 2009, Regular Meeting Financial ReportsCredit Card ReportMiddle School Activity Report High School Activity ReportNurses Reports
Garrett White, a Circle High School student, addressed the BOE regarding his eligibility to play sports at Circle.
Board Member Leon Leachman was recognized for earning a Level I Certificate in the Kansas Association of School Board’s Boardsmanship Academy.
• Washington Report – Stan Ruff, Principal Student Achievement Goal — Principal Stan Ruff reported that last spring 94.8% of Washington students met standards in reading and 94.8% met standards in math. He said that the building’s goal this year is that 100% of Washington students meet the reading and math standards on state assessments. Ruff said his staff will use MTSS (Multi-Tier System of Support) to help students meet the goal. He said through MTSS students are assigned to either Tier I, II or III based on their NWEA scores, formative test results and teacher recommendation. In addition, he said, additional reading and math support is being provided to all students at each grade level and to each tier of students. Ruff said this might be additional math and reading time for Tiers II and III while Tier I students work on enrichment activities or additional math and reading time for Tier III students while Tier I and II students work on novel studies.Safety Goal — Ruff said Washington has implemented Positive Behavior Supports to achieve this goal. He said his staff teaches team-building activities during Professional Learning Communities time and they use incentives to recognize expected behavior. Ruff said Washington posts behavior expectations in hallways and the lunchroom.Communication Goal — Ruff reported that 90% of Washington parents attended the Meet the Teacher Night earlier in the year. He said this year the school coordinated the annual book fair with an ice cream social. Ruff also reported that there were about 90 grandparents who attended Grandparents’ Breakfast in September and that there were about 100 people at the Title I Math and Reading Night. He said attendance at the PTO and Site Council Meetings is greater than past years.• Food Service Report – Melissa Smith, Food Service CoordinatorMelissa Smith reported that this is a transition year in the district’s food service program. She said the program is going well. She said the staff looked at the students’ responses on the menu surveys to plan the menus this year, and as a result more breads and grains have been incorporated into the menus this year. She said that on count day there were 823 students who qualified for free meals, up 78 students from last year. Smith said EHS serves around 320 meals each day and the a la carte program at EHS is going well. She said the middle school serves about 400 meals each day. She said that the kitchens are offering chef salads to staff members and EXTEND High School this year. Smith reminded the board that the district’s food service program would be audited by the State in December. • El Dorado Inc. Report – Superintendent Sue GivensSuperintendent Givens reported that at their last meeting Inc. members attended an open house and ribbon cutting at C-Tech. She said the group also focused on marketing including participation in the 360ElDorado web site.• PIE Report – Vicki CoashVicki Coash said PIE board members discussed the upcoming 5K/1 Mile Predict race. In addition, she reported board members would soon announce the winners of fall School Grants.• Legislative Update – Leon LeachmanLeon Leachman spoke about state revenue, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money that flows through the Kansas State Department of Education, and the Performance Audit update (report listing cost-effective ways to manage school districts). • Director of Fiscal & Support Services Report—Norm WilksDirector Norm Wilks provided a report on the September 21st (Count Day) enrollment numbers. He said our enrollment is essentially the same as last year with an increase of .6 of a student over last year. He said that although our 2009-10 General Fund would be $300,743 more than the August published budget (due to increase in weights for students qualified for free meals) our General Fund budget is still $916,464 less than the 2008-09 General Fund due to the state’s cuts to our budget. He said we would use the three-year enrollment average to compute the 2009-10 General Fund Budget (2,005.2). He noted that if we do not see an increase in enrollment next year (2010-11) the enrollment decrease for General Fund purposes next year would be 26.8 students (our three-year average would be 26.8 students lower). Wilks explained that the current number qualified for free meals is 41.3% of our enrollment, which qualifies the district for High Density At-Risk weights. He said this would generate an additional $358,530 in at-risk funds for the district. He also noted that 30.2% of the General Fund is identified as to how we can spend it. He said that as the weights go up and our enrollment goes down this percentage increases. Wilks said that even though our General Fund would increase $300,000, he believes that money will go away because current tax collections at the state level are $97 million less than projected and the state will need an additional $50 million for the increased weights for the increased number of students throughout the state who qualified for free meals this school year. Wilks said districts in the state would likely see a reduction in the 2009-10 Base Budget Per Pupil of $79 per student (a reduction in our General Fund of $194,419). In addition, he said that area superintendents are looking at ways to share services (such as transportation and technology) to be more efficient. Wilks also reported that the auditors are in the district.Leon Leachman left the meeting at 7:42 p.m. and returned at 7:44 p.m.• Superintendent’s Report—Sue GivensSuperintendent Givens said that at the recent State Dropout Prevention Pre-Summit in Clearwater attendees discussed factors that impact dropout rates. She said El Dorado’s Vision 2020 Adopt-a-Class program was recognized as a promising practice for dropout prevention.Givens reported that the next Schools For Fair Funding (SFFF) meeting would be Friday, November 13th, in Newton. She asked that one or two board members attend this meeting so that the BOE can determine what involvement, if any, the district will have with this group in the future. She reminded the BOE that membership in SFFF was one of the budget cuts determined last year.Givens said USD 490 BOE members have been invited by Wichita USD 259 and Andover USD 385 to participate in a joint meeting with board members and superintendents on Tuesday, October 27th, at Andover Central High School from 4:00-6:30 p.m. She said the goal is to identify common talking points about school district budgets. She urged board members to advocate that State At-Risk monies go to the General Fund instead of being earmarked for specific programs.
Julie Jensen, Director of Curriculum, presented an overview of this year’s staff development and the PDC Plan. She said the PDC Plan was updated to align with the district’s improvement plan. Jensen said new wording included the specific strategies and processes we use to increase student achievement. In addition, she reviewed the 2009-10 staff development schedule. Bernie Spradling made a motion to approve the Professional Development Council Plan as presented. Seconded by Leon Leachman, the motion carried 6-0.Leon Leachman left the meeting at 7:52 p.m.Chris Locke left the meeting at 7:52 p.m.
A petty cash account in the amount of $1,000 is required for routine operations of the entrepreneurship program at EXTEND High School. This is not additional budget authority.Vicki Coash made a motion to approve a $1,000 petty cash account for EXTEND High School. Seconded by Bernie Spradling, the motion carried 4-0.
Chris Locke returned to the meeting at 7:53 p.m.
These are routine requests, related to school improvement or the instructors’ teaching fields.Chris Locke made a motion to approve the Teacher Requests for College Hours as presented. Seconded by Bernie Spradling, the motion carried 5-0.
The Board directed the establishment of this advisory group to review gifts and memorials for El Dorado High School. Committee members Michelle Banks, Billie Douglas, Kevin House, Steve Fellers and Chris Locke were represented by Chair David Wagner. Wagner said the group had met to set goals and develop an overall plan for the entire site. He said the group would like to develop a “catalog” of items from which donors can choose to make a donation to the high school. He said the goal is to keep away from a lot of plaques. The group has asked a vendor for a landscaping design for the site with the possible inclusion of a “brick” garden. Wagner asked the BOE to authorize the committee to proceed with a landscape design. He said the committee hopes to have a plan ready for consideration at the January Board of Education meeting.Chris Locke made a motion to authorize the committee to proceed with a landscape plan for El Dorado High School. Seconded by Tom Storrer, the motion carried 5-0.
An extension of the long-term building usage agreement with New Life Ministries for use of the middle school was requested.Bernie Spradling made a motion to approve the building usage agreement as presented with New Life Ministry for use of the middle school auditorium from November 2009 through January 2010. Seconded by Vicki Coash, the motion carried 5-0.
Final drafts of the policies reviewed/revised by the Board of Education in previous meetings were reviewed by the Kansas Association of School Boards.Vicki Coash made a motion to approve the policy updates and revisions as discussed by the BOE and reviewed by the Kansas Association of School Boards. Chris Locke seconded the motion; the motion carried 5-0.
Chris Locke made a motion to approve the USD 490 personnel recommendations. Bernie Spradling seconded the motion. The motion carried 5-0.Vicki Coash left the meeting at 8:06 p.m.
Bernie Spradling made a motion to approve the BCSEC recommendations which include the addendum. Seconded by Chris Locke, the motion carried 4-0.
Vicki Coash returned to the meeting at 8:07 p.m.Chris Locke made a motion to approve the following purchase card requests. Tom Storrer seconded the motion. The motion carried 5-0.Purchase Card RequestsJenna Soden - $200 monthly limit; Shelley Hewett, $200 monthly limit
• October 14 – KASB Fall Regional Meeting @ Haysville, 3:30 pm• October 16 – Inservice/Workday• October 20 & 22 – Parent-Teacher Conferences• October 23 – No School• October 27 – Butler/Sedgwick County Board Advocacy Meeting @ Andover, 4:00 pm• October 30 – Early Release – All Schools• November 9 – BOE Breakfast/Lunch @ Lincoln Elementary
Dan Ingalls adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m.