ST JOHN SCHOOL BOARD ENDICOTT SCHOOL BOARD
BOARD MEETING
MINUTES
Monday Š September
28, 2009
Endicott School
Library
7:00 p.m.
Dwight Lust
called the Endicott meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Scott
Hollingsworth called the St John meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Frank Garrett
led the flag salute.
Roll Call:
Present from
Endicott were Dwight Lust, Debbie Schlomer, Greta White, Marvin Schmick and
Frank Garrett. Present from St
John were Toni Blackwell, Scott Hollingsworth, Mark Bailey, Jim Rogers and
Andrea Miller. Also present were
Mr. Winters (Superintendent) and Suzanne Schuster, filling in for Dana Crider, Business
Manager. Guests at the meeting
included Bruce Porubek, Becky Dickerson, Becky Gonzalez, Warren Miller, Debbie
Wolfe, Billy Ray Jr., Rob Roettger, Suzanne Schmick, Gary and Janet Luft.
OATH OF
OFFICE:
Administered by
Superintendent Rick Winters to new board member Toni Blackwell, who replaces
Frank Watson for the St. John Director #2 position.
AGENDA/MINUTES:
Marvin Schmick
moved and Greta White seconded the motion to approve the board minutes of the August 24, 2009 regular meeting and the agenda of the
current meeting as mailed. All
Endicott board members agreed.
Jim Rogers moved and Mark Bailey seconded the motion to approve the
board minutes of the August 24, 2009 regular meeting and the agenda of the
current meeting as mailed. All St
John board members agreed.
CONSENT
AGENDA:
ENDICOTT Š Greta
White moved and Frank Garrett seconded the motion to approve the items on the
consent agenda. Approved were the
September: payroll warrants #40574-40632 in the amount of $137,808.57; the
General Fund accounts payable warrants #40500-40573 in the amount of
$39,124.36, and the ASB Fund accounts payable warrants #1363-1371 in the amount
of $1,293.97. All Endicott board members agreed.
ST JOHN Š Andrea
Miller moved and Mark Bailey seconded the motion to approve the items on the
consent agenda. Approved were the
September 2009: payroll warrants #10018-10087 in the amount of $164,325.35; the
General Fund accounts payable warrants #9929-10017 in the amount of $86,393.09;
the ASB Fund accounts payable warrants #4573-4586 in the amount of
$3,134.31. All St. John board
members agreed.
OLD
BUSINESS:
The insurance
review by Jim Van Lith regarding Uninsured Motorist coverage will have to wait
until the next meeting because Mr. Van Lith was not in attendance.
Marvin Schmick
moved and Debbie Schlomer seconded the motion to approve the part-time
classified employee contract for Julie Lust. All Endicott board member agreed.
NEW BUSINESS:
A letter requesting maternity leave from Sara Hudkins, St. John School District first grade teacher was received. Jim Roger moved and Mark Bailey seconded the motion to approve the request. All St. John board members agreed.
Mark Bailey moved and Andrea Miller seconded the motion to approve the supplemental contract for Kendrin Maj, Assistant High School Volleyball Coach. All St. John board members agreed.
Classified Employee contract for Marie Justice, who replaces K. B. Trunkey as a bus driver for the St. John School District was moved for approval by Jim Rogers and seconded by Andrea Miller. All St. John board members agreed.
Mark Bailey motioned and Jim Rogers seconded the motion to approve the classified contract for Laura Simpson as a part-time building custodian. All St. John board members agreed.
Nurse Debbie Wolfe was invited to present information to the school board regarding the H1N1 virus, which is believed to be hitting many schools across Whitman County. Two confirmed cases of H1N1 were diagnosed at WSU after school resumed in early September. More than 2,000 WSU students began reporting flu like symptoms, which included fever, sore throat and coughing. Near that same time period, St. John School District began experiencing similar symptoms. At the height of the epidemic, St. John reported as many as 29 students absent with flu like symptoms in one day. Nurse Debbie applauded the administration for taking action, which included: notes home, cleaning supplies in the classrooms and closing school one day each for the high school and middle school students. Throughout the county, schools are experiencing an absenteeism rate as high as 20 percent at a time in which flu symptoms donÕt normally occur.
Mr. Winters reported that the Endicott district would need to sign up this fall in order to have new bleachers installed next summer on the west side of the gym. The district has received a quote with the same company that installed new bleachers in Lacrosse and several other eastern Washington schools. Endicott School District can only afford to install one set of bleachers at this time. Grant proposals have been written but have failed twice to secure any funding. The west side of the gym was chosen because that is the larger of the two sections and that is where the team sits. Discussion between board members took place trying to determine which side would be the better side and whether or not they were ready to make a decision or should wait until the next meeting. Marvin Schmick recommended that the old equipment be used to make repairs to the section of bleachers that wonÕt be replaced. Marvin Schmick moved and Greta White seconded the motion to approve the bid for replacing the bleachers on the west side of the Endicott gymnasium. All board members agreed.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Becky Dickerson reported that she was very happy with the lighting ceremony at the football field. She praised Bruce Porubek for incorporating students from all activities and the community members for attending.
COOPERATIVE BOARD MATTERS:
The calendar of Board Meetings for 2009-2010 was passed out to the board members. Mr. Winters suggested that the board members change the February meeting from the 22nd to the 23rd to accommodate those board members that will be traveling back from Olympia with him. There was some discussion that the state basketball play-offs may be going on at that time. Nothing was decided, only an information item at this time.
Endicott Resolution #09-01; Directors elected to attend the WSSDA Conference in November. Frank Garrett moved and Marvin Schmick seconded the motion to approve and sign resolution #09-01. All Endicott board members agreed. Jim Rogers moved and Andrea Miller seconded the motion to approve St. John Resolution #09-01, to send directors to the WSSDA Conference. All St. John board members agreed and signed the corresponding resolution.
SUPERINTENDENTÕS REPORT:
Billy Ray Jr. announced that he had been invited to speak at the February WMEA State Music Conference held in Yakima. The topic is ŅPercussion in the Small SchoolÓ. He would like to take a recording of previous concerts involving the middle school percussion ensemble to share. Mr. Ray also reported that he had met and talked to the fall coaches regarding the WIAA concussion management guidelines. The football team is currently undefeated with a record of 1-0, both girlsÕ basketball teams are 2-1 and the first Mid-Season Classic is scheduled for September 24th in Colfax. Four girlsÕ basketball teams will be there to play. The hope was to minimize expenses for officials and travel.
Suzanne Schmick provided copies of EndicottÕs current enrollment and reported that they would be losing one eighth grader but gaining a first grader. She thanked Trinity Lutheran Church for the purchase of school supplies donated to the school. Also the light beacon has arrived, which was purchased through a grant. With the help of community members she hopes to have it installed in October. The Ad team communications to the community will go through Honeywell when bad weather becomes an issue for school closures. Mrs. Schmick noted that October 9th is the all county in-service and she invited the board members to attend, particularly the keynote speakers address. Endicott elementary teachers went to St. John to meet with their counter-parts. Camera devices have been ordered for the computers in Endicott so that staff would be able to participate in SKYPE conferences. Endicott will hold a Ōred alert lock downÕ and evacuation drill on September 29th and on the 30th Whitcom and the Edith Fire Safety House will be visiting. October 5th from 7:00-8:30 p.m. will be the Endicott Open House and refreshments will be served. The sixth grade is doing really well; there have been some adjustments to locker combinations, etc. Mr. Winters thanked Suzanne and her staff for embracing the change and noted that the school environment is very good.
Bruce Porubek shared that a Valley Christian player died as a result of a concussion sustained in Friday nights game in Washtucna. Garfield-Palouse has an opening in their schedule and he will find out tomorrow if they will come and play Friday night for our Homecoming game. The football team currently has a record of 2-2. The lighting ceremony for the football field lights turned out well. He received great comments about the lights. The volleyball team has 22 players, one has recently pulled out. A game was cancelled due to illness and will not be rescheduled. This week the volleyball team is hosting games on Tuesday and Thursday and has a 19-4 record. Thirteen runners have turned out for cross country, at their last meet Cody Siegel finished second and Meghan Gfeller finished 5th with the boys team placing first. This week the team is in Pomeroy on Thursday. Lisa Swannack is the new coach for the cheer squad and she has four girls participating for football. The cheerleaders missed one football game due to illness. Before the fall sports season began Canfield and Associates met with parents, players and coaches to explain that student athletes couldnÕt return after a head injury until a doctor releases the player. Coaches are also required to undergo an on-line course that deals with concussions.
Warren Miller provided an ASB update to the board regarding the homecoming activities. Hall decorating went well on Sunday from 2:00-6:00 with pizza served to participants. Other activities include themed dress-up days, lunch hour competitions, the teacher run through on Thursday and sporting events throughout the week.
Rob Roettger thanked Bruce Porubek for his good work with the ASB and acknowledged that Bruce does a lot of good things for the co-op. The St. John teacherÕs association has asked him to read a letter to the board since the officers were unable to attend tonightÕs meeting. At their last meeting, the teachers voted 10 to 1 to disaffiliate from the WEA. They are planning on attending next monthÕs meeting to make a report to the board. The Ad team has decided to go with Honeywell Notification System to replace the Zelaphone system that they used last year. The Ad team had looked at Alert Now and Honeywell and chose Honeywell because it was user friendly, can download from Schoolmaster and it is a local company. The St. John Elementary will be hosting an Open House on Wednesday, September 30th at 6:00 pm. The October 9th in-service in Colfax is a monumental event; it is the first county wide in-service. This countywide collaboration allows districts to pool their funding and bring in speakers; training staff from ESD 101that they wouldnÕt be able to do on their own. The keynote speaker is Janel Keating who has 4-5 years of experience in Professional Learning Communities (PLC). Mr. Roettger went on to provide a detailed enrollment report outlining the current and future enrollment of the cooperative high school. The enrollment numbers are steadily declining. Each full time student currently accounts for approximately $4500.00 in revenue to the district. The St. John School District has 10 fewer FTE students than they budgeted for. As a cooperative district, we need to think outside the box on how we are going to handle this situation.
Mr. Winters passed out a financial statement from Dana Crider, Business Manager, who was unable to attend the meeting. EndicottÕs General Fund balance is $382,106.61 with an expected ending balance next August of $305,000, the result of decreased funding to the district but not decreased spending. St. JohnÕs General Fund balance at the end of August was $343,479.28; decreased enrollment will decrease future funding. Since enrollment in both districts has decreased, future spending needs to be cautious. Mr. Winters went on to report that Endicott is currently in negotiations with their teachers and St. John will begin teacher negotiations next spring. This winter he will unveil some trimming ideas to the districts, keeping in mind what is best for students while making some difficult decisions. He also reminded both districts that this is a levy year as well. Marvin Schmick reminded community and board members that some funding, like transportation, has to stay in the department that it funds.
ADJOURNMENT
Marvin Schmick
moved and Frank Garrett seconded the motion to adjourn the Endicott board
meeting. Dwight Lust adjourned the
Endicott meeting at 8:45 p.m.
Mark Bailey moved and Jim Rogers seconded the motion to adjourn the St.
John board meeting. Scott
Hollingsworth adjourned the St John meeting at 8:45 p.m.
Rick Winters, Scott
Hollingsworth, St. John Board Chair
Superintendent
Dwight
Lust, Endicott Board Chair