WASHINGTON STATE
SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
BOARD OF
TRUSTEES
November 2-3,
2001
Bellingham,
Washington
Board Members
Participating: Terry Robertson, Noel
Nightingale, Kay Adamson, Jerry Farley, Susie Davidson, Joe Fram, Chuck Nelson,
and Cindy Roney.
Ex-Officio Members
Participating: Carol Schultz (WSSB
Teachers Association), Gary Burdette (Washington Council of the Blind), and
Michael Freeman (National Federation of the Blind of
Washington).
Board Members
Absent: Denise
Mackenstadt.
Ex-Officio Members
Absent: Steve Rainey (Parent
Representative), and Bonda Albers (Washington Federation of State Employees
Local #1225).
WSSB Staff Members
Participating: Dr. Dean Stenehjem
(Superintendent), and Janet Merz (recording secretary).
November 2, 2001 - 7:15 p.m.
- 9:47 p.m.
Terry Robertson called the
Parent Meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.
The Board of Trustees travels to different parts of the state at least
once per year. Chuck and Melinda
Luttrell (parents) and John and Laurel Glenn (Teacher’s of the Visually
Impaired) were present at the meeting.
Dr. Stenehjem provided a brief overview of the school. He felt WSSB could be expanding parent training; possibly with Distance Learning and that networking of parents with blind children is very important. The floor was then opened for discussion. John echoed Dr. Stenehjem’s feeling that more parent training is needed, especially educating parents on their special education rights, IDEA, etc. Discussion was held regarding the cost and availability of Braille books. Dr. Stenehjem stated Rod Humble and Colleen Lines were putting together an advisory group to discuss the Instructional Resource Center and ways of improving the availability of textbooks to children in LEA’s in a timely manner. Noel said the NFB is working through legislation with the American Publishers Association to have K-12 textbooks formatible.
Chuck Luttrell feels WSSB has great opportunities for
social activities and that parents need to be their child’s advocate. Mike
stated that consumer groups could be an excellent resource for parents. Terry asked if physicians could contact
WSSB so that WSSB can contact parents for resources and assistance. Noel said this could possibly be done
through legislation, i.e. mandatory reporting. Dr. Stenehjem said there is a toll-free
number through the Low Vision Task Force for referrals and information that is currently in place and that Department of Services
for the Blind currently has the role of providing services to families of young
blind and visually impaired children through their child and family
program.
Discussion occurred about the
need for trained teachers of the blind and the shortage of these professionals
in many parts of the state. Dr. Stenehjem reminded the group
that there is a grant available from Stephen F. Austin University that will pay
for training for Orientation and Mobility and/or Teachers of the Visually Impaired. The grant is
available to individuals from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, and
Texas. This $1.5 million dollar
federal grant provides training to individuals in these 5 states over the next 5
years and Washington should get about 5-6 slots per year. Dr. Dixie Mercer is the contact: dmercer@sfasu.edu or call
936-468-1142.
Chuck Luttrell remarked that WSSB has great technology but
when his son goes back to the local district there is no technology or support
for him. Kay stated the
Instructional Resource Center lends equipment to districts. Chuck asked who would train his son on
the Voice Note. Dr. Stenehjem said
that Bruce McClanahan travels to districts to do training. Melinda Luttrell felt that staff and
students both need training on Voice Notes. Cindy suggested setting up a help line
with students as they sometimes train each other more effectively. Melinda asked how long students stay at
WSSB. Dr. Stenehjem said it varies greatly depending on the students’ individual
needs and currently the average stay is 2.6
years. Melinda then asked about the
success rate of students graduating from the school. Dr. Stenehjem said the school decided in
1998 to track each student for 8 years from that date forward to help determine
success and help determine changes that should be made in programs. Current data
shows that since 1998, 88% of students
have either gone on to college or are employed. Chuck stated he felt if WSSB has low
expectations for students than you will get low results and if you have high
expectations for students you will get higher results. Chuck expressed his concern that his son
slid academically this year. Dr.
Stenehjem felt that staff members have high expectations for students, but was
not aware of what happened in their particular situation and he would check into
all details. Susie stated there was the possibility that their son’s
local school district may have totally different expectations than WSSB. Chuck
and Melinda complimented the communication efforts from WSSB, however Melinda
felt there should be more specific discussion regarding benchmarks to gauge
where their son is and also more specific IEP’s. Chuck suggested hosting parent/teacher
conferences in different congressional districts. Dr. Stenehjem stated he would
review the IEP process and discuss their concerns
with the staff and Principal. Dr.
Stenehjem also mentioned that WSSB is always interested in ways they can improve
programs and services for students, parents and districts. Laurel stated she
appreciated WSSB holding the meeting in Bellingham. Dr. Stenehjem said that the school would
get back to the Lutrell’s, other guests and board members about any
concerns.
November 3, 2001 - 8:08 a.m.
- 12:25 p.m.
New
Business:
Joe read a
thank you note that was sent to the Board of Trustees from Sue Bishop, recently
retired Director of Residential Services at WSSB. At the last Board meeting, Sue received
a signed Mariners Baseball bat for her retirement gift.
Joe stated the Board of
Trustees meetings are “open meetings” with anyone welcome to attend, but there
have been times where people come to the meeting that need extended amounts of
time for discussion items. Joe
requested that people let us know they are coming so the Board can better
address the issue and be prepared for the amount of time on the agenda. The suggestion was made to add an item
to the agenda for “public input”. This
will make for more efficient board time and the person presenting any issues,
because the board will make sure the information needed or persons needed can be
present.
Chuck Nelson introduced Doug
Powles. Doug presented a new
program to the Board called “Ultimate Books”. The program uses CD formatted
textbooks. The program is
controlled by the keyboard and can print to a Braille Embosser. Doug’s goal is to have items accessible
through cable television, telephone, and computer. David Graham, from KBCB Channel 24 came
to the meeting to inform the group that it is his goal to provide audio stream
on the SAP
channel of their station. David has been talking to Jan
Ames regarding this issue. Doug
showed the group how the use of a scanner can enable print materials to be audible with some of the software they have developed and
the facilitation of various software into a very usable low cost scanner/reading
machine. Doug’s goal is to
have the Gamut Reading Machine available at 80% less than the Kurzweile Reading
Machine. Cindy asked when this would be available. Doug stated he is applying for a 501
(3)(c) and is obtaining information for what people really need. Carol asked if she ordered a book for
her classroom if it could be networked.
Doug said yes. Dr. Stenehjem
thanked Doug for coming and told Doug that there is extreme interest in this
area and there is the ability to make a huge impact. This is a
rough summary of about 1-2 hours of demonstration and excellent informational
exchange. For more information contact Mr. Doug Powles, CEO of Colligo Digital
Publisher info@ultimatebook.com or call: 360-647-3404.
Representative Kelli
Linville worked as a Speech Language Pathologist in a school for 16 years and
has been out of schools for 10 years.
Representative Linville was not as familiar with what is going on at the
Washington School for the Deaf and asked the Board for input. Joe stated at the last Board of Trustees
Meeting there was a motion for a letter to the Governor’s office regarding the
position of the Board that the governance for the
School for the Blind stay the same as the
Board feels the current structure benefits all parties in the best and most
effective manner and that by putting more layers in administration would slow
the process. Mike stated the
suggestion was made that there needs to be more oversight at the School for the Deaf
and the School for the Blind was being pulled into the same scenario because the
two schools have the same enabling laws.
Representative Linville stated it was her position that people should
look at the results of the agency to judge success. Dr. Stenehjem stated that WSSB has made
significant gains over the years in part due to a number of issues such as:
solid staff, a very active board and limited bureaucracy. Representative
Linville asked if the school could still work smoothly without the same
Superintendent, as that would be the key to the governance issue. Dr. Stenehjem stated that WSSB has an
excellent staff and that is what makes the difference. Dr.
Stenehjem also stated that the board would recommend and be very involved in the
hiring of a new Superintendent if that was necessary in the future. It was also stated by the board and
ex-officio members that there is good oversight from the board and both blind
consumer organizations.
Representative Linville
spoke about the current budget situation. She has been on the Appropriations
Committee for 8 years. The budget shortfall is approximately $1 billion, however
the Governor feels that Education is important and approximately 60% of the budget goes to K-12 and
higher education. Representative
Linville feels that environmental issues are more in jeopardy than
education. Noel looked at the
proposed budget cuts for DSHS and the Deaf/Blind Service Center was proposed to
be cut. Noel has concerns with that
proposal. Representative Linville
said that all protective and essential services are being looked at. Dr. Stenehjem stated that cuts may
indirectly affect the Department of Services for the Blind due to federal
matching dollars. Joe thanked
Representative Linville for coming to the meeting.
Representative Linville
suggested to Noel that the Board express displeasure with the WASL test scores
not being validated due to scorers throwing away the Braille writing
portion. The board will compose a
letter to the Governor’s office, with copies to Terry
Bergeson, Nancy Arnold, TOVI listserv, Riverside Publishing, Representative
Linville and the Governor’s Education Committee. Dr. Stenehjem will draft a letter and
e-mail it to Board members for approval. Noel moved to send the letter of
displeasure, listing specific issues with the WASL; Cindy seconded, all
approved. John expressed the same
frustration with the WASL. Dr.
Stenehjem suggested that maybe in the future sending the Braille tests to WSSB
to be packaged and forwarded to Riverside Publishing for scoring would help cut
down on tests or attached information being disposed of by the scorers at
Riverside Publishing.
Old Business:
Terry stated he felt good
about the meeting last night and recommended that the Principal come to all
future Parent Meetings. Dr.
Stenehjem felt that all Director’s should be in attendance at Parent
Meetings.
Chuck Nelson asked if the
school pretests students before they come to WSSB for assessment. Dr. Stenehjem stated that parents and
local school district’s request WSSB to assess certain areas. Dr. Stenehjem stated that WSSB is
discussing going back to a 30-day assessment for all students that enroll at
WSSB. John suggested putting more
parameters on the reading assessments to evaluate the results more
comparatively. John will send an
e-mail regarding the reading matrix to all TVI’s in Washington. Dr. Stenehjem suggested that John also
contact Pat Wilber from WSSB who has extensive experience in reading
curriculum.
Approval of Minutes for
September 21-22, 2001. Jerry moved
to approve the minutes; Noel seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
New
Business:
Superintendent's
Report:
¨
The state currently has a
Capital Project Pause in place.
WSSB has approximately $8 million appropriated for Capital Projects this
biennium including: preservation, Distance Learning, and Material
Center. Our agency proactively
selected Architects in April who worked Pro Bono until July 1. WSSB has over $500,000 in construction
bills for work in progress and is awaiting
reauthorization of OFM to continue the projects with the release of the
allotments that have been frozen.
¨
The state is currently
projecting a $1 billion deficit.
Dr. Stenehjem does not anticipate WSSB having to make budget cuts,
however budget cuts by other agencies may impact WSSB by mental health and
medical service cuts that will impact students.
¨
A supplemental budget was
submitted for a $65,000 30-passenger lift bus, three full time employee transfer
from WSD (these are
three FTE on paper, no dollars attached and have to do with the fact that as of
July 1, 2002, WSSB will be operating its own business office), and Independent
Living program employees.
¨
WSSB’s new Human Resource Manager, Cherie Willhide, is doing an excellent
job. Cherie is knowledgeable and proactive. WSSB contracted to acquire a new
database for tracking a lot of the personnel functions with the intent of
putting the H back into HR (Human Resources). Before WSSB contracted to have this
database developed, the school inquired whether any other state agency had such
a database. The response was no,
and that when it was completed, would we be willing to share the product. Once perfected, Cherie will inform all
state agencies of the availability of the database.
¨
Cherie is working with the
union and will be posting the Volunteer Coordinator position in-house
first. This position will be on
campus and also will be getting volunteers for transcribers across the state.
This position will be partly funded by WSSB state
dollars and partly funded through the Instructional Resource Program (federal
funds through OSPI).
¨
Denise Livingston (funded by
Employment Security Department) will be working at WSSB to help in the transition of the Business Office. Denise’s background as a CPA and
attorney is helpful in this area.
Denise is also helping with Technology issues. Beginning January,
2002–June 30, 2002 she will be a temporary employee with
WSSB.
¨
The state auditors are
currently auditing the two agencies.
Dr. Stenehjem asked for their input on establishing new business office
services.
¨
The Business Manager position
will be posted and our goal is to have the position filled by April. After that position is filled, two
additional business office technicians will be hired. The business office will be on the
second floor of Old Main (in the old Braille Access
Center).
¨
The teacher contract is close to completion. A letter
of understanding is being written for a Personal Day, however it will have to be
formally legalized through legislation.
TRI funds are another issue, and the Administration team is working with
the teachers on this, in the meantime this issue will be addressed through an
Exchange Time policy.
¨
Board of
Trustees position for Congressional District 9 has one applicant at this
time. Her name is Kris
Laurence.
¨
Last weekend at the NFB
Conference, Renee Corso, Craig Meador, Rod Humble, and Dr. Stenehjem
presented. The NFB approved a
donation of $500 to the Choir Department to assist them in their East Coast trip
planned for this Spring. Dr. Stenehjem stated the Choir donated
the proceeds from their last concert to the American Red Cross and the Vancouver
Lions Club wrote a check to the Choir to reimburse them for the funds that were
donated. WSSB’s Choir Director is
planning all of the stops for the East Coast trip (Julliard’s, New York
Institute for the Blind, Lavelle School for the Blind, St. Joseph’s School for
the Blind, Overbrook School for the Blind, Senate or White House, Maryland
School for the Blind and the NFB Headquarters). Dr. Stenehjem also mentioned
that it would be good if the Choir could perform at the American Council for the
Blind National Headquarters in Washington D.C. Gary Burnette, WCB
representative, thought this might be possible and could be discussed at the WCB
conference in Wenatchee the weekend of November 9. The School’s Choir and Liz
Rainey will sing the National Anthem at the Blazer’s game. The Choir and Liz
were 2 chosen from approximately 270 groups/individuals that tried
out.
¨
Front office Secretary, Wonder
Baldwin, attended mail handling safety class through the Washington State
Patrol. Wonder met with the other
secretaries to draft procedures and safeguards for incoming mail. Gary inquired about campus
security. Dr. Stenehjem stated
there are 17 surveillance cameras and also employees on the campus almost 24
hours per day. WSSB has a School
Resource Officer (Vancouver Police Officer) that is shared with WSD as well as a
very active Safety Committee this year.
¨
WSSB recently started receiving quarterly CPS reports from DLR and the first
report was inaccurate. Partial information was reported that was non-conclusive
and misleading. Dr. Stenehjem
contacted them and they issued a retraction. He mentioned that he will meet with DLR
to make sure that when they report information it is reported
accurately.
Dr. Stenehjem stated that
Linda Bannon will be retiring this year and wanted to get the Board’s thought
about the program that she currently serves; severe multi-handicapped
students. The school’s primary mission is to make sure that vision
impairment or blindness is a major disability and that we are providing services
in this special area that make a difference. A lot of discussion occurred
ranging from whether the school should serve severely multi-disabled students to
the School should serve all ranges of children. A big concern was if the school
didn’t serve the more multi-disabled children, where would they get the
appropriate service. Joe suggested that Craig look at the program and
suggest a solution. Dr. Stenehjem
said it depends if WSSB is classified as a state agency or an LEA local educational agency (school district)
and OSPI varies their opinion on this. Terry feels that WSSB cannot end this
program especially if there are no other services available. Noel asked if these services could be
provided through school districts.
Kay suggested hiring a person that could work as a trainer to
teachers. Noel asked if WSDS should
hire someone to look into this.
Carol stated that Linda would like answers on this issue and that she has
mixed feelings on this as there are some students that may not make any
progress. Dr. Stenehjem said suggested looking into
establishing partnerships with local districts in trying to improve services for
students on campus and in the local districts as one possibility. Mike felt WSSB should focus on academics only, however he feels WSSB needs a
specialist on staff that can also help meet the needs of all students in one way
or another. Noel felt that major focus should be academic.
Ex-Officio
Reports:
¨
Mike reported the NFB
Convention will be in Fife March 15-16, 2002 and the Fall convention will be
held on the Veteran’s Day weekend (2002).
The National Convention will be held in Louisville July 3-9,
2002.
¨
Gary stated the Council of
the Blind’s convention is scheduled for November 9-11, 2001 in Wenatchee and
will be held next summer in Texas.
¨
Carol reported the computer
problems seem to be improving throughout the school, however they are not fully
resolved. Craig Meador is defining different philosophies and goals for the
school departments. Dr. Stenehjem
asked the Board to check out WSSB’s website as there are many changes and also a
section where students have included their thoughts regarding freedom,
etc.
Jerry reported he is looking
for assistance or ideas regarding a student that attended WSSB. He does not have his green card and
cannot obtain any services. The
Washington School for the Blind Foundation has offered to help with the
financial obligations for an attorney.
Terry asked if there was any way that Gabe could help Robb Peck with
Powerlifting. Dr. Stenehjem said he
would look into this. Jerry asked
that if anyone has any suggestions or ideas, to contact
him.
An Executive Session was
called to order at 12:25 p.m. The
Executive Session ended at 12:30 p.m.
The next Board of Trustees
meeting will be held on January 15, 2002.
Joe
Fram, Chair
Dean O. Stenehjem, Ed.D.
Superintendent