Board Meeting Minutes July 14, 2021

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR WAYNE SCHOOL DISTRICT ON WEDNESDAY JULY 14th, 2021 AT 6:00 PM at WAYNE HIGH SCHOOL.

THOSE PRESENT:

Shawn Davis - President

Conducting: Shawn Davis

ADMINISTRATION

Shawn Davis called the meeting to order. 

Pledge of Allegiance.

Reverence is offered by Curtis Whipple.

Cory makes a motion to approve the minutes from 6/16/21.  April seconds the motion. All in favor.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Tyler mentions a URS audit that was just completed with no findings. He discusses the fund balances for the operating and capital funds, covers revenues and expenses for the general fund and suggests that we move money from the general fund to the capital fund for upcoming capital projects. The annual financial audit will be conducted the second week of August.

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

CITIZEN COMMENTS

 No citizen comments.

INFORMATION ITEMS

Agriculture Education at a Glance

Jessica Grundy gives an overview of the Ag program. Ag Education consists of three different parts: the classroom, the FFA program, and summer Ag. Last year there were 79 students who went through Ag classes. She explains the CTE pathways and cites 27 pathways completed. Forty percent of the student body were enrolled in FFA. There were many members of FFA who earned degrees, including the State FFA, American Degree, Greenhand or Chapter Degrees. They were selected as the State Champions for Utah Agriculture in the Classroom. 

Jessica talks about the involvement between the high school and elementary students. She describes the application process and selection of programs for nationals. Forty of the kids are involved in community placement and 17 have entrepreneurial projects. 

Shawn speaks to the importance of trade programs. Liz states that the CTE programs keep kids involved and engaged in school. Jennifer Christensen adds that CTE kids graduate at a higher rate. 

Superintendent’s Report

Randy talks about a Superintendent conference he went to recently and a meeting with Senator Owens regarding our facilities needs. There is significant pledged support from those who have been approached for our situation. Randy talks about possible avenues to gain support and who has been contacted regarding this. There is discussion about the conversation with Senator Owens and optimism regarding the feedback received to date. 

Opening institute is combined with Piute and Tintic school districts. The day includes State Superintendent Syd Dickson as a key-note speaker and a member of The Piano Guys. We will have lunch and break-out groups by grade-level, content area and roles.  

Superintendent Shelley mentions the USBA Leadership Academy that will be held this year. At least three members of the board will be in attendance. 

Shawn reads an email that says Superintendent Shelley was nominated as Vice-Chair of CUES. The board congratulates him on this nomination. 

Annual Bylaws Review

Shawn reviews Policy BAA – Board Powers and Duties. The board reads and signs the Code of Ethics, policy BBF1.

BUSINESS ITEMS

Early Learning Plan

Wendy Potter says this year’s plan includes both literacy and numeracy. She covers specifics of the plan, including how we meet the needs of the students and measure their performance. She says that they plan to have weekly analysis of the data. The plan was developed by a committee consisting of Wendy, Superintendent Shelley, Cliff Peterson, Ashlee Jackson, and Jamie Webb. Wendy mentions the importance of sharing the plan with all teachers. 

Randy explains that he wants to use the plan to improve instruction rather than simply a hoop to jump through. 

The plan goals include increasing the percentage of third grade students scoring at or above level by 15% and reducing the number of second grade students scoring well below benchmark by 28%. 

The plan also includes a section on professional learning. It has to be evidence-based, focused, job-embedded, and sustained. The intent is to help more seasoned teachers as well. 

April makes a motion to approve the Early Learning Plan for 2021-2022. Liz seconds. All in favor. 

Student Board Member Criteria and Application

Cory describes what a student board member would do, including being a voice for the other students and providing input to the board. The student must be a high school senior, have a GPA of 2.0 or higher, submit an application and biography, and provide two written references. He says that he hopes that it would give some good experience to our students.  The candidate will also receive a scholarship based on their participation and fulfillment of responsibilities.

Jessica Grundy asks about the GPA limit. She thinks it seems a bit low for a position like this. Cory says that most districts are just following the UHSAA requirements. There is some discussion about whether it should be raised or not. Cory states that we want to encourage as many to apply as possible. 

They discuss a scholarship amount of $1,000, which would include attendance at a minimum of 75% of board of education meetings. Each board member will contribute $200. 

Cory makes a motion to approve the Student Board Member Criteria and Application including a dollar amount of $1,000 for the scholarship, attendance at meetings, and additional eligibility requirements as determined by the high school. Curtis seconds. All in favor.

Shawn thanks Wendy and her committee for their work on the Early Learning Plan.

Policies

Cory makes a motion to approve first reading of policies DAC – Employment Background Checks, DACA – Duty to Personally Report Arrests, DAI – Code of conduct, DBA – Contracts Certified Employees, DEAB – Procurement of Workers Compensation Insurance, DHA – Orderly School Termination of Employees, DLA – Employee Bullying or Hazing, DDB – Reporting of Student Prohibited Acts, DFA – Educator Induction Mentoring and Professional Learning. Liz seconds. All in favor.

New Hires

April makes a motion to approve the new hires and appointment. Liz seconds. All in favor.

New Hires:

Cathy Brian – behavioral specialist at Loa Elementary

Employee Separations

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

Separations:

Coral Chappell – District Office Specialist

Other Items

Shawn brings up the janitorial situation and expresses concern about the upcoming year. The janitorial staff would like to have a work session to discuss the needs. The board says that this should be handled with their supervisors. 

Heidi Woolsey says she feels that some of the classified staff gets overlooked and isn’t appreciated. Randy says we appreciate all they do but sometimes fail to show that appreciation. 

Shawn says that The Byway has offered to distribute information to the community. He suggests that we provide information for them to publish.

The delegate assembly will be held in August. Curtis will be in attendance. 

Shawn reiterates to the board the importance of discussing only pertinent and allowable topics in closed session. 

CLOSED SESSION

Curtis makes a motion to go into closed session per Utah Code Annotated Section 52-4-205(1)(a) at 8:07 pm. Liz seconds. 

Open meeting resumes at 9:02 pm

Shawn adjourns the meeting at 9:02 pm.