Board Meeting Minutes January 12, 2022

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR WAYNE SCHOOL DISTRICT ON WEDNESDAY JANUARY 12, 2022 AT 4:30 PM at LOA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

THOSE PRESENT:

Absent: Liz Torgerson – Member

Conducting: Shawn Davis

ADMINISTRATION

Shawn Davis called the meeting to order. 

Pledge of allegiance is recited.

April offers a reverence.

April makes a motion to approve the minutes from 12/8/2021. Cory seconds the motion. All in favor.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Tyler provides a review of finances. He explains the mid-year update and that funding has increased this year. He then discusses expenses and revenue. There has been significant inflation, increasing costs of food, fuel, and energy by tens of thousands of dollars. This has contributed to about a 10% growth in expenditures overall versus last year. Revenues have also grown but do not match growth in expenditures.

Curtis makes a motion to pay the bills. Cory seconds. All in favor. 

CITIZEN COMMENTS

Roma Roderick asks questions about the school board travel regarding the USBA conference in Salt Lake City, including who went, where they stayed, costs associated with it, and what was learned to benefit the students of the district. 

Chad Roderick asks about the next conference the board will attend, where it is, and if he can see the budget. The next conference will be in San Diego in April. 

INFORMATION ITEMS

Jamie Webb Comments

Jamie thanks Cory for his training on assuming positive intent. She then gives details about an RDA grant which has been used to contract with a consultant to provide professional development for our staff in multi-tiered systems of support and help direct strategic planning for the district. She thanks those who have supported these efforts and says that there has been real growth in the SPED program because of some of the changes that have been made.

Preschool Update

Jamie Webb talks about the changes to the preschool program, including the implementation of the Becoming High Quality preschool program. This program is labor intensive and has required significant effort by many individuals throughout the district to receive the funding and support needed. Jamie recognizes the employees involved in the program and reviews the ECERS scores for both Loa and Hanksville elementaries. Both schools scored significantly higher than anticipated on an initial inspection. 

Superintendent Report

Superintendent Shelley speaks about the professional development days this month, which included training and collaboration with Aspen regarding our strategic plan. We then split into groups; classified employees received training on Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies and licensed employees worked on PLCs and collaboration. He talks about the importance of letting teachers celebrate. 

Randy provides a quick update on facilities. He says that the original estimate for our construction needs was shocking, at over $500 per sq. ft. He received another estimate from a general contractor that came in around $300-350 per sq. ft. He says that he spoke with Darin Owens, who has shared the needs at the state level with other legislators. 

He then talks about the upcoming conference in San Diego.

School Board USBA Report

Shawn clarifies that the citizen comments is not a time to ask questions. He remarks about the conference and what it entailed. 

Cory shares his thoughts about a workshop--building resiliency and unity in your board and district. It covered determining your why, recognizing what you can control, and building connections. He believes that the board is the strongest they have been in the 8 years that he has been on the board. He says we need to be reliable, real, and take ownership. He states that Wayne School Board members are now recognized by people at USBA because of their efforts.

April says professional development is important for both staff and for the board members. She says that people at the state level know our board. She went to a meeting on trust. Trust is not a communication issue—it is honesty, loyalty, belief, faith, confidence, reliability, consistency, and integrity. She also attended a session on mental health. Parentguidance.org provides instruction to parents regarding mental health issues. She then talks about board meetings and how to make them safe places. Board meetings are not public meetings, they are board meetings held in the public. It is important not to dehumanize others just because you are upset or disagree. 

Shaleen Nelson mentions the strategic planning session. The why is critical to understand and needs to be broken down into specific tasks designed to accomplish your goals. 

Curtis talks about networking opportunities, including with architects. He congratulates the board for receiving the Master Boards Award for completing all their training. He says that there are some things that are out of our control but we need to be committed and keep our promises. One question to ask as a leader is, “would I follow myself?” He talks about consistency as a core part of trust. He says we need to consider how safe are our schools for our children. 

Tyler also comments on the mental health class, and shares some statistics. 75% of kids in another district self-reported struggling with anxiety or depression. 97% of help is outsourced to schools or other professionals. Parentresource.org is designed to provide training for parents so they can become better qualified in providing help to their own children.

Randy talks about James, the “Iron Cowboy” who completed 50 Iron Mans in 50 states in 50 days. He then completed 101 Iron Mans in 101 days. He says that we have to show up and keep working if we want to succeed. He also talks about the accreditation changes coming and how they fit into our strategic plan. 

Shawn reiterates the importance of the conference and how it was approached. He says that it is good to mingle with others and get ideas from them. He mentions some of the classes that were offered. He shows the mission, vision, and goals of the district and says that we are doing this because we love kids and want to educate our future leaders. He says that the meetings were very beneficial. 

BUSINESS ITEMS

Presentation and Public Comment on New Curriculum at Wayne High School

David Chappell introduces Sam Sorber as the high school science teacher and recognizes his passion and desire for improvement. Sam speaks about the new science curriculum and why he would like to implement it. He is concerned with the literacy of many of our students and believes our kids aren’t reading enough books. He wants to raise the expectations and output of the students to prepare them for the future. There are questions regarding the format and cost of the resources.

Multiple citizens and employees express support.

April makes a motion to approve the new curriculum at WHS. Curtis seconds. All in favor.

Policies

Cory makes a motion to approve first reading of policies CJDH-Transportation Operations Post Route Inspections, DAB-Employment Licensure, DBG-Reemployment of Retired Employees, DFA-Educator Induction Mentoring and Professional Learning, DFC-Employee Surveys, DHA-Orderly School Termination of Employees, EBA-Term of Instruction School Year, EBB-Term of Instruction School Day. April seconds. All in favor. 

Cory makes a motion to approve second reading of policies CBF-Exceptions to Standard Procurement Processes, CBG-Contracts and Contract Limitations, and CCA-School Construction Bidding. Curtis seconds. All in favor.

April makes a motion to accept policies BBC-Board Members Vacancies on the Board, BEB-Board Meetings Recordings and Minutes, BEC-Closed Meetings, BEE2-Board Meetings Electronic Meetings, BM-Charter Schools Charter School Sponsorships, CAD-District Audit Committee, CAE-Capital Outlay Reporting, CAF-Financial Reporting, CBA-General Procurement Policies, CBB-Awarding Contracts by Bidding, CBD-Awarding Contracts by Request for Proposals, CBE-Small Purchases. Cory seconds. 

Shawn wants to table policies BBC, BEB, BEC, and BEE2. 

April amends the motion to not accept BBC, BEB, BEC, and BEE2. Cory seconds. All in favor.

Shawn calls for a vote for the amended motion. All in favor.

New Hires

Cory makes a motion to approve new hires pending background check. April seconds. All in favor.

New Hires:

Asiyah Leavitt – paraprofessional at LES

Employee Separations

April makes a motion to approve employee separations. Curtis seconds. All in favor.

Other Items

Curtis wants to update the emergency response plan. Randy says it was discussed in admin meeting. 

April asks about the gym policy. 

Shaleen gives an update on sports at the high school. The girls basketball team took 2^nd at a tournament. The cheer team took 1^st in region. 

CLOSED SESSION

Curtis makes a motion to go into closed session per Utah Code Annotated Section 52-4-205(1)(a) at 6:46 pm. Cory seconds. 

Tyler is excused at 7:06 pm

Open Meeting resumes at 8:02 pm

Shawn adjourns the meeting at 8:02 pm