PRESCOTT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1
146 South Granite Street
Prescott, Arizona 86303
September 7, 2004
Minutes of the Governing
Board Study Session of Tuesday, September 7, 2004, beginning at 5:00 p.m.
held in the District Office Board Room.
Governing Board Members
Present:
President Dee Navarro
Mr. Steve Campbell
Dr. Joan Fleming
Dr. Andy Newton
Absent:
Mr. Gordon Maddux
Also Present:
Mr. Kevin J. Kapp,
Superintendent
Dr. Chris Reynolds,
Assistant Superintendent
Mrs. Renee Raskin,
Business Manager
Mrs. Andi Mayer, Assistant
to the Governing Board
Others Present:
Jim
Williams Ed Yeager Jay Collier
Don
German Totsy McCraley Chris Reynolds
Kelton
Aker Rachelle Bump Frank Lawhead
Joe
Howard Mary Anne Kapp Dave Peterson
Arn
Lavington Bob Williams Dorrean Walker
Bill
Monroe Marianne Brooks Bruce Taylor
Karen
Dumoch Diane DeLong Judy Paris
Beth Kaper
CALL TO ORDER
President Dee Navarro
called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
OPENING CEREMONY AND
WELCOME
President Navarro 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 it
was.
Dr. Joan Fleming moved
that the Governing Board approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Steve
Campbell seconded the motion.
Dr. Andy Newton voted aye,
Mr. Steve Campbell voted aye, Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye and President
Navarro voted aye. The motion carried 4-0.
PRESENTATIONS
Mr. Kevin Kapp did an
overhead projector presentation on Spring 2004 Stanford 9 and AIMS test
scores and reviewed the results with the Board. (Graphs available upon
request.)
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Mr. Kapp reviewed the
current enrollment numbers with the Board and noted that the district is
up by 137 students (2.6 % growth) and that this number will fluctuate a
little more in September, before stabilizing in October.
He reminded Board members
of the ASBA Law Conference at the end of the week and asked for an
executive session prior to the Voting Session next week to review goals.
He distributed copies of
the DLT September Calendar of events and noted that there is a lot going
on at all of the schools.
STUDY SESSION:
CONSIDER ADOPTING THE
“CHOOSING THE BEST” CURRICULUM AND MATERIALS FOR SEX EDUCATION INSTRUCTION
AT PRESCOTT MILE HIGH MIDDLE SCHOOL AND GRANITE MOUNTAIN MIDDLE SCHOOL
Mr.
Kevin Kapp noted that this was the curriculum that has been on preview at
the district office for the last 120 days and would be implemented by
Karen Dumoch, Diane DeLong and Dave Peterson.
Mrs. Totsy McCraley noted that the high school has been advertising for a
male sex education teacher, but has not found anyone at this time. She
noted that the district would be using Mr. Dave Peterson who teaches this
curriculum for TAPP and has taught sex education for the district in the
past on a part-time basis. She noted that this curriculum focuses on
abstinence only at grades 6, 7, 8.
CONSIDER APPROVING A 20%
“BUY-OUT” PROGRAM FOR QUALIFYING PARTICIPANTS WITHIN APPROVED PARAMETERS
FOR THE 2004-2005 SCHOOL YEAR
Mrs. Dorrean Walker addressed the Governing Board and stated that the PEA
strongly supported this proposal. She noted that this give employees a
chance to plan ahead for their retirement and that she would like to see
it become a regular employee benefit, as long as it is still beneficial to
the district.
Mr.
Steve Campbell stated that he thought at the retreat the district was
going to consider offering this annually. Dr. Chris Reynolds responded
that the district was asking for it for this year and would be asking for
it to become a benefit, which would mean a change of policy. He noted
that the Board could word the motion however they wanted.
Miss Justine Bunger asked what the buy-out program was. Dr. Reynolds
responded that it allows employees who have been with the district for a
certain amount of time to retire and receive 20% of their salary as a
bonus when they leave.
He
noted that the parameters were consistent with what the district has done
the last three years and that the district realized about $20,000 in
overflow savings after the buy-out last year. He noted that it’s a great
benefit for employees and the district. He stated that one of the
parameters that did change was that an employee must declare their intent
in the fall, before Christmas, with the list being approved in January in
order for the district to begin posting positions.
CONSIDER APPROVING THE
LIST OF QUALIFIED EVALUATORS FOR THE 2004=2005 SCHOOL YEAR
Dr.
Reynolds noted that this was the list of qualified evaluators that must be
approved by the Board annually and noted that all have taken Level I and
II training.
CONSIDER APPROVING A
MARKETING BUDGET OF $75,000 FOR 2004-2005 AND FUTURE YEARS
Mr.
Kapp noted that this was discussed at length at the retreat and that he
was open for questions or comments. He noted that the marketing budget
was not funded out of M & O and that a quarterly budget report would be
presented to the Board in the future.
Dr.
Andy Newton asked how large the Civic Center fund was. Mr. Kapp responded
that it has received approximately $70,000 - $80,000 a year and noted that
only a portion of the marketing budget would be funded from Civic Center,
with the balance coming from the food service program.
Mr.
Campbell stated that he felt this was a good budget but that the district
needed to live within it the next few years and that it should not be over
spent.
Mr.
Kapp stated that he felt that was a good point and noted that he had
recently met with Abbie Roses and Mary Jo Kirk to analyze the budget. He
reported that the movie theater advertising would not be continued and
that the brochures are now pretty much paid for by sponsors and tax credit
monies.
Dr.
Fleming stated that the Board was not aware that the budget had been over
spent until the retreat and that she also expected marketing to stay
within the budget limits.
Mr.
Kapp noted that part of that over expenditure was from promoting programs
such as the preschools and Kids & Co. that don’t have any kind of budget
for marketing and that they would not be able to help them in the future.
President Navarro stated that she thought the district would not be using
the food service budget to fund marketing every year. Mr. Kapp responded
that he would be concerned if food service’s revenue dropped. He reported
that the food service budget was up this year and that Mr. Wahlstrom felt
comfortable using some of those funds for marketing. He also noted that
if the food service budget were to drop, then adjustments would have to be
made in the marketing budget.
President Navarro commented that the district needed to reallocate those
funds from somewhere else.
Mr.
Campbell noted that it would be wise to establish the marketing budget
beforehand and if something were to happen, the district could then reduce
the marketing budget so we don’t deplete either one of the other accounts.
Mr.
Kapp suggested looking at 3-4 years of history for those two accounts and
doing a projection budget.
President Navarro noted that the motion read, “and future years.” Mr.
Campbell stated that that the Board should only approve it for this year –
one year at a time.
President Navarro suggested having a budget presentation every year.
Dr.
Andy Newton asked if our district had looked at how much similar sized
districts used for marketing. Mr. Kapp responded that Mesa spends
$300,000 - $400,000 a year out of M & O with a full-time staff member,
while there are some districts that don’t do it at all. He noted that the
amounts spent by other district were all over the place, but that it is
more common in metro than rural districts. He stated that one of the
dilemmas of marketing is that if you sign contracts in the spring,
sometimes you can get some big discounts. He stated that the only other
funding he could think of would be sudden growth monies.
Dr.
Fleming suggested talking about it again in the spring to see what has
happened this year.
CONSIDER APPROVING AN
EXPENDITURE OF $5,000 FROM 2004-2005 CURRENT YEAR GROWTH MONIES TO
PURCHASE 20 SITE LICENSES FOR STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE VIRTUAL
LEARNING ACADEMY PROGRAM
Mr.
Kapp did a PowerPoint presentation and thanked Mr. Buddy Habeck for
putting it together. He reported that Virtual Learning Academy was 100%
aligned to Arizona academic standards, that ASA has endorsed this program
and that VLA is just one small piece of this program to attract high
school students through an on-line approach. He noted that the district
would recommend this program for students not already in the system, such
as home school students. There is a required financial deposit of $220
that is returned when the student finishes the coursework. He noted that
the district would receive ADM and would have to pay for materials and a
stipend for the mentors. He noted that the district would have to work
with those families that could not afford the deposit. The mentor
teachers must be certified in the specific areas. He noted that the
district might use the PEAK program as a host that would provide the
computer hook-ups. Students must take assessments every 2-3 weeks with a
final assessment to complete the class. The classes are open entry/open
exit and would meet ADM requirements. He stated that this program would
allow the district to work with the families as much as possible and that
students must still take the AIMS test. The cost would be $220 per
student with unlimited access to 25 courses. He added that the district
must provide professional training and would probably use the train the
trainer approach. He noted that the cost would increase to $255 after
October. He noted that the $5,000 would process 20 site licenses.
The
goal for 2004-2005 would be to enroll 20 new students with the focus on
the high school level, which would generate $50,000 in new revenue. The
following year the district could apply as an official distance site, open
the door for 100 students and use that money to open Center Point. In
2006-2007, continue program and expand Center Point, create a Virtual High
School with approximately 250 students, and provide expanded AP and honors
opportunities. He noted that the only drawback would be that once the
district has 1900 students two years in a row, it would become a 5A
school.
President Navarro asked if this program was for high school students
only. Mr. Kapp responded, yes, but they are developing a program for the
middle school level.
Mr.
Campbell stated that it could be another opportunity for students to
increase their skills for the AIMS test.
President Navarro asked if the district was comfortable in obtaining the
first 20 students. Mr. Kapp responded that there are already high school
students taking part-time classes, but that he felt 10 might be a more
realistic number.
Dr.
Newton asked if there was enough interest from our own high school staff.
Mr. Don German responded that there were 14 teachers who have already said
they would mentor, with most electives covered. He noted that they only
thing not covered is fine arts. He noted that the department chairpersons
supported this proposal.
Mr.
Kapp noted that teachers might be able to use it as their 301 goals or
staff development. He stated that there were a couple of district in Cave
Creek that have been doing this for two years and that there were lots of
ways to document seat hours, from cameras to logging in and out when
talking to mentors.
President Navarro asked Justine Bunger what she thought of the proposal.
Miss Bunger responded that she thought it was a great idea and that she
knew a lot of students would benefit from a program like that.
CONSIDER APPROVING TWO FTE
TEACHING POSITIONS (1.0 ENGLISH/AIMS INTERVENTION AND 1.0 MATH) AT
PRESCOTT HIGH SCHOOL TO ACCOMMODATE STUDENT ENROLLMENT GROWTH UTILIZING
2004-2005 CURRENT YEAR GROWTH MONIES
Dr.
Reynolds reported that Mrs. McCraley and Mr. German had recommended adding
a math teacher, since Mr. Reidburn currently has 180 students and North
Central allows only 170. He noted that they have balanced classes as much
as they can and need a math teacher to reduce class size. He reported
that they have shared concerns about AIMS scores also and are requesting
an English/AIMS intervention teacher.
Dr.
Fleming asked how students would be assigned to a new math class. Mrs.
McCraley responded that they would be trying to make an impact on student
learning through class size reduction, that they would ask for volunteers
first, and then approach the math teachers to target 2-3 students from
their classes to create a new math class that would allow for more
individualized instruction. She noted that this would not take place
until the end of the first nine week period.
Dr.
Fleming asked what the new teacher would teach. Mr. German responded that
it would be targeted for those students not doing well on the AIMS test
and would probably be Foundations of Math and Algebra.
Mr.
Campbell asked if the same would be true for the English/AIMS teacher.
Mrs. McCraley responded that each department chairperson has a list of
sophomores who have taken AIMS and would be looking at curriculum based on
where the students were falling far below and looking at objectives to be
taught earlier to see if that would impact scores, with the same being
applied in English.
Mr.
Campbell stated that he liked the idea of focusing on those students who
really need the help.
Mr.
German noted that this was only the first step and that they are looking
at developing specific classes for next year. He also noted that every
teacher has a list of AIMS scores and what portion each student was
deficient in, which would help to focus on what is needed to help
individual students.
CONSIDER REVIEWING AND
ADOPTING POLICY SERVICES ADVISORY, VOLUME 16, NUMBER 4, FOR AUGUST,
2004, REGARDING POLICY ADVISORY NUMBER 237-244
Mr. Kapp distributed a
summarization of the proposed policy changes and reviewed that summary
with the Board.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE
CONSENT AGENDA
President Navarro asked if
there were any items the Board wished to discuss separately.
CONSIDER APPROVING THE
TRUSTEES OF THE EMPLOYEE BENEFIT TRUST (EBT)
Mr. Campbell asked if the
trustees for EBT were the same. President Navarro responded yes.
CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF
CERTIFIED AND CLASSIFIED PERSONNEL ACTIONS AS REQUESTED
No discussion took place
regarding this item.
CONSIDER ACCEPTING THE
DONATIONS AS PRESENTED
Mr. Kapp pointed out that
Abia Judd had received an anonymous donation of $40,000.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Steve
Campbell moved that the Governing Board meeting be adjourned. Dr. Joan
Fleming seconded the motion.
Dr. Andy Newton voted aye,
Mr. Steve Campbell voted aye, Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye and President
Navarro voted aye. The motion carried 4-0.
The meeting adjourned at
6:32 p.m.
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