PRESCOTT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1

146 South Granite Street

Prescott, Arizona 86303

 

September 12, 2000

 

Minutes of the Voting Session of the Governing Board, Tuesday, September 12, 2000, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the District Office Board Room.

 

          Governing Board members present:

 

President Vaughn Delp

Dr. Joan Fleming

Mrs. Dana Womack

Mr. Dennis Colgan

Mr. Gordon Maddux

 

          Absent:                

None

 

          Also Present:

Dr. Roger Short, Superintendent

Kevin Kapp, Assistant Superintendent

Kimberly Steward, Student Representative

Andrea Mayer, Assistant to the Governing Board

 

          Others Present:

                                      Dee Navarro                   Worth Mallory

                                      May Mallory                   JoAnn Valleau

                                      Ruth Willson                  Mary Hansen

                                      Ron Percival                   Mary Anne Kapp

                                      Renee Raskin               

                                                                            

 

                                                                                     

CALL TO ORDER

President Delp called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.  President Delp welcomed the members of the audience and the media.  Miss Kimberly Steward led the members of the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

President Delp asked Dr. Short if the agenda was in order. Dr. Short replied that it was in order as presented.

 

Mr. Gordon Maddux moved that the Governing Board accept the agenda as presented.  Dr. Joan Fleming seconded the motion.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Dennis Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

PRESENTATIONS

There were no presentations at this meeting.

 

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Under Current Events, Dr. Roger Short briefly covered the first 10 days of attendance at the school sites.  He noted that we are beginning an upward enrollment at the elementary level with 40-50 students at the K-5 level.  Middle School enrollment is up 10-12 students.  It has been difficult to get a good count at the high school level due to the way students were counted last year and this year.  Although enrollment appears to be lower, they in fact might not be.  The 40^th day count should give us a true count.

 

Dr. Short distributed a copy of a new district brochure that outlines the district scores on the Stanford 9, ACT and SAT, as well as highlighting some of the districts achievements in that area.  These brochures were used at the recent Kids Community Fair sponsored by The MOMS Club of Prescott this past weekend.  Dr. Short thanked the following employees for staffing the district’s booth at that fair:  Karin Ward, Susan Oberan, Andi Mayer, Kevin Kapp, Priscilla McGinnis, and Lucy Rodarte.

 

Dr. Short invited members of the Board to attend the Friendly Pines Camp “Salute to Educators” picnic that is sponsored by Jack and Bebe May and the Chamber of Commerce this Thursday, September 14, 2000.

 

CONSIDER THE EARLY ENTRANCE INTO KINDERGARTEN REQUESTS BE DENIED OR GRANTED

Dr. Joan Fleming moved that the Governing Board grant approval for early entrance to kindergarten for the students with I.D. #0019, #0020, and #0021.  Mr. Gordon Maddux seconded the motion.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF ASPIN/MOHAVE AS A SUPPLIER FOR FOOD, PAPER, MILK, AND BREAD PRODUCTS FOR FOOD SERVICES

 

Mr. Denny Colgan moved that the Governing Board approve ASPIN/MOHAVE as a supplier for food, paper, milk, and bread products for Food Services.  Mr. Gordon Maddux seconded the motion.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE RESIGNATION OF MRS. DEE NAVARRO FROM THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WITH THE OPTION TO NOMINATE AND APPROVE A REPLACEMENT

 

Dr. Joan Fleming moved that the Governing Board approve the resignation of Mrs. Dee Navarro from the Financial Oversight Committee.  President Delp seconded the motion.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

President Delp thanked Mrs. Navarro for her service on that committee.  Dr. Joan Fleming stated that she would nominate a replacement at a future meeting.

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE REVENUE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000-2001

 

Mr. Denny Colgan moved that the Governing Board approve the Revenue Budget for Fiscal Year 2000-2001 as amended.  Mr. Gordon Maddux seconded the motion.

 

Ms. Renee Raskin explained to the Board what a cash-in/cash-out account was and specifically referred to lines #9 and #36 on the Revenue Budget form that began with beginning cash balances of zero.  Since this was confusing at the last Board meeting, she called the auditor’s office for their opinion.  The auditors told Ms. Raskin that it was acceptable practice to either have a beginning balance of zero or to use the ending balance from the previous year and that it was up to the district as to which option to use.  In an attempt to make the budget more understandable, Ms. Raskin submitted a revised Revenue Budget form to the Board that shows the ending balances from the previous fiscal year on line #9 and #36.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

Mr. Kevin Kapp complimented Ms. Raskin for checking into that with the auditors and noted one of the goals of the district is to make the budgeting process more understandable to everyone.

 

Mr. Denny Colgan also complimented the Financial Oversight Committee for developing a system that tracks the auxiliary funds.

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE GREAT BODY SHOP, TEACHING MATERIAL FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CURRICULUM AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL

 

Mr. Gordon Maddux moved that the Governing Board approve The Great Body Shop teaching material for the comprehensive health curriculum at the middle school level.  Dr. Joan Fleming seconded the motion.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted nay, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 4-1.

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE STRATEGIC LONG RANGE PLAN FOR TECHNOLOGY FOR PRESCOTT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

 

Mr. Denny Colgan moved that the Governing Board approve the Strategic Long Range Plan for Technology for Prescott Unified School District.  Mr. Gordon Maddux seconded the motion.

 

Mrs. Dana Womack stated that she was opposed to the grant because a large portion of the monies would be used for the SASI concept, which allows statewide compilation of student data for statewide use.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted nay, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 4-1.

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE TECHNOLOGY LITERACY CHALLENGE FUND GRANT

Mr. Gordon Maddux moved that the Governing Board approve the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund Grant.  Mr. Denny Colgan seconded the motion.

 

Mrs. Dana Womack stated that she was opposed to this grant on the same basis as the previous motion.

 

Mr. Denny Colgan stated that it’s unfortunate that all of the data flows one way to the Arizona Department of Education and the districts never get the compiled information back.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted nay, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 4-1.

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE SCHOOL BASED PARENTING PROGRAM INITIATIVE

 

Dr. Joan Fleming moved that the Governing Board approve the School Based Parenting Program Initiative.       Mr. Denny Colgan seconded the motion.

 

Mrs. Dana Womack stated that she was opposed to this grant for a variety of reasons, primarily the methods used to identify the parent population who would be using the program.  She stated that she was opposed to that type of profiling. 

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted nay, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 4-1.

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS FOR IMPROVING STUDENT READING ACHIEVEMENT

 

Mr. Gordon Maddux moved that the Governing Board approve the Capacity Building Grants for Improving Student Reading Achievement.  Dr. Joan Fleming seconded the motion.

 

Mrs. Womack asked why the budget had an allocation of monies for 50 teachers to be paid $75 stipends and why administrators and consultants would be receiving stipends.

 

Mrs. Mary Anne Kapp responded that when the district is looking at an intervention program, it not only needs to train the special education teachers involved, but also the other staff involved.  We know that when you’re trying to remediate students, you must put them back into regular classrooms for success.  The regular teachers need to be trained in the new strategies and cueing systems being used for these students everywhere, which gives those students a greater success rate.  She noted that the stipends for the teachers were because the training takes place outside of contracted time and that the training will become a mentoring program with teachers training teachers.  Administrators will receive the same training that the teachers do so that when they are evaluating those teachers, they know what they’re looking for and can properly evaluate those teachers.  Instructional aides receive the training for the same reason as the regular teachers.

 

Mrs. Womack asked why the figure of 50 teachers was being used when this is targeted for grades 4-5-6.

 

Mrs. Kapp responded that the concept was presented to teachers from grades 4-5-6-7-8.  The middle school teachers were very interested in receiving this training.  If the budget allows the training of the middle school teachers, we need to be able to do that in order to maximize those dollars.

 

Mrs. Womack asked why Mrs. Lorraine Jarvi had attended training in Chicago before the grant was approved.

 

Mrs. Kapp responded that Mrs. Jarvi was sent to the training because that was the only time this year that particular training would be offered.

 

Mrs. Womack stated that she was concerned about the amount of paperwork the teachers would be responsible for with this program.

 

Mrs. Kapp responded that one of the reasons this program was chosen was because of the good documentation that would follow the students up through the different grade levels.  This documentation is a tool for teachers to utilize.

 

Mrs. Womack asked who approved the plane ticket and cost of the hotel room before the grant was approved.

 

Mrs. Kapp responded that she had made that decision rather than putting the grant off for an entire year.  She stated that the Arizona Department of Education had already approved the money coming into PUSD.  She noted that if the Board did not approve the grant, there were Title II monies available that would cover those expenses.

 

Mrs. Womack asked when the grant was approved by the Arizona Department of Education. 

 

Mrs. Kapp responded that she had received written notification from the Arizona Department of Education on August 7, 2000.

 

Mrs. Womack noted that the district has on several occasions called special Board meetings for the approval of one item.  She stated that she would like that procedure to be followed rather than someone making the assumption that a grant would be passed.

 

President Delp asked Mrs. Kapp if she, as the administrator of federal grants, would have paid for those expenses out of another source if the Board did not approve the grant.  Mrs. Kapp responded absolutely.

 

President Delp stated that the district does not have money available in the regular budget to pay for any training of staff, which is desperately needed.  She noted that she was thankful there were grant funds available to pay for the training of staff as well as other programs.  She asked Mrs. Kapp how much money in grant funds had been brought into this district this year.

 

Mrs. Womack stated that the question was inappropriate since it was not on the agenda.

 

President Delp stated that she felt it was directly related to the grants being proposed and asked Mrs. Kapp to answer her question.

 

Mrs. Kapp responded that the district has received about two million dollars in grant money.

 

Mrs. Gordon Maddux called for the question.

 

Regarding the call for the question, Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

Regarding the vote on the motion, Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted nay, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 4-1.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming thanked Mrs. Kapp for her excellent presentation.

 

CONSIDER CONDUCTING THE FIRST READING OF THE POLICY SERVICES ADVISORY, VOLUME 12, NUMBER 3, FOR JUNE 2000, AND VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4, FOR JULY 2000, WITH A SECOND READING AND REQUEST FOR ADOPTION AT THE SEPTEMBER 12, 2000 BOARD MEETING

 

President Delp asked Dr. Roger Short to give a brief summary regarding the policy reading.  Dr. Short noted that the district had previously adopted a policy book through Arizona School Board Association.  The ASBA periodically sends sample policies to districts that relate to new laws or changes in existing laws and other legal trends for the district to review and then decide if they want to adopt them.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming requested that the Board discuss Policy No. 166 separately.

 

Mr. Denny Colgan moved that the Governing Board approve Policy #163, #164, #165, #167, #168, #169, #170, and #171.  Mr. Gordon Maddux seconded the motion.

 

Discussion followed regarding who should attend executive sessions.  Mr. Denny Colgan stated that he did not think it was appropriate for the student representative to attend executive sessions.  Dr. Short suggested that rather than write that into policy, make it a procedural item.  Mr. Gordon Maddux stated that it was clear to him that legally, attendance at executive sessions was for the elected Board members and administrators of the district.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

Discussion followed regarding Policy #166 - Public Participation at Board Meetings.  Dr. Short noted that the policy speaks to Arizona Revised Statute that allows Boards three options regarding public participation.  The first option is that the Board need not permit the public to address the Board since the purpose of an open meeting is to enable the public to listen to and observe the Board in its discussions and deliberations for decision-making.  The second option is for the Board to invite public input limited exclusively to matters that are listed on the meeting agenda.  The third option is for the Board to extend an open call to the public to speak to any issue under the jurisdiction of the Board.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming moved that the Board approve the old policy BEDH that we currently use for the policy book.  Mr. Gordon Maddux seconded the motion.

 

Mr. Ron Percival addressed the Board and stated that he felt the Board should approve the open call to the public.  He felt that this was the best option for getting more ideas from the public, that it would be a friendlier system with more interpersonal communication between parents and the Board, and would be more productive.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted nay, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 4-1

 

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF A REQUEST FROM MRS. LUANN ROBERTS FOR A MEDICAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE

 

Mr. Denny Colgan moved that the Governing Board approve the request from Mrs. Luann Roberts, Instructional Assistant at Miller Valley Elementary School, for a medical leave of absence during the 2000-2001 school year.  Dr. Joan Fleming seconded the motion.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

 

CONSIDER APPROVING THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED

 

Mr. Denny Colgan moved that the Governing Board approve the Consent Agenda as presented.  Dr. Joan Fleming seconded the motion.

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Denny Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

Mrs. Dana Womack requested that the Board be brought up to date regarding bus advertisements under Superintendent’s Report at a future meeting.  Dr. Short stated that he would do so at the next Board meeting.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

       Mr. Denny Colgan moved that the Governing Board adjourn.  Mr. Gordon Maddux seconded the motion. 

 

Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mrs. Dana Womack voted aye, Mr. Dennis Colgan voted aye, Mr. Gordon Maddux voted aye, and President Delp voted aye.  The motion carried 5-0.

 

The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.