WASHINGTON
STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
BOARD
OF TRUSTEES
Board Members
Participating:
Terry Robertson, Kay Adamson, Cindy Roney, Jerry Farley, Noel Nightingale,
Denise Colley, Joe Fram, and Chuck Nelson.
Board Members Absent: Denise Mackenstadt.
Ex-Officio Members
Participating:
Carol Schultz (WSSB Teachers Association), Bonda Albers (Washington Federation
of State Employees Local #1225), and Michael Freeman (National Federation of
the Blind of Washington).
Ex-Officio Members
Absent: Kathleen Brown (Parent
Representative), and Gary Burdette (Washington Council of the Blind),
WSSB Staff Members
Participating:
Dr. Dean Stenehjem (Superintendent), Rod Humble (Director of Outreach), Dee
Amundsen (Outreach Teacher), Mary Sarate (Business Manager), Renee Corso
(Director of Residential Services), Craig Meador (Principal), and Janet Merz
(recording secretary).
June 13, 2003 – 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. Terry called the meeting to order at 12:15
p.m.
Department Updates:
Business Office – Mary
Sarate. Mary reported that she
set many goals last year: developing streamlined systems and functions in the
business office; updating the Field Order system; implementing an Accounts
Payable filing system; centralizing contracts; development of policies,
procedures and business office hand-book; develop a process for checking out
credit cards; procedure for cash handling in the Lions Den; new procedures for
ordering and purchasing that will entail flow charts; and developing a spending
authority procedure. Training was
another goal for the personnel in the business office for field orders, travel
vouchers, etc. Mary’s goal next year is
to narrow down our chart of accounts; accurate allotments, etc. Mary stated that during the last legislation,
it was a mandate that all agencies stay within their allotted FTE’s. This
created a problem as the need for Outreach services continue to grow; but WSSB
did not have any FTE’s available. As of July 1, the business office will change
all Teacher Aides and Residential Life Counselors to .8 FTE as they work a
9-month schedule. This will impact their sick and annual leave as it will be
calculated on a pro-rata basis. This will free up 6-10 FTE’s. Currently,
Outreach has a $43,000 deficit and it is not self-supporting; however the
Braille Access Center (BAC) has a $30,000-$40,000 surplus. Mary would like to
remove the invoice function from the BAC to the Business office and they may
start charging an administrative fee to the BAC for their services. Mary is
working on the Safety Net application, however the forms that are required do
not apply to WSSB because WSSB is 100% special education. WSSB applied for
$76,000.
Mary
reviewed the budget information for the 2003-2005 biennium. It appears that we
are slated for a 2.09% budget cut, however we were also given a $60,000
additional cut for a total of $347,000.
Overall reduction is more in the range of 3.6%. Dr. Stenehjem feels that WSSB is being
penalized for being proactive and planning for the future so the school doesn’t
have to operate in a crisis mode. (i.e. the purchase of three vehicles and one
bus – one time purchases increased equipment expenditures, which it appears the
legislature took a percentage of equipment, travel and contracted services and
reduced all agencies.) Therefore WSSB
took a substantial reduction for planning for the future. The school took a hit in travel reduction,
which we are sure is due to outreach travel (direct service to children). WSSB
employees do very little travel to conferences, etc. Noel asked how employees were handling the
issue with the reduction in sick and annual leave accruals. Bonda stated that many employees do not know
this information yet. Mary also let the
group know that this does not affect their retirement or seniority. Terry
thanked Mary for her report and he was glad she is here.
Education – Craig
Meador. Craig held an end of the
year celebration with his staff last week and the accomplishments of this year
were highlighted. They include:
1.
The
move of all staff out of Irwin. Staff
and students adjusted beautifully with the move.
2.
Staff
members, including Beth Crites, helped with transportation of students which
saved WSSB $30,000.
3.
Assessments
were developed.
4.
2nd
year of Goalball was very successful.
5.
18
student evaluations were completed.
6.
A
“Senior Seminar” class started which included:
how to open a bank account, future plans, obtaining state ID, connecting
with Department of Services for the Blind, SSI availability, budgeting, how to
find an apartment, etc. Jennifer Hervey
took the lead on this project and did an outstanding job.
7.
Reinstatement
of the 5th Year Program starting in January 2004.
8.
Distance
Learning is taking shape and Robb Peck was chosen to take the lead.
9.
WSSB
will be involved in the Digital Learning Commons program, which is being lead
by the University of Washington. This
will be done in partnership with 16 other schools in the state. Bruce McClanahan continues to travel the state
of Washington and we are now exploring the option of providing services through
K-20 and interactive systems through the website. There would be many options for online
classes including parent DLS training, braille music, etc.
10.
The
elementary hosted an Open House and many RLC’s accompanied the students as
their “parents”.
11.
The
Student Council was a great success this year with the leadership of Judy
Koch.
12.
Several
new classes started this year including: Assistive Level Science taught by
Randi Smith; Assistive Level History taught by Theresa Tate; SAT prep and CWP
Plus taught by Michael Hooks.
13.
Craig
was very proud of our seniors who did senior projects this year. One student did a project on teaching Braille
Music.
14.
The
Education Department has been preparing for an audit of all student files from
OSPI. The files and documents are all in
order.
15.
Craig
had no major discipline issues this year with students, thanks to a great
staff.
16.
WSSB
showed a 15% increase in the ITBS/ITED scores.
17.
The
Education department is very excited about the reinstatement of Summer
Institute.
18.
Craig
also reported that our Accreditation process will begin next year.
Outreach Department –
Rod Humble. Rod reported that WSSB
has 38 contracts for both Orientation and Mobility, and TVI’s. The IRC will be moving during the week of
June 16th. The Outreach
department sent out service surveys and will send out the results of the
surveys. Rod will be retiring this year
and Cindy McAlexander, who was a temporary employee last year, will be a
permanent employee.
Dee
reported that everyone in the Outreach Department is at capacity for
services. Dr. Stenehjem stated that we
are working with OFM on the FTE issue and hope to be able to hire additional
employees as demands increase through local districts under unanticipated
FTE’s. Dr. Stenehjem would like to hire
Rod back to provide Orientation and Mobility Instruction. Charlene Patterly was
hired to provide vision services in Yakima.
Charlene is dual certified with over 20 years of experience. Dee
assisted with a Distance Learning Braille class whereby 33 people completed the
course. The ESD is interested in more
classes. Dee stated that the prison
Braille program is expanding from 6 women to possibly 10. Dr. Stenehjem received a phone call from
Alice Payne, Superintendent at the Correctional Facility in McNeil. Alice is interested in starting some programs
similar to the Braille production program.
Dr. Stenehjem suggested Braille writer repair, tape recorder repair, recording
for the blind service.
Residential Department –
Renee Corso. Renee felt the theme for
the last school year was the educational and residential departments blurring
lines and becoming more of one entity. A
homework club was started with education and residential employees. Next year Renee would like to focus on
communication regarding the budget, potential closure of Clarke Cottage,
organization and schedules for employees, etc.
Renee feels WSSB has a lot of opportunities right on campus for job
shadowing. The Summer School program has
28-30 students enrolled with an additional 17 students enrolling in the YES
program and 28-30 in Sports Camp. Terry
asked what the plan was with closing Clarke Cottage. Renee responded that there is a very low population
of students returning and the remaining students will go to Chapman and Clarke
Cottage will be used for the 5th Year program. Noel felt that it did not make sense to close
Clarke Cottage to save money. Dr.
Stenehjem explained that during the first half of the year, we will have the
staff that would be in Clarke float to cover sick leave and the second half of
the year they will be in Clarke providing supervision for the 5th
Year program. Mike asked what would
happen if we receive a request for more students. Dr. Stenehjem stated that we would have to
re-bid positions in the residential department. Cindy asked what would happen
if we have too many students and we have already planned for a 5th
Year program. Renee said that we would
either have to modify the program or move it to another location on
campus. Noel asked if we had a waiting
list. Dr. Stenehjem stated that we did
not at this time, but that is not uncommon for this time of year and enrollment
may increase in the fall. Carol asked if
the 3rd floor could be used for the 5th Year
program. Dr. Stenehjem said that we
could, but supervision is an issue. Mike feels that we should not offer a 5th
Year program if liability is an issue.
Jerry felt that skills and training are imperative to a students success
in this area.
Budget
cut issues:
Dr. Stenehjem spoke to retired Representative Val Ogden and expressed his
frustration with the current budget situation.
Dr. Stenehjem is going to set up a meeting with Senator Carlson,
Representative Fromhold, and Representative Wallace to express his concerns as
he does not want to end up in a crisis mode.
Dr. Stenehjem is considering sending out a letter to the local school
districts letting them know that we will not be providing day-student transportation.
This may end up starting a crisis, but may be the only way to move issues that
have been discussed for years to the forefront. Bonda asked if we have students
identified for the 5th Year Program.
Craig said that we do not yet, but feels if we publicize the program we
will.
Terry
would like to write a letter to the Governor, OFM budget personnel, and all
committees that have budgetary authority to ask them how they can justify
taking away educational opportunities considering WSSB students (public school
kids) are also protected under the basic education act in accordance with the
Doran Decision. Terry asked if Mary
could do a graph showing the current budget and programs, and the proposed
budget and what would have to be cut to make this work. Dr. Stenehjem is attempting to obtain
comparative data from the local school district’s to see what their budget cuts
were. Noel made the motion to have Terry
draft a letter to the Governor, OFM, etc. expressing his concern regarding the
budget reduction. Jerry seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Human Resources – Cherie
Willhide. Dr. Stenehjem reported
that Cherie was not able to attend the meeting as she was ill today, however he
did receive a written report. Cherie has
been focusing on the Civil Service Reform.
Tina Peterson, former Labor Relations representative is our main
contact. Gary Moore, has been assigned to lead the Collective Bargaining
process. Gary and his team of administrators will be visiting WSSB on June 23 to
meet with our Administration Team. The
Department of Personnel is moving forward with their new computer system. Dr. Stenehjem stated that this was one of the
unanticipated budget reduction items that WSSB was given; i.e. WSSB is
responsible for $18,000 to help pay for this system.
Last
year, Cherie performed a Training Needs Assessment. All staff received training during the last
school year. The number one request for
training was in the area of coping with change.
Cherie had an intern this year, Chris Nye, who worked on putting
together an employee recognition program.
Cherie will be leading a committee next fall and will incorporate more
recognition, etc.
Buildings
and Grounds – Rob Tracey. Rob was unable to attend the meeting as he was picking up his son from
college. Dr. Stenehjem read his written
report.
Overall the facilities on campus are in good
condition. Rob will be examining the boilers with the hope that they will last
one more year. The Radon gas levels in
Chapman Cottage basement are the same and they only need more air
circulation. Attic fans have been added
to all cottages, which will help with air conditioning costs. Dr. Stenehjem
reported that he is 99.9% sure that the Vancouver Police Department will be
leasing the Ahlstein building. This
would be a great partnership with the possibility of job shadowing, etc.
Budget Update
Dr. Stenehjem would like to have a plan in case the
Safety Funds application is not granted.
WSSB applied for $76,000. If the
funds are not received, WSSB will look at all Capital Project expenditures to
see if there are items or services that should have been coded to Capital
Projects vs. Operating. We will be
examining all costs to see if some items can be billed to private funds,
etc.
Dr.
Stenehjem reported that WSSB applied for re-appropriation of current funded
projects. The Distance Learning project
is approximately one week behind schedule; the Ogden Resource Center is
complete with move in to begin on June 16; and the General Campus Preservation
work has the following components:
Cardlock system/proximity reader upgrade is 98% complete; the additional
cameras are 75% complete; and the lighting, sidewalks, parking, etc. is in the
process of being complete. Joe asked if
almost all Capital Projects on WSSB’s campus are complete. Dr. Stenehjem said that we are very
close.
WSSB
will be receiving a minimum of 3.69% budget reduction. The impact will be:
1.
RLC
position (retirement), custodial (vacant), driver (could be a RIF)
2.
Recreation
coordinator (retirement). WSSB is not
sure what will happen with this position.
A possibility would be something temporary until we see the full impact.
Day
student transportation is another financial concern for WSSB and he is
considering asking the local school district’s to pick up the cost of
transportation. Noel asked how we could
treat day students and residential students differently. Dr. Stenehjem said that he would like to
start with the day students at this point.
Terry feels that the day-student transportation issues needs to be
brought to a head. The board unanimously felt that Dr. Stenehjem should pursue
funding from LEA’s for receiving funding for transportation.
Dr.
Stenehjem reported that WSSB came out very good in our requests for Capital
Projects. All projects were approved with the exception of the commercial
kitchen. They are (totaling $3,717,000):
Dr.
Stenehjem reported that WSSB went forward with a campus architect selection
process. Noel asked what a campus
architect entailed. Provides direction and design on projects. Dr. Stenehjem stated that we just found out
that WSSB can have a campus-wide architect, whereby they would be responsible
for all projects on campus. Twelve architect firms expressed an interest in
this role and three have made the interview process. The final selection process will take place
on June 26.
Other Information:
1.
Dr.
Stenehjem was asked to present at the Washington State Quality Symposium in
Seattle. Three educational entities were
invited to give a 10-minute presentation to businesses on Quality Issues.
1. Dr. Stenehjem reported
that next year, WSSB will begin the Accreditation process which Mr. Craig
Meador will provide the lead. The
process has been streamlined since the last application.
2. Digital Learning Commons. WSSB along with 16 other schools have been
invited to participate in the Digital Learning Commons which is being
facilitated by the University of Washington. In conjunction with this program.
Mr. Paul Baldwin will be attending a session on Science which will include a
laptop computer. The first meeting with
this group will be on campus next week.
3. The Braille Access
Center was awarded an $80,000 Braillo from the Department of Information
Services. DIS has a small agency
initiative; they contacted WSSB to see if there was any technology that was
needed to assist students and blind people throughout the state. The Board expressed their sincere thank you
to the DIS for this. Dr. Stenehjem will
send a letter to the Director of DIS on behalf of the Board.
4. Dr. Stenehjem has been
in contact with a website company to see if they could prepare the website for
the IRC database, as well as Distance Learning capabilities. Dr. Stenehjem is also hoping to include the
possibility of having virtual tours of classrooms for parents.
5. WSSB should be going
through an audit next year, which we are looking forward to as part of pulling
together a solid business office.
6. The Boards and
Commissions office contacted Dr. Stenehjem two to three months ago to let them
know that if there are board members who wish to continue their terms or extend
their terms that they could contact them to facilitate this. During the last week, we were informed that
the Governor would like to have Board members serve only a 10-year term, however
if there are any members who will not be re-applying or are at their end of
their 10-year terms that they can continue to serve until a replacement is
found. Cindy asked if people should
submit names if they are interested. Dr.
Stenehjem said yes. The website for this
is: http://www.governor.wa.gov/boards/boards.htm.
Miscellaneous
1.
Jerry
asked what the feasibility would be for WSSB to be a separate school
district. Dr. Stenehjem said that each
scenario would have its own set of pro’s and con’s.
2.
Terry
had a plaque for retiring board member, Susie Davidson. Susie was unable to
attend today.
3.
Terry
also had a plaque for Cindy Roney who has been on the board since 1990. Cindy will be retiring from the board this
year. Cindy stated that it was great to
be with this group and has never seen a group who has been more caring and
competent.
Ex-Officio Reports
1.
Carol
reported that Shelly Brown will be the Hudson’s Bay coordinator; Robb Peck will
be the Distance Learning contact; and Pat Wilber will be teaching Middle
School. Lisa Hodge and Paul Baldwin will
be going through classes in an attempt to get their National Certifications.
Carol complimented one of our students who took the initiative to write a
letter to her family members. Jennifer
Butcher is in training and hopes to qualify to go to the para-Olympics in
Greece. Bruce McClanahan and Carol are
hoping to work on an Assistive Technology/English curriculum. They have applied for funding from the AFB
and NFB. Carol will not be the Board
Representative next year; it will be fellow teacher Theresa Tate.
2.
Bonda
reported that on June 19th the WSFE will also be representing the
Teachers union. The Federation purchased
a yearbook for a WSD student and therefore purchased seven CD yearbooks for
WSSB students. Bonda reported that next
year the Residential Department is looking forward to the Orientation and
Mobility instructors change in schedule so they can work together more closely.
Joann Grant will be retiring from WSSB
after 25 years of service and Jan Person will be retiring after 30 years of
service. Sandy Prouty, Residential Life
Counselor was voted as Employee of the Year.
3.
Mike
reported that the NFB went two for two in the legislative arena this year. One was having voting access so that
beginning with 2004, there will be a voting machine in each poll that will be
accessible; and second was that the Newsline will continue to be available. The NFB National convention will be held in
Louisville and the state convention will be held in Olympia.
4.
Denise
Colley reported on behalf of Gary Burdette who was unable to attend the
meeting. Denise reported that the WCB
focused on a lot of the same legislation and watched the three agencies very
closely as they wanted their voices to be heard; WTBBL received no reductions
this year. The Council’s National
Convention will be held in Pittsburgh on July 5-12 and the state convention
will be held in Spokane.
Business Meeting:
Old Business:
Terry
called for a motion to approve the May 1, 2003 meeting minutes: Joe moved to
approve the minutes, Noel seconded the motion.
The minutes were approved unanimously.
New Business:
Election of Officers
(Chairman)
Kay
made the motion to elect Terry Robertson as Chairman of the Board; Chuck
seconded the motion. The motion was
approved unanimously.
Committee Assignments
1.
Education
Committee: Chair Kay Adamson. Committee
members: Bonda Albers, Theresa Tate, Chuck Nelson, Denise Mackenstadt, Cindy
Roney.
2.
Legislative
Committee: Chair Mike Freeman. Committee
members: Terry Robertson, Gary Burdette,
and Kathleen Brown.
3.
Facility
Committee: Chair Jerry Farley. Committee members: Joe Fram and Terry Robertson.
4.
Management
Committee: Chair Noel Nightingale. Committee members: Denise Colley, and Joe Fram.
Dedication of Ogden
Resource Center (October 9th at 2:00 p.m.). More information to follow.
The
next Board meeting will be held in Vancouver on September 19-20, 2003. Terry thanked all members for their time and
participation.
There being no further business, the meeting
adjourned at
Terry Robertson, Chair Dean
O. Stenehjem, Ed.D.
Superintendent