Bettendorf School Board meeting 6.2.2003

Residents address board on support/concerns about balanced (year round) school calendar.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS BETTENDORF COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BETTENDORF, IOWA

Unofficial Minutes of the June 2, 2003, Regular Meeting (Pending Board Approval)

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 Board meeting at the Ray Stensvad Administration Center, 3311 Central Avenue, Bettendorf, Iowa, on June 2, 2003. President Roski called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and the Board 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, Castro, Crockett, Luton, Mayer, Roski, Weigle. Members absent: None. Other officials present: John Perdue, Superintendent; Carol Webb, Assistant Superintendent; Maxine McEnany, Director of Financial and Business Services; Celeste Reuter, Director of Communications; John Campbell, Director of Operations; Jeff Ehrmann, Board Treasurer; Dana Vavroch, BEA Representative; Lucy Colville and Tim Holmes, Student Representatives; Lynne Lindstrom, Board Secretary.

2. Agenda Approval.

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

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

3. Comments and Suggestions from Audience. 1. 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.

3.02 Balanced Calendar Informational & Public Comment Session. President Roski welcomed those in attendance for the balanced calendar informational session and stated the Boardís interest in eliciting input from parents, community, and staff. She invited any member of the audience to step to the microphone with comments about the balanced calendar proposal.

David Quillen, 4635 E. 48th Place, Davenport, stated the balanced calendar is a difficult decision and questions have not been answered. He expressed concerned for budgetary implications and indicated very few schools in the nation have made the transition to a balanced calendar. He feels there are numerous impacts with a decision of this nature and encouraged a factual informational brochure be developed. He questioned if the school board answers to the pubic or administration.

Joyce Nuernberger, 2019 St. Andrews Circle, Bettendorf, voiced concern, stating the data from Neil Armstrong is not necessarily representative of the entire district and suggested other curriculum changes also brought about increased test scores. She believes summer activities for children would be impacted, i.e. camps, family reunions, etc., and would like to have the choice. She suggested alternatives to the balanced calendar, such as pullout educational sessions and remediation sessions in July and August before the school year begin. She recommended the community be surveyed and overwhelming support be required if it is to be successful.

Susan Marty, 1407 Old Freeport Place, Bettendorf, stated she was a Neil Armstrong parent and experienced the balanced calendar for five years and found it to be a wonderful experience. She said the Neil Armstrong community supports it, faculty is enthusiastic, and there is involvement and choice. Her children enjoyed the intersessions, mixing with students of other ages and creating a sense of community within the school. It also provided families an alternative vacation schedule. In conclusion, she stated she is happy they have had theexperience.

Ralph Henninger, 604 River Drive, Bettendorf, expressed appreciation to the Board for their sincere efforts to be innovative, but didnít think the balanced calendar is a concept Bettendorf should adopt. His concerns included increased costs, affect on athletic teams and after- school programs, and cutting into summer family time. He believes to make intersessions appealing, it would be expensive and require commitment from the teachers. He felt it would be easier to implement at the lower grades than upper grades. He asked the Board to consider other ways to address the No Child Left Behind requirement.

Judy Davidson, 3644 Deer Ridge Court, Bettendorf, spoke out in opposition of the balanced calendar, listing a website which contains hundreds of schools who have tried this and failed. Her main concerns centered around athletics and difficulty in getting family breaks, visiting family who are on a different calendar, cost of $720 for three children to attend all intersessions, climate in Iowa not conducive to balanced calendar, inability to attend summer camps offered in August, athletic scholarships hindered. She stated she was not interested in her children being in a ìtrialî group. She indicated her children attend Lourdes Catholic School, and when Pleasant Valley did their survey, they were not given the opportunity to respond, yet they are bound by the public busing.

Don Evans, 2909 Olympia Drive, expressed concern relative to the discrepancy that a shorter break from school provides better retention, which he felt is in direct conflict with the concept of block schedule. As an example, he stated his child may take German one semester and then not be able to enroll in the subsequent class until the following year. He mentioned the Rock Islandís balanced calendar, which was implemented in 1991 but went district-wide two years ago. He questioned why they would not have data at this point. He stated this concept may work at the elementary level but did not feel the balanced calendar prepared high school students for their college schedule or the working world, where there are no two-week breaks every nine weeks.

Scott Tunnicliff, 718 Holmes Street, Bettendorf, commended the district for responding to the widespread interest in the community for a balanced calendar. He did not feel this would be a significant change and would allow for an 8-week summer break and three 2-week breaks. He stated Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley are amongst the best in Iowa and the best in the nation. He is proud Bettendorf is looking at continual improvement and something new and believes change is positive.

Sharon Sanyi, 1700 Queens Drive, Bettendorf, expressed her interest in a quality education for her children. She questioned why the district would be looking at a balanced calendar when the block schedule allows for 12 months between a Spanish and/or math class, stating this is not a consistent message. She asked the Board to listen to the voices before making a decision on the balanced calendar.

John Heiderscheit, 2133 St. Andrews Circle, Bettendorf, requested the Board review the textbook issue when considering funding issues, stating his daughter does not have a science textbook and needs to check one out when needed. He stated none of the top schools in the nation are considering a balanced calendar, as they know this is a bad idea.

David Rash, 4650 Stonehaven Court, Bettendorf, stated his children experienced the balanced calendar in Colorado because their school was growing so rapidly. He expressed passionate support for the balanced calendar for educational reasons and travel flexibility, and would like to see it geared even more to the ìyear roundî concept.

Angela Flynn, 1415 Antler Court, Bettendorf, stated her support for the full-day intersessions. Her children attend Neil Armstrong and she supports a district-wide conversion. She stated athletic practices traditionally occur over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, and this would not change. She believes parents still will find time to take their children to relatives and go on vacations. She also discussed the Neil Armstrong student population of 60 percent on free/reduced lunch. These students typically are not high performers, but at Neil Armstrong they are achieving and leave the program with something they didnít have before.

Michelle Dunlay, 2580 Lindenwood, Bettendorf, stated she has six children in the school district and as these students get older it is harder to find family time. She feels a lot of important learning occurs during the summer months when children are in their neighborhoods, on vacations, and with their family. She discussed the multi-age program, which was implemented at Paul Norton. Her son participated and then when it didnít work, the transition back was difficult. She does not want her children to be used as numbers in a test groups with the balanced calendar. Rather than spending more money on a new program, she recommended science books be purchased, reinstitution of the piano program which is being eliminated, implementation of more breakout sessions to reduce class size. She also expressed concern for handicapped children and their ability to take advantage of intersessions

Aude Wackal, 4615 Apple Valley Drive, Bettendorf, spoke out in support of the balanced calendar. She stated her family will make the change because she feels it is best for her children and offers them opportunities, such as a foreign language class. She believes parents will find time in the 8 weeks to take vacations and funds for intersessions. She asked the Board to listen to everyone.

Maggie Hunt, 3920 East Harbor Drive, Davenport, stated she has three children who are open enrolled and does not support the balanced calendar. She stated the grades at BHS have improved with the block schedule and asked why schools that have tried the balanced calendar go back to the traditional calendar. She challenged the Board to look at more fundamental things, such as textbooks and complimented the district on their core reading program and the compacting at Grant Wood. She encouraged the Board to look at alternative ways of enrichment and remediation with intersessions during the summer months. She stated that all children are different, and we need to accommodate their needs.

Donna Schoening, 2465 Chesterfield Drive, Bettendorf, expressed difficulty in scheduling a summer vacation with a balanced calendar and a student who plays baseball. She believes her children have done well with the traditional calendar. She asked the Board to consider all of the community before making a decision.

Susan Chesley, 2601 Chesterfield Drive, Bettendorf, thanked parents for coming forward and voicing their opinion. She indicated she is still uncertain as to how she feels about a balanced calendar. She expressed concern about the parents who did not come and encouraged those in attendance to talk with their neighbors and other parents and impress upon them the importance of their voice on this issue.

Deb Slifka, 1579 Berryfield Court, Bettendorf, commended the parents who were in attendance and expressed concern for the children whose parents were not present and the need many of those students may have for a balanced calendar. She stated it was important to keep an open mind and look at what is best for the child. She believes people will still make time for family and work around the schedules. .

Ann Raymon, 4438 Valley Brook Drive, Bettendorf, expressed her opinion that the balanced calendar adoption is being based primarily on Neil Armstrongís experiences. She believes other factors entered into Neil Armstrongís success and suggested the school district pursue various options to improve performance. She shared informational articles regarding the modified calendar for the Boardís review. She supports a community vote, and inclusion of preschool parents. She is concerned about costs associated with the balanced calendar and suggested the district may be able to get start-up funding but then in future years it would be the responsibility of the community.

Peter Sickels, 4814 Amesbury Court, Bettendorf, commented on the high parental turnout and was appreciative of the Board for raising the issues. He asked the Board to look at alternative ways in which to increase the depth and breadth of the curriculum.

Katherine Manley-Buser, 1004 Grant Street, Bettendorf, addressed concerns related to financial costs and questioned whether these costs outweigh the academic achievement results. She is employed at Palmer College, where they have a year-round curriculum, however, believes students and instructors need the down time. With increased budgetary constraints, she voiced concerns for funding of balanced calendar expenses .

Barbara Keleher, 3940 Apsen Hills Drive, Bettendorf, stated she is employed by the US Army and our country is fighting for democratic freedom and as a democratic nation we have the right to vote. She suggested the Board allow the community an opportunity to vote on this important issue as well. As a parent, she stated she should have a voice in her childís education.

Jane Haedt, 5017 Turnberry Lane, Davenport, stated a lot of her concern had already been expressed but still feels there are some underlying issues which need to be addressed. She suggested alternatives to assist those children in need without affecting the entire district. She stated the balanced calendar is not a new idea and has been tried and failed at many schools. She didnít feel the middle school and high school would benefit academically and has concern for taxpayers if this is tried and fails and costs associated. She expressed her pride in the Bettendorf school system and is pleased with the success of the core reading program and the ability to offer the option of a balanced calendar at Neil Armstrong, but does not support the district wide balanced calendar concept.

Lou Drifz, 3826 Brookwood Lane, Bettendorf, commented on the success at Neil Armstrong and the huge support from the teachers and parents. She suggested that if the modified calendar is not supported as strongly at other schools it will not be as successful as Neil Armstrong has been.

Sharon Medd, 2102 Fairmeadows Drive, Bettendorf, stated the more she hears the more questions she has on the balanced calendar. She expressed concerned for childrenís health and their immune system, stating children need the sunlight and vitamin D. She voiced concerned for intersessions costs and suggested the district look at programs similar to the core reading program and provide textbooks as fundamentals to improve achievement. She recommended the Board allow the community to vote because community support is vital to the success of the balanced calendar.

Barbara Keleher, 3940 Aspen Hills Drive, stated she has attended several of the year-end awards banquets and in the history of Bettendorf, this is the first year that all athletes made the honor roll. She suggested the Board give block scheduling a chance before making another significant change, as she believes it is making a difference.

Sheri Lay, 1717 Monterey Court, Bettendorf, spoke out in opposition of the balanced calendar on behalf of her handicapped child. She stated he needs the time away from school in the summer and would be unbelievably stressed by the change to a balanced calendar. In addition, she expressed concern for funding, scheduling conflicts, and family time.

Colleen Keleher, 3940 Aspen Hills Drive, Bettendorf, indicated she is a freshman at BHS and believes the balanced calendar would be a mistake for the reasons of athletic schedules, summer jobs, and summer camps. Rather than changing the calendar, she suggested course changes to better meet the studentís needs and prepare them for college. She also stated she cherishes her summer break.

On behalf of the Board, President Roski thanked those who took the time to come and express their comments, questions, and concerns. The comments will be compiled and reviewed by the Board and Administration. She asked the audience to continue to call, write and/or e-mail Board members with their concerns, suggestions, and ideas.

Superintendent Perdue reiterated that no decisions have been made on this initiative, and the Board is seeking information and input. He stated schools can be no better than the participation of the community and the district certainly does not want to do anything to negatively impact children. The School Improvement Team will continue to investigate and gather information over the summer months on the balanced calendar concept.

4. Commendations. 4.01 The Bettendorf High School Co-op Class of 2003 honored their employers at the annual Employer/Employee Breakfast on Wednesday, May 7, at the Lodge in Bettendorf. The Co-op Business Professionals are senior students who are receiving classroom computer and on-the-job intern experience in local businesses. Students work at least 15 hours a week in a variety of career interests such as Business/Marketing, Computers, Retail & Customer Service, Education &Child Development, Family/Consumer Science, Food, Health, Trades & Industries, and Drafting. Students and their employers are as follows: Ashley Ahrens, Staples; Ashley Badtram, New Choices; Alicia Brimeyer, Burkeís Cleaners; Amber Brimeyer, Burkeís Cleaners; Mark Carstens, UPS; Christine Clarahan, BHS Activities; Aaron Edmark, Hy-Vee; Andrew Eline, Wynn Elliott, Subway; Ashley Garnaas, Hoover School; Rachel Greve, APAC; Dan Haacke, National Amusements; Todd Hains, Rock Island Corps of Engineers; Kristine Halverson, BHS Guidance; Amber Holst, Hy- Vee; Amanda Hudson, Lee Enterprises; John Kelly, K & K; Mike Klocke, Borderís Books; Chris Lorenzen, Texas Roadhouse; Jordan McElmeel, Hy- Vee; Jenna Morehouse, William Wesley Salon; Sara Nicks, Hot Topic; Kelsy Noble, Bettendorf Financial Group; Allison Park, Mark Twain School; Christine Patton, Davenport Fire Department Credit Union; Lanesiua Penny-Austin, APAC; Jena Shaffer, Paul Norton School; Brynn Snyder, Group Services; Amber Starrine, Armstrong School; Corey Stradt, Fed Ex; Nick Thul, Hy-Vee; Joe Urmy, BHS Library/Media; Jenny Westmorland, Los Amigos; Katie Williams, Wagschal Furniture. 4.02 Congratulations to Michelle Worley and Alvin Vesey, who were selected as Female and Male Athlete of the Year at the All Sports Banquet. Scholarship winners for the Chuck Nolting Scholarship were Karissa Lohf and Brad Cook, winnder of the Golden Bulldog scholarship were Kristi Downs and Shaun Skahill. 4.03 A special thank you is extended to the members of the Facilities Advisory Council for serving as an advisory council to the Board of Education, making recommendations over the past three years for the use of funds from the Local Option Sales and Service Tax. Members of the Council are Jimmy Casas, Rick Herrig, Kevin Hatfield, Jerry Fagle, Caroline Olson, Julie Duffin, Bonnie Fisher, Jeff Johannsen, John Campbell, Scott Christensen, Ted Thompson, John Miller, Chris Iossi, Diane Bodnar, Carol Ewen, Robin Olson, Candy Egger, Kathy Lowry, Ellen Parker, Jeff Ehrmann, Stan Kabat, Tim Brown, Terri Russell, Diane Overstreet, Jerry Sechser and Herb Goettsch.

Tim Holmes, Student Representative, left the meeting at 8:30 p.m.

5. Consent Agenda.

Director Castro requested a change to the May 19, 2003, Regular Board Meeting Minutes, under item #6.01 Shared Communications, to include the quotes from each article. This change will be reflected as follows:

Director Castro shared the following two articles from the American School Board Association Journal, including the quotes as listed:

ìSchool Neglects Writing, Commission Chargesî The following quotes were shared: ìState and local curriculum guidelines should require writing in every curriculum at all grade levels. The report argues that writing has been neglected by the school reform movement, with the results that students have poor writing skills.î

ìTextbook Censorship: Extensive and Perniciousî The following quotes were shared: ìA mother cannot be portrayed as bringing lunch to the father working on a house roof. That would support gender stereotypes. It is the mother who must be shown working on the roof, for example. Weíre seeing a sanitizing, dumbing down, and falsification of textbooks. States like Texas and California purchase so many books that publishers learned itís simply good business to avoid conflict by meeting the demands of pressure groups. Meanwhile, stripping controversy from history textbooks and tests sometimes distorts the facts. Ravitch recalls one treatment of the late Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung that described him as a friendly, inclusive leader who listened to the people, cut taxes, reduced inflation, built roads, schools, and hospital. The fact that Maoís policy led to the death of millions was never mentioned.î

Director Castro asked Board members to be aware of current trends and movements in education around the nation.

Rich Reyseck, Story Construction, distributed a request for proposal summary on air conditioning the Career Education room at BMS, as it is the only remaining room that is not air conditioned. Total cost for the project equals $24,954.05, with contingency funds covering this expense. The Board concurred with the recommendation. Mr. Reyseck clarified that all change orders exceeding $5,000 will be presented to the Board for approval and anything less than $5,000, the Superintendent is authorized to approve.

Motion by Director Weigle, seconded by Director Luton, to approve the consent agenda as amended.

Ayes: 6 Directors Castro, Crockett, Luton, Roski, Weigle, Anderson. Nays: 0 Abstained: 1 Director Mayer. Motion carried 6-0-1.

5.01 Approval of May 19, 2003 Special Meeting Minutes. 5.02 Approval of May 19, 2003 Regular Board Meeting Minutes. 5.03 Approval of Monthly Financial Reports: 5.04 Approval of June 2, 2003 Bills Recommended for Payment. 5.05 Approval of Administrative Recommendations--Personnel. Administrative Approval to Hire Joy Kelly/BHS/Associate Principal/1.0 FTE/$77,074/Replacing Greg Meyer/Effective July 1, 2003 Administrative Contract Modification Linda Goff/BMS/Associate Principal/Adjustment of base salary from $67,640 to $77,074/Effective 7/1/03 Certified Approval to Hire Jennifer Flug/BHS/Spanish Instructor/.50 FTE/BA, 4/$14,986/Replacing Julia Carter/Effective 2003-2004 Certified Contract Modification Mary Decker/MT & HH/Music, Vocal/Increase from .7 FTE to .80 FTE/ Replacing Suzanne Nolting/Effective 2003-2004 school year Marilee Weigle/MT & BHS/Music, Vocal/Increase from .83 FTE to .90 FTE/Replacing Suzanne Nolting/Effective 2003-2004 school year Diane McAnally/HH/Special Education, Resource/Increase from .50 FTE to .66 FTE/Increase in Program/Effective 2003-2004 school year Certified Transfer Katy Wehr/HH/Transfer from 5th grade to 1st grade/Replacing Kathleen Schroeder/Effective 2003-2004 school year Certified Resignations Kim Scheerer/NA/2nd Grade Core/0.5 FTE/Effective end of 2002-2003 school year Michelle Hudson/GW/1st Grade/1.0 FTE/Effective end of 2002-2003 school year Schedule D Approval to Hire Mark Kuntz/BMS/Team Leader, 6th Grade House/$2091/Replacing Beverly Foley/Effective 2003-2004 school year Jennifer McNab/BMS/Team Leader, 7th Grade House/$2091/Replacing Gerald Phillips/Effective 2003-2004 school year Ruth Senneff/BMS/Team Leader, 7th Grade House/$2091/Replacing Bob Walker/Effective 2003-2004 school year Mick McVey/BMS/Team Leader, 8th Grade House/$2091/Replacing Susan Castro/Effective 2003-2004 school year Terry Gindlesparger/BMS/Team Leader, 8th Grade House/$2091/ Replacing Greg Bouljon/Effective 2003-2004 school year Jeff Winter/BMS/Team Leader, House 4/$2091/Replacing Greg Bouljon/ Effective 2003-2004 school year Schedule D Resignation Kathleen Whitty/MT/Teacher Assistance Team/Effective end of 2002-2003 school year Ben Driscoll/MT/5th Grade Intra-Extramural Coach/Effective end of 2002-2003 school year Classified ñ Reduction in Force Gwen Garrity/GW/Para Educator B/Position changed due to Special Education student count/Effective 6/18/03 Carol Keller/NA/Para Educator A/Position eliminated due to revised staffing plan and student weighted count/Effective 6/18/03 Classified ñ Resignation Jennifer Deters/BHS/Food Service Part-time/Effective 6/3/03 Elizabeth MacKenzie/BHS/Secretary B/Effective 6/3/03 Amy Osborne-Schebler/HH/Para Educator B/6.5 hour per week homebound student position only/Effective 6/3/03 Diane Rosenberg/PN/Para Educator B/Effective 6/3/03 Lori Shepard/GW/Para Educator B/Effective 6/3/03 Classified - Letter of Assignment Modification Christine Johnson/RSAC/ Purchasing/Payroll Accountant/From 5.9 to 6.0 hours per day/$13.53 per hour/Re-alignment of department responsibilities/Effective 6/1/03 Robert Ogan/RSAC/From Network Administrator/Computer Technician to Network Administrator/Systems Technician/$43,771.20 annual salary/Re- alignment of department responsibilities/Effective 7/1/03 Victoria Raychel-Swank/BMS/Para Educator B/$9.65/From 6.5 to 6.75 hours per day/Due to IEP changes/Effective 2003/2004 school year 5.06 Approval of Construction Contracts and Changes. 5.07 Approval of Requests for Open Enrollment.

Into Bettendorf, 2002/03

Jacob Smith, grade 1, from Pleasant Valley, continuation due to change of residence Shawn Werlein, grade 3, from Pleasant Valley, continuation due to change of residence

Into Bettendorf, 2003/04

Bethany Grams, grade 9 (as of 2003/04), from Pleasant Valley, good cause due to change of residence Samuel Hall, kindergarten (as of 2003/04), from Davenport Madison Preisser, kindergarten (as of 2003/04), from Davenport For information only. The following students have open enrolled out of the Bettendorf Community School District: Out of Bettendorf, 2002/03 Andrea Oake, grade 6, to Davenport, continuation due to change of residence Karey Sierra, grade 8, to Davenport, continuation due to change of residence

Out of Bettendorf, 2003/04

Melissa Morse, grade 9 (as of 2003/04), from Pleasant Valley, good cause due to change of residence

6. Discussion Items.

Shared Communications.

President Roski thanked Director Crockett for giving the graduation address on Sunday, June 1. She also recognized the efforts of Principal Casas and his staff in making this a wonderful event for students and their families. Director Luton commented on the outstanding saxophone performance by Evan Smith.

President Roski welcomed the two new Student Council student representatives, Lucy Colville and Tim Holmes.

Director Castro recently attended the Band Boosters Award Banquet and the All Sports Banquet, where he was the guest speaker and gave a talk on patriotism. He thanked Beth Reckman for giving him the opportunity to speak at this banquet.

Director Weigle attended the Drama Banquet and commented on what a nice job the students do in planning this event in recognition of the drama students.

Balanced Calendar Update.

Ted Thompson, BMS Athletic Director, shared results of a recent survey from high school and middle school coaches. BMS coaches voted 12 to 3 in favor of the balanced calendar and BHS coaches opposed the calendar 12 to 8. He shared the following survey comments: may cause a decline in students going out for sports; sports will overlap with intersessions, holding students attention before breaks may be a problem; soccer teams may have more kids taken out of school; may affect enrollment; with vacations and practices, there may be less off time for kids who go out for sports; coaches may demand more practice time during breaks; concern for the football two practices per day; continuity of the sport season broken; gym space problematic with camp schedules; loss of time for summer camps and fitness; decreased earnings for students with summer jobs; coaches concerned about their summer employment and continuing education; concerned about extra practices during intersessions; transportation issues for freshman athletes; if students donít have school they tend to stay up later, which would negatively impact athletic training; MAC schedule would need to be adjusted. Overall, Mr. Thompson indicated the BMS coaches believe this would improve studentsí academic performance; however BHS coaches didnít think high school students would take advantage of the intersessions.

Dave Curlott, BHS Mathematics Department, discussed the opportunities for remediation and grade improvement during intersessions at the high school, while indicating it could be a challenge to attract high school students. Mr. Curlott shared information from a national conference on the balanced calendar concept, stating most high schools on the balanced calendar strongly support intersessions and would not consider the calendar without them. Additionally, he reported that in schools that have implemented this calendar, communities have become more creative with their hiring practices as it relates to school breaks and the community as a whole adapts to change. Another consideration discussed was college start dates, and Carol Webb reported numerous colleges are offering choices for condensed classes.

Lucy Colville, Student Representative, commented on the value of intersessions for remediation, yet questioned whether students would be likely to attend. Mr. Curlott indicated an incentive may be helpful in this regard.

Mrs. Webb indicated the staff survey had been distributed and is due back June 3. Superintendent Perdue recommended a parental survey and the Board discussed costs, response rate, interpretation of data, timing, including Lourdesí families and possibly a community sampling as well. In conclusion, the Board indicated an interest in pursuing a survey in the fall during school registration, allowing the School Improvement work group an opportunity to further study issues of concern and formalize a plan during the summer months.

Jane Haedt, 5017 Turnberry Lane, Davenport, suggested there are still many unanswered questions which need to be addressed.

Sharon Medd, 2102 Fairmeadows Drive, Bettendorf, agreed with administering the survey at registration, as well as having the community surveyed.

Barbara Keleher, 3940 Aspen Hills Drive, Bettendorf,, stated her support for a survey and prefer it be soon. She stated her belief that the school board may not have a true understanding of what the concerns are, and believes the survey could assist with this aspect.

Angela Flynn, 1415 Antler Court, Bettendorf,