RIVERVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 407
CARNATION, WA 98014
Minutes of Board of Directors’ Meeting
March 8, 2011
District Office – Conference Room A/B
CALL TO ORDER
Ms. Oviatt, Board President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM, followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Ms. Oviatt, Mr. Bawden, Mr. Pflugrath, Mr. Edwards
Student Representative: Ms. Bawden
MEMBERS ABSENT
Mrs. Van Noy
Student Representative: Mr. Koons
COMMUNICATIONS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS AND HEARING OF PUBLIC
Ms. Oviatt said Mr. Koons was attending a wrestling banquet and Mrs. Van Noy had a United
Way obligation, so neither would be in attendance at tonight’s Board meeting.
Ms. Oviatt said the Board had a breakfast on March 4th and discussed legislative review,
classified staff week, and many other items.
Ms. Oviatt said she and Mrs. Van Noy attended the Riverview Education Foundation’s Auction
on March 5th, which sold out with 162 people attending. Two additional tables were added this
year from the previous year. They had some fun games and the event was lots of fun.
Ms. Oviatt said next week, March 14-18, will be Classified Employees’ Week, even though it
was listed on the district calendar as March 7-11. The correct date is March 14-18. Since Mrs.
Van Noy is scheduling the classified staff visits, Ms. Oviatt will let her know that next Tuesday
or Thursday works best for all Board members.
Ms. Oviatt said Board members attended the WSSDA Legislative Conference in Olympia on
February 27th and 28th. Mr. Edwards will be reporting on this later in tonight’s meeting. She
thanked Mr. Edwards and Ms. Van Noy for organizing all the visits with our legislators. She
also thanked Mrs. Van Noy for setting up a meeting for the student representatives to meet with
Secretary of State Sam Reed. Ms. Oviatt thanked Mr. Pflugrath for serving on the Small Schools
Task Committee and thanked Mr. Bawden for providing a plan of action for when they met with
the legislators. She also thanked the student representatives for taking time to attend this
conference and for discussing Riverview School District issues, which gave legislators a new,
fresh perspective.
Ms. Oviatt reminded Board members about the Brightwater Plant Field Trip on March 10th from
3:00-5:00 PM. Mr. Bawden will be attending with Dr. Smith and Mr. Robertson.
Ms. Oviatt said the Board will be receiving an e-mail inviting them to the Friends of Youth
Luncheon in Bellevue on March 18th at noon. She is attending and Mrs. Van Noy will be
attending for United Way. There is a link to sign up if you can attend.
Mrs. Van Noy sent Board members a meeting request about the 45th Legislature Town Hall
Meeting on March 12th at the Woodinville City Hall from 10:30 AM to noon.
Ms. Oviatt noted the e-mail that came from Sarah Thomas regarding the FFA Community
Service Project, which involved students visiting the Oxbow Farm with the mission of cleaning,
restoring, and planting native berries along the riverfront.
Mr. Bawden complimented the student representatives on their ability to be given an idea and
run with it successfully, which was evident at the WSSDA Legislative Conference as they spoke
to the legislators in Olympia.
Mr. Edwards was not able to attend the REF Auction, but gave his tickets to friends who
thoroughly enjoyed the event.
Mr. Pflugrath commented that the Career and Technical Education Department has been very
busy. They are submitting applications to OSPI for four new classes. He said he enjoyed the
WSSDA Legislative Conference, especially talking to local representatives.
Ms. Bawden said Cedarcrest is having the Rube Goldberg Event on May 25th and will send an email invitation to Senator Andy Hill. This Saturday a group from Cedarcrest will be competing
at the Regional Science Fair in Bellevue. The Cedarcrest Knowledge Bowl won their regional
competition and will now be headed off to State.
Mr. Edwards sent e-mails to all the legislators the Board met with, including Bruce Dammeier
and Marcie Maxwell. He has already received a nice reply from Representative Roger Goodman
today, who very much wants to visit Tolt Middle School, Stillwater Elementary, and Carnation
Elementary.
Mr. Robertson and Dr. Smith said they would like to have a Strategic Plan Work Study with
Board members and Mike Vidos, which should last about three hours. The dates suggested were
May 17th or 31st.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion 11-16: To approve the March 8, 2011, Consent Agenda as presented. (Edwards). Since
there are revised Personnel Actions, Mr. Edwards moved to pull the motion.
Motion 11-17: To approve the March 8, 2011, Consent Agenda as amended to include the
revised Personnel Actions. (Edwards and Pflugrath). Unanimous.
Approval of Regular School Board Meeting Minutes for February 22, 2011 and Board Work
Study Minutes for February 22, 2011.
CONSENT AGENDA, Cont.
Approval of Warrants
General Fund Warrant No. 179942 through 180025 in the amount of $149,752.83 and direct
deposits of $7,304.28; Capital Projects Fund Warrant No. 179854 in the amount of $473.00, and
No. 180026 through 180048 in the amount of $679,407.05, ASB Fund Warrant No. 180049
through 180054 in the amount of $5,641.90, and direct deposits of $263.53; and Private Purpose
Trust Fund Warrant No. 180055 through 180061 in the amount of $6,704.64, and direct deposits
of $8,366.57. Total payroll for February 28, 2011 was $1,936,416.76, General Fun Warrant No.
179855 through 179941 in the amount of $639,284.25, and direct deposits of $971,829.94.
Approval of Personnel Actions, as Revised
Approval of Service Contracts
OLD BUSINESS
WSSDA Legislative Conference Report
Mr. Edwards gave Board members handouts from WSSDA on legislative updates which are
dated March 2nd, 3rd and 7th. One of the last bills the legislation has worked on was the
innovative schools bill, ESHB 1546. The amendments removed the option of performance-based
evaluations and pay, and the authority to request a waiver from the statewide salary schedules for
teachers and the salary lid compliance requirements. When he, Mr. Bawden, and Ms. Bawden
met with Senator Andy Hill, Senator Hill was very impressed with the innovative programs
Riverview has. March 25th is the next big deadline when policy bills must be passed out of
committee. The legislators have gotten a lot of work done over the last several weeks and now
will be meeting with their own districts and constituents. The message he heard was, “We’re
going to do everything we can to keep educational money.”
Mr. Bawden said Representative Larry Springer told him he was confident our district is using its
resources wisely, so we have credibility with him. Mr. Bawden, along with the other Board
members, made sure they educated Senator Andy Hill on what we’re doing in Riverview. Mr.
Bawden reminded the Board that it’s important to get our representatives here to see our
programs.
Mr. Pflugrath said the most enlightening speech he heard was by the economist speaking about
the state economic forecast and education implications. He presented factual information in a
way everyone could understand, which was excellent.
Ms. Oviatt reminded Board members to complete the survey on the WSSDA Conference.
Ms. Bawden commented that when they were speaking with Senator Andy Hill, she was pleased
with how enthusiastic he was, which made her excited about all the events happening at
Cedarcrest.
Ms. Oviatt noted that Ms. Bawden and Mr. Koons are working on an article for the River Current
News.
Mr. Robertson commented that he enjoyed the information provided by Arun Raha on the
economic forecast and how long it will last. Dr. Raha gave many concrete examples and
provided valuable information.
Board Leadership Initiatives
Ms. Oviatt recommended moving all the initiative dates out to March 31, 2011.
Dr. Smith has received two recommendations to infuse into the Strategic Plan. He’s received
feedback from parent leaders about training of diversity. Also he would like the Board’s input
on the District’s web page design. Dr. Smith, Mr. Censullo, and Mrs. Layman are working with
a vendor that’s designed web pages for Mercer Island, Snoqualmie Valley and Highline.
Second Reading, Policy 3020, Nonresident Students
Motion 11-18: To approve Policy 3020 for Second Reading. (Bawden and Edwards)
Discussion followed on clarifying language for employee’s children and other non-resident
children. Unanimous.
NEW BUSINESS
Board Meeting Agenda Topics for 2010-2011
Ms. Oviatt added March 18th for the Friends of Youth Luncheon and added a Board Initiative
Work Study for March 22nd at 5:30 PM. A placeholder will need to be added for the Strategic
Plan Work Study for either May 17th or May 31st. Certificated Employees’ Week is May 2-6
with May 3rd being Teacher Appreciation Day. The Senior Seminar Presentation is June 3rd. Mr.
Bawden and Ms. Oviatt will hand out diplomas at Cedarcrest’s graduation on June 10th, while
Mr. Pflugrath and Mrs. Van Noy will hand out diplomas for the RSD Alternative graduation on
June 6th. Ms. Oviatt and Mr. Bawden will attend the Board Leadership meeting on March 18th at
7:00 PM.
REPORTS
Enrollment Report
Mr. Robertson reported that the District has increased student enrollment by 5.41 FTE. This is
the first time in ten years that March enrollment has increased.
Superintendent Report
Mr. Robertson reported the following:
1. He thanked the Board for attending the Riverview Education Foundation Dinner and
Auction last Saturday evening at the Echo Falls Golf Club. Once again the event was a
huge success in raising funds to provide a better education for our students.
2. He thanked the Board for planning to personally thank all classified employees districtwide for their contributions to improving education in the Riverview School District. To
his knowledge, this is the only School Board who makes this personal effort to honor
classified staff in this manner during Classified Employees’ Week.
3. He thanked the Board and student representatives who accompanied him to Olympia for
the Legislative Forum on February 27th and 28th. Although the state’s financial picture
continues to be gloomy, it is important that we keep abreast of the school funding
situation and potential changes in legislation. Again, to his knowledge Riverview was
the only school district to have every board member, student rep and superintendent in
attendance.
4. He thanked Mrs. Van Noy for attending the KING 5 Television presentation on Rachel’s
Challenge this afternoon in Seattle. He and Leanne Christensen were actually
interviewed by the KING 5 reporter covering this story. He and Dr. Smith also heard the
presentation at their AASA Conference over mid-winter break.
5. As a reminder, there will be a tour for school board members and superintendents of the
Brightwater Environmental Education and Community Center this Thursday. He will be
attending this with Dr. Smith and Mr. Bawden.
6. Since the last board meeting, he had the opportunity to attend the following events: the
four weekly construction meetings, the monthly superintendent meeting of the Puget
Sound Educational Service District, the two day Legislative Forum in Olympia, the
Riverview Education Foundation Dinner and Auction, the Cedarcrest State boys’
basketball playoff game in Stanwood and a presentation on Rachel’s Challenge
sponsored by KING 5 Television.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Ms. Oviatt adjourned the March 8, 2011, Board Meeting at 8:05
PM.
___________________________________
Board President
____________________________________
Board Secretary
MINUTES PREPARED BY
Sandy Bechtel, Substitute Recording Secretary to the Board of Directors.