PRESCOTT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1
146 South Granite Street
Prescott, Arizona 86303
February 1, 2005
Minutes of the Governing
Board Study Session of Tuesday, February 1, 2005, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
held in the District Office Board Room.
Governing Board Members
Present:
President Dee Navarro
Dr. Andy Newton
Mr. Tom Staley
Mr. Steve Campbell
Absent: Dr. Joan Fleming
Also Present:
Mr. Kevin J. Kapp,
Superintendent
Dr. Chris Reynolds,
Assistant Superintendent
Mrs. Renee Raskin,
Business Manager
Miss Justine Bunger,
Student Representative
Mrs. Andi Mayer, Assistant
to the Governing Board
Others Present:
Hilary
Eller Bruce Taylor Dan Bradstreet
Cindy
Brown Kelton Aker Bob Williams
Mike
Harlan Bill Munson Jay
Collier
Dorrean
Walker Marianne Brooks Arn Lavington
Jim
Wahlstrom Jim Williams Ed Yeager
Frank
Lawhead Joe Howard Dave Martin
CALL TO ORDER
President Andy Newton
called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
OPENING CEREMONY AND
WELCOME
President Newton welcomed
everyone and thanked those present for attending. Miss Justine Bunger led
the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
President Navarro asked
Mr. Kevin Kapp if the agenda was in order. Mr. Kapp responded that the
agenda was in order, but that presentation number three would have to be
rescheduled.
Mr. Steve Campbell moved
that the Governing Board approve the agenda as amended. Mrs. Dee Navarro
seconded the motion.
Mr. Steve Campbell voted
aye, Mrs. Dee Navarro voted aye, Mr. Tom Staley voted aye, and President
Newton voted aye. The motion carried 4-0.
PRESENTATIONS
Mr. Kevin Kapp announced
that the Board would like to honor the “We the People” sponsors and
students and introduced Mrs. Dorrean Walker and Mrs. Jeanette Brambila.
President Newton noted
that he was familiar with this project and class because his son was
involved with it and he knew the huge amount of time it took to prepare
for the competition. President Newton presented Mrs. Dorrean Walker with
a certificate of recognition.
Mrs. Walker stated that it
was the kids who did all the work and that they were amazing. She added
that she would put this class up against anyone regarding the
Constitution. She then thanked everyone who helped them prepare for the
competition.
President Newton then
presented Mrs. Jeanette Brambila with a certificate of recognition. Mrs.
Brambila stated that it was an honor and a privilege to work with these
students and Mrs. Walker.
Certificates of
recognition were then presented to the students of the “We the People”
class for winning first place at the regional competition and fourth place
at the state competition.
Mr. Kapp then presented
Mrs. Dorrean Walker with another certificate of recognition for receiving
the Jack L. Ogg Award from the Yavapai County Bar Association.
President Newton announced
that the Board would like to honor Ms. Hilary Eller on receiving the ASBA
Media Award for her accurate reporting on education. He then presented
her with the award from the ASBA.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Mr. Kapp distributed the
February calendar of events and noted that this calendar was also posted
on the district website. He noted that February 26th was the
School Fair that would take place from 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the
Gateway Mall. He noted that Mr. Jim Wahlstrom was coordinating this
event, that all schools and sites would be represented with student
performances taking place every half-hour, and that registration forms
would be available. He also noted that registration for the district
would officially begin on February 28th.
He congratulated Prescott
Mile High Middle School for officially applying for A+ Recognition with
the Department of Education. He noted that the application packet
included 34 pages. He thanked Principal Joe Howard and gave kudos to Dawn
Dodson, Tracie Yeager and Jacque Price for their work on the application
process.
Mr. Kapp distributed the
latest issue of Prescott Woman magazine with Jane Robertson on the
cover with a great article regarding being the 2004 Arizona Teacher of the
Year. He also noted that the district had advertised in this magazine for
the preschool program.
Mr. Kapp noted that this
year was the first year the district had done the big calendar and that a
solicitation letter for ads and a smaller copy of one month of the
calendar had been sent out to most of the local Prescott Chamber of
Commerce members. He stated that last year the ads had defrayed one-third
of the printing cost of the calendar and that he was hoping the ads might
cover the entire expense of printing this year.
He reported that last week
Wal-Mart had a special night and had given a $1,000 check to Chris Foster
for being Teacher of the Year for her classroom, a $500 check to Prescott
High School to use for anything, and a $1,000 check for literacy
programs. He noted that Wal-Mart had been very generous to the school
district.
Mr. Kapp reported that
regarding 100th day numbers, the process of our district giving
numbers to the state and getting them verified takes a few weeks and that
he would share those numbers with the Board at the next meeting.
Mr. Kapp reminded the
Board members of the ASBA Legislative Conference on February 9-10. He
noted that this was an opportunity for Board members to spend time with
our legislators discussing educational issues.
Mr. Kapp noted that next
week the Voting Session would be held on Thursday, February 10th
and that Dexter Family Resource Center would be hosting the meeting. He
asked Board members to arrive at 5:15 for a tour of the facilities. He
also noted that there would be an executive session posted for a personnel
matter from 4:15-5:15 that same day.
He distributed copies of
the 3” thick APS Energy Audit for Board members to review.
Mrs. Dee Navarro noted
that she’d like to keep the Board in the loop as far as PDST, that she had
spent two days with PDST down in Phoenix and was very impressed. She
stated that this team is working so hard to get professional development
in line for NCLB and Arizona Learns and that there was no wasted time.
She went on to say that this team was doing a lot of good work.
Mr. Kapp noted that the
team was comprised of 14 members and was the most diverse team in the
whole state. He stated that the team would be doing a presentation
sometime in the spring (April or May) regarding a plan for on-going
professional development that is data driven.
STUDY SESSION:
CONSIDER APPROVING A
CONTRACT FROM THE CITY OF PRESCOTT TO PURCHASE THE RIGHT-OF-WAY FROM
PRESCOTT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT ON WILLIAMSON VALLEY ROAD FOR THE ROAD
WIDENING PROJECT
Mr. Kapp asked Mr. Bill
Munson to update the Board on this item since he was the chief negotiator.
Mr. Munson reported that
the last proposal was to pay for right-of-way and certain improvements,
which did not take into consideration the effect the widening would have
on the playground. He noted that the current plan is to relocate the
playground equipment, which would enlarge the playground area and install
turf where the playground equipment would be moved from. He noted that
the on the new proposal the city has agreed to do everything we requested
and have acted in great faith.
CONSIDER APPROVING THE
LIST OF BOND PROJECTS TO BE INITIATED WITH THE FIRST DRAW OF MONEY
Mr. Kapp distributed a
revised list of bond projects to the Board for their review for
$3,667,042, which was $32,958 under the $3.7 million first draw and then
asked the principals to justify their projects.
Mr. Munson stated that the
Abia Judd roof is leaking badly, that the parking lot needs to be
completed and of the four additional classrooms, two are urgently needed.
Mrs. Navarro asked how
cost effective it would be to wait on building the other two classrooms.
Mr. Munson responded that it probably wasn’t cost effective.
Mr. Tom Staley stated that
he would like to know from Arn or the architect what the additional cost
would be.
Mr. Kapp introduced Mr.
Mike Taylor, the architect for the bond projects. Mr. Taylor responded
that it would probably cost $22,000-$45,000 more.
Mr. Staley asked, weren’t
we talking $100,000 per classroom? Mr. Munson responded, one classroom is
for special needs students, which raised the cost to $150,000 for that
classroom.
President Newton asked,
and it’s needed for the first phase? Mr. Munson responded, yes.
Mr. Kapp noted that the
other classroom is for an additional 4th grade classroom, since
we have four sections of third grade moving to three sections of fourth
grade next year.
Mrs. Navarro asked where
the extra $22,000-$45,000 would come from. Mr. Staley responded, probably
the contingency fund.
Mr. Campbell asked, and
the contingency is set at? Mr. Staley responded, 10%.
Mrs. Navarro stated that
she was concerned that the projects stay within the budget and felt this
needed to be revisited. Mr. Staley stated that he concurred.
Mr. Arn Lavington reported
that Dexter’s roof would be re-shingled with minor repairs due to leaking
problems and water damage concerns.
Mr. Staley asked if the
leakage problem was as bad as Abia Judd. Mr. Lavington responded, equal.
Mr. Mike Harlan reported
that Granite Mountain was asking for lock and door hardware replacements
at this time and was their primary concern at this point.
Mrs. Navarro asked, is it
a safety issue? Mr. Harlan responded, the locks are 30 years old and
falling off the doors.
Mr. Frank Lawhead reported
that Lincoln was having a soffit problem since they put new gutters on and
that it was a safety issue. He noted that the district doesn’t have a
lift that goes that high and that the entire area needs to be fixed.
Mr. Staley asked when the
new gutters were put on. Mr. Lawhead responded, last year.
Mr. Staley asked,
shouldn’t that be that contractor’s problem?
Mr. Lawhead responded, the
problem is not from poor workmanship. He also noted that staff cannot
lock rooms from the inside, which is also a safety concern. Mr. Kapp
added that Lincoln is on the historical register and that the soffits must
resemble the original ones.
Mr. Joe Howard reported
that Prescott Mile High was also requesting new locks because the current
locks are in bad repair.
Mr. Campbell asked, if we
hadn’t passed the bond, what would we have done with the locks? Mr.
Howard responded, building renewal money and start with the worse locks
and slowly replace.
Mr. Bob Williams reported
that prior to November and the bond, the mind set was to resurface the
existing parking lot. He stated that now Miller Valley would like to
relocate the parking lot to the True Value side instead of on Iron Springs
and use the existing parking lot for the six new classrooms.
Mr. Staley asked, with a
new parking lot on the True Value side, would you then fence off the Iron
Springs side? Mr. Williams responded that the idea was to have a fire
lane and food service truck entrance with all parents and staff entering
from the other side, which would solve a safety concern and reduce noise.
Mr. Staley asked, is their
money from the bond to resurface the grass fields? Mr. Williams
responded, we would just be shifting money.
Mrs. Navarro asked Mike
Taylor, what kind of costs for classrooms to be relocated? Mr. Taylor
responded, probably another $90,000. Mr. Williams responded that half of
the money from the grass field would cover that additional expense.
Mr. Taylor stated that the
district needed to stay within the budget and not count on the contingency
fund.
Mr. Kelton Aker reported
that the gym was the main reason the district went for the bond, which
would allow P.E. to be indoors, a breakfast program, and no more noise.
He stated that he is asking for the turn-around because the new buses
don’t fit under the awnings anymore and would solve some traffic problems
and safety issues.
Mr. Staley stated that he
was concerned that classrooms have been left off this list – should we not
build the classrooms at the same time as the gym?
President Newton asked, is
the $75,000 for a turn-around in the initial bond proposal? Mr. Aker
responded, yes.
Mr. Staley asked, by doing
these separately there would be more cost?
Mr. Taylor responded that
they are two separate projects.
Mrs. Totsy McCraley
reported that the high school is requesting new locks due to problems
securing rooms and buildings and that the high school was doing too many
lock repairs.
Mrs. Cindy Brown reported
that the transportation department’s main priority was the special needs
field trip bus.
Mr. Staley asked, the one
with a lift? Mrs. Brown responded, yes, that this bus would allow for 2-3
wheelchair students as well as the other classroom students. Mr. Kapp
added that it would allow students in wheelchairs to go on field trips
with their class.
Mr. Staley asked, what
would the capacity of this bus be? Mrs. Brown responded, 42 passengers
plus three wheelchairs.
Mr. Kapp noted that
Washington Traditional School felt their projects could wait until the
second draw.
President Newton asked,
what are the contingency, architectural and design fees for all projects?
Mr. Lavington responded,
the total architectural and engineering fees are $952,000. He noted that
the $640,000 would be for the majority of work of designs to be completed
by the five year agreement with the district.
Mr. Staley asked, when is
the contract up? Mr. Lavington responded, May of 2006.
Mr. Staley noted that
$640,000 was approximately 2/3 of the budget, yet not corresponding with
the projects being done. Mr. Lavington responded, we would be asking them
to do design of all projects equal to three-quarters of costs by May of
next year. Also, putting them out for bid would be a mad scramble. The
balance would be approximately one-quarter, which would be reserved for
project management.
Mr. Staley stated that by
May of next year we’ll have our second draw. Mr. Lavington noted that the
district would receive the second draw in July.
Mr. Staley stated that it
seemed to him the district was giving the architect two-thirds of the
money for less than two-thirds of the projects. He asked if the district
could delay some of the architectural work so we can delay some of the
payments? Mr. Lavington responded, most is for outside engineering that
he has to hire for HVACs, fire alarms – outside services for his firm,
which would make it difficult for his firm to cover those costs and maybe
have to take a loan out.
Mr. Taylor noted that this
amount was to design everything under the bond.
Mr. Campbell asked, it’s
not more expensive to break it up? Mr. Taylor responded, no.
Mr. Staley noted that
$640,000 was the second highest amount.
Mr. Taylor noted that the
goal was to be completed by next May and not lose the summer.
Mr. Staley asked, how long
will it take to do engineering and design for first draw? Mr. Taylor
responded, the gym is the biggest project – five months to complete and
have ready to bid.
Mr. Staley asked, and the
rest of the projects? He added, if we’re going to take 5-6 months to do
these projects, it seems we’re paying too much money up front for work not
yet done. Mr. Taylor responded, we will be billed incrementally.
Mrs. Navarro stated, that
would be like me not getting paid for tax returns for six months.
Mr. Lavington stated that
it would be a three month process for new RFP’s.
Mr. Staley asked, there
could be a change in the design in the middle of the project? Mr.
Lavington responded, the goal is to have all designs done, but there may
be a new project manager.
Mr. Campbell stated that
it made sense to him that we have to set aside this much money to complete
those projects.
Mr. Staley asked, what
happens if we do change from architect firm A to B and B finds flaws in
A’s work? Mr. Taylor stated that his goal was to complete and added that
his firm would help in that scenario if it was not frivolous. He added
that the district could delay projects.
Mr. Kapp noted that it
took three years to complete everything last time the district had a bond.
President Newton stated he
wished the district could do more with the first draw and thanked the
principals for paring down the list.
Mrs. Navarro thanked the
principals for clarifying the lock issue. She noted that it’s not real
visible, but the district has talked about new locks for five years, and
in the event of a lock down it could be a real safety issue. She asked if
any of this could be done out of renewal money?
Mrs. Renee Raskin
responded, that could be taken out of building renewal – we’ve received
about $700,000 and have about $200,000 left. She noted that she had
planned on using that money for additional contingency funds and emergency
projects.
Mr. Kapp clarified that he
was hearing that the priority at the Board level would be to build all
four classrooms at Abia Judd, for the administration to work with Mike
Taylor, and look at delaying projects. He stated that he would hate to
see all of the building renewal money go away, since we’re only half way
through the school year.
Mr. Staley suggested
paring down by $25,000 – use building renewal money.
Mr. Staley asked, where
was the other $500,000 spent? Mrs. Raskin responded, for emergency
projects such as the lifts at the high school auto shop needed to be
fixed, which cost about $30,000. Mr. Jay Collier noted that he had three
pages of building renewal projects that have been prioritized, such as
guttering at several locations, painting cafeteria at Abia Judd,
winterizing drinking fountains, wiring new kilns and pottery wheels,
refinishing floor at Taylor Hicks, HVAC projects throughout district,
insulating outside piping, drywall at Prescott Mile High – things
submitted by the DLT that have been prioritized. He offered to share the
list with Mr. Staley.
Mr. Staley suggested
one-third from Mike Taylor, one-third from building renewal, and one-third
from list.
President Newton asked,
when will building renewal money be received again? Mr. Kapp responded,
July 1st if approved. Mrs. Raskin noted that the district
would receive the funds in November and May and that it was based on
revenue triggers.
Mr. Campbell asked, when
not funded, what did you do? Mrs. Raskin responded, we have used sudden
growth monies.
Mr. Kapp stated that the
district would work with the architect and Mr. Collier’s list and still
try to maintain the contingency in building renewal and get that
information to the Board before the next meeting.
Mr. Campbell noted that we
do have sudden growth money based on 100th day count. Mr. Kapp
responded, yes, there is potential there.
CONSIDER APPROVING THE
PRELIMINARY MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS BUDGET LIMIT, THE CAPITAL OUTLAY
BUDGET LIMIT, AND THE SOFT CAPITAL BUDGET LIMIT
Mrs. Raskin reviewed the
budget limits with the Board and compared 40th day counts to
100th day counts. She also reminded the Board that a copy of
the budget calendar had been included in the Board Briefing.
Mr. Kapp noted that
because the district is growing, capital transfer went up by approximately
$30,000 and that he has looked at the possibility of starting to replenish
unrestricted capital.
CONSIDER APPROVING (
___________________________) AS A TRUSTEE ON OUR EMPLOYEE BENEFIT TRUST (EBT)
BOARD
Mrs. Raskin noted that one
of the trustees who had served on our Board for a very long time had
passed away and that a replacement needed to be found and that it must be
a community member.
Mr. Campbell asked how
soon a replacement needed to be named. Mrs. Raskin responded, sometimes
it’s hard to make a quorum for the meetings if one person is gone – the
sooner the better.
CONSIDER APPROVING THE
DONATION OF THE PEAK PORTABLE BUILDING ON THE YAVAPAI COLLEGE PROPERTY TO
YAVAPAI COLLEGE
Mrs. Raskin reported that
she had checked with the auditors regarding the donation of the PEAK
portable building and they had said that as long as it was advantageous to
the district, it was okay to do so. She stated that Yavapai College wants
the building and it would cost us more to move it.
Mr. Campbell noted that
Yavapai College was very generous with us regarding maintenance and
utilities.
CONSIDER APPROVING AN
OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL REQUEST FROM MR. DAN BRADSTREET FOR THE PHS BAND, AND
POSSIBLY THE STRING ORCHESTRA, TO PERFORM AT DISNEYLAND IN ANAHEIM,
CALIFORNIA, APRIL 27-30, 2005
Mr. Dan Bradstreet
announced that the String Orchestra had been approved to perform on
Thursday, with the Marching Band to perform on Friday. He noted that they
would leave after school on Wednesday, and because the prom will be held
on Saturday, they would be returning early Saturday afternoon in order for
students to attend the prom. He noted that up to 250 students may
participate, that the Band Boosters have given students ways to raise
money, and that it would not cost the district anything.
Mr. Staley suggested
spending tax credit money for this extra-curricular activity. Mr.
Bradstreet responded that tax credit donations are used to purchase very
expensive instruments.
Mr. Kapp asked if there
were any students who could not participate because they could not pay
their way? Mr. Bradstreet responded that there was always a way.
CONSIDER APPROVING AN
OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL REQUEST FOR MRS. DEE NAVARRO TO ATTEND THE NATIONAL
SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, IN APRIL
Mr. Kapp noted that with
the NSBA conference being held on the west coast this year, it was a good
opportunity to attend, since it is usually further away and cost
prohibitive. He noted that Dr. Joan Fleming’s expenses were being covered
through ASBA and that his contract allots $900 a year for out-of-state
conferences that he has never used this money in four years, and was
waiting for a conference closer to Arizona. He noted that on the NSBA
conference agenda there were over 45 workshops that were of interest to
him, many regarding professional development. He noted that Mrs.
Navarro’s request would come out of the Governing Board travel account.
Mrs. Navarro stated that
she was very interested in attending because the conference is so close.
Mr. Staley asked for the
balance of the Board travel budget. Mrs. Raskin responded that she would
have that balance at the next meeting.
CONSIDER APPROVING A
CONTRACT FROM DES (DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC SECURITY)
Mr. Kapp noted that Mary
Anne Kapp was ill and could not attend the meeting tonight. He noted that
this contract provides counseling for elementary children in the amount of
$6,000 and that Ann Sult was in charge of the program.
Mr. Staley asked, what
type of students are we looking for here? Mr. Bob Williams responded,
violence prevention, getting along for 2-4 year olds.
Mr. Staley asked,
behavioral type counseling? Mr. Williams responded, yes – getting along
in a large setting.
Mr. Kapp noted that this
was done through teacher and behavioral referrals with parent approval.
He added that the district selects the students and DES provides the
services. He noted that Mrs. Kapp would be available at the voting
session to answer any further questions.
CONSIDER APPROVING THE
RECEIPT OF A MINI-GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,000 FROM THE EDUCATION
FOUNDATION OF YAVAPAI COUNTY TO PRESCOTT HIGH SCHOOL THROUGH MRS. CHERYL
MORAN
Mr. Kapp noted that this
grant would be used to continue the mural project at Prescott High School,
which would depict the history of Prescott, that the grant would pay for
the materials, and that the students have already started working on the
project.
Mr. Tom Staley noted that
the total cost would be $4,250 and that the grant is for $1,000. Mrs.
Totsy McCraley noted that the other money would be coming from the Art
Club that students have raised for their community project to the school.
She noted that benches would be installed facing out into the quad area.
Mr. Staley asked what was
the cost of the first murals? Mrs. McCraley stated that she would have to
check on that amount.
Mr. Staley stated that he
would be interested in comparing the cost of the first murals with the
second mural project.
Mr. Campbell asked, this
would be 10 additional murals? Mrs. McCraley responded, 8 new murals,
which is a project to try to beautify the front of the campus.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE
CONSENT AGENDA:
CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF
CERTIFIED AND CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL ACTIONS AS REQUESTED
CONSIDER ACCEPTING THE
DONATIONS AS PRESENTED
CONSIDER RATIFYING THE
VOUCHERS AS PRESENTED
CONSIDER THE APPROVAL
OF THE AUXILIARY OPERATIONS AND STUDENT ACTIVITIES FUND STATEMENT OF
RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2004
CONSIDER THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS
MINUTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND STUDY SESSION OF JANUARY 4, 2005,
AND THE EXECUTIVE AND VOTING SESSION OF JANUARY 11, 2005
ADJOURNMENT
Hearing no objection,
President Newton adjourned the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
___________________________________
|