Bettendorf Board of Education Minutes- January 15, 2001

Board discusses options/concerns posed by declining enrollment

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BETTENDORF COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
BETTENDORF, IOWA

Unofficial Minutes of the January 15, 2001, Regular Meeting

1. Call to Order



The Board of Directors of the Bettendorf Community School District, in the County of Scott, state of Iowa, met in open session according to Iowa law for their regular meeting at the Ray Stensvad Administration Center, 3311 Central Avenue, Bettendorf, Iowa, on January 15, 2001. President Roski called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and members recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Lynne Lindstrom, Board Secretary, verified that the meeting notice had been posted and mailed to the media as required by law.



Members present: Directors Anderson, Arney, Castro, Luton, Roski, Wahlstrand, Weigle.
Members absent: None.
Other officials present: John Perdue, Superintendent; Carol Webb, Assistant Superintendent; Paul Bobek, Executive Director of Business Affairs, Celeste Reuter, Director of Communications; John Campbell, Director of Operations; Kathy OíShaughnessy, BEA Representative; Patrick VanNevel, Board Treasurer; Lynne Lindstrom, Board Secretary.



2. Agenda Approval.

Motion by Director Wahlstrand, seconded by Director Castro, to approve the agenda as presented.

Ayes: 7 Directors Anderson, Arney, Castro, Luton, Roski, Wahlstrand, Weigle.
Nays: 0 Motion carried 7-0.



3. Comments and Suggestions from Audience.



3.01 President's Statement. On behalf of fellow Board members, at this time I would like to invite any member of the audience to step to the microphone with comments about items of interest or concern that do not appear on the agenda this evening. Please begin by stating your name and address. It would be most appreciated if you would limit your comments to three minutes so that we can keep the meeting moving in a timely fashion and allow others an opportunity to speak. We ask that you remember that Iowa law prohibits us from discussing specific employees or their job performance. If you have thoughts to share about items that are included as topics for tonight's meeting, we would invite those comments when we reach that point in the meeting. Thank you for your support of our school district.

There were no comments from the audience.



4. Commendations & Special Invited Guests.
4.01 The following Middle School staff presented at the Midwest Regional Middle Level Conference in Des Moines, October 4 - 6, 2000: Sue Begyn, Jennifer McNab, Marianne Marcek, Judy Skogman, Marilyn Phelan, David Sodac, Tanya Spalla, and Stephanie Maxwell. Principal Rick Herrig served on the planning committee for this conference. He also served as presenter at the Davenport Community School District Middle School Symposium on October 13, 2000.


4.02 A team of 10 SAIL students from Bettendorf Middle School competed December 6th in the 35th Knowledge Master Open international academic competition open to students in middle school through high school. Students used computers to answer 200 challenging questions and vie for top scores based on the accuracy and speed of their answers.

The SAIL team scored 1,476 out of 2,000 possible points, answering 191 of the questions correctly.

Their excellence placed them first out of 28 teams in the state of Iowa and 42nd out of 957 teams nationally.

SAIL students on the team were Anita Bontu, Andy Kabat, Meghan Keck, Brian Kim, Laura Kleinschmidt, Thomas McConville, Andrew Preacher, John Stroh, Heath Vignes, and Luther Wirtz. They were coached by Marianne Marcek.

The Knowledge Master Open was designed to stimulate enthusiasm for learning and recognition for academic accomplishment.

The contest runs on classroom computers to allow the students an opportunity to compete in a large academic event without the expense of traveling to a central site.


4.03 BHS Team doctor, Dr. Andy Edwards, is being awarded the Sports Medicine Support Award for 2000 from the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

Former BHS Athletic Trainer, Reggie Speak, is being awarded the Iowa Trainer Award and former BHS Athletic Director, Chuck Nolting is being awarded the Bernie Saggau Award of Merit.

Both Speak and Nolting will be presented with their awards during half time of the 4A Boys Basketball Championship game in Des Moines in March 2001.


4.04 Brian Cutright has been selected to play in the 2001 Iowa Shrine All Star Football Game in Ames the end of July.


4.05 Greg Bouljon, Middle School language arts instructor, has completed the requirements for National Board Certification through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.


4.06 Senior, John Schabilion, was selected to the 2000 U.S. Navy Scholastic All District Team. This honor recognizes academics, athletics and community service. This is the first award of its kind. John is now eligible for the National Team, which will be announced in a few weeks.


4.07 Congratulations to Lindsey Seitz, a fifth grader at Paul Norton, who recently was a Gold Medalist in the Intermediate Pairs event(s) at the 2001 Upper Great Lakes Regional Figure Skating Championships. Lindsey will go on to compete in the 2001 U.S. Junior Figure Skating Championships.

5. Consent Agenda



Director Weigle expressed her appreciation for the new financial report, entitled ìFund Balance Summaryî under item #5.05d in the Board packet.

Director Roski noted a clarification on item #5.04 January 6, 2001, Board Retreat Meeting Minutes, on page 1, item ì3. AEA Quality Reviewî, paragraph 4, sentence 2, should read, ìIf this were to occur, Director Roski stated she would expect the Board to advocate through local legislators to support reallocation of funding.î



Motion by Director Anderson, seconded by Director Wahlstrand, to approve the consent agenda as amended.

Ayes: 7 Directors Arney, Castro, Luton, Roski, Wahlstrand, Weigle, Anderson.
Nays: 0 Motion carried 7-0.



5.01 Approval of December 14, 2000, Special Board Meeting Minutes.


5.02 Approval of December 18, 2000, Regular Board Meeting Minutes.


5.03 Approval of January 2, 2001, Special Board Meeting Minutes


5.04 Approval of January 6, 2001, Board Retreat Meeting Minutes.


5.05 Approval of Monthly Financial Reports.


5.06 Approval of January 15, 2001, Bills Recommended for Payment.


5.07 Approval of Administrative Recommendations: Personnel.


Certified Approval to Hire
Sandra Massengarb/BMS/Special Education/BA, Step 0/ $22,490/Replacing Kathy Grosland/Effective 1/16/01/Pending Iowa Certification

Certified Resignation
Corrie Johnson/BMS/Special Education/Effective 1/1/01


Certified Transfer
Lisa Cox/BMS/Transfer from 6th Grade Reading to Special Education/Replacing Corrie Johnson/Effective 1/3/01


Schedule D Approval to Hire
Jessica Motto/BMS/7th & 8th Swim Coach (Girls)/$1,529/ Replacing Peggy Canning/Effective 1/3/01
Chris Taylor/BHS/Assistant Sophomore Wrestling/$2,249/Due to increase in participants/Effective 12/19/00


Classified Approval to Employ
Lucille Meewes/GW/Food Service-Satellite Worker/$6.34 per hour/ 2 hours per day/Replacing Florence Tournear/Effective 1/3/01
Joy Tuckett/BMS/Individual Aide/$8.60 per hour/5.5 hours per day/Replacing Debi Wesolowski/Effective 1/12/01


Classified Letter of Assignment Modification
Yong Suk Benson/BMS and BHS/Food Service-Regular Part-Time/$7.34 per hour/From 4 to 5.75 hours per day/Taking 1.75 hours of bakerís position/Effective 1/3/01
David Dooley/BHS/From Night Custodian to Night Lead Custodian/$13.68 per hour/8 hours per day/Replacing Robert Paul Meier/Retroactive to 10/25/00


5.08 Approval of Early Graduate.


5.09 Approval of Special Education Support Services Agreement for 2000/01.


5.10 Approval of Requests for Open Enrollment.


Into Bettendorf, 2000/01
Tyler Bevard, grade 6, from Pleasant Valley, good cause related to change of residence
Amber Hagner, grade 10, from Davenport, good cause
Alice Sloane, grade 9, from Pleasant Valley, continuation due to change of residence


Into Bettendorf, 2001/02
Grant Friemel, grade 7 (as of 01/02), from Pleasant Valley
Savanna Hunt, kindergarten (as of 01/02), from Pleasant Valley
Alisha Keckler, grade 11 (as of 01/02), from Pleasant Valley
Charles Schwarz, grade 7 (as of 01/02), from Pleasant Valley
Austin White, kindergarten (as of 01/02), from North Scott


Out of Bettendorf, 2001/02
Adrienne Nelson, grade 10 (as of 01/02), to Davenport
Elijah Salas, kindergarten (as of 01/02), to Pleasant Valley

6. Discussion Items.

6.01 Shared Communications.

Director Weigle visited the Edison Center and heard speakers from Blackhawk College and Eastern Iowa College. The speakers addressed issues such as how to complete a resume, interview preparation, interviewing, and follow-up procedures. Additionally, they discussed how to be recognized and promoted once you have been hired for a position. Director Weigle also had the opportunity to visit BHSís new foods lab and tech art class.

Three open enrolled students shared their positive experiences at BHS, including class selection, class opportunities, and computer access. Director Weigle attended Cathy Ahrensí class and observed students giving a presentation on the history of womenís rights and incorporating related music.



Directors Wahlstrand and Weigle, Dr. Perdue, and Mr. Bobek, attended a closed session with Governor Vilsack last week in Davenport. Governor Vilsack discussed the need for future workforce development based on the loss of approximately 550,000 workers in the state of Iowa over the next ten years.



Director Wahlstrand reminded the Board of their upcoming discussion topic on February 20 of zero-based budgeting He reviewed the outline for this discussion and potential for future discussions.



Director Castro had the opportunity to see the balanced literacy program and spoke very positively about its implications. He congratulated Carol Webb on her grant award for the ìbest one submitted.î Director Castro also visited the BHS Language Arts Department.



Directors Castro and Arney plan to attend the IASB Legislative Conference scheduled for January 16 in Des Moines.



6.02 Breakthrough Literacy Instructional Materials.



Ms. Carol Webb, Assistant Superintendent, shared materials the district will be utilizing in the Breakthrough to Literacy Program for kindergarten, a component of the Goals 2000 K-1 literacy grant. Incorporating interactive software and printed materials (big books with coordinating little books, and 30 take-home books for each title), these materials meet the guidelines established by the K-5 Language Arts Committee for the Balanced Literacy Program.

This federal grant provides $200,000 to the school district for professional development, staff renumeration for training, guest teachers, and instructional material to support early intervention with literacy.


In addition to the initial $200,000 grant, Ms. Webb noted the district will be receiving an additional $29,000 for related materials, as the University of Iowa will be partnering with the district for research purposes on this project. The approval of instructional materials for the Balanced Literacy Program will be placed on the February 5 consent agenda.

6.03 PPEL Plan.



Mr. John Campbell, Director of Operations, reviewed the five-year projected plan for use of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL).

Mr. Bobek, Executive Director of Business Affairs, outlined the five-year projected PPEL revenues based on the current rate of 67.5 cents. Superintendent Perdue noted the expiration of the voted PPEL in 2004 and stressed the need for continuation of this funding.

He recommended staging a campaign and formation of a standing committee to increase public awareness. The Board plans to revisit this topic in September 2001.



6.04 Declining Enrollment and Elementary Neighborhood School Attendance Centers.



Director Luton facilitated the strategic discussion topic regarding declining enrollment and elementary neighborhood school attendance centers, which centered on the following key focus questions:


? What are the current enrollment trends and future projections?


? What is the districtís response planning and implications to declining enrollments?


? How are the current practices of choice and administrative transfer enrollments working among the elementary neighborhood schools?


? What impact might special programming (i.e. pilot 1-2 sections of all-day kindergarten) have on existing building enrollments?


? What planning implications does this have for developing new educational initiatives (i.e. all-day kindergarten, class size reduction, special programming)?



Superintendent Perdue shared statistical data, concluding that 70 percent of Iowaís districts reported a decrease in enrollment last year.

Bettendorf reported a 1.67 percent decrease in total student population, or a loss of 71 students/year over the past five years.

Mr. Bobek reviewed data, illustrating the impact of projected allowable growth as it relates to the current trend in declining enrollment.



Directors shared ideas to offset the trend in declining enrollment, including changing school boundary lines, paired attendance centers, and the all-day kindergarten initiative.

Principals voiced their enthusiasm for the all-day kindergarten program and agreed to make an effort to come up with funding alternatives to support it.



In summary, Superintendent Perdue and directors shared the following comments on this strategic discussion topic:


? Open enrolled students in are helping to offset decline in resident students


? Average 1.6 percent annual decline in resident students


? If declining enrollment continues at current rate, BCSD will receive only about one-half of allowable growth funding, a loss of $400,000/year


? Innovative educational programs continue to be valuable resources for choices (within Bettendorf and outside coming into BCSD, i.e. all-day kindergarten)


? Cost of initiatives? Where does the money come from?


? Proceed cautiously (i.e. all-day kindergarten)


o Consider budget issues


o Assess other innovations being discussed


o Balance parent interest with economic ability to deliver


o Phase in


? Examine other districtsí all-day kindergarten models


o Extended day options, with identification criteria


o Traditional all-day kindergarten


? Boundary changes not needed


? Examine alternate sources of funding for educational programs (i.e. all-day kindergarten)



Principal Jeff Johansen volunteered to arrange for school board members to visit schools that offer all-day options. Directors agreed to revisit this topic at their February 5 meeting.

Pending future discussions, a site visit to other schools could be scheduled. Directors expressed their appreciation to principals and staff for their continued involvement and participation in this strategic discussion.



Superintendent Perdue and directors congratulated Principal Davis Lewis and the Neil Armstrong staff on the results of their ITBS scores for 2000, indicating a considerable increase in academic achievement.



Board recessed at 9:52 p.m. and reconvened at 10:01 p.m.



Patrick VanNevel left the meeting at 10:01 p.m.



7. Action Items.



7.01 Approval of Architect for Summer Construction.



Directors reviewed contracts from Downing Architects for the high school social studies and modern language remodeling and Grant Wood Elementary renovation projects. The proposed architect construction contract is at a rate of 8 percent.



Motion by Director Castro, seconded by Director Luton, to approve the architectural proposal from Downing Architects PC for the summer construction projects as outlined in item 7.01 of the Board packet.



Ayes: 7 Directors Castro, Luton, Roski, Wahlstrand, Weigle, Anderson, Arney.
Nays: 0 Motion carried 7-0.



7.02 Open Enrollment Request Out of District.



Superintendent Perdue reviewed the open enrollment request out of the district for school year 2001/02 for Luke Anderson, grade 9, to Davenport.



Motion by Director Wahlstrand, seconded by Director Anderson, to approve the open enrollment request out of the district for school year 2001/02, for Luke Anderson, grade 9 (as of 01/02), to Davenport.

Ayes: 6 Directors Roski, Wahlstrand, Weigle, Anderson, Arney, Castro.
Nays: 1 Director Luton. Motion failed 1-6.



8. Superintendentís Report.



8.01 Communications from School Teams.

Superintendent Perdue revisited the request by Directors to receive meeting minutes from school meetings. He indicated his concern that the impact of this request may inhibit staffís ability to freely and openly discuss and share ideas. He pledged he would keep the Board informed of activities occurring within the building, but felt the request for minutes could negatively impact meeting discussions.

Director Castro expressed his interest in continuation of these communications and stated the usefulness of this tool in stimulating discussion and keeping abreast of issues.

Following discussion, the majority of directors stated they preferred to channel this information through the Superintendent, allowing him the discretion of sharing issues related to the Board.

Superintendent Perdue also invited directors to contact school principals for updates on specific topics of interest.


8.02 Community Forum, School Safety & Security, January 23, 2001.

Superintendent Perdue reviewed the format for the upcoming community forum, which will be hosted at the BHS cafeteria.

BMS Principal Rick Herrig will be the spokesperson for the district on this topic. Invitations have been sent to parents, staff, community, and media


8.03 2001/02 Projected Spending Plan.

Paul Bobek reviewed the budget planning documents, noting the elimination of a proposed new position of network manager and suggested the 0.6 elementary TAG position could be accomplished through internal staffing adjustments.

Additional revenue of $19,000 will be recovered through the Mark Twain interim principal appointment. As numbers become more definitive, Mr. Bobek will update directors.


8.04 Next Agenda Planning.

Superintendent Perdue reviewed agenda items for the upcoming February 5 meeting and future scheduling topics.

9.05 Tuesday, January 23, Community Forum on Safety & Security, 7:00 p.m., BHS Cafeteria


9.06 Thursday, January 25, Facilities Advisory Council, 5:00 p.m., RSAC


9.07 Wednesday, January 31, Schools Council, 4:00 p.m., RSAC


9.08 Monday, February 5, Board of Education, 7:00 p.m., RSAC

10. Adjournment.