AMPHITHEATER
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Tucson,
Arizona
MINUTES OF
SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING OF THE GOVERNING BOARD
Place, Date and Time
of Meeting
Wetmore Center, 701 West Wetmore Road, June 17, 2002, 5:03
p.m.
Board Members Present
Mary Schuh, Vice President/Clerk -- Presiding
Dr. Kent Barrabee, Member
Mike Prout, Member (entered at 6:00 p.m.)
Nancy Young Wright, Member
Board Member Absent
Dr. Kenneth Smith,
President
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
Mary Schuh called the meeting to order.
Change of Agenda Order
Item 4, Study of Cost Savings Utility Plan in the District, was moved to follow item 2.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no public comments.
1. Motion to Recess Open Meeting and Hold an
Executive Session
Mrs. Schuh announced that the Board would recess open meeting and hold an executive session in the East Conference Room for the following purposes:
A.
Determination
of Whether to Hold an Expulsion Hearing and Designate a Hearing Officer to Hear
Evidence, Prepare a Record and Bring a Recommendation to the Board, Pursuant to
A.R.S. §15-843(F)(2);
B.
Determination
of Whether to Hold an Expulsion Hearing and Designate a Hearing Officer to Hear
Evidence, Prepare a Record and Bring a Recommendation to the Board, Pursuant to
A.R.S. §15-843(F)(2);
C.
Determination
of Whether to Hold an Expulsion Hearing and Designate a Hearing Officer to Hear
Evidence, Prepare a Record and Bring a Recommendation to the Board, Pursuant to
A.R.S. §15-843(F)(2);
D.
Determination
of Whether to Hold an Expulsion Hearing and Designate a Hearing Officer to Hear
Evidence, Prepare a Record and Bring a Recommendation to the Board, Pursuant to
A.R.S. §15-843(F)(2).
A motion was made by Dr. Barrabee, seconded by Ms. Young Wright and passed unanimously, that the Board recess into executive session. The time was 5:04 p.m.
CONTINUATION OF OPEN MEETING
Reconvening of Meeting and Signing of
Visitors Register
Following the executive session, Mrs. Schuh reconvened the
meeting at 6:06 p.m., and asked members of the audience to sign the visitors
register. Procedures for addressing the
Board were described.
CONSENT AGENDA
A motion was made by Ms. Young Wright, seconded by Dr.
Barrabee and passed unanimously, 4-0, to approve consent agenda items A and
B.
A. Separation(s) and
Termination(s)
The Board approved
the resignation of a classified administrator, as listed in Exhibit 1.
B.
Approval of Temporary Construction Easement for La Cholla Blvd. Roadway
Improvements; Authorization of Administration to Execute Necessary
Documentation
Board book
information: In January 2002, the
Governing Board approved Pima County’s purchase of a small amount of District
property at Donaldson Elementary School for expansion of the public right-of-
way on La Cholla Boulevard. The Board
also approved a temporary construction easement upon the District’s property
that was to enable the County to enter the District’s property during the
construction of the improvements. Since
that time, construction of the roadway improvements has begun, and the County
has determined that additional square-footage is required for the temporary
easement in order to allow for proper installation of improvements for the wall
to be constructed along the western edge of the Donaldson property. A diagram showing the exact location of the
land to be temporarily restricted by the new construction easement is included
in the attached “Temporary Construction Easement TCE 34.”
The administration recommends approval of
this item. Upon approval, the
administration will execute all necessary documentation.
The Board approved the temporary construction easement for La Cholla Blvd. roadway improvements and authorized execution of the necessary documentation.
2. Study/Approval of Proposed 2002-2003
Budget
Board book
information: Governing boards are
required to adopt an operating budget prior to July 15 of each year. Prior to adoption, the governing board must
first propose a budget, publish a summary of the proposed budget, and make a
complete proposed budget available for public review. Additionally, the governing board must conduct a public hearing
on the budget immediately prior to adoption.
The recommended budget
proposal is contained in the Governing Board’s material. This budget capacity may change next year as
a result of possible growth, and this budget will therefore be revised
following the 100th day of school and prior to May 15 of next year.
For fiscal year 2002-2003,
the District’s revenue control limit is $64,119.991.00. As was the case in fiscal year 2001-2002,
this is augmented by an additional $4,025,000.00 for Desegregation and
$129,412.00 for Dropout Prevention.
Because the cost of utilities continues to escalate, the budget includes
$952,095.00 for excess utilities to cover the increase in costs related to the
impact of energy sector inflation on the District’s utility expenditures.
Tuition revenue is projected
to be $897,000.00. The soft capital
allocation is $3,825,429.00. The
M&O budget capacity includes $3,687,357.00 from the Capital Outlay Revenue
Limit, the remainder of which has been allocated to the unrestricted capital
budget limit at $400,978.00. The
Classroom Site Fund (Proposition 301) revenue for fiscal year 2002-2003 is
budgeted at $4,510,306.57.
It is the recommendation of
the administration that the Governing Board approve this proposed budget and
direct that a summary of the budget be published. It is also recommended that the Governing Board schedule a public
hearing on the proposed budget immediately prior to adoption at the scheduled
Board meeting on July 9, 2002.
Dr. Balentine
noted that this is specifically a capacity budget. Ms. Cigliana reviewed overarching concepts and information
provided in the worksheets. Materials presented
included the Summary of School District Proposed Expenditure Report;
Calculation of FY 2002-03 General Budget Limit; and Unrestricted Capital Budget
Limit, Soft Capital Allocation Limit, and Classroom Site Fund Budget Limit.
Ms. Young
Wright moved to approve the proposed 2002-2003 budget, to direct that a summary
of the budget be published, and to schedule a public hearing on the proposed
budget immediately prior to adoption at the July 9, 2002 Board meeting. Dr. Barrabee seconded the motion.
John
Lewandowski asked for clarification on several budget line items. Dr. Balentine stated that Food Service as a
department is very self sufficient (in capital as well as M&O), including
any costs incurred for the new schools as well as other District facilities;
lunch prices were increased last year.
Administration will check on staffing ratio figures for special
education.
The motion
passed unanimously, 4-0.
4.
Study of Cost Savings Utility Plan in the District
Dr.
Balentine reported that Doug Aho, Executive Manager, Operational Support, had
analyzed District utility expenditures and identified areas where the District
could effect savings. In addition to
Mr. Aho’s report at this meeting, additional updates would be presented
throughout the year.
Mr. Aho
presented a report on utilities, focusing on cost savings measures that are
being put in place, and making proposals for additional savings.
Mr. Prout referenced the high cost of stadium lighting and expressed concern regarding responsibility for judicious use of these lights. Discussion included monitoring usage of the lights, identifying why lights are on at various times.
3. Review/Action on 2002-2003 Governing Board
Meeting Dates and Locations
Board book information: Attached
is the schedule of the 2002-2003 Governing Board meetings (approved March 12,
2002) and a proposed revised schedule.
The dates remain the same, with Wetmore Center as the location for all
meetings.
Dr.
Balentine noted that several Board members had asked to review the location of
Board meetings. In discussion of
holding Board meetings at school sites, several complicating factors were
noted, including increased costs (setup and takedown, overtime) and the acoustics
of various locations. It was suggested
that the idea of having meetings at District schools not be discarded, but be
reconsidered in a year or two. Mrs.
Schuh suggested the Board give some thought to holding a daytime Board meeting
at a high school so students could see government in action.
Dr.
Balentine suggested that the Board identify Wetmore Center as the site for
Board meetings, with the knowledge that meetings may need to be scheduled at a
school when a larger site is needed, or when for a specific reason another site
would serve better.
A motion
was made by Ms. Young Wright to accept the revised schedule for 2002-2003
Governing Board meetings at Wetmore Center, moving to other sites if
necessary. Mr. Prout seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously,
4-0.
5.
Review and Approval of Draft Revisions to Student Directory Information
Policy; Approval of Resolution Expressing Governing Board Concerns Regarding
Revisions to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Under the USA PATRIOT
and No Child Left Behind Acts
Board
book information: As the Governing Board previously discussed, Congress recently passed
two very important pieces of legislation which impact the District: the USA PATRIOT Act (anti-terrorism law) and
the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (a substantial education funding
bill). Both of these laws contain
little-known provisions that affect the District’s student records information
policy.
The PATRIOT Act requires that districts disclose
personally identifiable records (including home address and phone number) of
students for purposes of terrorism investigations. A court order is required for this purpose. Normally, when a court order is received
under current law, the parents or student are notified of the order before
compliance is effected by the District.
This allows, ostensibly, for the parents to object to the court
order. In the case of the new law,
however, it specifically prohibits the notification of the parents or student
where the court order concerns terrorism investigations.
The NCLB Act will require that the District provide
parent names, addresses and telephone numbers to the various branches of the
U.S. Armed Forces for recruitment purposes upon request, regardless of how we
may define “directory information.”
This change to the law will still allow parents to object to disclosure
of such information to the Armed Forces.
Draft revisions to District policy and regulation
which would comport with these new requirements are attached.
In addition and upon Board member request, a resolution
has been prepared for adoption by the Board.
The resolution expresses recognition of the need for a strong military
and its support of the war on terrorism.
The resolution also notes, however, that the achievement of noble aims
can easily come at the expense of principles of freedom.
Since the Board meeting of June 11, additional
revisions have been made to reflect the important mandate to promptly respond
to requests for records, including requests from military or law enforcement
personnel.
The revisions to policy and regulation are presented
for the Governing Board’s approval, which is recommended by the administration
to ensure the District’s compliance with the law and continued federal
funding. The form of resolution is
presented for action as the Board in its discretion may determine. If the Board determines to adopt the
resolution, the administration would request Board direction on an intended
recipient list.
Dr. Balentine stated the administration recommended
approval of the student records policy and the related regulation, which
included the legally required information, thus allowing the District to
provide information to parents as the school year started.
Mr. Prout referred to JR-RA, Student Records, Use
of Student Education Records, bulleted item:
“The District will make a reasonable effort to notify the student’s
parents or the eligible student before making a disclosure under this
provision.” Mr. Jaeger stated that
this paragraph refers to the impact of a subpoena where it does not involve an
investigation of terrorism. (The USA
PATRITIOT Act change is referred to in another bulleted item: “To comply with the request of authorized
law enforcement officials conducting an
investigation of acts of terrorism, which disclosure is required by law.”) Following further discussion, Mr. Jaeger suggested that a clause be added,
with the bulleted item reading: “The
District will make a reasonable effort to notify the student’s parents or the
eligible student before making a disclosure under this provision, unless
otherwise directed by a court of competent jurisdiction.”
Dr. Balentine stated that with the above change,
the administration was recommending approval.
A motion was made by Ms. Young Wright to approve the revisions to the Student
Records Information Policy and Regulation, with the correction noted above. The motion was seconded by Dr. Barrabee and
passed unanimously, 4-0.
Mrs. Schuh expressed concern over the modifications
to the FERPA Privacy Act made by the USA Patriot and No Child Left Behind Acts
that applies only to K-12 public schools.
Following extensive discussion of the resolution, Mr. Prout proposed
additions to the resolution. Ms. Young
Wright declined to accept this change to her motion.
In voting on the motion, Mrs. Schuh and Ms. Young
Wright voted yes; Dr. Barrabee and Mr. Prout voted no. With a 2-2 vote, the motion did not
pass.
There were no public comments.
6. Motion to Recess Open Meeting and Hold an
Executive Session
Mrs. Schuh announced that the Board would recess open meeting and hold an executive session for the following purposes:
A.
Discussion and
Consultation with Representatives of the Governing Board Regarding Negotiations
with Employee Organizations Regarding Salaries, Salary Schedules, or
Compensation, Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(5), Regarding Certificated,
Classified and Administrative Negotiations for the 2002-2003 Contract Year;
B.
Discussions and
Consultations Between the Governing Board and District Representatives in Order
to Consider the District’s Position and Provide Governing Board Direction
Regarding Negotiations for the Purchase of Real Estate (Middle School and
Elementary School Sites), Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(7);
C. Discussion or Consultation with Legal Counsel for Legal Advice Regarding Real Estate Contracts, Pursuant to §38-431.03(A)(3) and (4).
A motion was made by Ms. Young Wright, seconded by Dr. Barrabee and passed unanimously, 4-0, that the Board recess into executive session. The time was 7:59 p.m. Mrs. Schuh announced there would be a break taken until 8:15 p.m.
Following the conclusion of executive session, the Board
reconvened into regular session at 9:07 p.m.
BOARD MEMBER REQUESTS FOR FUTURE
AGENDA ITEMS
There were no requests for future agenda items.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Dr. Barrabee, seconded by Mr. Prout and
passed unanimously, that the meeting be adjourned. The time was 9:09 p.m.