September 19, 2016

LogoSequim School District No. 323

“Inspire and Achieve“

503 North Sequim Avenue, Sequim, WA 98382

Telephone: (360) 582-3260, FAX: (360) 683-6303, www.sequim.k12.wa.us


September 19, 2016 – 6:30pm – Regular Board Meeting

CALL MEETING TO ORDER/ PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (REF. POLICY 1400/1420)

President Henrikson called the Regular Meeting to Order at 6:30pm with all Board Members and Student Board Representatives present. The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted.

PRESENT – A Sign-In sheet was provided, and those who wished to sign in are listed below:

Robin Henrikson, President Jack Walsh

Beverly Horan, Vice-President Tom Kelly

Heather Short, Director Patsene Dashiell, District Office

James Stoffer, Director Trish Gaine

Michael Howe, Director Brian Kuh, Citizens for Sequim Schools

Dr. Ann Renker, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning

Heidi Hietpas, Interim Director of Finance and Operations

Gary Neal, Superintendent

Marilyn Walsh, Secretary

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Director Short moved to approve the minutes from the September 6, 2016 Regular Board Meeting, as presented. Director Stoffer seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.

CHANGES/ADDITIONS AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA (REF. POLICY 1420)

Vice-President Horan moved to approve the agenda as printed. Director Short seconded. Discussion followed. President Henrikson asked to remove Item c. 3 from the Consent Agenda. Director Stoffer moved to amend the Consent Agenda removing Item c. 3. Director Horan seconded. Discussion followed. Vote taken; motion carried. Vice-President moved to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. Director Stoffer seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.

STUDENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNICATION & STUDENT RECOGNITION

  • Student Board Representative Téa Gauthun reported that thanks to a suggestion by Karen Spoelstra, HHE paraeducator, Steve Mahitka’s High School horticulture class will be working on the Helen Haller school grounds improving the landscape. They already have a great start. Haller thanks them for taking on this project! Haller also wishes to acknowledge several donors who contributed school supplies anonymously. Those efforts on behalf of our students’ needs is much appreciated. Security Bank also held a school supply drive and picked Helen Haller to be the recipient of several boxes of school supplies. They also presented Principal Becky Stanton with a check for $1000. The bank matched donations of $500 for a total of $1000. It was another great week at Greywolf Elementary! Classes are going great and MAP testing has begun. On Friday, September 24, the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders are heading to River Festival! This year they get to walk, as the trestle has been repaired! They are excited for some hands-on Science and nature.
  • Olympic Peninsula Academy has gotten off to a great start – almost like they never left for the summer. OPA kicked off the year with their annual Otter Day gathering, which was well attended. The day began with an all-school pot-luck luncheon, welcome and introductions, and wound down with separate parent and student orientation sessions and distribution of schedules.
  • Student Board Representative Kaylee Gumm reported that Sequim Middle School Fall sports have their first games/meets this week. They're very excited for the volleyball, football, and cross-country teams. The Middle School staff will be examining a wide range of achievement and behavior data at their next Professional Development Meeting. Hope Academy is making a great impact on Middle School students' lives and approaches to learning. At Sequim High School, fall sports have gotten off to a great start this year. Volleyball has a big game against North Kitsap this Thursday, September 23, at home. The ASB has been working around the clock to plan Homecoming, and have already started working on decorations for the H building. Discussion followed.

PUBLIC COMMENTS - The Board believes that public comments are a very important connection between our community and the Board. This time is set aside for receiving both written and oral communication. We ask first that if you have comments, you come forward, introduce yourself and share your comments. . (Ref. Policy 1400, 1623, and 1620P).

President Henrikson asked for any Public Comment regarding Agenda items. No one wished to speak at this time.

President Henrikson asked for any Public Comment regarding general items. No one wished to speak at this time.

BOARD COMMUNICATION AND OTHER ITEMS

  • Director Short thanked the schools for the “Back to School Cold” she was given. Her veterinary office has free kittens available for anyone willing to provide them a good home.
  • Director Stoffer will be helping with the Shiso Sister City Visit – 22-28 Sept; touring our facilities and meeting w/Superintendent Neal on Tuesday, the 27th. The Board is invited to the Shiso Sister City “No Host Meet and Greet” on Friday evening at Bell Creek; please RSVP to Annette Hanson. As Legislative Representative, Director Stoffer attended the Port Angeles Business Association’s Candidate forum last Tuesday, with 24th District candidates Mike Chapman and George Vrable. It was encouraging that our community is concerned about funding education and seeking solutions. Clallam County Schools’ Retired Association is hosting a candidate forum on Wednesday; 21 SEPT; Candidates’ Chapman & Kevin VDW are expected to attend. Last Friday Director Stoffer was invited to the Port Angeles School Board Workshop, as an observer. Mr. Jon Gores from D.A. Davidson presented information on election results, voting patterns, passage of Levies Statewide; survey results and Property Tax 101. The presentation is available on the Port Angeles School Board Docs. Their conversation centered on placing an M & O Levy on the FEB ballot. They are considering changing the name to EP&O as we did in 2012. The Legislative Assembly will be held this Friday and Saturday in Spokane; Candidates for State Superintendent and Commissioner of Public Lands will be taking questions from the WSSDA Legislative Reps. The WSSDA Trust Lands Task Force is hosting 3 Informational Meetings on “Trust Lands 101” for Clallam County; one to be held in Sequim at 1pm, Tuesday the 27th at Fire District #3’s Training Room; & then two in Port Angeles at the Skills Center, at 4pm & 7pm. Notifications have gone out to other Jr. Taxing Districts and our local elected officials. The WSSDA Regional 4 meeting will be held in Neah Bay on Saturday, the 29 OCT 10am-1pm. There is also a “Boys in Boat” presentation that same evening at 7pm in Port Angeles; sponsored by Sequim Education Foundation. A member of the PEO Scholarship Committee commended Sequim students on the overall quality of their Scholarship Notebooks. Director Stoffer expressed his appreciation of Superintendent Neal‘s outreach with the community with his Coffee Chat and meeting with the new Sequim Schools PTO Group.
  • Vice-President Horan, who volunteers at the Dungeness Valley Free Clinic, has been working with our McKinney-Vento coordinators to ensure that our homeless/emancipated students have access to healthcare. The Fun Walk to benefit the Free Clinic raised over $35,000.
  • President Henrikson commended teacher Jennifer Lopez for organizing a very successful Family Involvement night.
  • President Henrikson asked Board Members to be thinking about updating Board Goals sometime in the next month or so.
  • Reviewing last meeting’s exit slips it was verified that Volunteer Registration forms are now done entirely online. A computer kiosk is available in the District Office and help is available. It was suggested that occasionally safety briefings be given at the beginning of a meeting, since the public may not be aware of safety protocols in the event of an emergency.

CONSENT AGENDA – REQUEST BOARD APPROVAL: Any item may be moved to New Business with a motion from any Board member.

a. General Fund Vouchers No. 186670 thru No. 186677 in the total amount of $3,578.55; and No. 186678 thru No. 186717 in the total amount of $51, 056.52; and No. 186718 thru No. 186718 in the total amount of $40,082.17.

b. ASB Fund Vouchers No. 10604 thru No. 10604 in the total amount of $1,000.00; and No. 10605 thru No. 10605 in the total amount of 523.09.

c. Personnel – Employment with the District will be conditional upon the district’s receipt of a criminal conviction history record that is clear of any convictions, adjudications, protective orders, final decisions, or criminal charges in accordance with Washington State law and conditional upon receipt of a sexual Misconduct Disclosure Form from prior Washington State employer(s), where employment was in a school setting, indicating that no sexual, verbal or physical misconduct materials were found in the records of such employer(s) pursuant to RCW 28A.400 and WAC 180-87-080.

1) Accept Letter of Resignation from Melissa Edge, School Bus Aide, effective immediately, as presented.

2) Accept Letter of Resignation from Sean O’Mera, Sequim Middle School Basketball coach, effective immediately as presented.

3) Offer Interim Executive Director of Business and Finance position to Heidi Hietpas, for the 2016-2017 school year, effective September 14, 2016 as presented.

4) Offer classified Health Room Paraeducator position to Kim Jacobs, for the 2016-2017 school year, as presented.

5) Offer Classified Health Room Paraeducator position to Anna Raphael, for the 2016-2017 school year, effective September 16, 2016 as presented.

Vice-President Horan moved to approve the Consent Agenda, items ‘a’ thru ‘c’ as presented. Director Stoffer seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.

OLD BUSINESS

  • Director Stoffer, Board Legislative Representative, reviewed the WSSDA Legislative Priorities for the upcoming Legislative Session. Director Stoffer moved to approve the WSSDA Legislative Priorities for the 2016-2017 Legislative Session. Director Short seconded. Discussion followed. Vote taken; motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS

There was none at this time

REPORTS

  • Dr. Ann Renker, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, shared with the board a number of ways that the district is reaching out to parents and the community, including but not limited to conducting another Community Needs Assessment, creating a Parent Advisory Group, training administrators in best practices related to engagement and involvement, and tailoring some local foundation funding to increase parent and community involvement opportunities. Discussion followed.
  • Superintendent Gary Neal introduced Interim Finance and Operations Director Heidi Hietpas, who shared a little bit about herself and was welcomed by the board. The district will continue to utilize the services of the ESD on a part-time basis.
  • Superintendent Neal wanted to nominate our board as a WSSDA Board of Distinction, for all the work they have done over the past year. But then but he found out that the board itself has to do all the follow-up paperwork, so he declined to add that burden to the heavy work load they are already carrying.
  • There seemed to be some confusion in the community about where the funds came from to produce the new, full-color, school activity calendars which were distributed to all school district families and community partners. The calendars were paid for by the sponsors featured in the calendar.
  • Sequim Middle School teachers Vicki Helwick and Dianna Piersoll were commended by Superintendent Neal for their participation in math assessment formation at the state level.
  • Our high school co-ed, student cross-country team represented Sequim well during a recent meet in Seaside Oregon.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

President Henrikson drew Board Members’ attention to:

a. Upcoming Board Meetings, etc.

    • September 23rd-24th in Spokane -- Legislative Assembly
    • October 3 – Regular Board meeting
    • October 17 – Regular Board Meeting
    • October 29 – WSSDA 2016 Fall Regional Meeting at Cape Flattery School District in Neah Bay
    • November 16-19 – 2016 WSSDA Annual Conference in Spokane

FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER

Vice-President Horan is finding OneNote to be very helpful for finding and sharing information.

ADJOURNMENT

At 7:17pm Vice-President Horan moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting. Director Short seconded. Vote taken; motion carried.