ABERDEEN SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 58

Regular School Board Meeting

August 11, 2010

The Board of Trustees of School District No. 58, Bingham County, Idaho met in regular session after a reception in honor of retiring board member Diane Rowbury was held.  The regular meeting began at 7:30 p.m. on August 11, 2010 at the Aberdeen School District Office in Aberdeen, Idaho.   

CALL TO ORDER AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A QUORUM

Chairperson Irene Barrett opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m.  Present were Larry Lankford, Irene Barrett and Marc Foster.  Ritchey Toevs was absent.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Those present recited the Pledge of Allegiance

FEE INCREASE HEARING

There were no patrons present with input for the hearing which began at 7:30 as advertised.  Trustees decided to continue with the agenda and revisit the hearing procedure if any patrons came late and asked to have input.

 DELEGATION AND PATRON INPUT 

There was no delegate or patron input.

SUPERINTENDENT and ADMINISTATOR REPORTS

Mr. Wilson reported that trustees have turned in three names as potential board members.  Elaine Blick is the most highly recommended.  Trustee Irene Barrett explained to those present that the new trustee will be appointed to serve until the next election, which in this case will be May, 2011.  Mr. Wilson will contact Ms. Blick to determine whether she is interested.  Trustees will try to be ready to make the appointment at the September board meeting.  Mr. Wilson congratulated the teachers, students and administrators in the three schools.  The elementary school made AYP for the second consecutive year.  The middle school made AYP for the first time and the high school made AYP in 39 of 41 areas.  Mr. Wilson also congratulated the LEP staff as well as regular staff for helping LEP students to exceed state expectations in the three different measurement areas.  He explained that he, Trustee Toevs and Trustee Lankford will meet with State Superintendent of Education, Tom Luna on August 12th to determine whether Aberdeen will accept a school improvement grant for the middle school.  Apparently, State Department of Education personnel have indicated that positions at the middle school will not be affected if the district submits an improvement plan.  The grant will give Aberdeen $500,000 to be spent over two years.  Mr. Wilson and trustees will hopefully learn about grant spending requirements on the 12th also.  He announced that the schools at Aberdeen had exceeded the immunization rates for Idaho.  Mr. Wilson thanked parents and the staff in each building for doing an excellent job of tracking the information.  Trustee Foster asked how the “Jobs Bill” just passed by congress will affect the Aberdeen School District.  Mr. Wilson indicated that the state of Idaho will receive $51,000,000 to allocate to the different districts in Idaho.  It is not yet known how the money must be spent or how much each school will receive. 

 There were no administrator reports given.

 APPROVAL OF AGENDA

The agenda was approved with the addition of Business Item 11 (Executive Session to consider employee evaluation), upon motion by Trustee Lankford and second by Trustee Foster. The motion carried unanimously.

CONSENT ITEMS

The following consent items were presented:

Minutes of the July 28th Regular Meeting Minutes.

Approval of claims for July, 2010.

Financial Report for July, 2010.

County Tax Report.

 Motion was made by Trustee Foster and seconded by Trustee Lankford to approve Consent Items A-D as presented.  The motion carried unanimously.

 BUSINESS ITEMS

Approve Fee Increases

In response to questions by trustees, building principals indicated that most of the athletic fee increases were proposed to help pay for transportation of students to activities. 

Motion was made by Trustee Lankford and seconded by Trustee Foster to approve the fee increases as presented at the Fee Increase Hearing.  The motion carried unanimously. 

 High School and Middle School Handbooks

Trustee Barrett expressed concern regarding whether parents will understand the promotion policy.  Mrs. Mennear stated that she shared this concern and had put steps into place to help ensure that no student would be left out.  Teachers will distribute handouts at “Back to School” night which explained the policy.  If a student starts to slip, parents will be called in for a meeting. 

Motion was made by Trustee Lankford and seconded by Trustee Foster to approve the high school and middle school handbooks with the new fee schedules included.  The motion carried unanimously.

Policies for Approval

Motion was made by Trustee Lankford and seconded by Trustee Foster to approve changes to policies numbered 570 (Extra-Curricular Student Activities and Fee Schedule) and number 717 (Transportation Vehicle Purchase Fund).  The motion carried unanimously.

 Set Beginning Date for Harvest Break

Motion was made by Trustee Foster and seconded by Trustee Lankford to set the 2010 harvest break dates from September 22 through October 8th.  The motion carried unanimously.

 Accept Diesel Fuel Quotes for 2011

Motion was made by Trustee Lankford and seconded by Trustee Foster to accept the lowest diesel fuel quote submitted by Ward Oil for the 2011 school year.  The motion carried unanimously.

 Accept Milk Bids for 2011

Motion was made by Trustee Lankford and Trustee Foster to accept the only milk products bid submitted by Meadow Gold for the 2011 School year.  The motion carried unanimously.

Trustee Lankford asked that Mr. Wilson find out who supplies milk products to the other school in our area.

School Board Assoc Convention Reservations

Trustees indicated that they would let Ms. Muirbrook know if they planned to attend the School Board convention in November at the September meeting.

 Approve Bus Drivers and Routes for 2011

Motion was made by Trustee Lankford and seconded by Trustee Foster to table a decision on the bus drivers and bus driver routes until the September board meeting.  The motion carried unanimously.  Questions needing answers were how many kindergarten and preschool routes and who is driving and will the tutor bus drop students off on the highway or take them home. 

 TRUSTEE INPUT

Trustee Foster stated that it is great that everyone came for this meeting.  He is excited for the new school year and thinks that in spite of the financial difficulties, the year will be good.  The thanked Mrs. Rowbury for her time spent for the district and wished Mrs. Barrett well as chairman of the board.

Trustee Lankford wished Mrs. Rowbury the best and thanked her for her years serving on the board.  He also appreciates everyone who comes to the board meetings.  He thinks that the coming year will be a good one and the board will concentrate on the positive aspects of the district’s educational process and work through the bumps. 

Trustee Barrett thanked Mr. Foster for his leadership this past year a chairman of the board.  She stated that it was nice to see the administrators and she is excited about the work that has been done to accomplish the good test measurements of the students in all of the buildings. 

EXECUTIVE SESSION

At 8:08 pm, motion was made by Trustee Foster and seconded by Trustee Lankford that the Board of Trustees of School District No. 58 recess from an open meeting into executive session pursuant to Section 67-2345, Idaho Code, in order to discuss Section 67-2345: Subsection b (consideration of employee evaluation) and that following the executive session the Board will reconvene in public session for the purpose of conducting further business or for adjournment of the meeting.  A roll call vote was held with the following results: Ritchey Toevs – absent, Irene Barrett – yes, Marc Foster – yes and Larry Lankford – yes.  The motion carried.

Trustees discussed the effect of the performance grant on Employee A.

 The Regular session reconvened at 8:40 pm.

 Motion was made by Trustee Lankford and seconded by Trustee Foster to adjourn the meeting.  The motion carried.