RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
JOINT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 365
BOARD OF TRUSTEES

January 14, 2010
                                                                                 
 I.         WELCOME AND CALL TO ORDER
A.  The Board of Trustees, Joint School District No. 365, met for the regular meeting at Rimrock Jr. Sr. High School Auditorium on Thursday, January 14, 2010.  Chairman Dixie Black called the meeting to order at 1 p.m. then led the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed everyone to the meeting.     

B.  Roll Call – Chairman Dixie Black, Vice Chairman Ray Meyers, Marie Robertson, Joe Merrick, Howard Field, Superintendent Vickie L. Chandler and Clerk Cathy Sellman were present.  Also attending were Principal Phil McCluskey, Principal Gerald Chouinard, Penny Jones, Connor Merrick, Chance Smith, Kyla Jewett, Jesten Dick, Courtney Bennett, Laura Smith, Jackie Thurman, Sarah Chandler, Anna Cantrell, Becca Barrett, Luis Elizarraras, Clay Cantrell and Shaelynn Merrick.

II.        APPROVE AGENDA
Superintendent Vickie Chandler asked to have an open enrollment application to be added under Action Item D and to add Item F - Approve Early Release Day on January 26th for staff in-service.
Marie Robertson made the motion and Joe Merrick seconded to approve the amended agenda for the January 14, 2010 meeting.   Motion carried.

III.       CONSENT AGENDA
A.  Approve minutes of the December 17, 2009 Regular Meeting
B.  Accounts Payable
C.  Bruneau Elementary Activity Accounts
D.  Grand View Elementary Activity Accounts
E.  Rimrock Activity Accounts
Howard Field made the motion and Ray Meyers seconded to approve the Consent Agenda.  Motion carried.
                                                           
IV.       REPORTS TO THE BOARD
A.  Student Reports
Connor Merrick, Rimrock Student Body President, representing student council, said their future service project includes painting the baseball/softball dugouts.  The student council is responsible for the vending machines and the profits will be used for school improvements. 

Jackie Thurman, Senior Class President reported they have $974 in their account to use for graduation.  The Senior Class has 35 students.   Operation Santa in Grand View was their community service project.

Laura Smith, Junior Class President said they have $ 1700 in their account.  They sold suckers and had a car wash in the summer.  Their football concessions paid for the homecoming dance and in April they will have prom.

Courtney Bennett, Sophomore Class President said they have 24 students in their class.  They have $1,553 in their bank account.  They earned money from concessions at the junior rodeo and sponsored “Pennies for Afghanistan and Pakistan”.

Kyla Jewett, 8th Grade Class President reported they have $933 in their account.  They are planning an 8th grade dance in April and using their money to help with other projects in their class.  They had a booth at Grand View days last summer and helped clean the park afterwards for a service project.

Chance Smith, 7th Grade Class President said they have 18 kids in their class.  They are working on getting money in their account.  They have been thinking of a Bruneau car wash in the summer and helping the janitors after school.

Clay Cantrell, representing the FCCLA reported they have 35 members and $ 1346.56 in their bank account.  They attended district meetings in Ontario, Oregon, sponsored an overnight “lockdown” for students to spend the night at school before Christmas, made jump ropes and donated them to kids and attended a STAR events on Monday.  They plan to attend the State Conference in April and sponsor a Blood Drive in the spring. 
    
Becca Barrett, President of National Honor Society told the board they have $530 in their account and they have 10 members.  For their community service they sponsored a canned food drive, a warm coat drive and helped a needy family in the community at Christmas time.    

Sarah Chandler, IDFY President reported they have 120 members which is the largest organization in the school and the largest Idaho Drug Free Youth Group in the state of Idaho.  They are planning a car wash in the summer, selling concessions during the movie and showing movies in the auditorium for the community.  They helped with the Rusty Fender Cross Country Meet.  They have $ 289 in their account.  They are planning a kick-off party, a ski trip and ice skating and a teen hang night at MHAFB with Emmett High School.  They helped with Red Ribbon Week and TATU at the elementary schools.  They will host a booth at the Capital to speak to legislators at the Patricia Kempthorne Ceremony. A set of pig lungs, thanks to the Grant writing by Mrs. Payne, have been purchased to use in the classrooms.

Luis Elizarraras, FHLA President said they have $1,455 in their account.  They made $200 in their booth at Grand View Days.  They plan to donate $ 675 for scholarships to the Idaho Youth Summit.  Students must be Hispanic or taking a Spanish class to be a member of Future Hispanic Leaders of America.   They are planning Cinco de Mayo activities, attending the state meetings in January, March & April, and volunteering at the elementary schools for the after school programs.

Courtney Bennett, BPA historian reported they have $ 918.06 in their account and have 30 members.  They are raising money through concessions at ball games, collecting aluminum cans and are planning a breakfast with the Easter Bunny for children.  Students are attending regional competition on January 18th with all members competing in the contests.  She thanked the school board for allowing them to have BPA at Rimrock.

Anna Cantrell, FFA Vice President said they have 14 members with $12,300 in their account.  They competed in district ag mechanics and dairy judging.  They went to Haunted World for a Halloween Party, had a Christmas party, went bowling and are planning an upcoming district competition for meats and livestock.  They also plan to attend the State Convention in Twin Falls in the spring and plan to have their Slave Sale before Spring Break and will attend State Contests in Moscow in the summer.

Jesten Dick, 9th Grade Class President reported on their fund raisers which included a cake auction at the football game and a pop shot at basketball games.  They have $451.65 in their account.  Their advisors are Mrs. Simpson and Mrs. Mori.  For a service project they are planning to clean windows at Senior Citizen Center in Grand View.

IDFY members showed the board the pig lungs which compare a smoker’s lung against a non-smoker’s lung.

Discussion was held on the qualifications for National Honor Society members.
 
B.   Principal Reports-Phil McCluskey, Gerald Chouinard 
Principal Phil McCluskey reported the BPA regional events will be held at Centennial and Mountain View High Schools on Saturday, January 16th.  Rimrock has 30 students attending and each one will be in 3 competitions.  He encouraged board members to attend some of the competitions for FCCLA, BPA or FFA.  FCCLA Star Events will be on Monday, January 18th.   Students of the quarter for Rimrock High School were Brian Simper and Jackie Thurman and for Rimrock Junior High School were Jackie Prow and Cruz Rodriguez.  They each received certificates and $50.  The $50 comes from the student fines account.  Penny Jones will receive a Community Service Award for Prevention through Patricia Kempthorne.  One of the benefits of having class schedule done at the beginning of the school year, the schedule was ready for the beginning of second semester.  Any changes in the schedule needed to be done before seconded semester started.  The IDLA semester ends on January 17th.  Discussion was held on the bus schedule for Rimrock.  Food Service people have been discussing an incentive program for students to encourage them to eat breakfast.

Principal Gerald Chouinard reported the IRI’s are in progress at both elementary schools. Bruneau Elementary received two US Ecology Grants, a Garden Grant of $550 and a Reading Grant for $1,428.  Grand View Elementary has also submitted grants but they have not heard if they were awarded.  He thanked Mr. Chance Skerjanec for working on the Hoop Shoot.  Bruneau Elementary winners were Kevin Farfan, Dallin Miller and Darion Bowman for 8-9 year olds; Cale McCarthy, Eduardo Sierra, Analeise Mills and Kyla Mills for 10-11 year olds and Hazel Olson for 12-13 year olds.  Grand View Elementary winners were Ray Draper, Nicolas Lino Elizabeth Rodriguez and Mylee Meyers for 8-9 year olds; Travis Erwin, Laureano Rodriguez, Rosie Herrera and Valeria Lino for 10-11 year olds; Anthony Mowery,  Nick Bennett, Alexis Bodily and Emma Smith for 12-13 year olds.  Rosie Herrera and Analeise Mills both qualified to attend the Hoop Shoot in Boise last year.  State contests will be in Mountain Home this year. 

December Students of the Month for Bruneau were Victor Lemus, Darion Bowman and Pedro Morales and for Grand View they were Thomas Young, Max Mulberry, Jasmine Araujo, Aron Rodriguez, Makayla Davis, Jessica Riley and Darcie Shaver. 

Mr. Chouinard commended Amber Pearson with her work as a reading coach throughout the district.  Board members were given January newsletters from both schools.

The board commended Phil McCluskey and Vanni Tilzey for singing the National Anthem at the ball games. 

C.   Superintendent Report—Vickie L. Chandler          
Superintendent Vickie L. Chandler reviewed the enrollment and events calendar with the board.  Since the special board meeting on Monday, January 11, Seventy three school districts in Idaho have signed the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) for the “Race to the Top Grant”.   Many of the schools signing are Charter Schools.  Noticeably absent from signing were Boise, Meridian and Caldwell.   The final Federal Migrant funding showed a loss of $20,000 for our district.  Superintendent Chandler wrote a grant for $20,274 for summer school and just received a letter approving the grant.  Superintendent Chandler attended a superintendent meeting for small schools in District III on January 12.  Some of the directives from the meeting were a statement at the bottom of all athletic contracts for 2010-2011 stating “This contract is binding unless modified due to budget constraints as determined by the board of trustees.” 

Another directive to WIC and Long Pin Athletic Directors dealt with football schedules for 2010.  Large schools will stay with the currently developed schedule, small schools will develop a schedule whereby each small school plays each other twice and the large schools will help fill the non-conference games for the small schools at the large school discretions.  All details will be hammered out before the end of January 2010 at the Athletic Directors meeting.  There were three focus points:  minimize expenses, i.e. travel, officiating, scheduling, etc., maintain traditional rivalries and maximize number of athletic contests.   

Our insurance company has on-line safety training for all employees.  Employees can do the classes at home or at the district. 

ISBA “Day on the Hill” will be February 18 & 19th.  The cost is $90.  Board members were given a copy of the agenda.  With budget constraints board members were encouraged to attend the “Day on the Hill” to visit with their legislators.  All board members asked to be registered for “Day on the Hill”. 

Idaho Educational Law Institute will be held in April. 

Discussion was held on problems with the carpet in Rimrock.  Superintendent Chandler will call Great Floors to come out to look at the carpet.  Custodian Maintenance Logs were reviewed and discussed.   Cleaning restrooms during lunch hour was discussed.  There are still issues with the heating and cooling gains in efficiency.  Help Desk emails to Jim Dawson or Will Goodman were discussed.  The system tracks requests for maintenance.  Goals for the near future include painting of box cars on each campus, organizing the storage in Bruneau, hard key identification system and organization and painting the exterior of the district office this summer. A used 4- wheeler has been donated to the shop class.  Mr. Schoen is working on fixing it up so it can be used for spraying weeds.

Four thank you cards from staff members for the Christmas gifts were given to board members.  A get well card was signed for Gretchen Simpson. 

Discussion was held on a cover for the mowers and driver’s education car.   

The board thanked the superintendent for the maintenance improvements and the custodian logs.

V.        PUBLIC INPUT     
None

VI.        ACTION ITEMS

A.   Accept Letter of Intent to Negotiate from Gary Jones, Bruneau-Grand View Education Association
Gary Jones has submitted a letter of intent to negotiate to the school board.  The board negotiating team was discussed. 
Ray Meyers made the motion and Joe Merrick seconded to accept Gary Jones’ negotiation letter and keep the negotiation team of Dixie Black and Marie Robertson with legal representation if the association has legal/professional representation.  Motion carried.  

B.  Expectations for School and Extra-Curricular Volunteers
Superintendent Chandler explained that by law the district should have background checks on school and extra-curricular volunteers.  In small school districts, most volunteers are well known.  The board needs to approve volunteers who help coach or work with students.  ISBA legal counsel Stephen Meade has worked with Vickie Chandler on volunteer procedures and policies.  Employee email records and the time line for keeping emails was discussed. 
 
C.  Update on Elko Border Contract
Superintendent Chandler has visited with Tim Hill at the State Department regarding the funding if the district does not sign the contract.  Special Education issues on the contract for students attending Owyhee Schools were discussed.

D.  Approve Rimrock Senior for Early Release for Work
Shaelyn Merrick asked the board for early release so she could work at Winger’s in Mountain Home.  She submitted a transcript and a letter from Winger’s to prove her employment.  She wants to attend culinary school after she graduates and she feels working in the restaurant would help her.
Ray Meyers made the motion and Marie Robertson seconded to approve early release from school for Shaelynn Merrick.  Motion carried.

D.  Open Enrollment Request
Tabled until Executive Session

E.  Superintendent Evaluation and Contract
Tabled until Executive Session

F.  Approve School Early Release for January
Superintendent Chandler sent an email to all staff members surveying them about the district LEP/ESL Programs and had a committee meeting with all ESL/LEP personnel.  Many teachers still do not know how to refer special education students, LEP students, etc.  There is a need to educate all staff members on special services for students.  The administration would like to meet with the entire staff on the afternoon of January 26th to educate the staff on special education, LEP referrals, etc.
Joe Merrick made the motion and Ray Meyers seconded to approve Early Release on January 26th for in-service.  Motion carried.

D.  Joe Merrick made the motion and Howard Field seconded to reject the Open Enrollment Application for Student A.  Motion carried.

VII.     EXECUTIVE SESSION

Howard Field made the motion and Marie Robertson seconded to adjourn into Executive Session for personnel and student issue.  Motion carried.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of School District No. 365, recess from an open meeting into Executive Session pursuant to Section 67-2345, Idaho Code, to discuss a student issue and a personnel issue.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that following the Executive Session, the Board will reconvene in public session to conduct further business or for adjournment of the meeting.

The board recessed into Executive Session at 2:55 p.m.
The board reconvened in Open Session at 3:10 p.m.

D.  Joe Merrick made the motion and Howard Field seconded to reject the Open Enrollment Application for Student A.  Motion carried.

Howard Field and Joe Merrick seconded to adjourn into Executive Session for a personnel issue.  Motion carried.
           
The board adjourned into Executive Session at 3:10 p.m.
The board reconvened in Open Session at 3:42 p.m.

Ray Meyers made the motion and Howard Field seconded to increase the superintendent’s contract to 2014, recognize she had an excellent rating on her evaluation and the salary will remain the same.  Motion carried.

VIII.    ADJOURNMENT

Marie Robertson made the motion and Joe Merrick seconded to adjourn.  Motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.

___________________________________________
                        (Catherine R. Sellman, Clerk)