Board Meeting Minutes
June 22, 2004
FEDERAL WAY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 210 – KING COUNTY
FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON 98003
The Board of Education of the Federal Way Public School District No. 210 held a regular Board Meeting at 7:00 P.M., Tuesday, June 22, 2004, at the Federal Way City Hall Council Chambers, 33530 1st Way South, Federal Way, Washington, 98003.
Call to Order and Recess to Executive Session
President Edward Barney called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.
Board Members Present:
- Edward Barney, President
- Charles Hoff, Vice President
- Earl VanDorien, Director
- Robert Millen, Director
Board Member Absent:
- Evelyn Castellar, Director, Excused
Staff Members Present:
- Tom Murphy, Superintendent
- Mark Davidson, Deputy Superintendent
- Sally McLean, Chief Financial Officer
- Chuck Christensen, Executive Director of Human Resources
- Mark Jewell, Chief Academic Officer
- Jan Bleek, Director of Special Projects
- Rod Leland, Director of Facilities
- Alma Dansby, Director of Equity and Achievement
- Chris Popich, Administrative Assistant
Pledge of Allegiance
Approval of Consent Agenda
Director Millen moved that the Board of Education approve the Consent Agenda of June 22, 2004 as submitted. Seconded by Director Hoff. Motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Meeting Agenda
Director Millen moved that the Board of Education approve the Meeting Agenda of June 22, 2004 with the addition of item #B-4, Budget Development Update. Seconded by Director Hoff. Motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Minutes
Director Millen moved that the Board of Education approve the minutes of the June 8, 2004 meeting as submitted. Seconded by Director Hoff. Motion carried unanimously.
Review of Action Items
Chris Popich reported that there are no Action Items from last meeting.
Superintendent’s Comments
Superintendent Murphy reported to the community that graduation ceremonies were held on Saturday with 1200 students graduating from three high schools. He said he was struck by the class and the dignity that participants of all three ceremonies showed and that the students were very well behaved and were appropriately respectful of all speakers and the ceremony itself. He also said it was lucky that the Tacoma Dome is air conditioned because of the temperature of the day.
Mr. Murphy introduced Mark Davidson, Deputy Superintendent, who acknowledged and introduced Mallory Clouse, the winner of the 2004 King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Academic Awareness Award from Federal Way. She worked hard with the assistance of the Kilo Becca team when she overcame truancy and environmental issues and made the choice to take responsibility for her success in school. Congratulations Mallory.
Public Comments
The following people spoke during this time. Indicated below is the speaker’s name, the elementary service area they live in, and the topic they spoke about.
- Len Englund, Valhalla service area, Libraries and 13th Year Plan
- von Tresckow Patu, South Pacific Islander academics, social issues, and attendance
- Pastor, South Pacific Islander issues
School Board Comments
Director Millen said that he had the privilege of attending two graduation ceremonies. He was very proud of all the students there. On another note he said there was an article in the newspaper regarding a new charter school in Federal Way. He said he didn’t think that it was brought up by any Board Members and he said that his personal opinion is that he is not interested in proposals for Charter Schools in Federal Way. The third issue he talked about is the budget and student achievement. He said that there is a need for the school system to be accepted and appreciated by the community and that the total focus should not only be academic, but a balance between student academics and extracurricular activities.
Director Hoff said that the State Board of Education met to determine if the WASL was a valid test and could be used to determine who would be graduating. He said they voted 80- to use the WASL. The current 8th graders will need to pass the WAL in order to graduate. He said that WSSDA said that the class of 2008 has a new graduation requirements so will force more emphasis on academic matters. He brought 2 visuals, the first one showed the current results that we have in this state of high school students graduating from high school and the outcome of their continuing education or lack thereof. The second visual was a list of the criteria universities use to accept incoming students.
Director VanDorien also acknowledged the students who went through the graduation ceremonies. He said he was pleased to be involved. Director VanDorien said that he went to Thomas Jefferson to speak with students about the book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. He also expressed his concern about the newspaper article on Charter Schools here in Federal Way. He said as an elected official, he is not in favor of charter schools.
President Barney said that he attended the Thomas Jefferson High School graduation and that he was quite impressed by the speakers. He also had the honor to attend the 8th Grade promotion ceremony at Lakota Middle School. President Barney said that a representative of a Charter School approached him and he said that the person was supposed to make a proposal to the Board but as of this date, the proposal has not been received.
Transition Reports
Jan Bleek, Director of Special Projects introduced Pam Morris-Stendal, Principal of Harry S. Truman High School. Ms. Morris-Stendal, accompanied by staff member, Charissa Eggleston and a student, Teresa Suia, presented information on Truman High School.
Policy and Procedure 2141, Suicide Prevention
Chris Willis, Co-Director of Student Support, was available to answer any questions. This policy will be on for decision at the next Board meeting.
Health Book Adoption
Nancy Hawkins gave the Board a status report on the new Health book. Nancy also thanked the committee for working on this.
Director Millen moved that the Board of Education approve the Superintendent’s recommendation for adopting the 2004 edition of Glencoe Health as the high school health adoption. Seconded by Director VanDorien. Motion carried unanimously.
Secondary Math Adoption
Dr. Mark Jewell introduced Anthony Taranto who was present to answer any questions the Board might have regarding this textbook. He thanked the committee for their hard work and one person in particular, Grace Rawsthorne, whom he forgot to mention at the last meeting.
Director Millen moved that the Board of Education approve Superintendent Murphy’s recommendation for adopting Holt Middle School Mathematics as the middle school math adoption. Seconded by Director VanDorien. Motion passed 3-1 with Director Millen, VanDorien and Barney voting for and Director Hoff voting against.
Budget Development Update
Sally McLean, Chief Financial Officer, and Mark Davidson, Deputy Superintendent, gave the Board an update on the Budget Development for the 2004/05 school year. Two recommendations made this evening are that Junior Varsity Soccer be added at each high school for both boys and girls teams and that Outdoor Education, as it is currently run, will be offered for the last time in the 2004-05 school year. Options will be pursued to run an Outdoor Education program within the school district. Restoration of library assistant time in the elementary schools is under consideration at this time.
An additional work/study on the budget will be scheduled for July 26, 2004 from 5:00 – 9:00 P.M. A decision will be made as to when the Public Hearing and Decision on the Budget will be held.
English Language Learners Report
Jean Vaughan presented a summary report of the Transitional Bilingual Program.
Recess and Reconvene
President Barney recessed the meeting to Executive Session at 10:20 P.M. and reconvened the meeting again at 10:45 P.M.
Decision from Executive Session
Director Hoff moved that the Board of Education approve the appointment of Joshua Garcia as Principal at Todd Beamer High School for the 2004-2005 school year, effective July 1, 2004. Seconded by Director VanDorien. Motion carried unanimously.
Director Hoff moved that the Board of Education approve the appointment of Teresa Clifford as Principal at Twin Lakes Elementary School for the 2004-2005 school year, effective July 1, 2004. Seconded by Director Millen. Motion carried unanimously.
New Action Items
There were no new Action Items.
Meeting Adjourned
President Barney adjourned the meeting at 10:50 P.M.
Edward Barney, Board President
Tom Murphy, Superintendent
Minutes prepared by Chris Popich