RIVERVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 407
CARNATION, WA 98014
Minutes of Regular Board of Directors’ Meeting
February 24, 2009
District Office – Conference Room A/B
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Bawden, Board President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM, followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr. Bawden, Mr. Pflugrath, Ms. Oviatt, Mr. Edwards
Student Representatives: Ms. Fields, Mr. Siegel
MEMBERS ABSENT
Mrs. Van Noy
TOLT MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT PRESENTATION
Ms. Gaivgan, Principal, introduced Teresa O’Shea, who in turn introduced four of her students
from Citizenship Class: Madi Finch, Taeler Rains, Cierra Heimbigner, and Chase Cardon.
Citizenship Class addresses community service, current events, language arts, and a culminating
project. Taeler helped with afterschool activities at the elementary school and with the Girl
Scouts, and Chase shoveled snow from driveways of elderly neighbors. Chase explained the
class works with a weekly magazine for current events from around the world. Ms. O’Shea said
language arts was an important part of the class. They recently read a novel “Eagle Shadow”
about an Alaska tribe. Students then designed their own totem pole representing their family
life, and wrote a story about it. Madi, Cierra, and Taeler shared their totem poles and explained
the symbols. The culminating project was a tea party because one of the main parts of the story
evolved around tea and conversations. The Board thanked the students and staff for their
presentation.
COMMUNICATIONS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS, AND HEARING OF PUBLIC
Mr. Bawden reminded the Board of the upcoming Cedarcrest Science Fair on Saturday, with
public viewing at 1:00 PM. He also noted the WSSDA Regional Meeting in Issaquah on March
19th. The Board was invited by Phil Gore to attend a program “Communicating in Tough
Economic Times” on Saturday but they are unable to attend.
Mr. Bawden said he received a letter from Governor Gregoire requesting endorsement from the
Board for the College Bound Scholarship Program. Although this is a very worthwhile program,
the board also supports many state and local scholarship programs.
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COMMUNICATIONS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS, AND HEARING OF PUBLIC, Cont.
Ms. Oviatt mentioned the Board was invited to participate in the Lighthouse Project. Mr.
Pflugrath is gathering more information on that project. She presented the plaque for the Board
room, showing the National Board Certified Teachers.
Mr. Pflugrath said he attended a meeting of the CTE Advisory Meeting for the Engineering
Program which was held at Microsoft’s Home of the Future and couldn’t believe how fantastic
the technology was.
Mr. Edwards said he watched the TMS girls’ soccer game in Preston this afternoon and was
drenched before the meeting. Tolt girls have four teams in soccer this year.
Agenda Adjustment
Motion 09-11: To amend the Consent Agenda, Personnel Actions, to reflect recent changes.
(Pflugrath and Edwards) Unanimous.
Hearing of Public
Cedarcrest High School FFA students, Haley Clapp, President; Montana Signett, Secretary; and
Amanda Miller presented the Board members with colorful spring flowers in planters for Board
Appreciation Month. The flowers were grown and planted by Ms. Thomas’ Horticulture Class.
This is National FFA Week and there are a lot of activities planned at the high school. Currently,
CHS FFA has over 60 members. The Board thanked the students for the planters.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion 09-12: To approve the February 24, 2009, Consent Agenda as amended. (Edwards and
Pflugrath) Unanimous.
Approval of Regular School Board Meeting Minutes for February 10, 2009
Approval of Warrants
General Fund Warrant No. 169545 through 169700 in the amount of $202,692.48; Capital
Projects Fund Warrant No. 169522 through 169526 in the amount of $1,143,332.97 and No.
169701 through 169726 in the amount of $460,906.46; ASB Fund Warrant No. 169727 through
169744 in the amount of $5,924.82; and Private Purpose Trust Fund Warrant No. 169745 in the
amount of $25.00. Total payroll for February 13, 2009 was $32,888.88, which includes General
Fund Warrant No. 169527 through 169543 in the amount of $5,278.43, and direct deposits of
$21,091.49.
Approval of Personnel Actions, as amended
Approval of Service Contracts
Approval of Budget Status Report
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CONSENT AGENDA, Cont.
Approval of Donations
The Board acknowledged donations from REF and Washington Alliance for Arts Education.
Approval of Out of State Travel for Kirsten Westergard to National Psychologist Conference
OLD BUSINESS
Construction Update
Tim Ausink, Heery International project manager, updated the Construction Projects.
Cedarcrest High School Remodel
The administration area addition has been completed and was turned over to the school
for use on February 9th. CDK met their milestone date for turnover.
The gymnasium addition interior and exterior painting is nearly complete. The wrestling
mat mover, mirrors, ballet bars, and wall pads have been installed in the new
wrestling/dance room and the mirrors have been installed in the new weight room. The
new rubber flooring for the wrestling/dance and weight room is expected to be installed
in late March and the entire addition is expected to be turned over to the school complete
by mid April.
The current weight room is scheduled to be demolished for renovations in late March to
make way for the new sports medicine/training room.
Turnover of the gymnasium addition has been moved from early March to early April
because of the delivery schedule for the rubberized flooring in the wrestling/dance and
weight rooms. In order for demolition of the current weight room to occur, the existing
rubber mat flooring and equipment will be relocated to the new gym addition for school
use pending inspection approvals from the building official.
The special needs classroom has added a new “wing” wall which has been sheet rocked
and painted. Additional cabinetry and an additional cook top are expected to be installed
in late March.
The new boiler in the second floor mechanical room has been connected with gas piping.
Currently there is ductwork being installed for the boiler to vent and receive air.
Cedarcrest High School Field Improvements
The SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) checklist has been developed and was
published on February 20. The open comment period for the SEPA Checklist will expire
at 4:00 PM on March 6, 2009.
The Army Corps of Engineers is currently reviewing a JARPA application submitted by
the district’s consultant, Wetland Resources, Inc., for the approval for offsite mitigation
of an existing wetland which pertains to the new parking area.
The project managers and architects met with the City of Duvall last Wednesday to
address comments and clarifications.
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Construction Update, Cont.
Tolt Middle school Remodel
Allied Construction made great progress over the mid-winter break.
The Building A addition’s cabinets, trim and light fixtures are being installed. The tile in
the boys and girls restrooms is complete and toilets and sinks have been installed. The
exterior lap board siding and interior walls have been painted.
Sheet rock installation at the gymnasium foyer is completely hung and being taped and
mudded. New ductwork for the heating and air condition systems is also being installed.
The exterior brick and lap board siding is complete and the siding has been painted.
The roof overbuilds above the kitchen and locker rooms at Buildings B and D have been
completely shingled and gutters and flashing installation is complete. New heating units
have been placed on the rooftop of Building B and in the attic space of Building D.
The brick siding and lap board siding is completely installed at Building L and exterior
painting is nearly complete. The Building L classroom additions and the renovated core
of the building are completely drywalled. Heating and air conditioning ductwork is being
installed throughout the building and new heating units have been installed in the attic
space.
Allied Construction began installation of two new catch basins in the maintenance yard
on February 23 and will be installing new drywells in the adjacent parking lot on
February 26.
New sidewalks have been poured between the Building A addition and the building,
between the Building A addition and the portables to the south, and between the J and L
buildings extending behind the L building on the south side.
The project is currently behind schedule. Allied Construction is working on re-phasing
the project in order to complete the project as indicated in the contract documents by the
end of August.
Tolt Middle School Field Improvements
The project is waiting for the final track surface installation which requires consistently
dry and warm weather. This is not anticipated to be completed until spring.
Riverview Learning Center
Erickson McGovern, Architects, and Heery International, Project Managers, met with the
City of Carnation to discuss accessing the Learning Center from Bagwell Street as an
alternative to Milwaukee Avenue.
Carnation Elementary and Cherry Valley Elementary schools
Draft Educational Specifications have been developed by the design team with the faculty
and are ready for school district review. Erickson McGovern is proceeding with creating
As-Built drawings.
The district is reviewing solicited Statements of Qualifications from local consulting
firms to aid in the design process, as part of the SEPA process.
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Strategic Plan Status
Goal 3: Provide Human Resources and Communication practices to improve student
learning.
Objective 3B: Implement the District’s Communication and Recognition Plan.
Task 1: Evaluate the two year communication plan and revise as appropriate. Dr. Smith
reported aspects of Sub-goal 1, “Improve internal/external communication,” were refined.
Employee recognition was changed to every month and recognition of two administrators
(1 classified and 1 certificated) per year was added. Sub-goal 2, “Continue emphasis on
reporting on student achievement, both individually and collectively,” was modified with
more clarity on overall student learning. Sub-goal 3 was changed to “Transparently share
progress concerning district strategic goals.” With a focus on student learning, we will
provide more current information on the website and through Constant contact at the
school level. Sub-goal 4 was changed to “Implement internal stakeholder survey next
year and report results to board.” We will survey staff internally in the fall of 09-10
school year regarding district communications.
Leanne Christiansen reviewed the number of articles sent to the media and those
highlighted on the RSD website, comparing the over the last five years. She also
provided a list of modified tasks to further support the Communications Plan Objectives.
Goal 1: Increase the academic achievement of all students
Objective 1G: Develop a plan to increase parental and community engagement in our schools
Task 5: Implement the program. Dr. Smith said Ms. Oviatt, Mr. Bawden and he are
desegregating the data from the focus groups and it will be turned into recommendations
to be included in the work study on the Strategic Plan in June. I hope we can take the
cogent recommendations from that and weave them into the Plan. Mr. Bawden said he
had hoped to have the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on line but it has been slow
going. Dr. Smith recommended starting with a section in the District E-Letter in the
spring to try it out and then discuss comments at the June work study.
Regarding the HR Plan recommendations, Dr. Smith said staff are being trained in the HRM Plus
new online employee application system. The next step is to train the Ad Team and hopefully
implement the system sometime this spring.
2009-10 Budget Development
Mr. Robertson explained the difficulty in providing budget information at this time. Two months
ago the Board held a work study on the budget and it was reported the State had a $5.7 billion
deficit, with the Governor looking at a 24% reduction in I-728 funding and 33% reduction in
levy equalization assistance. On February 9th, when the Board met with the legislators, they
were looking at a possible 36% reduction in I-728 funding and were not considering any levy
equalization assistance reduction. Then it was reported on February 19th that the State had
announced an estimated $8 billion deficit, and also the Federal Stimulus Package was signed.
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2009-10 Budget Development, Cont.
This morning, Mr. Robertson attended an OSPI video conference on the State Fiscal
Stabilization portion of the Stimulus Package. It was reported the preliminary estimate is $1
billion, of which 81.8% is for K-12 and post secondary education ($820 million). OSPI said this
funding, very likely, does not represent an enhancement to district funding. For the K-12 sector
the Legislature may reduce I-728 funding and replace the funding with stabilization resources.
Mr. Robertson also provided information on estimated Federal programs grant allocations.
NEW BUSINESS
REPORTS
Student Representative Report
Ms. Fields reported ASB is very busy with the Tolo dance, assemblies, and hosting an Interhigh
in March. Twelve FBLA students have qualified for state competition. This is National FFA
Week and members are planning something for each day of the week. DECA students are
preparing for the DECA state competition next week in Bellevue. DECA has also applied for the
Diamond Level membership and only 2% of the schools receive it. Random Acts of Kindness
(RAK) is adopting the road in front of the school in addition to Main Street in Duvall.
Mr. Siegel noted spring sports start next week. Boys’ Basketball season is over; however, the
girls’ basketball team is advancing to districts. Three wrestlers participated in the WIAA Mat
Classic in the Tacoma Dome and Senior JD Gorman took 7th place.
Legislative Report
Mrs. Van Noy, in her absence, provided a written Legislative Report and a list of current bills in
the House and Senate on education.. Ms. Oviatt highlighted several portions.
1.
2.
3.
Representative Marcie Maxwell (a friend of the Board) passed her first bill HB 1221 to
give support and rights to people who live out of state but are injured in Washington
State.
On Monday, Feb. 23, the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee held a
public hearing on SB 6048, the new vehicle for a new education finance system. Senator
Oemig is the prime sponsor of SB 6048 which is a consolidation of House and Senate
bills. Senator Oemig and others strongly believe that the Legislature should not “punt”
and avoid addressing a new funding system, rather they should being to establish a new
foundation now.
All bills agree that there is a need for a new definition of Basic Education and full
funding; adoption of a new, flexible allocation system based on a prototype schools
model; and a new “oversight” group to recommend on-going changes.
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Mr. Robertson thanked the Board for the opportunity to attend the AASA National Conference in
San Francisco on February 18-22, 2009. Some of the headline speakers were Donna Brazile, a
well known political strategist; Patrick Lencioni, a well known educational author on leadership;
Dan Siegel, the executive director of the Mindsight Institute; and Robert Marzano, a prolific
author and most recently wrote “The Art and Science of Teaching.” One of the highlights, he
added, was seeing his best friend, Dave Peters, be recognized as the South Dakota
Superintendent of the Year.
Mr. Robertson reminded the Board of the busy weekend ahead at Cedarcrest High School.
Beginning Friday evening at 7:00 PM, the girls’ basketball team will host Anacortes in the
District Tournament. On Saturday the Science Fair will be held in their Commons with the
public viewing at 1:00 PM and the awards presentations at 1:45 PM. Also, the CHS Drill
Competition, which was rescheduled due to the January flood, will be held at TMS gymnasium
due to the Science Fair at CHS.
Mr. Robertson thanked Mr. Pflugrath for coming to two Duvall City Council meetings in support
of the District’s Six-Year Capital Facilities Plan. He noted the City Council unanimously
approved our Facilities Plan, as well as the City’s park and recreation fees.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mr. Bawden adjourned the February 24, 2009 School Board
meeting at 8:50 PM.
___________________________________
Board President
___________________________________
Superintendent
MINUTES PREPARED BY
Cheryl B. Layman, Recording Secretary to the Board of Directors.
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