AMPHITHEATER
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Tucson,
Arizona
MINUTES OF
REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING OF GOVERNING BOARD
Place, Date and Time
of Meeting
Wetmore Center, 701 West Wetmore Road, September 11, 2001,
5:30 p.m.
Board Members Present
Dr. Kenneth Smith,
President
Nancy Young Wright, Vice President/Clerk
Dr. Kent Barrabee, Member
Mike Prout, Member
Mary Schuh, Member
Central
Administrators Present
Dr. Vicki M.
Balentine, Superintendent
Dr. Richard Hooley,
Associate Superintendent
Todd A. Jaeger, J.D.,
Associate to Superintendent and General Counsel
Constance Cigliana,
Director of Finance
OPENING OF MEETING
Dr. Kenneth Smith called the meeting to order.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
1. Motion to Recess Open Meeting and Hold an Executive
Session
Dr. Smith announced that the Board would recess open meeting and hold an executive session for:
A. Discussion
and Consultation with Representatives of the Governing Board Regarding
Negotiations with Employee Organizations Regarding Salaries, Salary Schedules,
or Compensation Paid in the Form of Fringe Benefits of Classified, Certificated
and Administrative Employees, Pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(5);
B. Discussion and Consultation with Legal Counsel in Order to Consider the District’s Position and Instruct Legal Counsel Regarding the District’s Position Regarding Contract for Improvements to Naranja Road and Discussion or Consultation for Legal Advice Regarding the Same, Pursuant to A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3) and (4).
A motion was made by Ms. Young Wright, seconded by Dr. Barrabee and passed unanimously, that the Board recess into executive session. The time was 5:31 p.m.
Reconvening of Meeting and Signing of
Visitors Register
Following the executive session, Dr. Smith reconvened the
meeting at 7:02 p.m., and asked members of the audience to sign the visitors
register. Procedures for addressing the
Board were described.
2. Recognition of Adrienne Ledford
The Board recognized Adrienne Ledford, Special Education Teaching Assistant at Amphitheater High School, who had been selected by the Arizona Education Association as Educational Support Professional of the year.
PUBLIC
COMMENT
Audience members addressed the Board: Cheryl Lundgren, regarding cuts in staff/added duties, 301 Plan, value of teaching; Adrienne Ledford, morale and retention of employees, office/custodial staffing by formula. Ms. Young Wright asked that administration review the national staffing to standards and report back to the Board. John Lewandowski requested that the Proposition 301 agenda item be changed from the October 9 meeting to a date when schools are in session. Additional persons addressed the Board: Dick Bemis, disbursement of 301 money, adoption of a teacher-based performance plan; Joanne Lazarus, better communication with staff on all relevant issues. Diana Boros indicated support for the Superintendent and Board, and encouraged communication and working together in planning for 301 money.
INFORMATION
3. Announcement of
Date and Place of Next Meeting
Dr. Smith announced
the next regular meeting of the Governing Board: Tuesday, September 25, 2001, approximately 7:00 p.m., at Wetmore
Center, 701 West Wetmore.
4. Review of 2002-2003 Budget Development
Process
In order to ensure the smooth progression of the development of the 2002-03 budget, a draft of the 2002-03 Budget Development Process had been created and was presented for review and discussion. Dr. Balentine noted that suggestions from Mr. Lewandowski, Amphi E. A. President, had been included. In discussion of approving the budget prior to July, it was felt the budget could be presented for approval in the month of June.
5. Review of Special Education Requirements,
504 Requirements, and District Homebound Program
Dr. Gail Bornfield, Executive Director of Student Services,
reported that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, enacted in 1975,
focuses on provision of services to students with disabilities, with thirteen
disabilities identified as eligible.
The primary components of the initial act have remained intact, focusing
on how students become eligible and are then served. She reviewed the components of the act, and elaborated on special
education in Amphitheater District. There is a shortage of special education
teachers, and some emergency certifications utilized.
Dr. Bornfield reported on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, the purpose of which is to ensure that individuals with
disabilities are not discriminated against.
For schools, this is often translated to access issues, in the sense of
instruction and physical access. Within
a school structure, Section 504 demands that procedures be developed to ensure
the needs of students are met.
Dr. Bornfield reported that homebound services are available
to students for reasons related to medical and/or behavioral needs. The majority of students placed into
homebound services are there for medical reasons. The District was currently serving five students on homebound.
There was discussion of special education practices in the
District. Districts are not fully
funded for mandatory services; the question was raised of what percentage of
the budget this comprises. More
specific information will be gathered and provided by the administration in a
Friday report.
CONSENT AGENDA
Ms. Young Wright moved approval of the consent agenda items, with the exception of item A, Approval of Minutes. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Schuh and passed unanimously. Appointment of personnel is effective, provided all district, state and federal requirements are met.
Ms. Young Wright, referring to minutes of August 28, 2001, asked that a clarification be added to item 3, Study and Action on 301 Performance Pay Plan: when she invited the public to contact her about concerns, this was not meant to usurp anyone’s position or go around policy; such information is shared with Dr. Balentine so appropriate responses can be made.
The voting on item A, Approval of Minutes, the motion passed
unanimously.
A. Approval of
Minutes
Minutes of the August
30, 2001 and August 28, 2001 Governing Board meetings were approved (see
above).
B. Appointment of
Personnel
Certified and
classified personnel were appointed, as listed in Exhibit 1.
C. Personnel
Changes
Certified and
classified personnel changes were approved, as listed in Exhibit 2.
D. Leave(s) of
Absence
Certified and
classified personnel were granted leaves of absence, as listed in Exhibit 3.
E. Separation(s) and
Termination(s)
Certified and
classified personnel separations were approved, as listed in Exhibit 4.
In accordance with A.R.S. 15-537 and District Regulation GCO, the Governing Board authorizes individuals to evaluate certified staff. Each year the Career Ladder Department trains evaluators in the Amphitheater Teacher Performance Evaluation System. The Board approved individuals newly trained to evaluate and participate in the evaluation process of certified staff (Attachment A). Attachment B lists additional currently approved evaluators.
G. Approval of
Out-of-State Travel
Out-of-state travel
was approved (source of funding indicated):
Catherine Land, Program Coordinator for the 21st Century
Grant, to attend the National League of Cities – Your City’s Families
Conference in Minnesota in September (no cost to District).
H. Acceptance of
Gifts
Donations were accepted by the Governing Board, as listed in Exhibit 5.
I. Approval of
Vouchers
The following vouchers were approved as presented and
payment authorized:
Vo.
120 $266,376.84
Vo.
121 75,531.48
Vo.
122 76,972.55
Vo.
123 124,779.42
Vo.
124 86,324.29
Vo.
125 7,748.79
Vo.
126 398,935.32
Vo. 127 20,596.01
6. Approval of Architect for
Deficiency Corrections Projects
Board book information: Public notice seeking proposals for
professional architectural services for Deficiency Corrections projects was
issued by the School Facilities Board and due July 20, 2001. Ten firms responded to the notice. The list of projects totals $4,550,282. Written submissions were screened by a
selection committee. The following
criteria were considered in the initial evaluation:
1. Professional caliber and experience of staff.
2. Previous renovation experience.
3. Capacity and capability of the firm to perform this work
4. Past record of performance.
5.
Familiarity with school projects and Amphitheater District.
From this process, four architectural firms were invited to make presentations to the selection committee on August 24, 2001. Final ranking was based on the proposal deemed to be in the best overall interest of the District. Primary considerations were: presented approach, project personnel, specialized experience (K-12), cost and schedule control, and scope of services as specified in the Lump Sum Agreement for Architectural and Engineering Services, as shown in the Request for Proposals.
Upon approval by the Governing Board, the original contract may be renewed annually for a total time of contract not to exceed five fiscal years. Renewal shall be by mutual agreement between the awarded offeror and the District. This contract will be initiated by purchase order at the beginning of each fiscal year.
It was the recommendation of the selection committee and the administration that The Hanson Group be approved for provision of architectural/engineering services required for various deficiency corrections projects.
Doug Aho, Executive Manager, Operational Support, introduced Bill Kopatich, of Heery International, who will serve as the District’s Project Manager (liaison between the State Facility Board and Amphitheater Public Schools). Mr. Kopatich described the evaluation process followed in the selection of the recom-mended architect for deficiency corrections projects (see above Board book information). In discussion, Mr. Kopatich described the Lump Sum Agreement, a document developed by the SFB to be used in the award of the contracts, which are between Amphitheater School District and the selected architect. The Lump Sum Agreement precisely describes how the architect will be compensated for the period of the agreement. The scope of work is an attachment to the RFP, and describes $4.5 million worth of work that has been identified as deficiency projects for Amphitheater District. That is the extent of the scope of work that the architect is signing up to provide. The architect must develop and provide a detailed schedule of how he will approach and execute the work. This SFB award will expire at the end of June 2003. The master schedule developed by the architect will become an attachment to the Lump Sum Agreement. The duration of his support will be defined before the contract is signed by the District. Mr. Kopatich stated that Heery International’s job, working in conjunction with the District and SFB and the architect, will develop a schedule that is also an attachment to the contract, wherein it is specified at what stage the contract will end; it must show a completion date of prior to June 30 of 2003. In discussion of oversight, Mr. Kopatich stated that Heery International provides construction management in addition to project management; they will have a construction manager on each site each day.
A motion was made by Dr. Barrabee that The Hanson Group be
approved. The motion was seconded by
Ms. Young Wright and passed unanimously.
Members of The Hanson Group were introduced: Dick Hanson, Jay Hanson, Army Curtis.
7. Approval of 2001-2002 Revenue Budget
The State of Arizona requires governing boards to formally approve a Revenue Budget for the school year prior to September 15. Ms. Cigliana reviewed the 2001-02 revenue budget. It was the recommendation of the administration that the Governing Board approve the 2001-02 Revenue Budget as presented. A discussion of tax rates and budgeting followed.
A motion was made by Mrs. Schuh to approve the 2001-02
budget as presented. The motion was
seconded by Ms. Young Wright and passed unanimously.
8. Approval of
Revisions to Governing Board Policy JICFA Regarding Hazing
Board book information: The Board
reviewed policy JICFA at its August 28, 2001 meeting and discussed recent
legislation which dictated a modification of Governing Board Policy JICFA
regarding “Hazing.”
The revised policy
presented combined current Board Policy JICFA with a new model policy prepared
by the Arizona School Boards Association.
The revision reflects the requirements of A.R.S. § 15-2301, as enacted
by the First Regular Session of the Forty-fifth Legislature, which defines and
prohibits hazing, requires very prescriptive inclusions to the policy, and
establishes the definition of “student” for the purpose of enforcement of the
policy. Also presented was a draft
regulation regarding complaint-reporting procedures, a Complaint Form Exhibit,
and an exhibit that can be used for posting the hazing policy, as required by
law.
Dr. Balentine noted that
this policy is required by statute, and included all required language. The
administration recommended approval.
Mrs. Schuh moved the adoption of Policy JICFA. Ms. Young Wright seconded the motion. It was noted that to conform with statute, specific language was incorporated which otherwise might not have been used. The motion passed unanimously.
9. Approval of
Revisions to District Policy KHB Regarding Advertising in Schools and
Discussion of Facilities Usage
Board book information: Current
District policy sets limits on advertising in schools. This is based upon a philosophy that schools
are places to learn, not to receive solicitations to buy one product or
another; it is also clear that, while at school, students are “captive
audiences.” Policy does, however,
permit recogni-tion of vendors who contribute to or otherwise support District
programs. The District permits
individual “for-profit” businesses to
lease site space for their activities, i.e., Jazzercise, karate classes, which
previously had been organized through Community Extension Programs. In order to motivate these businesses to
lease space through the District Facility Usage office, the administration
proposed to offer the businesses an opportunity to advertise their class or organization
to District staff and students via flyers provided to a site, as they were
previously able to do through CEP.
The revision would
permit advertisements and/or promotional materials to be distributed to staff
and/or students on behalf of “for-profit” organizations that have executed an appropriate
lease for use of District facilities and that are providing an educational
service or product, but only upon approval of the Superintendent or her
designee.
Since the Board’s last
study, the draft had been revised to restrict permissible advertising flyers to
those which advertise functions occurring on District campuses. This will preclude excessive advertisement
of other services or products offered by a vendor. It will keep the focus on functions affiliated by contract with
District facilities.
In discussion of meeting the
educational purposes of the District, Mr. Jaeger noted that we approve every
flyer that is sent home, distinguishing between non-profit messages that are
permissible and those that are impermissible.
Appropriateness/relevancy of flyers was discussed. Dr. Smith, stating that he realized
everything could not be written into the policy, requested that the
administration utilize real caution in the implementation of this policy.
Ms. Young Wright suggested that
more specificity be incorporated in KHB-R, Exclusion of Salespeople. She questioned whether persons giving pep
talks on selling magazines would be considered salespeople. Mr. Jaeger spoke regarding the distinction
between salespersons soliciting
students/staff for a service or product, and salespeople assisting the
school/PTO/student body in fundraising activities. He noted a separate policy on fundraising that permits the latter
type of activity, and stated that Policy KHB would not restrict these
activities.
In discussion of KHB-R,
Distribution of Political Materials, Mr. Jaeger clarified that this refers to
the school’s role in circulating political materials, and is not related to
activity at the school site after hours.
Administration confirmed that
contracts could require that any vendor seek the District’s permission before
utilizing a school name in a commercial.
Also, a clause could be inserted in rental contracts that the rental
company will be expected to abide by District policy; thus, parental permission
for photographs would be required.
In discussion of sale of such
things as class rings, caps and gowns, Mr. Jaeger stated that those
functions are school related and are
district-/school-sanctioned. This policy
is designed to prevent a salesperson not authorized by the District from
soliciting children or providing demonstrations. Mr. Prout requested that KHB-R explicitly state, “No unauthorized
salesperson or distributor . . .” In
Policy KHB, Advertising in Schools, it was suggested that the verbiage
“Exceptions” be replaced with “Permitted Activities; or that “Exceptions” be
deleted and the paragraph begin “For the public good . . .”
10. Discussion of District Policy
Relating to Political Activities on District Property
Board book information: Following discussion of proposed revisions to the District’s advertising and promotion policy (KHB) at its August 28, 2001 meeting, Governing Board members requested review of the District’s policy for political activity on school grounds, particularly as it might relate to the distribution of political materials or advertisements.
Policy KHB would in fact apply to distribution of all advertising material, including that of a political nature. The policy presented for review requires pre-approval of any flyer or circular to be distributed on District grounds. Approval is obtained through the office of the Associate to the Superintendent. Campaign materials which promote candidates or ballot measures are not authorized for distribution. The District does not have a separate policy on political solicitations; however, the following statement had been proposed to be added to KHB-R (agenda item 9): “Distribution of Political Materials: Political circulars or petitions may not be posted or distributed in school.”
To facilitate discussion, included in the Board packet was a memorandum issued last year by the Associate to the Superintendent to all schools to provide guidance on political activities in several respects. Mrs. Schuh noted the importance of the communication of this policy to the schools. Dr. Smith noted that this item and the preceding item would be brought back to the Board for action.
Recess
A recess was taken from 9:55 to 10:05 p.m.
11. Status Report: Procurement; Supplies; Class Size; Textbooks; Ironwood Ridge High
School; Site Support for Goals, 301 and Operations; Curriculum Alignment; New
Teacher Orientation; Administrators; Art, Music, and P.E. in Our Elementary
Schools; Emergency Procedures; Film/ Video Policy; Volunteers; Human
Resources
Dr. Hooley reviewed procurement procedures which are
being put into place. He additionally
gave status reports on the above-listed items.
Further review of emergency procedures will take place and a Friday
report made to the Board. Administration will check to make sure the
District’s web site has a number for volunteers to call. Dr. Hooley announced the ribbon-cutting
ceremony at Ironwood Ridge High School would take place October 3, 10:00 a.m.
There were no requests for future agenda items.
Audience member Mike Schuh addressed the Board, advocating
use of generic symbols by police and fire departments when at schools, and use
of Power Point at Board meetings.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Dr. Barrabee, seconded by Mr. Prout and passed unanimously, that the meeting be adjourned. The time was 10:43 p.m.