The Shelton School District Board of Directors met in regular session at 6:00 p.m. on June 13, 2006 in the board room located at CHOICE Alternative School.

Board members present: Chairman Ross Gallagher, Julianna Miljour, Holly Sharpe, Sue McCausland and Amy Thornton.

Staff members present: Superintendent Joan Zook, Linda Arnold, Alison Nutt, Jackie McGuire, Janis Salzer, Patty Kuhnau, Debbie Wing, Emily Garlich, Wendy Wilson-Hoss, Caryl Maas, Brian Faire, Gary Nelson, Alison Nelson, Chad Youngquist, Betty Biswell, Linda Reimen, Linda Shrum, Lisa Hopkins, Mark Larson, Mark Weston, Gail Straus, Soosi Day, Patty Thornton, Gar Thornton, Jenny Morgan, Steve Morgan, Jennifer Deyette, Cindy Roaf, Danni Colo, Ray Field, Dennis Haymore, Sue Avery, Brian Ducker, and a number of other Shelton Education Association members.

Others present: Jeff Green, Dedrick Allen, James Hong and Tanya Ducker.

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Gallagher called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Amy Thornton read the district’s Mission Statement.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

There was one addition to the consent agenda which was a new Item 9.16 – supplemental personnel report. Julianna Miljour moved to adopt the agenda as amended. Sue McCausland seconded the motion and the motion passed 4-0.

COMMUNITY COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS

Gary Nelson, chairman of the Shelton Education Association’s bargaining team, addressed the board regarding SEA negotiations and the main issue remaining which is the compensation package. Gary went over what he said were inaccuracies and misrepresentations in the salary comparison chart put out by the district. Gary referenced Goal 2.1 in the district’ strategic plan and asked the board to give quality teachers in Shelton a reason to stay and give them a compensation package everyone can be proud of.

PERFORMANCE BY THE SHELTON ELEMENTARY GUITAR GROUPS

Board and audience members gathered in the hallway to listen to a performance by the Shelton Elementary Guitar Groups, led by music teacher Janis Salzer.

COMMUNITY COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS:

Tanya Ducker, a parent and community member, told board members that she had concerns about the district and felt there were a lot of items being done that were not as transparent as they should be. She questioned the voucher registers listed on the board agenda for approval; said she and her husband e-mailed board members earlier in the fall because they disagreed with the decision that was made to move from a 4-period to a 6-period day at Shelton School High School and was told by several board members that the decision was beyond their control; said she attempted to e-mail the superintendent with her concerns but could not locate her e-mail address on the district website; and also said she was treated very rudely by staff when she called the district office on the morning of March 9 unhappy that school was running on time and on schedule because it was snowing. Mrs. Ducker requested a written response from the school board regarding her concerns.

Chairman Gallagher responded that the superintendent is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the district and that one of the primary functions of the board is to set policy, which the decision to move to a 6-period day was not. Holly Sharpe also responded that twice tonight she’s been told the board is not doing their job. She said she has 6 children and 10 grandchildren and would not do anything to harm the education of children. Holly said that the teachers and administrators in the district do a wonderful job and anyone that would suggest otherwise should walk in their shoes.

REPORTS AND RECOGNITIONS

7.01 – Certificated salary and benefit comparability report:

Superintendent Zook echoed what Holly Sharpe said about teachers and administrators doing a wonderful job and said the board values the employees of this district and we are trying to do our best for teachers and students. She said the SEA negotiation teams have been working very hard to find common ground on the entire package brought to the table. She reviewed an overhead of the compensation package that is being offered to SEA by the district which equals $1.3 million over the course of a 3-year contract. She believes this offer allows the district to provide a reasonable offer to teachers and a reasonable number of additional days without jeopardizing the program, class size, and operation and repair of district facilities.

7.02 – Report on the Birth to 3 Early Learning Program:

Soosi Day, Birth to 3 teacher, thanked board members for the opportunity to work in Shelton this year while Karen Small was on a leave of absence. The Birth to 3 Early Learning Program serves children from birth to age 3 and has touched the lives of 60 children at some level this school year. The program is a family centered, child-focused intervention provided at the community level with multiple agencies and services to foster the potential of infants and toddlers with identified developmental delays, disabilities and risk factors that have a high likelihood of interfering with typical development in the future. In Shelton, this includes the Shelton School District, Mason County Public Health Department, Physiotherapy Associates based at Mason General Hospital, the Washington State Elks Club Therapy Program and the Center for Advocacy and Personal Development.

7.03 – Status report on the Mt. View Elementary remodeling project:

Mark Weston reported that the Mt. View Elementary remodeling project is moving along very well. They are essentially done with the schematic design phase and are now doing thing such as deciding on cabinetry and selecting colors. The preliminary cost estimate is over budget, but the value engineering process will help find areas to reduce cost. We are still on schedule to go to bid in mid to late July. Mark also commented that the Mt. View staff has been delightful work with during this process. Staff affected by Phase 1 of the project will have to pack their rooms before they leave for the summer. Mark will come back to a board meeting in the near future with the project architect and updated drawings to share.

Mark also said he was pleased with how well the window replacement project at CHOICE turned out and that the Shelton High School energy retrofit project will begin as soon as school is out for the summer. There will be a fair amount of school closure, particularly of the school gyms, throughout the summer for cost saving measures and for routine cleaning.

Sue McCausland asked Mark if the district has seen any savings get in the CHOICE building with the new windows. Mark said it was a little too early to tell yet, but a lot of staff members are keeping their classrooms lights out this time of year because of all the natural light the new windows provide.

7.04 – Recognition of outgoing student board representative Amy Thornton:

Amy Thornton, outgoing student school board representative, was honored for her service on the board during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. Amy will be attending Whitworth University in Spokane in the fall. A brief reception was held in Amy’s honor.

DISCUSSION ITEMS

8.01 – Proposed grade K-12 science curriculum adoption:

Debbie Wing and Emily Garlich reviewed the K-12 science curriculum adoption request. Emily and the science adoption team have spent the last two years completing a comprehensive program evaluation of science K-12. The recommendation before the board tonight represents hundreds of hours of work to insure that the district has the textbooks and materials in place that will lead to positive student achievement results. What they are asking approval for tonight are the instructional materials in the amount of $140,000, which is the amount in the budget. An expenditure plan has been developed to allow the district to complete the purchases over the next year or two, similar to what we have done with the reading and writing curriculum adoptions. The science kits come in both English and Spanish for those at Evergreen who teach both languages. Training will occur for all elementary teachers in the district during the last week of August. Superintendent Zook thanked Emily for her leadership and for being a good steward of the district’s money. Holly Sharpe made a motion to approve the purchase of the instruction materials as discussed above and Julianna Miljour seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.

8.02 – Proposed grade 3-5 writing curriculum adoption:

Debbie Wing presented the grade 3-5 writing curriculum adoption in the amount of $12,000, which is a follow-up to the grade K-2 writing adoption the board approved several months ago. The materials being purchased are writing kits titled “Teaching the Qualities of Writing”. Joan Zook thanked Debbie for providing outstanding leadership and structure for these curriculum adoption teams and said it is paying off tremendously. Holly Sharpe moved, seconded by Sue McCausland to approve the grade 3-5 writing adoption as presented. The motion passed 4-0.

8.03 – Proposed Resolution No. 06-08:

Proposed Resolution No. 06-08 approves the interlocal agreement with the other Mason County school districts to form a coalition of districts to secure impact fees in Mason County and authorizes the superintendent to sign the agreement as attached to the resolution. Superintendent Zook said that the County is very much in support of the school districts doing this. Shelton is the lead district in this coalition and impact fees would be divided proportionately amongst the non-high districts. Setting the dollar amount per housing unit with the County is a process that will happen at a later date. Julianna moved to approve Resolution No. 06-08, seconded by Sue McCausland. The motion passed 4-0.

8.04 – Proposed agreement with Bates Technical College:

Board members reviewed the proposed interlocal cooperative agreement for educational services with Bates Technical College for the 2006-07 school year. This is a routine agreement that must be approved each year in the event that any of our high school students want to attend Bates Technical College. Holly Sharpe made a motion to approve the agreement, seconded by Julianna Miljour. The motion passed 4-0.

CONSENT AGENDA

Chad Youngquist spoke briefly about the request for four Shelton High School students to attend the Renaissance Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota on July 13-17, 2006. The main focus of the Renaissance program at Shelton High School this year was on staff to get them to understand and appreciate what the program is. It is now time for the student phase of the program implementation. Students will be gathering ideas for promoting student achievement at the conference. Chad and these students will return to a board meeting in the fall to talk about their trip.

Julianna Miljour made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented with the addition of Item 9.16 – Supplemental personnel report. Sue McCausland seconded the motion and the motion passed 4-0. The board:

1. Approved minutes from the May 23, 2006 regular board meeting.

2. Approved General Fund Voucher No. 103955 in the amount of $436.00.

3. Approved General Fund Voucher Nos. 103956 through 104265 in the amount of $603,755.57.

4. Approved General Fund Voucher No. 104266 in the amount of $1,069.92.

5. Approved General Fund Voucher Nos. 104267 through 104268 in the amount of $11,426.20.

6. Approved Capital Projects Fund Voucher Nos. 1613 through 1618 in the amount of $281,422.95.

7. Approved Associated Student Body Fund Voucher Nos. 16297 through 16380 in the amount of $53,168.82.

8. Approved Payroll Voucher Nos. 39917 through 40048 in the amount of $2,285,302.30.

9. Authorized overnight travel to Spokane, WA on July 24-28, 2006 for the Shelton High School girl’s varsity basketball team to attend basketball team camp.

10. Authorized out-of-state travel to Missoula, MT on September 22-23, 2006 for the Shelton High School cross country team to compete in the Mountain West Classic Cross Country Meet.

11. Authorized overnight travel to Tacoma, WA on July 8-10, 2006 for three members of the Oakland Bay Junior High Drill Team to participate in drill team officer’s camp.

12. Authorized overnight travel to Tacoma, WA on July 23-26, 2006 for the Oakland Bay Junior High Drill Team to attend drill team camp.

13. Authorized overnight travel to Central Washington University for members of the Shelton High School boy’s basketball team to attend summer camp.

14. Authorized out-of-state travel for four Shelton High School students to attend the Renaissance Conference in Minneapolis, MN on July 13-17, 2006.

15. Approved the regular and supplemental personnel reports as submitted and as attached. (See Attachment #1.)

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Joan Zook participated in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation review of the Early College High School program at Shelton High School today and heard amazing compliments on the program. Students are envisioning themselves in college who never imagined they would graduate from high school.

BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS

· Julianna Miljour also participated in the Early College High School program review and said she was very proud of the school district. She also commented that on June 21 at 7:00 p.m. CHOICE is putting on a methamphetamine forum which she believes is a first in the community.

· Sue McCausland thanked everyone for the beautiful get well cards and wishes she received after having surgery. She is still recovering so is not sure if she’ll be able to attend the high school graduation ceremonies later this week.

· Amy Thornton is excited to be graduating from Shelton High School this Friday and said the past 13 years in the Shelton School District have been fun and she feels well prepared to attend Whitworth University this fall. She leaves in two weeks for a cruise in the Bahamas.

· Ross Gallagher and Joan Zook attended the New Market Vocational Skills Center recognition ceremony last night at the Performing Arts Center in Olympia. He is looking forward to CHOICE High School and Shelton High School graduation ceremonies later this week. Ross also announced that he is running for political office and actively seeking a seat on the Mason County Commission.

FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER

· CHOICE High School graduation at 7:00 p.m. on June 15 at the Civic Center.

· Shelton High School graduation at 7:00 p.m. on June 16 at St. Martin’s Pavilion.

ADJOURN

Chairman Gallagher declared the meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.

After adjournment, the board entered a non-public meeting with ESP representatives to discuss a grievance.