School Board Highlights: November 6, 2018

Meeting Highlights

Board approved change orders: The board approved Change Order No. 1 for Tillicum Middle School in the additive amount of $252,424 plus tax and Change Order No. 6 for Wilburton Elementary in the additive amount of $735,089 plus tax. The Wilburton project is nearly complete, and the board expects to see one more change order for the school in December.

Board passed three resolutions:
1. The board approved Resolution 2018-17: Completion of Interlake Transition Service Center.
2. The board adopted Resolution 2018-25: Rollback General Fund Excess Levy 2019 as presented by Deputy Superintendent of Finance and Operations, Melissa deVita. This resolution outlined a rollback from what voters had approved versus what the district can collect based on levy calculations. The difference is $16.8 million.
3. deVita presented the board a second Resolution 2018-26: Net Rental Income. According to state statute, the district can move $157,000 from the capital projects fund to the general fund, but this money will still be used to maintain buildings and one-time expenses.
Board approved amended Policy 4040: Public Access to District Records: The board approved the amended policy, presented by Executive Director of Schools John Harrison, along with Public Records Officer Helen Boyer.
Board acknowledged new administrators: Director of Employee Relations Alexa Allman introduced the group of new principals. Following introductions, the board thanked the administrators for making time to attend the meeting and acknowledged how important these roles are in serving each and every student.

Policy 3122: Excused and Unexcused Absences was presented by Harrison for first reading.
Second reading of Policy 1420: Proposed Agenda and Consent Agenda and first reading for new Procedure 1420: Proposed Agenda and Consent Agenda were presented by Board President My-Linh Thai. The board provided feedback and the policy and procedure will be reviewed again at a future meeting.
The board reviewed item 2.7 Agreement by and between the Bellevue Schools Foundation and the Bellevue School District as a standalone item, as it was originally included in the consent agenda. Following the board’s discussion, they approved the agreement.

Student Enrollment, Demographics and Personnel Report was presented by deVita and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Jeff Thomas. Highlights included: enrollment flattened for the first time in many years; trends in staffing; class size; demographic data continues to shift; and seeing diversification of teachers and administrators. The board encouraged the district to find ways to share the shifts in the staff diversity with the community, noting this is an opportunity for growth. The board also acknowledged the positive increase in staffing of nurses and counselors.
Summer School Report presented by Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Heather Edlund and Director of Student Services Kristin McChesney. The board asked questions related to 2018 outcomes of elementary achievement and growth. The board shared some challenges for families to participate in these programs i.e. Operation Exploration.

The board will attend Washington State School Directors Annual Conference in Spokane on Nov. 15-16. In the evenings, following the sessions, the board has set time aside for culture of service training.
The board will visit Eastgate Elementary on Dec. 13.
Director Christine Chew gave an update on the recent PTSA Council meeting and shared concerns related to equity and field trips. It was suggested that these concerns about field trips and inclusion be considered in the equity advisory group to gain insight from the group.

To learn more about these topics, and others discussed, visit BoardDocs where you can view agendas, packets, minutes, and listen to meeting audio.