May 1, 2017

LogoSequim School District No. 323

“Inspire and Achieve“

503 North Sequim Avenue, Sequim, WA 98382

Telephone: (360) 582-3260, FAX: (360) 683-6303, www.sequim.k12.wa.us


May 1, 2017

CALL MEETING TO ORDER/ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (REF. POLICY 1400/1420)

President Robin Henrikson opened the Regular Board Meeting as 6:00pm with all Board Members and Student Board Representatives present. The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted.

PRESENT – A sign-in sheet was provided and those who wished to sign in are listed below:

Robin Henrikson, President     Mark Knudson, Sequim High School

Heather Short, Vice-President     Erin Fox, Sequim High School

James Stoffer, Director     Melee VanderVelde, Sequim High School

Brian Kuh, Director     Steve Erickson, Sequim High School

Michael Howe, Director     Jack Walsh

Kaylee Gumm, Student Board Representative     Larry Jeffryes, Citizen

Téa Gauthun, Student Board Representative      Joan Ritchie, Citizen

Paul Wieneke, Human Resources     Linda DeIvernois, Sequim High School

Doug DeIvernois, Citizen

Ann Renker, Assistant Superintendent      Eric Danielson, Citizens for Sequim Schools

Marilyn Walsh, Administrative Assistant     Lori Prichard, Citizen

Marcia Garrett, Citizen and Teacher

Caity Karapostoles, District Office

Steve Bearman, Community Member

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Short moved to approve the minutes from the April 17, 2017 Regular Board Meeting as presented. Director Stoffer seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.

CHANGES/ADDITIONS AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA (REF. POLICY 1420)

Director Stoffer moved to approve the agenda as printed. Director Kuh seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.

STUDENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNICATION & STUDENT RECOGNITION

Student Board Representative Téa Gauthun reported that Monday, May 1st from 4-6pm was Kindergarten Screening and Registration at Greywolf Elementary. Cross Laminated Timber team now meets every Tuesday as the new classrooms near completion. Greywolf’s principal and counselor are in Arizona this week helping to bring the elementary programs online with the Kids at Hope vision. They are very excited about ways we can support all of our “at hope” students as they move through our system K-12. Olympic Peninsula Academy begins state testing this week. Their students had a great showing at the Sequim Education Foundation art show with many student art pieces submitted.

Olympic Peninsula Academy drama students are winding down their last month of practices before their big production of “Into the Woods” on June 2nd and 3rd. OPA’s courtyard is undergoing some construction with the addition of a small greenhouse, thanks to the gardening class and parent support.

Student Board Representative Kaylee Gumm reported that Sequim Middle School sends a special thanks to Sequim Community Church and their Beautiful Day Project. Along with teacher Paul Pinza, members of the Sequim Community Church completed a wonderful make-over of the Sequim Middle School staff lounge. Additionally, Sequim Community Church members provided staff members with a basket full of goodies. What an amazing outreach. Thank you Sequim Community Church! Student-Led conferences were completed during the month of April, with 75% of the families attending. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to share academic performance data, social emotional lessons, and schedule requests for next year. State testing is going very well. The students are demonstrating incredible focus and willingness to stay on task well beyond normal testing sessions. The first week was a huge success, in large part to the planning and coordination of both district and building level staff. Sequim Middle School will continue to facilitate state testing each day till May 26th. Last week Sequim High School concluded two weeks of block periods for state testing. The students did a wonderful job. Advanced Placement testing has started and will be going until the end of next week, so best of luck for everyone taking those. The ASB has been working hard to get Senior Ball ready to go this Saturday.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - The Board believes that public comments are a very important connection between our community and the Board. This time is set aside for receiving both written and oral communication. (Ref. Policy 1400, 1623, and 1620P).

President Henrikson asked first for Comments regarding agenda items. Hearing none, President Henrikson asked for Comments regarding general items.

Ms. Joan Ritchie asked again if the program approved by the board on April 17 was standards based. She passed out copies of an article about how the role of teachers has changed.

BOARD COMMUNICATION AND OTHER ITEMS

Director Kuh acknowledged School Principal Appreciation Day with a shout out to Principal Hudson; Principal Stanton; Principal Rico; Principal Langston and Principal Hill for their hard work and dedication. Key Meetings attended since the last board meeting included:

a) The Sequim School District Strategic Planning Session with the wall-raising celebration at Grey Wolf Elementary, with Derek Kilmer, Steve Tharinger, Mike Chapman, and others in attendance. Of note was a quote from Dr. David Engle, Strategic Planning Facilitator – “As a society, the care and support of our young people is the most important thing we do.”

b) The Sequim City Council Meeting where they celebrated the service of David and Patricia Mattingley

c) The Olympic Workforce Consortium Construction Sector Partnership, where they continued discussion of skills needed to work effectively at a job site, including soft skills. Many vocational skills are needed, so continued discussion with primary and secondary schools is desired.

d) Lean Training for Nonprofits where local training programs are being developed for the education sector.

e) Citizens For Sequim Schools Strategy Meeting which included a robust discussion on the purpose of the group outside of campaigns.

f) Sequim School District Audit Summary Review, where the auditors praised the working relationship with the School District, including Director Hietpas. The bi-annual audit included Financial (statements, adherence to grant requirements, etc.), and an Accountability Audit. There was one finding, which has already been corrected, and a Management Letter which referenced some items in need of addressing with the management of ASB activities at the middle school.

Director Stoffer gave our Student Board Representatives a flyer announcing Congressman Kilmer’s Art Contest for Dist. 6 High School Students. Director Stoffer noted the occasion of National Principal Appreciation Day and thanked our Principles and Vice Principals for the work they do. He also thanked Administrative Assistant Marilyn Walsh for all the work she does; keeping us in line. Director Stoffer also attended the Audit Exit brief and commended Finance and Operations Director Heidi Hietpas for a job well done.

a) The North Olympic Library System is starting outreach/public forums regarding the Sequim Branch Expansion Project. After attending a Chamber after hours event, Director Stoffer invited the North Olympic Library System Staff to participate in our District Strategic Planning Secessions.

b) The City Council recognized the contributions of the Mattingleys for the community and passed a resolution specific to Patsy’s work.

c) Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church invited several community stakeholders to a presentation on a Sequim area Homeless Shelter they are considering. They were interested in the McKinney Vento Program and recent legislation; Samantha Troxler our District Liaison shared the latest district stats with a printed handout.

d) The City has an Open House on Wednesday at 5:30pm regarding the new entrance to Carrie Blake Park and the new Pickle Ball Courts.

e) On Friday at 5pm the new little Park along Washington Ave; next to Jose’s is opening. This project grew out of the “For the Love of Sequim” Forum held last spring. The CommuintyPlus Group is the sponsor.

f) The Legislature is now in a Special Session and lots of negations are occurring. WSSDA is posting weekly updates and webinars to keep everyone informed.

g) It’s that time of the year to start the planning for the WSSDA Legislative Assembly; which is in Sept 22-23 at SeaTac. The proposal solicitation begin on 31 Mar and goes through 2 Jun. WSSDA Staff and the Legislative Reps and Committee have streamline and consolidated the process from previous years. We now have 5 general categories (Learning, Teaching, Leadership, Governance, & Funding/Allocations; along with a 6th category of Misc.); all directly linked to Legislation. We can expect further consolidation after the close of this Legislative Session this month as the Bills currently being worked on come into effect.

h) This past weekend Director Stoffer attended second session of the WSSDA Leadership Course, with the focus on Leadership for Influence. Speakers included Dr. Alan Burke (former WSSDA ED); now on the State School Board of Education, State Superintendent Reykdal and Marcia Maxwell. Director Stoffer is finding the class extremely helpful. Their graduation assignment is to present at WSSDA Annual Conference a workshop pertaining to Leadership for Boards.

i) The WSSDA Region 4 Meeting is on May 20 in Bremerton from 10am-2pm. Advance registration is required. Discussion followed

j) Regarding SB 5891 that delays the requirement of High School Science assessment; that bill is still hanging out there along with SB 5639 (alternative student assessments; delinking ELA, Math & Science as grad requirements. SHB 1235 which requires additional Physical Education Assessments has not been signed by the governor as of yet. We can expect these additional reporting requirements in the 2018 school year.

Vice-President Short reported that she attended a field trip with her daughter’s Greywolf Elementary class to plant trees at Cassidy Creek. This was a wonderful tie-in for the new cross laminated timber classrooms being constructed on Greywolf’s campus. Vice-President Short also expressed her appreciation to the district’s principals and vice-principals for their leadership and vision.

President Henrikson requested that Board Members utilize a doodle poll in OneNote to provide input on a summer work session. Superintendent Gary Neal will give an update on his goals during his Superintendent Report at the next board meeting, in lieu of an evaluation workshop either before or after Regular meeting. President Henrikson just signed her daughter up for Kindergarten and commented that it was the soft skills, such as being able to take care of their own personal needs and being able to function in a group, that were especially needed to be ready for Kindergarten.

President Henrikson read the Exit Slips from the previous meeting.

CONSENT AGENDA – REQUEST BOARD APPROVAL: Any item may be moved to New Business with a motion from any Board member.

a. General Fund Vouchers No. 188127 thru No. 188131 in the total amount of $5,922.93; and No. 188132 thru No. 188217 in the total amount of $244,670.75..

b. ASB Fund Vouchers No. 10849 thru No. 10849 in the total amount of $1,573.50; and No. 10850 thru No. 10863 in the total amount of $23,161.96..

c. Payroll for the month of April, 2017 in the total amount of $2,186,781.05.

d. Personnel - Employment with the District will be conditional upon the district’s receipt of a criminal conviction history record that is clear of any convictions, adjudications, protective orders, final decisions, or criminal charges in accordance with Washington State law and conditional upon receipt of a sexual Misconduct Disclosure Form from prior Washington State employer(s), where employment was in a school setting, indicating that no sexual, verbal or physical misconduct materials were found in the records of such employer(s) pursuant to RCW 28A.400 and WAC 180-87-080.

1) Approve Leave of Absence Request from Jennifer Kent, Helen Haller Elementary Second Grade teacher, for the 2017-2018 school year, as presented.

2) Request to Rescind previously submitted Letter of Resignation, which was to become effective at the end of the 2016-2017 school year, from Tom Saffold, Sequim Middle School Drama Teacher, as presented.

Vice-President Short moved to approve the Consent Agenda, Items ‘a’ thru ‘d’ as presented. Director Kuh seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS

There was none at this time.

NEW BUSINESS

a. Director Stoffer moved to approve overnight and out-of-State travel for the Sequim High School Basketball team to travel to Honolulu, Hawaii to participate in the Punahou Basketball Invitational from December 26th, 2017 through December 31, 2017 as presented. Vice-President Short seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.

b. Director Stoffer moved to approve overnight and out-of-State travel for the Sequim High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) to travel to Anaheim, California from June 27, 2017 thru July 3, 2017 to participate/compete in the National Leadership Conference, as presented. Director Howe seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.

REPORTS

a. Sequim High School Counselors Ms. Erin Fox and Ms. Melee Vander Velde reported on trending graduation rates for the past several years, and what kinds of interventions are being implemented for students who are falling behind in credits in order to help them to graduate on time. Discussion followed.

b. Mr. Doug Hastings, Greywolf Elementary Physical Education teacher, gave an overview of the K-5 Physical Education Program. He shared the curriculum he developed that articulates with the State Health and Physical Education Learning Standards. Discussion followed.

c. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ann Renker, for her Assistant Superintendent’s Report, shared process used to gather feedback from parents, teachers and students, for two products being considered for adoption for grades 6-12 English Language Arts. The Instructional Materials Committee will present their recommendation to the board at the June 5, 2017 Regular board meeting. Discussion followed.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

President Henrikson drew board members’ attention to:

a. Upcoming Board Meetings, etc.

o May 11 – Strategic Planning Meeting from 8:15am to 11:45am at Sequim Transit Center

o May 15 – Regular Board Meeting @ 6:00pm followed by an Executive Session

o Saturday, May 20 – WSSDA Regional Meeting in Bremerton from 10am-1pm

o May 25 – Strategic Planning Meeting from 8:15am to 11:45am at Sequim Transit Center

o June 5 – 5:30pm Reception for Retiring Administrative Assistant Marilyn Walsh with Regular Board Meeting @ 6pm. Student Board Representative Kaylee Gumm’s last board meeting!

o June 8 – Strategic Planning Meeting from 8:15am to 11:45am at Sequim Transit Center

o June 19 – Regular Board Meeting @ 6pm.

o June 22 – Strategic Planning Meeting from 8:15am to 11:45am at Sequim Transit Center

b. Graduation Activities

o May 31 – Scholarship Awards Night

o June 4 – Baccalaureate @ Dungeness Community Church

o June 9 – 9am Practice, 6pm Sequim High School Graduation (Reserved seating for the board)

c. Other items of interest:

o May 4 through 20 – Sequim High School Operetta (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)

o May 15-19 ~ School Board Candidate Filing Week!

o May 29 – Memorial Day – NO SCHOOL, District Office Closed!

o June 2-3 ~ Olympic Peninsula Academy Play Performance

o June 6 – Middle School Choir Concert and High School Band Concert @ 7pm

o June 7 – High School Choir Concert

o June 9 – Sequim High School Graduation!

o June 12 – Olympic Peninsula Academy Graduation and Awards Ceremony

o June 16 – Last Day of School (Early Dismissal)

FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER

Exit slips were distributed to board members.

ADJOURNMENT

At 7:35pm Director Stoffer moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting. Vice-President Short seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.