The monthly meeting of the Hope School District
Board of Trustees was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on November 7, 2005, in the
Hope District Board Room. All members were present except Todd Sosna. The Board
adjourned to Closed Session at 6:35 p.m. The Board reconvened in a Public
Session at 7:10 p.m. The following is a
brief outline of the actions and discussions addressed by the Board.
The Meeting Reconvened at 7:10 p.m.
No action was taken in
closed session.
Correspondence:
There was no correspondence.
Public Comment:
Under public comment representatives from the Hope District
Teachers Association read letters to the board regarding the effect of no COLA
raise on teachers who are currently placed on the salary schedule in areas that
do not have a step raise. Another teacher spoke regarding his appreciation of
the district salary schedule in comparison to other area districts. A
classified employee representative suggested that the Board look at
demographics and identify trends. He mentioned the special education
encroachment and suggested that the district look into joining other programs
such as at UCSB for funding. Several audience members spoke in regard to the
recent newspaper article that mentioned the possibility of closing one of the
district schools in the future. They expressed that the non-communication
regarding the recent principal rotation has caused some distrust among district
parents and the board was encouraged to communicate while making the decision
of whether or not to close a school.
Parents are interested in being
a part of
finding the solution to fiscal shortages. This was
followed by a discussion that encouraged regular attendance at board meetings
in order to stay informed.
Consent Items:
The following routine
consent items were presented to the Board for approval:
a.
Approve
the Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of October 10, 2005.
b.
Approve
the Minutes of the Special Board Meeting of October 19, 2005.
c. Approve the Minutes of the
Special Board Meeting of October 24, 2005.
d. Approve
submitted purchase orders and warrant reports.
Copies of the Commercial
Warrant register sheets listing the purchase orders and warrants were provided
to members of the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0
noes; 1 absent) the consent agenda.
Principals’
Reports:
Superintendent
Fausett announced the format for principals’ reports has been changed. Rather than report on individual school
events the principals’ reports will focus on academic programs in the district.
·
Monte
Vista Principal, Patrick Plamondon, was absent due to illness.
· Hope School Principal,
Barbara LaCorte, reported on the recent Staff Development held on October 24th. The Vieja Valley 3rd grade
teachers presented a workshop for all district teachers on the Rebecca Sitton
Spelling Program. The goal of this
program is for every student to be their own editor and the focus is on the
“frequency of use” words. The program increases student vocabulary and also
site reading vocabulary. Grade level
teams have piloted the program and demonstrated lessons for other teachers who
have adopted the program for their classrooms.
· Vieja Valley Principal,
Judy Stettler, reported on the district GATE (Gifted and Talented Education)
program. There is one GATE teacher, Carrie
Garner, who works with students at all three district schools on a rotating
schedule and also serves as a resource consultant to teachers and helps develop
lesson plans for use as a follow-up to the GATE lesson. The district 5th and 6th
grade teachers met in October to discuss plans, calendar, and curriculum mapping for
the GATE program. Ms. Garner plans to develop a notebook of lesson plans for
teachers. Mrs. Stettler shared the
process of a
science
lesson on cells. GATE lessons
will also be designed to
relate with current
subjects being studied in the classroom.
Action Items:
· Second Reading and Adoption of Board Policy 1340 Access to
District Records
Superintendent Fausett presented
revised Board Policy 1340 Access to District
Records to the Board for a second reading and adoption.
The Board of Trustees approved (4 ayes; 0 noes; 1 absent)
the adoption of Board Policy 1340
Access to District Records.
Discussion Item:
· Budget
The budget update
was deferred to a later meeting due to the absence for illness of Business
Manager Julie Wood.
· Board Goals
The present board
goals, adopted May 3, 2004, were included with this agenda. The superintendent
asked the board to consider whether the goals should be reconsidered for
specificity and/or consolidation.
Suggested goal topics were distributed to the Trustees at the October 10th
meeting and an additional copy was included with this agenda. The Board will review and prioritize the
goals for discussion at a later meeting.
They will also determine if the current goals should be kept in force,
and if the Trustees decide to keep the current goals the superintendent asked
that they suggest specific objectives for each goal.
Superintendent’s
Report:
Superintendent Fausett said that she had no further items to
report. She thanked the audience for
attending and said that she is open to suggestions. The contents of the recent newspaper article
were not what she had expected after meeting with the reporter and explaining
the different options that the board plans to consider. She encouraged parents
to keep in touch and work with the board to find solutions.
Board Members’ Reports:
Trustee Elizabeth Owen asked if the YMCA contract had been amended to
a one-year contract
instead of three years as suggested. The
contract is in effect until June 2006 and Mrs. Owen suggested that a committee
be formed to evaluate the program and determine if this program or another
program would best serve the district families.
Mrs. Owen volunteered to be on the committee and said that other interested
parents are necessary for the committee. Superintendent Fausett will work with the school
principals to find parent volunteers for this committee. An audience member mentioned that childcare
is a goal of the district foundation and Ms. Fausett reported that she is in
the process of reviving the foundation and asked that anyone interested in
being a part of the foundation please contact her so they can be included in
the upcoming meeting. Trustee Mike
Underwood reported that he had attended a presentation on the Brown Act at the
Santa Barbara District with Mrs. Owen and Ms. Fausett. Mr. Underwood received input from a district
parent regarding school lot parking spaces being sold/auctioned by the
foundation and was asked if these spaces should still be reserved since the
auction was a year ago?
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned
at 9:10 p.m.
ANNUAL ORGANIZATIONAL
MEETING AND REGULAR BOARD MEETING:
DECEMBER 5, 2005
6:30 P.M.
CLOSED SESSION
7:00 P.M. ANNUAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING & REGULAR BOARD MEETING
HOPE SCHOOL MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
REGULAR
BOARD MEETING:
JANUARY 9, 2005
6:30 P.M. CLOSED SESSION
7:00 P.M.
REGULAR SESSION
HOPE DISTRICT BOARD ROOM