Board Meeting Agenda/Minutes 6-27-16

Link to video of the meeting through CNET1.org

 

June 27, 2016 Regular Board Meeting
Panorama Village Building Meeting - Room A
240 Villa Crest Drive
State College, PA 16801

I.      CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Ms. Concepcion called the State College Area School District Board of School Directors meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. She welcomed all in attendance and those viewing from home. Ms. Concepcion announced that Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone. The Board held an executive session June 13, 2016 on personnel, and a legal matter; and also held an executive session prior to this meeting on personnel. With the agenda before them, she asked board members if there were any changes; there were no changes.

A copy of all materials distributed to board members for discussion and/or action is included with the official minutes, unless otherwise indicated.

Board members present: Amy Bader, Gretchen Brandt, Amber Concepcion, Dan Duffy, Penni Fishbaine, Scott Fozard (connected by phone), David Hutchinson, Jim Leous (connected by phone), Laurel Zydney
Board members absent :
Board Secretary: Mary Jenn Dorman
Student Representative:
Solicitor: Scott Etter
Superintendent: Robert O’Donnell
District Personnel: Randy Brown, Linda Pierce, Jason Perrin, Ed Poprik, Chris Rosenblum, Eugene Ruocchio, Donna Watson
Guests: Jessica Chaddrick, Tom Lundig, David McPherson, Becky Misangyi, Bruce Porter, Isaiah Porter

II.      COMMUNICATIONS
Ms. Concepcion recognized retiree, Lois Zimmerman Food
Service Secretary, employed by the District for 31years. She thanked Ms. Zimmerman for her service and wished her well in retirement.

Dr. O’Donnell noted there are three more community forums scheduled to discuss the District-Wide Facilities Master Plan - Elementary Update: July 18 - Ferguson Township Elementary - 7 p.m., August 15 - Mount Nittany Elementary - 7 p.m. and September 19 - Mount Nittany Middle 7 p.m. Childcare will be available. The input provided so far has been valuable and we encourage the public to attend and engage in the conversations.

III.      PUBLIC COMMENT
Ms. Concepcion noted each individual will be limited to comments of five (5) minutes as time permits for items on this agenda or related to Board business. The following audience member addressed the Board:
--Harry Hamilton spoke on coming regularly to talk about profiling and asking the Board to adopt a policy. He knows they are doing something, but is it enough? Are we satisfied for what it will do? He understands the Board is discussing an Inclusion Policy but profiling is the problem and spoke on the Ferguson Police Department having sensitivity training.
--Eugene Ruocchio spoke as a teacher, SCAEA President and community member to thank the Board for taking a stand for the PSBA Legislative Platform for the submission of the two items to approve this evening to be submitted. This District has a high level of dedication, he felt they were taking a logical position and were recognizing the dedication for the work that our teachers do.

IV.      ROUTINE APPROVALS
A motion to approve the Routine Approval Listing as presented.
--Approve Board Regular Meeting Minutes June 13, 2016
--Accept Communications Committee Notes from June 14, 2016
--Accept Policy Development Committee Notes from June 15, 2016
--Accept Culture, Climate and Learning 6-22-16 Meeting Notes
--Appoint Susan Sampsell to the Citizens Advisory Committee for Finance
--Appoint Mi Kim to the Citizens Advisory Committee for Facilities
--Approve asbestos removal change order #1 for the High School project as a credit of $7,200.
--Approve Budget Amendment for Ready to Learn Grant for $181,573 greater than what was budgeted for 2015-2016 school year.
--Budget Transfers for May 2016
--Renewal of site license for IXL Learning for math grades K-6 for three years, July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2019 in the amount of $43,200 as presented
--Human Resources Recommendations (refer to attachment IV-K)

Dr. Duffy moved and Ms. Fishbaine seconded to approve the Routine Approvals as presented. Board members spoke on the renewal of the IXL Contract, would like to see how things are three years from now, options available before this is renewed, keep mind open to similar programs, and could be addressed through the Culture, Climate and Learning Committee. Dr. O’Donnell spoke on the appointments of new members to the CAC committees and noted they help the District and it is good to have interested people. With the motion moved and seconded above, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously.

V.      ACTION ITEMS
A motion to approve Secondary Textbooks for 2016-17 School Year as presented. Mr. Hutchinson moved and Ms. Fishbaine seconded to approve the motion. There was no discussion. With the motion moved and seconded, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously.

VI.      APPROVAL of POLICIES
A motion to approve Policies 626 Federal Fiscal Compliance, 626.1 Travel Reimbursement, 828 Conflict of Interest, 331, 431, and 531 Job Related Expenses, and 108 Textbook/Electronic Equivalents as presented. Ms. Fishbaine moved and Mr. Hutchinson seconded to approve the motion. There was no discussion. With the motion moved and seconded, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously.

VII.      CHANGE ORDER for HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT
A motion to approve change order for the High School project as presented (Fire Protection Contractor Change Order #1 in an amount not to exceed $14,000). Mr. Hutchinson moved and Ms. Fishbaine seconded to approve the motion. There was no discussion. With the motion moved and seconded, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously.

VIII.      APPROVE RECEIPT of PLANCON PARTS A and B
A motion to approve receipt of PlanCon Parts A and B for the Corl Street, Houserville, and Radio Park Elementary School Projects and to enter those approvals into the minutes of this meeting as required by PDE. Ms. Fishbaine moved and Dr. Duffy seconded to approve the motion. Board member noted that they were already submitted and this is saying yes, we received them back with markups and comments. Mr. Poprik noted that Part A is project justification and Part B is project design. With the motion moved and seconded, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously.

IX.      APPROVE RECEIPT of PLANCON PART I
A motion to approve receipt of PlanCon Part I for the High School project and enter the approval into the minutes of this meeting as required by PDE. Mr. Hutchinson moved and Ms. Fishbaine seconded to approve the motion. There was no discussion. With the motion moved and seconded, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously.

X.      LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM ISSUES SUBMISSION to PSBA
A motion to approve the submission of the Legislation Platform issues to PSBA by June 30, 2016 as presented. Mr. Hutchinson moved and Dr. Bader seconded to approve the motion with a proposed modification for Rationale #1. Board members discussed: A proposed modification for #1 Rationale, modification to come up with what we do support, no evidence or no basis for the purpose of conducting teacher evaluation, for professionals across the state, the prevailing point of view, the work done by ESSA Study Group, ESSA is cpmpletely separate process from the PSBA Legislative Platform, the #2 Item, challenge give entire school to bring all up, agreew with ideas behind this, and the modification for Rationale #1. Dr. O’Donnell spoke on what we do support, how you manage the standardized, the teacher being well planned, having responsive practices and being reflective and communicative. The modification for Rationale #1 would read, “... but especially standardized student test scores, which research has consistently shown to be unreliable is….” Instead of the original wording - “... but especially standardized student test scores, which are notoriously unreliable is…” With the motion moved and seconded above and the wording modification agreed upon, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously.

XI.      DIRECTOR of GIFTED ED. and LEARNING ENRICHMENT SERVICES JOB DESCRIPTION
A motion to approve the job description for Director of Gifted and Learning Enrichment Services as presented. Mr. Hutchinson moved and Ms. Fishbaine seconded to approve the motion. Board members discussed: The PA Code Compliance, add Chapter 4 and Chapter 16, Learning Enrichment (LE) and Gifted Education joined at the hip, may not be same direction moving forward, and correction to #6 to read, “...of the Gifted and LE Curriculum s (plural)...” Dr. O’Donnell added that the District has not had trouble accelerating students and now we need to manage it responsibly, which could be subject to change and refined. Board member added that #11 fits into current structure but would not need to come back to the Board to change. Very glad to see us moving in this direction. With the motion moved and seconded above to approve the job description, all board members present voted aye on a roll call vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous were connected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous disconnected by phone at 7:48 p.m.

XII.      DISTRICT GOAL CATEGORY: FACILITIES and GROUNDS
High School Project Update
Mr. Jones noted that things were going well on the High School project. With a PowerPoint presentation, he reviewed a map showing the four educational units, the green areas meant complete and the red areas are in progress, pointed out slab on grade prep for wall construction, and the concrete retaining wall at the track. Mr. Jones reviewed what will be happening looking ahead, noted 30days without an accident, and the project schedule is on time. Board members discussed: Better signage now that the road is two-way, really just for drop-off, should have a CLOSED sign for traffic, all the parking is at North for Welch Pool, and the turnaround is for drop-off only. There should be a sign for “no parking,” only 50% of the cars stop for the flashing light, there is a safety issue, maybe the Borough should be notified for police enforcement, Ms. Brandt would communicate through COG and

Dr. O’Donnell will send a note to borough police.

District Wide Facilities Master Plan - Elementary Update
Mr. Brown spoke on the Forum held June 16 and three upcoming Forums July 18, August 15, and September 19. He will add the additional community conversation/feedback from the last Forum and noted the July 18 breakout sessions will be more decision points looked at with Lessons Learned. Mr. Brown reviewed action steps in progress: A calendar for the process, demography study, attendance area analysis, possible growth of PSU faculty with children new to area, evaluating project cost estimates, and operational costs. He spoke on the charge to the Facilities and Grounds Committee/Communications Committee regarding priority questions for decision making from feedback to develop a matrix for organization. Board members discussed: The amount of feedback, need to categorize and prioritize, provide an analysis of what we have to make the right decision, there is much data, more comments than suggestions, value in looking at the school size of different cohorts, also the value in looking at university towns, our square miles are much larger than others, and could still do some checking on this with mid-west university towns.

VII.      BOARD REPORTS
● Communications Ms. Concepcion reported for Mr. Leous that the Communications Committee prepared for the June 16 Forum. No future meeting was scheduled but board members will be made aware when they are scheduled.
● Policy Development Ms. Brandt noted that most of the meeting dealt with athletics and spoke about better ideas to communicate parent sign-off, develop administrative guidelines for the athletic policy, a need for update and refinement, and provide a clear understanding for Athletic Department.
They spoke about the nondiscrimination, and anti-harassment and anti-bullying policies; an inclusive excellence policy and being an umbrella that other policies could fall under; and this could all be under the topic of school climate.
Future agenda planning for the Policy Development committee will be: Local Board procedures, Transgender Policy and that many places already deal with with this issue, and Dr. O’Donnell explained our current practices.
● Finance and Audit They did a review of present stakes, the District budget and the lack of the state budget, and discussed the       multiyear approach to the budgets.
● Culture, Climate, and Learning Most of the conversation of this meeting was captured in the meeting notes approved this evening and noted most of the meeting had to do with the English/Language Arts and Library curriculum K12.
● Upcoming Committee Meetings:
         Facilities and Communication Combined - July 6
         Policy Development - July 20
         Culture, Climate and Learning - July 20

VIII.      FUTURE AGENDA PLANNING
Ms. Concepcion noted that the July 11 regular meeting was canceled but the Board will have a work session/conference. July 18 is the next community forum and reviewed the items for the July 25 regular meeting.

Dr. Duffy provided a brief update on the CIU regarding a pattern of support coming for early intervention. They will continue the programs but will need to find other means at the end of the process. This will affect all members of the CIU.

IX.      ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Hutchinson moved and Ms. Zydney seconded to adjourn the meeting. All board members present voted aye with a voice vote. (Mr. Fozard and Mr. Leous had disconnected by phone.) The motion passed unanimously. Ms Concepcion adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m.

Submitted by,

Mary Jenn Dorman
Board Secretary