WASHINGTON STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

 

Minutes from Board of Trustees Meeting

January 13, 2004

Conference Call

 

 

Board Members Participating: Kay Adamson, Chuck Nelson, Jerry Farley, Joe Fram, and Cindy Roney.

 

Board Members Absent:  Terry Robertson, Denise Mackenstadt, and Denise Colley.

 

Ex-Officio Members Participating: Kathleen Brown (Parent Representative), Theresa Tate (WSSB Teachers Association), and Michael Freeman (National Federation of the Blind of Washington).

 

Ex-Officio Members Absent:  Gary Burdette (Washington Council of the Blind) and Bonda Albers (Washington Federation of State Employees Local #1225).

 

WSSB Staff Members Participating: Dr. Dean Stenehjem, Superintendent and Janet Merz, recording secretary.

 

Jerry called the meeting to order at 7:39 p.m. 

 

Business Meeting

 

Old Business

Approve Board of Trustee Meeting Minutes of November 14-15, 2003.  Chuck moved to approve the minutes, Cindy seconded the motion.  The minutes were approved unanimously.

 

Department Reports are attached.

 

Theresa Tate reported that she is going to take a 15-week course that will qualify her to teach poetry writing via Virtual High School.  Dr Stenehjem stated that once Theresa teaches a course, it opens up 20 spots for students from WSSB to take a class.  Dr. Stenehjem stated we are continuing to work with the Digital Learning Commons to make sure all classes are accessible.

 

Dr. Stenehjem reported that former student Daniel Yanak passed away on December 23.  Daniel’s memorial will be on January 17th at 2:00 p.m. in Sherman Auditorium.  Information is posted on the front page of the school’s website at www.wssb.wa.gov.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

 

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on March 14-15, 2003 in Vancouver, WA.     

                                                                                                                                                           

Jerry Farley, Vice-Chair                                                            Dean O. Stenehjem, Ed.D.

                                                                                    Superintendent

 

Board Reports

January 2004

 

 

Human Resources

 

Civil Service Reform

Merit System Rules:  The Department of Personnel is beginning to distribute final drafts of the proposed changes to merit system rules.  The proposals reflect major changes to current rules in the areas of recruitment and selection, classification and compensation and performance management.  DOP will hold public meetings beginning in February for public input regarding these proposals.  WSSB was successful in having our Residential Life Counselor positions moved into the classification of “Instructional and Classroom Support” and out of the DSHS classification of “Social Service - Direct Care”.  WSSB felt this classification better reflected the educational duties of the RLC position and in alignment with WSSB’s mission.  Information regarding all the DOP proposals is available online at http:hr.dop.wa.gov/hrreform/default.htm.

 

Collective Bargaining: Meetings are currently being held with members of the committees who will be negotiating the master agreements with the various labor groups.  There are 22 members on the states negotiation team with the Washington Federation of State Employees. The Labor Relations group plans to begin negotiations with the Unions around the end of January.

 

EEOC

WSSB was asked by the Governor’s office to participate in an audit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  The EEOC is looking at several states to evaluate their practices regarding recruitment, hiring and accommodating workers with disabilities. The EEOC will then use their findings to develop recommendations and guidelines for all states regarding best practices in this area.  This audit should begin sometime in March.

                                                                                                                                                           

 

Education

 

·         Current on-campus enrollment: 53 students.

·         Accreditation - we are in the process of compiling the rest of our accreditation information.  From this information we will develop 4-6 goals in each area that will drive the school direction for the next six years.

·         Student results – Tim Stolle is working on information.

·         Distance Learning:  We are still plugging away with students. One student has successfully completed his computer program. 

·         The Braille mini refresher class went well with 25 people participating from around the state.  

·         The full Braille class is going well.  We are still working out a few bugs that districts are experiencing due to lack of equipment or knowledge on the receiving end.

·         We are launching an Intellitools class February 6-7 with ten weeks of on-line follow up.

·         The Braille music class will be up and running in February.  Besides the interest from within our state we have 5 students from Oregon that want to participate.

·         Theresa Tate will be taking a course that will allow her to provide instruction through the Virtual High School.  She will be offering a course on Poetry next fall.  Students from throughout the world could be her students.

·         Summer School:  We will begin plans for summer school real soon; dates have been set for July 11-16, 2004.

 

Other areas.  A big thank you to all our staff for pulling together to make a tough week of winter weather very bearable.  We managed to run school 4/5 days.  

                                                                                                                                                           

 

Buildings & Grounds

 

·         Heating Controls:  Continuing to work with outside contractor on final balancing of heating systems in the new ORC and Irwin remodeled building.

·         Irwin/Distance Learning Project:  Final closeout meeting scheduled for January 22, 2004.   Final closeout will assist WSSB in closing the books on this aspect of the project so a determination of the funding that will be available for additional work that needs to be completed under this appropriation.

·         Fries Auditorium:  We are hopeful that in the near future we will be able to close-out this long overdue project.  After the bankruptcy of the general contractor, we have been in dispute with the bonding company.  Currently this is in the hands of the Attorney General’s Office.

·         Ahlsten Building:  Close out of the ORC has allowed us to move forward in some needed preservation work on the Ahlsten Building.  These funds along with some preservation dollars in the general campus preservation funding area will allow us to ready this building for another partner (VPD). 

·         Future Projects for Bid:  We are hopeful that a number of projects will be ready for bid toward the end of March.  These would include: work on the boiler house, Ahlsten Building, General Campus preservation projects, lighting, track replacement, covered play area, paving and sidewalk replacement, fire protection, painting, etc.  By pulling these projects together under on bid, we believe we should be able to retain a very good bid at this time.

·         Storm repair work:  After last weeks ice and snow storm – staff have been busy examining roof structures, pruning a lot of trees, removing damaged trees and making sure that campus is safe.  Most of the work on trees pruning that would be in traveled areas by students was completed this past Saturday when students and staff were not on campus.

                                                                                                                                                           

 

Business Office

 

1.       Budget

a.       Operating

·         Ended November with a positive balance of $60,000. December books do not close until Jan. 14.

·         The operating supplemental request for $200,000 (biennial) to fund the Distance Learning Coordinator has been included in the Governor’s budget recommendations.  Hopefully, it will make it through the legislative process.

b.       Capital

Re-appropriated Building Preservation-Old Main, Kennedy, Irwin

·         Fries Auditorium-We are still negotiating close-out (liquidated damages).  We estimate a balance of approximately $27,000 but we will not know until liquidated damages are resolved.

Re-appropriated Campus Preservation-13th Street Project Improvements

·         This project will be closed out this month.  There is no balance in this project.

Re-appropriated Ahlsten/Ogden Resource Center

·         This project is also in the close-out phase.  We have a balance of approximately $222,000; the remaining funding will allow WSSB to completed needed work on the Ahlsten Building. 

Re-appropriated Distance Learning Project/Irwin, remaining funds will be used to complete other aspects of the project that will be possible due to the lower than anticipated received bid, and completion of the bid project without to many change orders.

·         The contractor is in the final stages of completion and a close out meeting is scheduled for January 22, 2004.  We estimate a balance of $60,000-$80,000.

New Appropriation-Old Main, Kennedy, Dry, Irwin (we have no additional information on our supplemental request.)

Note:  Due to the tremendous bids WSSB received on the above work, additional phases of each of these projects will be possible.

 

2.       Staffing

Nic You, our Financial Analyst II (FAII) resigned effective December 12.  He took a position with Department of Corrections in Yakima.  Tarisa Tognetti, our Financial Analyst I was promoted to FAII.  She has been doing as much as she can in both jobs in the interim to ensure that staff and vendors are paid until we get a replacement.  

 

3.       Inventory Control

We continue to work on inventory control and are reconciling what has been physically counted to what’s in the system. 

 

4.       Audit

Our audit began on December 10 and will continue until February.  A preliminary overview indicates no major problems.  Since this is the school’s first audit on it’s own, they will spend more time and conduct a more in-depth review than they would otherwise.

                                                                                                                                                           

 

Outreach

 

Vision Itinerant Program (VIP)

·         Proposed Pre-school classroom at WSSB for 2004-2005 school year:

o        3 –5 year olds with vision as a primary handicapping condition.

o        Proposed class size – 6 students (day students only).

o        Arranging meeting with preschool teachers in Evergreen and Battle Ground school district to begin process of developing a developmentally sound preschool program.  This will be the foundation and then we will overlay the vision components to be integrated into the program.  All WSSB staff will be invited to participate in this preliminary program development stage.

·         Contract districts remain about the same:  38 itinerant vision and 22 O&M

·         Doug Trimble, a staff assistant at WSSB who has recently completed his VI program through PSU and O&M program through SFA will be doing some overflow itinerant work for us.  Doug will be working in Chehalis one day a week for about 6 weeks.

·         Outreach meetings planned – January 19th Ed reform day to discuss the WA Alternative Assessment, new Braille curriculum and report writing.  At the end of March we will be visiting WCCW to take a tour and see the Braille Program.  In May we will be visiting the WTBBL and the Lighthouse for the Blind in Seattle in an attempt to familiarize our teachers with resources available in the state.

 

Low Vision Clinic

·         We have investigated a variety of database programs for the Low Vision Clinic and found that none of them are appropriate for our needs.  We will be creating our own database and Danya, Dr. John Smith and I will meet to begin this process.  Our goal is to have the clinic utilizing technology for record keeping by the end of this school year.

 

Statewide Technology

·         Intellitools class offered beginning Feb 6 through distance learning.  Bruce McClanahan is teaching this.

 

IRC/BAC

·         IRC is online now and things are generally working well with a few bugs to work out.  We have received some very nice comments from people in the state about the on-line ordering.  BAC will be producing the alternative WASL tests soon.

                                                                                                                                                           

 

Residential

 

Recreation: Boni Moran, Mark Raetzman, and I comprise the “Snowscoop Team,” with shared responsibility for coordinating the ski and snow play days up at Mount Hood over the next two months.  Scheduled dates: 1/29, 2/5, 2/19, and 2/26.  After school activities (High School Art, Choir, Study Hall, Open Gym, Swim Aerobics, and DLS) are ongoing. Student led Social Hour in the evenings is also continuing.  We’ll start Bingo second semester.

 

Transportation: Weekend contract with connecting van shuttle to Bellingham is implemented and working well.  Some minor changes to adjust times will be made in short order to have the trip run even more smoothly.

 

LIFTT: Our first LIFTT student has begun classes at Clark College.  She is currently residing in Chapman Cottage until the LIFTT program officially begins at the start of the second semester.  The program will now be housed on the third floor, to better accommodate having one male and one female student, and to further emulate and independent living setting.  DLS, meals, etc. will also be conducted there.  Lori Pulliam is working with Tina Sparkman on finalizing a contract and daily schedule.

 

Other: A “great big” THANK YOU to residential staff and all who cared for and worked with our kids during the week long snow and ice storm!  Folks came in early and stayed overnight in Watson Cottage on their own time to make this possible. Staff and student morale was high and people genuinely made the very best of a difficult situation.

                                                                                                                                                           

 

Superintendent

 

Recent Ice and Snow Storm:  Past week long storm that paralyzed S.W. Washington.

·         Staff performance and teamwork was excellent and the care of children was everyone’s first priority.  Kids had a great time and we all weathered the storm.

·         WSSB closed the school program for one day and ran on a late start or early dismissal the other three days.  

·         WSSB will be revisiting last weeks storm and determine what we should have done differently and what worked well – changes will be made in our disaster planning to make sure that we continue to be well prepared for future situations.

 

Legislative Issues:

·         Currently a couple school districts are examining challenging the state for the lack of funding in the area of special education based upon the Doran Decision. We believe that it will be in the best interest of the school to see if this goes forward before we proceed with asking for a more definitive interpretation on Doran.  

 

·         Supplemental budget request – Distance learning as stated in Mary Sarate’s report has made it into the Governor’s budget request.  It will be very important for us to meet legislators to make them aware of this important position/funding that will have major positive impact on blind children, districts and parents throughout our state.

 

·         Legislative Conference:  Feb. 8 & 9th – Olympia

·         Sunday: noon–7:30pm – with key note address and breakout sessions followed by a legislative reception.

·         Monday – meetings on the hill with Reps., Senators and key staff members. 

·         Would like to see if we could have approximately 2-3 board members attend this conference.  (Important that we register within the next week – registration before 1-30-04 is $185 – after 1-30-04 - $260).

 

State of the State – Governor Locke’s Message.

In K-12 education, Locke is calling on the Legislature to (four major themes):  Strengthening K-12 Education; Higher Education; Economic Development; and Affordable Health Care.

In K-12 education, Locke is calling on the Legislature to:

  • Refine and clarify the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), particularly regarding the Certificate of Mastery that students will be required to complete for graduation starting in 2008, allowing for retakes and alternative assessments;
  • Strengthen the state's Learning Assistance Program (LAP) and stabilize allocations to school districts that need the most help;
  • Approve legislation supporting the development of charter or "opportunity" schools, to especially help struggling students meet state standards; and
  • Allow school districts to collect the full amount of voter-approved levies.

Gov. Gary Locke outlines priorities for 2004 legislative session

In higher education, Locke is calling on the Legislature to:

  • Approve legislation for increased enrollments for higher education, particularly in the high-cost, high- demand fields of computer science, nursing and engineering;
  • Launch a pilot "performance contract" program that allows a limited number of state universities to set their own resident undergraduate tuition; and
  • Approve legislation to bring the university admissions process in line with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action, which says schools can consider race when reviewing individual student applications but not quotas or "set asides."

In job creation/economic development, Locke is calling on the Legislature to:

  • Build on the success of the state's 7E7 bid by passing legislation necessary to develop the project;
  • Renew soon-to-expire tax incentives for high-tech research and development as well as to businesses that locate in rural parts of the state; and
  • Make further progress on recommendations from the Washington Competitiveness Council, initially convened by Locke in 2001.

In health care, Locke is calling on the Legislature to approve his 2004 supplemental budget, which would:

  • Reduce the impact of pending health care premiums to be charged parents of children receiving optional, state-sponsored Medicaid coverage;
  • Increase the state's reimbursement rate for family physicians providing childbirth services to Medicaid patients;
  • Share more federal funding with public hospital districts; and
  • Support rural health infrastructure with additional providers, school nurses, and technology support.