MISSOULA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLSBOARD OF TRUSTEES

Tuesday, March 12, 2013 – 6:00 p.m.Business Building Boardroom

915 South Avenue West

Board of Trustees: Board Chair Toni Rehbein, Scott Bixler, Debbie Dupree, Marcia Holland, Vice Chair Joe Knapp, Drake Lemm, Vice Chair Jim Sadler, Mike Smith, Scott Todd, Joe Toth, Shelly Wills

Present: Trustees Toni Rehbein, Scott Bixler, Marcia Holland, Drake Lemm, Jim Sadler, Scott Todd, Joe Toth; Student Trustees Tanner Block, Brielle Rolle, Haley ZetterbergOthers Present: Elizabeth Kaleva, Steve McHugh, Alex Apostle, Pat McHugh, Karen Allen, Heather Davis Schmidt, Mark Thane, Scott Reed

Trustees Absent: Debbie Dupree, Joe Knapp, Mike Smith, Shelly Wills

MINUTES

At 6:03 p.m. Board Chair Toni Rehbein called the meeting to order and welcomed all. Trustees Knapp, Wills, Dupree and Smith are out of town.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by students from the National Coalition Building Institute.

Chair Rehbein asked for trustee approval for the following changes to the agenda: At the request of students and members of the public, to move Staff Recognition (currently Item 8) to Item 7, Student Recognition (currently Item 9) to Item 8, and Visitors and Correspondence (currently Item 7) to Item 9. The current Items 9a, 9b, and 9c (Student Recognition: Blakely, Laboski, Hendrix) will be removed because those students were unable to attend this meeting. Trustees agreed. Trustees approved the agenda with the changes noted.

SEAT TRUSTEE, Scott Todd: Trustee Todd was officially seated following Community Connection, below.

Motion by Lemm, seconded by Bixler, to approve the minutes of the February 7, 2013 Special Meeting, Tech Levy Information. Trustees unanimously approved the minutes with no changes.

Motion by Bixler, seconded by Lemm, to approve the minutes of the February 12, 2013 Regular Meeting. Trustees unanimously approved the minutes with no changes.

Motion by Bixler, seconded by Lemm, to approve the minutes of the February 19, 2013 Special Meeting, Open Trustee Seat-Interviews. Trustees unanimously approved the minutes with no changes.

Motion by Holland, seconded by Todd, to approve the minutes of the February 28, 2013 Special Meeting, Student Hearing. Trustees unanimously approved the minutes with no changes.

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONAlex Philp, President GCS Research Dave Hamilton, Sentinel HS Mathematics Teacher - “Innovation Awards: Rewarding Student Achievement in Academic Excellence” winners, Levi Kindred, Nick Hamilton, Austin Calkins, Aaron Hope

Mark Thane introduced Alex Philp as someone who has become involved in a number of initiatives in the district. He is a graduate of Seattle University and has graduate degrees from UM. He is a local entrepreneur, president of

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GCS research. He has been involved with students and Dave Hamilton in the computer science program at Sentinel. He is currently involved in an innovative program, hoping to partner with community members later this summer. He is one of 62 IBM champions recognized by the company. He is involved in the big data initiative covered in an article in the Missoulian a couple weeks ago. Dr. Alex Philp thanked Mark for the kind words; it is an honor and pleasure to be here this evening. He will offer some comments and insights about what we’re doing, where Missoula is nationally and internationally. He got involved with Hamilton and his incredible students because he is constantly looking for innovation, going deeper and deeper into school systems, looking for students who need support and encouragement and a little bit of catalyst to drive them toward excellence and to spur innovation at every level. He believes if you raise the bar, students will meet it. He believes teachers need our support. MCPS can be an international leader in how we deliver education. Students will rise to the occasion, and it spurs the entire economy in the community around information systems. He is looking for 3 main skill sets in the private sector and at UM. First, creativity: creative problem solving is fundamental to what we do every day, whether working for the largest corporations in the world to small start-ups in Missoula. Owners, founders, and business leaders are looking for those who can take a problem, creatively deconstruct it and look for basic approaches. Second, critical thinking: we are looking for people to be critical in a dialectic way about how we analyze problems. Critical thinking combined with creativity are fundamental skill sets that will serve every student well. Finally we are looking for people who can effectively communicate—whether in the language of mathematics, or in the fundamental English sentence. We cannot afford to be remedial anymore in the language of math or in the language of words. Combining the ability to communicate effectively in written and oral form and creative problem solving and critical thinking, and adding the Montana work ethic, you have the formula for success that is why at UM every major national recruiter is coming to hire our students, to offer them opportunities outside the state. He argues that we can build an economy here that is high tech and high-paying, and ultimately stop the drain of our most precious resource in Montana—our students. They are way more valuable than coal. Keep our students, our most valuable precious resource, here. That’s why he and his partners started companies here. Ten to twelve years later, they are doing some interesting things. Forty-three to forty-four people work for the businesses he has started; 80% are graduates of the UM system and many are graduates of this school system. His ultimate goal is to create a pathway of excellence from K-12 to 16 to 20. About the students: he gets bored, he is constantly looking to be enthused and inspired. He met Professor Hamilton at Sentinel, where he gave a talk to his class on big data analytics; Google to find overwhelming global discussion on it. We talk about velocity of information, variety of information, validity of information and volume of information. Information has become a new resource we can use to extract insight. There is so much of it from so many sources, that the challenge is to become a competent data scientist. He spoke to students for 1½ hours. The students in the computer science class had amazing ideas. He and his partners created a small innovation scholarship to challenge students through project-based learning to come up with an idea, to be administered by Mr. Hamilton. Shortly after that he gave a talk at UM, joined by Blackfoot Telecommunications, which made a matching contribution. He is challenging businesses here to do that, not always to look to government or taxpayers for additional capital. Enough businesses need these students for the workforce of tomorrow. They created this program, and 2 months ago students presented their projects; they were unbelievable. He works with the smartest people and largest corporations. Three amazing projects were presented. For the first, the group had come up with the idea of developing an autonomous robot. The art and science of autonomy in mobility in robotics is not a trivial endeavor. What they did in a matter of weeks was remarkable, on their own, with little money. They created a robot that can move and operate by its own measure. They decided to publish online what they did, having it open to other students around the world. The sharing of the innovation was remarkable. The 2nd team built an application that allows people in track and field to manage runners’ time. It was impressive how elegant, remarkable, sophistication of code, how far the student got in coding in Java, the run-time application he was using. That application is a business, ready to be published internationally and sold. The 3rd team did a remarkable application around mobility and analytics; they made something that allows the vegan community to address dietary needs and consumption on a 24-hour basis, breaking down every food based on amino acids. They built an application that calculated it on the fly, so a person can tell if they are getting their nutritional needs met. What he loved about all 3 were these common denominators: first, each person/team came up with a problem that needed to be solved; second, they were

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passionate about it because it was meaningful to them; third, through the help of the coach/teacher/mentor/leader and some basic bucks, they were able to go from concept to delivery in a very short time. These are Missoula’s innovation scholars: they represent innovation, the future of our country. He is incredibly proud of what they did; it inspires him. We are looking not just for the work force of tomorrow; they will continue to do well. It makes him excited about being in Missoula. Missoula can and will be a world leader in these technologies. The only thing preventing us is the will to do it. We have talent and capability. This is the right idea at the right time under the Big Sky. Rehbein thanked him; stimulating and exciting. The board hopes to meet the students. Thane introduced Dave Hamilton, math teacher at Sentinel, who teaches the only computer science high school classes in the district at the moment. Dave thanked Dr. Philp and Joel Block from Blackfoot for believing in the kids. Dr. Philp came and talked to students and got their attention. He talked to kids for a couple sessions, then pulled out his wallet and handed him five $100 bills, to find a way to incentify the kids to grab some interesting problems to them and move forward with them. It happened last semester. Two of the projects are here. Nick Hamilton, sophomore at Sentinel, wrote a program that records splits for running, displays them, and later pulls it to a file so you can compare the races with previous races. Before, you could get it for one runner, but without this program it is nearly impossible to get it for even 2 runners. Dave: Nick had that tablet up here: they enter the names before the race starts, then hit a button when the race starts; then when the kid crosses the line, you tap their name. Every time you tap, it records the event and calculates on the fly how long since the last time he crossed the line, providing intermediate results all the way through. Its application is for distance races and relay races. They have taken it to indoor meets and had other coaches looking over his shoulder, saying they need to get that. Next: Austin Calkins and Aaron Hope, juniors at Sentinel. Aaron: With the innovation scholarship they decided to attempt to build an autonomous robot and document trials in designing the robot. Austin: They encountered some problems. The sensors did not work; they are still troubleshooting that. They are meeting with Andy Wildenberg at Rocky Mountain College this weekend to try to troubleshoot the problem. Dave: from square zero, they were able to try things, find out they don’t work, and keep going. They were involved in the International Science Fair in Salt Lake City. The process happened last September to January. Most of the $1000 was given out, and now we have a second tier of 3 more projects happening. They do a written proposal then a verbal presentation. They hope with business encouragement to keep doing this on an ongoing basis semester after semester. This involves businesses believing in kids putting money into kids’ pockets, saying it has real world connections. Chair Rehbein thanked Mr. Hamilton for bringing the students and sharing, and Dr. Philp for cheering them on and inspiring them, with inspiration and with dollars. She asked students to introduce their parents. Nick Hamilton introduced his dad Dale Hamilton, who helped him with his project.

Lesli Brassfield, MCPS Technology Levy Lesli is Director of Public Affairs for the district. She is here to talk about our levies on the school elections ballot for May 7. On the ballot is an elementary and high school technology levy. The elementary tech levy will increase that annual levy from $302,000 to $850,000. The high school tech levy on the ballot will increase the annual levy from $450,000 to $750,000. Why we are seeking increased technology funding: currently we are in need of tech funding to replace computers and other devices in support of our 21st century model of learning; to expose students and staff to emerging devices and technologies; to support professional development for educators; to provide funding for software and online services; to prepare for required state testing of all students online in 2015, mandated by the state. We will need to have fairly new technology in place by 2015. We have no other dedicated funding source for technology. The General Fund is primarily for salaries, benefits, supplies, utilities etc. The Building Reserve levies fund our operations and maintenance of buildings. Not much in either of those funds goes to support technology. We currently have a 5-6 year replacement cycle for technology in the district, which we are not able to fully support at this time with the current budget. We do not fully fund online software/service fees – e.g. school websites, the AlertNow messaging service by email and phone to parents and students, Google email, etc. We are always working to have enhanced technology to support the Montana Digital Academy and Google apps for education. Technology equipment now: MCPS maintains 3,760 computers, laptops and other types of workstations, both hard drives and screens, 585 printers, 1,000 interactive whiteboards or smart boards, and 370 iPads/Kindles. Our tech staff works to keep them operational and

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functional. This is about the replacement of current items on 5-6 year cycles. Approximately 70% of each levy is for equipment purchase/replacement. State statute limits a voted technology levy. We have not gone out to voters for an increase in levies since the initial approval in 2002 and 2003. At the elementary level, the levy will increase from $302,000 to $850,000, an increase of $548,000. The projected 2113-14 cost is $14.31 per year based on a home with $200,000 assessed value. This levy will be assessed annually. In the high school, the levy will increase from $450,000 to $750,000. The projected cost is $4.57 per year based on a home with $200,000 assessed value. In closing: the technology levy will benefit every student, staff and community member. All parents, students, and staff are working on our computer network every day. Parents are accessing information through online portals, including Q. This is a mail ballot election. We encourage all parents and community members to get out and vote. Register with the county by Monday, April 8. Ballots will be mailed April 16. All ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7. Learn more on the district website at www.mcpsmt.org . Chair Rehbein thanked Lesli.

Chair Rehbein noted that with all the agenda changes, she missed number 4, to recognize and officially seat our newest trustee, Mr. Scott Todd. He has been sworn in and has been a working board member for a couple of weeks now. This is our first opportunity to officially welcome him. Scott Todd said it is an honor and privilege to serve on the board.

STAFF RECOGNITIONKaren Allen, Executive Regional Director Region 3, Becky Sorenson, Principal Hawthorne Elementary: One Class at a Time award recipient, Jan Lieber, 5th grade teacher. Karen noted that in the newspaper and on KPAX, we see members of our MCPS community who apply for and are awarded the One Class at a Time grant from Allegiance and KPAX. We don’t often get to hear much about the project, but tonight we will hear about a project at Hawthorne. Becky Sorenson, Hawthorne principal, said she is proud of the staff at Hawthorne. In past years they have received several One Class at a Time grants. Longtime teacher Jan Lieber works tirelessly to make sure students achieve. She will use the money in a special project that embodies elements of change in the 21 st century model of education. Becky introduced Jan and one of her students, Brianne Stube, an amazing 5 th grader. Lieber spoke about why she applied for the One Class at a Time grant. March is National Disabilities Awareness Month, or as she taught her kids, Differing Abilities Awareness Month. Brianne brought a book to class; they read it and fell in love with it. They applied for the grant so they can use the funds to buy a copy for every 5 th grade student. They also hope to have a conference and invite the author to UM. The author is an African American woman who writes a lot for high schoolers about inner city students and problems in cities. Brianne explained that Out of my Mind is a book about a girl who has cerebral palsy, who can’t talk or walk at all. She has a photographic memory, but no one really knows; she can’t explain anything, so people think she is dumb. Lieber said this is an amazing story by Sharon Draper about this little girl. They eventually figure out she is really bright. Brianne explained that she gets a machine and then she can talk and everyone realizes how smart she is, and she gets to go to competitions. Lieber spoke about always being aware of our students who have differing abilities, those who may never build a robot but make our world a happier, more peaceful place and reminding them that they are very important to us. Brianne introduced her dad Brian. Chair Rehbein thanked Brianne and Mrs. Lieber and invited them to shake hands with the board.

STUDENT RECOGNITIONa. Tom Blakely, Principal, Sentinel High School: State of Montana High School Prudential Spirit of Community

Award, Danielle Gornick This item was removed from the agenda; the student was unable to attend.b. Trevor Laboski, Principal, Big Sky High School, Nicki Roe, Business Teacher, DECA State Competition 1st

place winners, Kelly Seitz – Entrepreneurship - Growing Your Business, Jessica Donahoo – Principles of Marketing This item was removed from the agenda; the student was unable to attend.

c. Lisa Hendrix, Principal, Hellgate High School: Beth Huguet, National InvestWrite Competition, 1 st place winner for Montana, Cameron Kia Weix This item was removed from the agenda; the student was unable to attend.

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d. Karen Allen, Executive Regional Director: Heidi Wallace, Director of Youth Programs NCBI Missoula (National Coalition Building Institute) leadership trainers; Josh Amsdill , Tucker Richlie, Grace Kushner, Claire Michelson, Olivia MacArthur-Waltz, Sarah Willstein, Stacia Hill, Nicky Manlove Karen introduced important leaders in our high schools who represent the National Coalition Building Institute. Heidi Wallace and these students helped with a project through Graduation Matters Montana, which has focused on our 5th grades. Graduation Matters does not focus just on high school, but rather we are focusing from preschool through high school. They worked on building leadership with our 5 th grade students. Heidi thanked the Board for having them. She recognized a few of our amazing high school leaders: Nicky Manlove, Sentinel; Grace Kushner, Willard; Hannah Warden, Hellgate; Sarah Willstein, Hellgate. Heidi: our high school trainers inspire her every day with their dedication to creating safe and inclusive schools and community. They have so much passion and courage in being leaders and role models. She is thankful to work with them every day. For the 5th graders, the goal is to increase connections to each other and to school, and to inspire them to create the change necessary for them to feel connected and successful at school. They trained over five hundred 5th graders at 9 elementary schools through 22 trainings. The student trainers also co-lead the high school trainings. We trained every freshman at Big Sky and every high school student at Willard. They are very busy beyond their school and outside of school life. She is grateful for their commitment. Nicky Manlove introduced his mom, and Sarah Willstein introduced her mom, Lynne Willstein. Trustees gave each student a certificate and shook hands. Nicky Manlove is a senior at Sentinel; Gracie Kushner is a senior at Willard; Sarah Willstein is a junior at Hellgate. Chair Rehbein thanked the students and Heidi for being here.

VISITORS/CORRESPONDENCECorrespondence was in the packet.

Student Trustee Reports Sentinel: Student Trustee Tanner Block reported on the accomplishments of the past 2 months at Sentinel. The special ed department travelled to Lost Trail Ski Area for Winter Special Olympics in January. Students constructed a garden for those in need. The Sentinel Dessert Show was last week, featuring the beautiful voices of Spartan students. Mr. Hamilton’s program of innovation grant projects inspires creative and innovative thinking, and Dr. Philps helps inspire students to go beyond the limits of high school boundaries; thank you for providing an outlet for creative students to expand and develop what the future will look like. The Sentinel brainball team finished 2nd at the Brainfreeze competition; they will compete in another competition at MSU. The Industrial Arts department had 18 students pass the Valvoline oil certification test; 35 students from Sentinel and Big Sky are in the OSHA 10 class. The FIRST Robotics team, stationed at Sentinel, will travel to Salt Lake City for competition. Students will participate in the National Speech and Debate competition in Birmingham, Alabama. Spring is science fair season. APS (Advanced Problems in Science) students are in a number of science fairs; they recently went to Salt Lake City for the regional science fair. DECA students went to Helena for a 2-day competition to solve problems of critical and creative thinking; they took 76 students, the largest chapter in Montana. Sentinel DECA qualified 38 students for the conference in Anaheim this April, with 15 first and 15 second place finishers. Sentinel earned 5 of Montana’s top 10 exam scores. Spartan wrestling took 3 rd overall, with 2 state champions. Lady Spartans won their 2nd consecutive state AA basketball championship. Despite being the only AA high school without a pep band, they claimed victory. Olivia Roberts, junior, was named MVP for Lady Spartans. Sentinel students excelled in all fields from athletics to academics and leadership. The Spartan prom is this Saturday. Big Sky: Student Trustees Brielle Rolle and Haley Zetterberg reported that Big Sky is in full swing with sports, academics and clubs right now. Brielle said NHS is planning a Little Sadie’s dance fundraiser for feeder schools to promote the Big Sky community and build connections. Student Government is planning a dinner hosted by students for teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week, and Key Club is providing childcare during the dinner. They hope the event will become a long-standing tradition. Key Club doubled the number of members and had President Mattie Wins serving on the state board. Boys basketball turned 4 consecutive losing seasons around by

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appearing at the state tournament, where they finished 8th. Wrestling finished with 2 competitors at 1st at state and 2 others in the top 4. Haley: APS teacher Mr. Honzel took students to Utah for a science symposium at the University of Utah. Mr. Honzel is collaborating with other teachers in the science department, hosting the annual Big Sky Science Circus this Friday and Saturday. All kids are welcome to promote science by helping at the Science Circus. The first annual Senior Project Showcase will allow the community to experience 30 Big Sky senior projects. Track, softball and tennis started on Monday. One senior just directed a play, “Good Boys and True,” for a senior project; it won best director for her at the thespian convention, and an actor received best male lead actor. The Drama Department is preparing for “Lost in Yonkers,” coming soon. Jazz Band just had their annual event, the Blue Note Café. Recently they had Diversity Week, Respect Club’s main event of the year. Wyann Northrup, head of exceptionalities at Big Sky, spoke to promote respect and talk about how respect has changed her life. She took a lot of athletes and peer tutors to Special Olympics. Students are excited for graduation. Willard: Karen Allen read the report for Student Trustee Tucker Richlie, who is ill and unable to attend. Honors assembly for 4th quarter was last Friday. 37 students are on the honor roll, 38 more on the high honor roll, and there are 10 with all A’s. Andrew and Ashley were honored as Students of the 6 Weeks. Sophomores are in the middle of CRT testing. There were 2 days of Special Olympics last month; several students assisted. Willard students partnered with the organizers of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival; they viewed “The One that got Away” and talked with the filmmakers afterward. The first annual Willard competition for Poetry Out Loud was held, and winners Josh and Andrew competed in the regionals hosted by Hellgate HS. Willard English/journalism teacher Lisa Waller organized the school event. Timmy, Cassidy and Jordan went with Vanessa, the Flagship coordinator, to the Farmer in the Classroom project at Lowell; Willard students are serving in a mentor role to 2 nd

grade students. Several students participated in the Sunrise Rotary ethics workshop. Thanks go to Susan Hay Patrick, CEO of the United Way of Missoula County, for making this opportunity possible. The week of Feb. 25 was Spirit Week at Willard. Students have done crime scene investigations (CSI) with the help of anthropology students from UM to do a forensic study. They interpreted a vehicular accident with the help of Officer Birman, calculating skid rates and braking rates on surfaces and calculating angles for trig and algebra. Hellgate: no report. Student Trustee Stella Shannon is at a national competition.

Public Comment Regarding Non-Agenda Items (3 Minutes each speaker)Items from Audience

Janice Nugent, speech/language pathologist at Jefferson Early Learning Center, spoke about 2 days and 2 months. March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. These students are living it with the way they are mentoring students with special needs, and Jan and her 5th graders with their project. It was joyful to hear that. One of the days is International Down Syndrome Awareness Day, dedicated by the United Nations. Close to her heart, people with Down Syndrome add so much richness to our lives. The date is 3/21—which helps people remember that the main cause of Down Syndrome is 3 copies of the 21 st chromosome. April is also recognized by the UN as Autism Awareness Month, with April 2nd as Autism Awareness Day. The autism folks are pillars of society, very successful. They will light the Empire State Building blue as a way to help the nation be aware of autism.

Debbie Hendricks, Latin and English teacher at Hellgate HS, is invested in this district and community as an educator and as a graduation of Big Sky HS, and also by having 3 students who attended Hellgate HS and now the university. She works with students after school and during lunch, attends games and conferences, and chaperones educational trips in the summer. Educators, administrators, board members and the community all share the desire that MCPS will continue to excel and prepare students to be global citizens in the 21st century. On Jan. 31 the Missoulian quoted Alex Apostle as saying tangible issues such as the shortage of school supplies need to be addressed immediately, that we have the resources and need to know about the needs, and that we need a system of communication. It surprised her, as we have lost so much: sections in English at Hellgate HS making classes of 28 or 29 students, which limits one on one contact. If a teacher has 25 students in a 50 minute class, the most each student can expect is 2 minutes of significant time. They have lost lunch supervisors, deans, coaches, janitors, paras; they have lost Cecil Crawford as a full-time resource, who encouraged many more than just Native American students. Learning that money is available is exciting, but it is hard to make a list of what we need. Austerity has

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become a way of life. We do without, provide our own things, and make do for so long. In 2009 the World Languages Department adopted new curricula. During review, they were told that there was not money for every student to have a textbook; instead they would just have classroom copies. She strenuously objected, because for Latin they use the textbook every day. Online textbooks may be available, but it is difficult to look at the assignment and at the vocabulary in the back. For 4 years she has made handouts, vocabulary sheets, and grammar charts so that students could have what they needed at home. Teachers are given a limit on the number of copies they can make, and it is a challenge to stay within the limit and provide what students need. She is glad there is money for what students need. Because this was a curricular decision, she asked where to send the requests for textbooks—to the superintendent’s office or to the building, whose budget is stretched to the limit. She is glad they plan to fund education. She invited all to come and visit the classroom and see what we do to make our students global citizens, and what we need.

Gloria Howell, teacher at Paxson, MEA member, and elementary representative for the district, spoke to advocate for children with differing sets of needs. Our students who are struggling in reading and math are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to programs in reading and math. As Dr. Philp said, companies are looking for students with good reading and math skills. He also stated that the university systems cannot afford to remediate basic reading and math skills any more. Our staff members feel there is a mixed message to the district commitment to success of all students. She proposed a new way of thinking: students do not drop out in high school, they drop out in elementary or in middle school. Frustrated readers and those who do not understand number concepts by 4 th or 5th grade are likely to drop out when they reach age 16. Teachers know this, and they lament the loss of highly qualified staff who work with those students. Title programs were cut in a lot of schools. Those students who are graduating in the next 3 years will have had the benefit of reading and math remedial specialists at most every grade level, but a lot of those who are in elementary now don’t have those remedial programs. If things do not change and we do not get funding for those remedial programs, she predicts that our dropout rate will increase. Remediation in grade schools will reduce the dropout rate and the need for remediation in high school and college. This is the basis of RTI (Response to Intervention)—catch them when they are young. The most effective way is to staff schools to reach kids early. Could we challenge local businesses to fund these remediation programs? She encouraged the board members to visit a life skills class in the high school, a structured learning program classroom, and Title programs, and to watch for an hour. She thinks then the money might find its way into those most important programs.

Kathleen Stachowski, creator of Other Nations, an animal advocacy website that advocates for compassion and justice, spoke. She has spent her professional life in social service settings, working with economically disadvantaged kids; she taught on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Tonight she is speaking for animals, asking the Board to reconsider the MCPS long-standing practice of distributing Shrine Circus tickets through the school system. It is not about the Shrine or Shriners, it is about the animals. Traveling circuses cannot meet the physical, psychological and behavioral needs of wild animals; they spend a long time in transport. A growing trend toward human, animal-free circuses exists. There are bans in 18 states on circus animal acts. She invited people to look at their website, othernationsjustice.org. She said the Shrine Circus leases animals from a company, Jordan, which is no longer licensed, and that Jordan leases animals from another company; it has been cited for violating standards in the animal welfare act. She asked the board to reconsider the policy of distribution of circus tickets, or to give equal time for this controversial issue with distribution of age-appropriate handouts from Animal Defenders International, which investigates issues.

Lisa Mason, who is trained in wildlife biology, spoke about the life that circus animals endure: small holding cages, barely room to turn around, animals left without food, water, and vet care, and extreme temperatures. Circuses travel up to 11 months of the year. She compared the life of elephants and tigers in the wild and in a circus. Extreme confinement leads to the development of neurotic behavior; they perform out of fear due to training with negative reinforcement to perform unnatural stunts. She spoke about the disruption of elephant family life. People might argue that taking children to the circus teaches

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them about wild animals. Attending circuses that use animals supports animal abuse. She asked the board to consider discontinuing providing circus tickets to MCPS students.

Will Pereira, Sentinel High School, is also representing Melanie Charlson, who could not be here. On behalf of Melanie, he posed a question for Chair Rehbein: he said that at the casual conversations meeting at MEA last week Rehbein said the handling of Dr. Apostle’s raise should have been done differently and said that she would consult with the MPCS attorney about the legality of renegotiating the contract. Will said that Melanie has consulted the attorney and that Rehbein has not yet done so. He asked whether Rehbein is still planning to consult her.

Will Pereira’s own comments: at the last TSSS (Teacher Support Staff and Superintendent) Advisory meeting 3 weeks ago, he requested that Dr. Apostle return his raise and renegotiate his contact. Apostle had asked Will if he had ever rejected a raise, and Will responded, no, but that he has never been in Dr. Apostle’s position. Apostle said that he had never heard of anyone ever doing that and that he would not return the raise or reject the raise. Will took issue first with the logic involved—everybody is doing it so why shouldn’t I? High school teachers hear that logic all the time. Will said it is not the logic of a leader, rather the logic of a follower. Second, he said he has a hard time believing the truthfulness of the claim that Dr. Apostle has never heard of anyone rejecting a raise. Will read from an article from Washington state about the schools chief in Puyallup declining a raise—Superintendent Tony Apostle received a glowing annual performance review this week but has but has declined a pay raise for the coming year. Current salary is $194,000 base; the superintendent declined the raise to save money. This article is from August 2009. Will said he believes staff and students deserve an honest forthright leader, and he does not believe they have that at this time.

Marvin Pauls, teacher at Hellgate HS, made the observation that all supply budgets were cut by 5 percent several years ago. Last week a colleague sent him a warehouse order, looking at a 2007 supply catalog for tempera paint and other supplies. According to the 2007 catalog, the supplies ought to cost $119. They actually cost $198. That is a 66% increase at the warehouse for supplies.

Sue Furey, special ed teacher at Sentinel HS noted that she spent 3 ½ hours with the board last month; it was invigorating to hear colleagues speak. She knows the board heard them, but after all the public comments, she does not think they listened. She suggested that maybe the board has lost its vision. She looked up the vision and mission statement for MCPS. She read from the 2009 statement, approved by the board of trustees: all MCPS students are challenged to develop critical thinking skills, citizenship responsibilities, communication competency, value for the arts, literature, and sciences, understanding of the importance of health and wellness, love for learning, and preparation for life beyond high school regardless of their vocational pathway. The board seeks out and values input from the community through use of public participation strategies and is known for fiscal responsibility and efficiency. Sue said if you value the arts, the cuts have been made in the arts. Sentinel art teachers, 2 ½, have been cut. The wonderful things people could take as electives are being cut. If you value wellness, the only elective you can take is weight training. Love for learning: at our school we have to make $100,000 in cuts. So for special ed instead of having replacement classes in science, English and math, we would put students in regular classes and require them to take a lab class as well; she does not think it would create a love of learning. We need more electives. Your vision may look good on the outside. Look at the inside: we are struggling. She is not worried about Kleenex boxes, but about people, about the kids. We can’t fit them into electives. In the five measurable district goals, one is to restructure the organization to become more efficient, effective and accountable to support the goals of the district; she does not think they have been accountable; she referred to the comments they made after people talked. Cultivate enhanced staff, student, parent community and business involvement: we are here, we are involved, we love our jobs, love the community, love students, and want them to have the best education. She had 3 very bright students graduate from Hellgate HS: they didn’t have IB, but they still have done well. We need to support those who struggle as well as we do the high end. She encouraged the board to look again at their vision and mission statement. Are you really here to educate all students in this district?

Rob Jensen, science teacher at Hellgate HS, thanked trustees for serving on the board; it is a thankless position which requires a lot of hours, and you have to have a thick hide. He almost didn’t come; he

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thought it really doesn’t matter what he says here. After 3 ½ hours of testimony on a single issue with one united voice at the last meeting, to have it basically dismissed was disheartening. Why bother coming and preparing statements when it does not seem to really matter? The response of the board and Dr. Apostle was frustrating; they were handed a red herring and took advantage of it collectively. Mentions were made about Graduation Matters Missoula and concerns about it, and about supplies, and concerns about them. Those issues were focused on by the board, not the raise, not the money—which was what everyone came to talk about. The trickledown effect to the teachers was that we need you to make lists of supplies that you need. We need to document. He has a science budget for supplies—but he really needs FTEs. Not to have 5 new high level science classes introduced in 2 years at the cost of core classes and of alternative high level classes. There was never an FTE for science for non science majors, who like science but not enough to invest a year for each subject. He noticed that the board is coming around with hearings; he appreciates that response and hopes they are listening sessions. He feels like a lot is heard but that they are not listening. He knows some of the trustees are really in there fighting. He thanked them again for what they do, and asked them to listen to what teachers are saying at these hearings.

Karen Swanson, Hellgate HS, said that given the misinformation the community seems to have about teacher concerns, she was asking Mr. Steve McHugh to have the salary matrix open to talk about salary. [McHugh indicated he did not have it available.] She thanked Trustee Sadler, who took notes last month; it gave her the feeling he was really listening. She started in fall 1983 at $14,000 per year. She graduated with honors and without debt. In those days you didn’t get fired 3 years in a row before you got tenure. She bought her first house: Standard practice then was that buyers could buy a house worth 2 ½ times their salary; she bought a simple 3 bedroom house in the slant streets for $24,000. Now the beginning salary is $32,500—so can a new teacher buy a simple 3 bedroom house for $65,000? There is no such house. Even with two teachers, you cannot find a house for $130,000. She has a master’s plus a lot more than 45—and the raise she gets yearly with steps and lanes is a $500 stipend for anyone who can’t move on the matrix anymore. If she only worked 8 hours a day and only worked 187 contract days, the raise she gets is less than 34 cents an hour. If she spent thousands to go for a PhD, even though she would have the same degree as the superintendent, her salary would stay the same as it is, with the same raise each year. It is grossly overstating facts to say that any teacher can get a 13% raise. Steps and lanes earned for additional credits, paid for by teachers going to school after hours and during summer, are somehow a raise. The raises are used to buy the supplies, and it doesn’t come close to covering what they spend; and they do it because they need to do it. What was being said was not “pay us more.” It is that there is a drain, and such a disconnect between salaries at the administrative level and for those with their feet on the ground, and every year they are asked to do more, to do it with less, and to do it with no support. The workhorses of MCPS are the classified staff. The yearly raise for Dr. Apostle represents more than the majority of support staff take home per year. The amount for the tax sheltered retirement plan exceeds their monthly income. Dedication: people have been dedicated for years. Dr. Apostle’s raise 2 ½ years ago was supposed to convince him to show dedication to MCPS and Missoula; he immediately sought positions elsewhere. Now the board has voted a huge raise on a contract that has not yet expired. Salaries represent the biggest slice of the budget—she thinks that Dr. Apostle’s salary represents 3 experienced teachers, 6 beginning teachers, or more than 6 support staff. The district is increasing administration and decreasing people working daily with students. She asked the board to please reconsider.

Ann Pinsoneault, Lowell parent: 1-the gun incident last Friday. She was concerned about what the police response time was and about who made the call. She knows some teachers did not know there was an incident till it was over. She thanked Dr. Apostle for sending notice to teachers so they knew before it hit the press and Mr. Bessette for the call that went to parents. Her children had no idea. Her concern is that we don’t let this incident just end and that we learn from it. She knows there is a committee looking at things. She knows at her building at Meadow Hill, they can’t lock the doors from the inside, and it is the same at Lowell. Plus at Lowell you can get on elevator before anyone knows you are there. 2- As a teacher at MCPS, she tries to do her part to sell the levy; it is a huge burden placed on the shoulders of principals and teachers. She has spoken to over a dozen community members, and not one has said they will vote for it, because they don’t believe the board is fiscally responsible. She can’t and will not defend the raise that

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the board gave Dr. Apostle. It is incumbent on the board to get the levy passed, because we know how important it is.

Sheri Postma, President of MMCEO, welcomed new trustee Scott Todd. She offered a background of MMCEO, the Merged Missoula Classified Employees Organization; they are the ESPs, Education Support Professionals. At the last board meeting not once did she hear anyone talk about support staff. A lot of their folks were very unhappy; they felt as if they were not even in the room; it was very discouraging. She is asking for everyone to learn about them and look at their contract. There are 382 support staff employees in our unit and 64 different job titles. Custodians, paras, food service, Indian education – there is a page in the back of their contract that shows all job titles and their wages; she asked him to check it out. They also have some super people who work so hard day in, day out. Carleen will talk about one group from the newspaper. They are thankful that Betsy Cohen has been writing some articles. One article showed Gisele Forrest in the Indian education department helping a young student make a dress for the Honoring Our Youth powwow. She was working on a Sunday. There are many people in our group who work on weekends, volunteer, and do these things; we have a fabulous Indian education department. The powwow was Friday and Saturday; it was such a success, and they were happy to see the article about students. Sheri thanked Betsy. She hopes they get more recognition once in a while. Thanks, and she looks forward to talking with you.

Carleen Hathaway welcomed Mr. Todd; she is a special ed para at CS Porter and secretary for MMCEO. She thanked the board for allowing a few minutes. She spoke about the article on the front page of the Missoulian on Sunday (March 10). Amazing. The para in the picture is Brian McGrath, a certified teacher working as a para at Meadow Hill in the life skills program. He has just returned from teaching in Japan. He is also a mixed martial arts champion in the U.S. and Japan. Look at the look on his face. Other paras in the article are Bina Ghandi and Kelly Munson. Brian’s mom is a para also at CS Porter; Carleen has known her a long time. What are paras? – it is not an easy job. It does not require us to be certified teachers, but a great many are. The article hits the nail on the head as to what it takes in compassion and dedication to be a para. Many years ago in this district someone said in negotiations that paras were nothing more than trained monkeys. They have come so far repeatedly demonstrating their professionalism. There are about 120 paras throughout the district. They work in resource classrooms, life skills programs, structured learning programs, and helping in general ed classes. They work from 1 hour per day to 7 ½ hours per day. Paras are one of the first positions to go when there are budget cuts. Carleen implores trustees when reviewing line items in the budget to think of the people in these jobs. They understand the budget constraints. Look at the students impacted by the cuts. All positions in MMCEO are important; all members do important work that matters. Please think about the people in the 64 job categories and the kids they work with.

Diane Anderson, MMCEO bargaining chair. She was asked why more staff do not attend regular board meetings. She asked around: Some live outside the Missoula city boundary and commute daily. Some have been in their building before and after contract hours and have family responsibilities and preparations for the next day; some are caretakers for aging parents or grandchildren, or are supporting children who have returned home; some are taking online or professional development classes. They like the convenience that MCAT provides. One person wished to be able to participate from a remote location through Twitter feed. They want the board to know that the lack of physical attendance does not mean they are not interested in the vision and governance of the district. They work with building administrators to express their concerns and needs.

Rick Wheeler noted that he has spoken a few times. He thanked Trustee Scott Todd for attending the union meeting recently; it is a really good start. Rick said they are not here about the money anymore. They are blowing whistles as loudly as they can, but the board apparently can’t hear them. He said it is not the money, it is the B.S.

Hunter Guthrie, senior at Sentinel. At the last board meeting it was great to see the democratic process with people coming forward and talking, even if we failed at the attempt. He noted things that were said at the board meeting: don’t burn down the house if you don’t like the decorations. He said that the board is the decorators; they come up with the things that go in; maybe we need new interior designers. He talked

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about the dismissiveness of how the situation was handled: after they had made the public comment, the comments coming back seemed well-rehearsed; that seems dismissive of what they said. He also thought it was very dismissive that Dr. Apostle himself didn’t speak about that. He got a raise. People are upset because you told them for so long there was not money to ask for, than there was money to go toward Dr. Apostle’s salary. Teachers are not coming forward and asking for money for programs because they are told there is no money. Teachers know your salary could not fund all the programs in the schools; they are saying here is something that it could have gone to, but you said there was no money. In a meeting with students you claimed you are not a rich man [Trustee Sadler asked Hunter not to make it personal]. It was claimed the community was not upset with this. As teachers and students who spoke for 3 ½ hours they felt dismissed; they felt they were being told that they are not part of the community. They were told it is an adult issue; many high school students are adults and feel it is dismissive of the views of those you are educating. He talked about the fear many teachers have expressed about talking to the board or Dr. Apostle because they fear losing their jobs and are afraid to come forward and speak. Whether it is true or not, Hunter said he has learned the definition of bullying is based on those who perceive being bullied; he asked that they take it up with them.

Derek Nordberg, senior at Sentinel. Hellgate HS just came back from BPA (Business Professionals of America) state finals, where 2 students received first. He thanked Trustee Wills for transporting students from here to Billings and back. Dr. Apostle’s comments about the pay raise being not a student issue, rather an adult issue, are demeaning. Some students are 18 and taxpayers. It is demeaning; their opinions are as serious as those of others. He asked that they please take them seriously. He would like to speak to board members after the meeting.

Jen Reinicke, teacher at Sentinel. Other people have mentioned that the last meeting felt like a kick in the stomach: 3 ½ hours of unified public comment was easily dismissed; there was a feigned or perhaps true lack of awareness of lack of supplies. Many have not been told because they have not asked. They put in time and their own money, because they would rather buy supplies than lose colleagues or support staff. But after spending our own money on supplies, we lose people anyway. No money to us translates to big raises and extra administrators, and teachers write grants to buy textbooks. They continue to be dismissed as whiny teachers and employees, and 96% of those voting have been dismissed as those who are whiny and complaining. They are also taxpayers. While we continue to be dismissed, we are asked to support the board and the mill levy. Many people feel that they will not vote for the mill levy because there has to be a way to send a message, and money seems to be the only thing that matters.

Chair Rehbein asked for further public comment; there was none.

Staff Recognition was moved to Item 7, following Community Connection above.

Student Recognition was moved to Item 8, following Staff Recognition above.

REPORTSHealth Insurance Trust Fund Report - The routine health insurance trust fund report for the month of February 2012 was included in the packet.

Adult Education Annual Report – Monique Fortmann, Director of Adult Education, also known as the Lifelong Learning Center, Dickenson, and the Dickenson Lifelong Learning Center. What they haven’t changed is that they are part of MCPS. Their charge is to serve individuals who are 16 and older who are no longer attending our K-12 district. Monique will give a brief overview including statistics from last year, highlights, and a bit about where they are going. Last year they served over 13,000 registrants and held over 1000 classes in classrooms. 209 individuals received their GED. They employ 228 instructors; in an average year they have 225-250 instructors. They provided over 20,000 hours of instruction to adults in the community. They provide services at 19 different locations including Seeley Lake, Frenchtown, Target Range, Hellgate Elementary, and almost every other building in MCPS. To do this takes us 6.65 FTE, the same number it took when we served about a quarter of those students; 1.5 of those are fantastic custodians. We do all this with a budget of $1.4 million; over 60% comes from

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fees we charge for classes and grants we write. The official annual report is in the packet, pages 71-72. It includes some of these statistics as well as others. Highlights: 1-this year they have a new collaboration with UM to provide individuals in our community seeking better employment a program to become certified medical coders. It is a first attempt to provide hybrid instruction: instruction at a UM classroom was beamed across the state to individuals in rural hospitals who wanted to be full active participants in the class. It is the first time something like this has happened. It has been embraced by individuals around the state. It is an exciting technology-based program; it had a few glitches, but was successful. 2-They made a push in programs to provide instruction to students 24/7 and anywhere students are. In classrooms students are using iPads and phones to access curriculum and programs online anywhere they are. People who work the swing shift can attend at other times. Coming up: the GED has been in existence many years. The current version is expiring at the end of December, so any individual who has started but not completed it must do so before the end of the year or must take a new exam after the first of the year. The state of Montana is in the process of determining what exam they will accept as high school equivalency; there are new vendors available. The state of Montana will decide within the next 60 days which program they will use. Once that is decided we will convert our GED testing center into either a computerized GED testing center or another computerized high school equivalency center. If you are in our buildings you will see a remodel process so that we have all office staff in one area. Monique invited people to the Lifelong Learning Center at Dickinson or any of their other locations. Chair Rehbein thanked her.

Committee Reports – Minutes were included in the packet. Minutes are also available on the website: www.mcpsmt.org. There were no oral committee reports during the Board meeting.

Announcements from Trustees Sadler: 1-He reviewed the minutes; he did praise at the last meeting Cecil at Hellgate HS, who is an MMCEO member; a wonderful member who provided many services; Sadler regrets that he is not full-time there. We need to look at the scenario: people claim the board has not responded. It (Apostle’s review and salary) was delayed until the Washington Foundation grant came through. Then the open meeting was held and public comment was called for. The union official was in the audience. No negative information was given us; there was no negative about the pay raise discussed. When the board meeting was held at Sentinel, the contracts had been already signed. For us to go against the contact would have been a breach of contract itself, and the district would have been liable for damages. Once a contract is signed, we are not permitted to go back on it. It is the same as with the contracts with MMCEO and MEA: once signed, trustees are not supposed to criticize them or renegotiate them; that is called negotiating in bad faith. We are under responsibility to support contracts that have been signed, the same as with Dr. Apostle. Rehbein said she was misquoted earlier, and she wishes to set the record straight. Last week there was a wonderful meeting of trustees and teachers. It is easy to misinterpret words. She thanked Mr. Pereira for bringing Melanie’s comment. It was a wonderful 3-hour meeting with 30 teachers and 3 trustees; people shared hearts and minds, and they had a nice dialogue. Near the end of the meeting, one person asked her if she would reopen it if possible. Rehbein was trying to make a light comment and turned to her colleague and said she would have to ask her attorney. Trustee Holland immediately said she is not the attorney for the board. Rehbein said she did not mean it in seriousness. She does not have the power to reopen the contract. No trustee does. We cannot go there; it is not part of the discussion. She said at the last meeting that if she had it to do over again, then she would have first done the teachers’ contract, then the superintendent’s contract. Now we have a signed contract, and we cannot reopen it, except for the large “if” of everyone agreeing. The goal now is to move the district forward, to help our district heal, and to provide as large an increase to everyone as possible. We do not know how much money we will have yet. It is also a goal to be really clear about the money Dr. Apostle has brought in and how it will benefit teachers. Since the last meeting, she has met with lots of teachers in small groups. Last week’s meeting had honest discussion, productive and positive last week. She wants to be clear where we are and what we can and cannot do. Last year before the Washington grant, Dr. Apostle brought in $600,000; it went to train staff members and to teachers’ training, and a large number of stipends were paid to teachers who participated. There will be more of those as we go along. That is a positive thing for our district. She wished we could have those for every teacher, but what we have is better than nothing. We need to move ahead

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and look for ways to recognize our outstanding employees through public recognition and monetary recognition. She would also like to say that we did not overlook the 2 state championship basketball teams, Sentinel girls and Hellgate boys—they won those tournaments after the agenda was published, and due to open meeting laws we cannot amend the agenda. We will recognize them publicly at the next meeting. Holland: 1-she understood Rehbein’s comment to be a lighthearted joke because she is an attorney. She laughed and said she does not even practice that type of law. She took it as a joke, but she sees it must have been misunderstood. Also the MCPS combined hockey team won the state championship game; 8 amazing seniors played their last game. She hopes we get to honor them; they are great mentors for younger players on that team. Toth noted for the audience, most staff are pretty well aware, a reminder of board procedure. Our public comment is not a give and take. We cannot respond. We listen to you, and he takes notes like Jim does; the comment is not unheard. Sometimes people think they are not responsive, especially if they ask a direct question, but it is the procedure of how we take public comment. Rehbein explained that Elizabeth is taking notes, and so when some of us don’t take notes it is because we want to focus on the speaker, and then we have the notes that Elizabeth has taken. Sadler remarked that the open meeting law is what keeps them from being able to respond during public comment. People are able to come and tell us about things not on the agenda, but we cannot respond. It is extremely uncomfortable to sit and get reamed a new one and not be able to say a word in response, just have to listen. Even though you may not see a lot of response, a lot has happened. A lot is going on because of your comments. We are a bureaucracy and it takes time. Please be patient. Lemm asked how much additional funding the district got in 2012 over 2011. Pat replied that the elementary had an increase of $930,000 and the high school an increase of $5,000. Lemm: the 2% increase in teacher salary, classified increases and steps and lanes – the district needs $1,538,000 to fund those? Pat said he is not sure; he does not have it in front of him. Lemm thinks it is very close. His point is that we are limited big time on funding for the district, limited by the state. He wants to point out that we got very little additional funding last year. We do whatever we can to pass those increases on to the staff. We had an increase of 2% plus the steps. Steps were about 41%, then 2% on the base, then the lanes, which were small. Then discretionary spending; health insurance cost us more; utilities, etc. 90% of the General Fund budget goes to salaries. Over the last 10 years we have had to fund the maintenance in our buildings from the Building Reserve, where that used to come out of the General Fund, but we don’t have that money in the General Fund now. The Building Reserve is just under $1 million per year. Levies for technology are necessary to fund infrastructure and technology needs there. The amount of money we really need to do justice to our staff and what we would like to do is not there, not in the board’s hands.

Chair Rehbein noted that the auditors are here to go over the report and asked trustees for permission to move them to this point on the agenda. Trustees agreed.

Approve Audit Report for Period Ending June 30, 2012 Background Information: The District received a draft of the audit report for fiscal year 2012, a copy of which was provided to Trustees, and was reviewed during the Finance and Operations Committee meeting on February 25, 2013. Paul Sepp and Dan Peterson from Anderson Zurmuehlen P.C. discussed the audit report and unqualified opinion during the F & O Committee meeting. They will be present at the March 12, 2013 regular Board meeting to answer questions and provide a similar presentation. The final audit report has been provided to Trustees and is available for review on the district’s website. The Finance & Operations Committee forwarded the audit report to the March 12, 2013 regular Board meeting for approval.Administrative Recommendation: The Committee supports Administration’s recommendation that Trustees approve the final audit report at the March 12, 2013 regular Board meeting.Presentation: Paul Sepp presented the audit report. Dan Peterson handed out the outline; he is the manager who supervised the audit for the past year. Paul spoke about the audit process and expressed thanks to the administrative staff, especially Dan Parrish, Pat McHugh, Dr. Apostle, and the many other people who are involved in the audit process. As auditors, they have to be independent and objective. Trustees hire us or fire us;

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our objectivity is a very important part of the process. The audit process: as auditors often get tied up in technical language, when they presented at F&O they talked in a way that needs to be put in context. He referred to today’s Missoulian article and context. The audit report is published on the district website. Why do you hire us as auditors and why are you concerned about audit findings? The audit involves 3 things: 1-financial statements for a $70-some million organization; they tell whether the financial statements are fairly presented and in line with the accounting standards required for government organizations including school districts. 2-they are required to tell you whether there are significant issues with internal control—a process that keeps the horse from getting out of the barn or gets it back in quickly. This involves all processes and procedures that make sure financial affairs are conducted in the way they should be. 3-the audit involves compliance with laws and regulations: this applies to federal grants, state compliance, and budget laws. Those 3 things are the context of the audit; if there are findings in those 3 areas, it may give you cause for concern. In the audit report outline: page 81-82 and 83-84 are 2 reports—one is a report on internal controls and compliance, one on federal programs: there are no findings in either of those 2 reports, internal control issues and no noncompliance. This is as good as it gets in terms of audit findings. The back page shows no findings. The benefit of that and your efforts to improve internal control is that next year the district will be classified as a low-risk auditee because of having 2 years with no findings. Paul expressed his compliments to management in regard to that. The management letter has some comments in it, as the Missoulian article indicated: it is addressed to management, not to the trustees—it is where auditors tell you these are things to consider. If they were significant, they would be in the 87-page audit report—that’s what was in the Missoulian. They are important in the auditors’ view, but they are not the things related to the horse getting out of the barn. F&O was given a copy in an effort at transparency, to let trustees know the comments to management from our firm. We recommend a conflict of interest policy that relates not just to trustees but also to the procurement process for the management, not just for the trustees. Another had to do with accounting reconciliations: when we come in as auditors at a certain point in time you have to be ready for us, which means you do a lot of the work before the end of the year. When the finance staff says they are ready, anything that happens after that, we as auditors have to say there is a difference: there were reconciliations that could not be done sooner, which is not the finance office’s fault, partly because they have to get information from outside sources, e.g. the county. Next, the management letter contained findings on the audit of the school lunch program; we are all human. We recommended a stronger review process; there was a calculation error where you should have gotten more reimbursement from the state. That is the context of the management letter—in their opinion, these are relatively minor. In 40 some years he has never gone into an organization, especially the size of the school district, and not found things they could improve. And he has rarely seen management that didn’t like to hear about things they could improve. That is the perspective. To summarize just that, the district is in sound financial condition. Not rolling in money. We’ve known that for a long time. The 2nd page of the handout shows financial highlights. Paul reminded the board that under current accounting standards you have a financial statement that looks like a commercial business; it is on an accrual basis, and shows depreciation on fixed assets. The other set are on funds, related to the budget, a whole different set of presentations. There is a reconciliation process to match up. Here you see a trend analysis for the past 5 years, including comparisons with other major districts in the state. The first section: net assets—equity, the investment the public has in the school district, on an accrual basis. Since 2008 net assets has declined fairly substantially—one reason is the use of building reserves, which decreased fund balances. There were two years in which you had significant claims in health insurance funds in excess of what was collected in the self-insurance fund – 2010 was one; since then you have adjusted rates and recovered quite a bit in the self-insurance fund. The other thing that affects financial statements is an accounting rule, regarding other post employment benefits, mainly the health insurance program. Current accounting standards require you to accrue based on actuarial estimates a potential liability for people who currently work for the district, who will retire in the future but will continue to receive health benefits as retirees. In this 5 years there has been a $3.6 million accrual of liabilities for future retiree health insurance benefits. Are you ever going to pay those? Probably not; you always fund health benefits on a pay as you go basis. A footnote talks about an unfunded liability for retiree health insurance—your financial statements are significantly affected by an accounting rule, that when common sense is applied, there are liabilities that really shouldn’t be there. Fund balances have gone down during the 5 years. The General Fund has gone down. Your bond ratings have taken a bit of a hit because of it. It is not a good

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thing, but it reflects that you are tight fiscally. In the category of revenues and expenses in the past 5 years: look at 2010 and 2011 operating grants and contributions—you see a significant increase due to the Recovery Act. Look down below in expenses and you see that spending went up as well. The Recovery Act is now history, so in 2012 you see a decline in revenues and expenses. Instruction has trended up and down because of Recovery Act funds. 57% of expenditures relate to instructional activities—compared with other major districts, that is pretty much in line. The general administration had been fairly flat over 5 years, at about 8%, which is comparable to other districts in the state. Enrollment in the lower part: it has generally gone down the past 4 years, then back up in 2012. High school enrollment has been going down and elementary up. Cost per student: this is difficult to benchmark with other schools—but your cost per student has averaged a little over $10,000 in the past 5 years—somewhat higher than some districts, due to emphasis on special education and Graduation Matters Missoula, and spending more money to achieve those goals. Finally an estimate of reserves, cash and investments as a percentage of expenses: it runs about 26%, higher than some districts, lower than others. In F&O the auditors presented a letter to governance, a summary of the letter was published on the district website, which summarizes our responsibilities as your auditors and your responsibilities as well. Forward looking: He attended the economic outlook seminar in January—the experts say the Missoula economy is slowly coming back, which is a good thing for the district in terms of better economic situation for levies. Housing prices are starting to come back, though we do understand they are high. The legislature is in session, and many bills before them deal with public education and may have an effect on the district going forward. Summary: it is a clean audit, no significant findings; the comments in the management letter are minor comments to management. The district is in sound financial condition, but budgets will continue to be tight. Discussion: Holland asked Paul to clarify in non-accounting terms: “no findings” is good, and findings would indicate a problem? Yes. The reports on internal controls and compliance have no findings. Holland: and the letter to management is recommendations to management; it is how to make even more improvements over the good process we have? Yes. Paul added that perfect internal controls are a cost benefit question, as long as you have the important controls in place to control that resources are being managed properly. Lemm told Paul it is his 16th or 17th year on the board and he complimented the auditors for doing such a good job and making it understandable and simple. He has utmost confidence in their ability and their explanations. Lemm also thanked Dan Parrish for what he does. Paul thanked him too. Bixler commented that we have heard over the last couple of months that we have been increasing administrative costs excessively and not spending enough money on kids. Looking at this, he understands Paul to say we have 8% of our costs on administration, and that one AA school spends 3% more, one spends 1% less, and others spend the same as us. Would you say we are right in line with our general administration costs for administering the district? Paul: yes, with OPI and their reporting structure you would think those comparisons would be pretty close. Bixler: on cost per student, we spend a bit more than other districts? What does that mean? Kids are getting more money spent to educate them? Paul: that is the bottom line, with the exception of one thing – these are on the commercial type accounting, so depreciation is continued. You build things and finance with bonds and then have to amortize under their useful life, 40 years or more; it is not a cash cost only, but the comparison with other districts is the same basis of accounting, all the costs involved in teaching kids. Rehbein asked Paul to repeat what he said – in 40 years of auditing you have not found an organization of our size with ___? Paul: where we couldn’t come up with constructive suggestions for improvement. Most organizations like to hear things they could improve. Rehbein said that is pretty impressive, remarkable. She repeated congratulations to Dan Parrish and included Pat McHugh—2 years in a row next year? Paul confirmed that; the district qualifies as a low-risk auditee. Rehbein said that is pretty remarkable. Hats off to Dan and Pat and their staffs. Dr. Apostle: 1-thanks to Paul and Dan for their patience tonight. 2-thank you for a very through report. 3-he expressed appreciation for their clarifying that we have had a perfect audit 4-he appreciated that Paul corrected the article in the Missoulian that it did not have anything to do with the formal audit, which was a clean perfect audit. Pat McHugh: Dave Hamilton, who was here tonight, every year asks for the cost per student you see on this report. He talks to his students about the investment the community makes in them as students in a real motivating way to tell them they are valued by the community that supports them, and he encourages them to make good use of the investment. Unique way to look at it. Rehbein thanked Paul and Dan for being here and for their patience.

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Board Direction: Motion to approve the final audit report by Toth, seconded by Bixler. There was no further board discussion and no public comment. Trustees unanimously approved the final audit report.

TEACHING and LEARNING – Executive Regional DirectorsRegion 1 – Mark Thane, Executive Regional Director Graduation Matters Missoula: We have submitted, based on the work of Adrianna Healey and Lesli

Brassfield, a 3rd grant request to Graduation Matters Montana. The first proposal, a year ago, led to NCBI doing work in 5th grade classrooms across the district. We submitted a challenge grant with the understanding that we need to intervene earlier to be successful in improving graduation statistics, and we worked on safe and inclusive environment through Graduation Matters Montana. This month we worked on one sustaining the program, which we are now expanding to 6th grade, working with elementary and middle schools in a proactive manner. We will know on March 26 if it has been funded. Last year we also submitted a grant request to assist families with the completion of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). There used to be a college day in which people could get help. Now the Student Aid Foundation has funded this. We are recipients of a grant, for which we did site-based computer lab activities, invited students and families into our schools and to the public library, trained coaches, and contacted families by telephone so students could have access. We appreciate the support of Graduation Matters Montana. A new 6 week session began at Willard: we removed 5 students from our dropout list. We have a little better numbers than last year—69 now compared to 74 a year ago. One student on the list is a middle school student who is actually travelling, not a dropout, and will be returning. So there are 68 high school students on the list.

Common Core State Standard Implementation: We are looking at Common Core State Standards. This past year we have been working with leadership teams in each building, providing professional development to leadership teams, and then the leadership teams are working with building staff. In April will be the final session with the leadership teams. We continue to conduct activities with English/language arts and reading and writing across the curriculum. We will expand Common Core State Standards for math, change in curriculum and our recommendation for change in math requirements.

Career and Technical Education: It has been a busy month---teachers in each career and technical education field – family and consumer science, industrial education, agriculture education, business and marketing – have to complete online participation reports, submitted to OPI. We complete district reports that augment the information, and state vocational funding comes through this. Linda Sims works with student data to identify those students who qualify as concentrators in vocational fields, those who take 3 or more technical education courses during high school, and does follow-up to determine what they pursue for college or other training. Continuing work on Pathways: the office of the Commissioner of Higher Education has a SharePoint access site which is down and has been for several months. They are hiring a new official, and this will be completed when we have access.

Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation Grant: We are now calling it Shape P20. Five basic areas are funded through the grant. We are meeting on a weekly basis with representatives from the university, and on a frequent basis representatives from the Washington Foundation join us. As we navigate through establishing a measurement of program and budget line items, we are focusing in on implementation of IB (International Baccalaureate), implementation of thematic academies to ensure college and career readiness, implementation of pre-K language immersion program, Graduation Matters activities, and transforming professional learning for educators. Just now we are beginning to expend money given board approval last month and will come back and report progress in interim measures as we begin. Dr. Apostle: in addition to reporting to the board regarding progress, he is obligated to update the Washington Foundation board on our progress and expenditure of funds every 3 months, how we spend the money and how impacting it will be; we have accountability.

Region 2 – Heather Davis Schmidt, Executive Regional Director International Baccalaureate: Hellgate HS is celebrating its first year of authorization as an IB Diploma

Programme School on May 21. Students, faculty, and the community will gather to celebrate success and

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hard work. We are excited to announce that Lewis & Clark has officially submitted an application for the Primary Years Programme (PYP); we hope to schedule training the week of August 12 for staff in Missoula. She will bring details when IB confirms. Apostle asked her to clarify: PYP at Lewis and Clark is an IB program. Heather confirmed.

Language Immersion: The presentation about a district vision does not specify Paxson; it talks about what the program is about for MCPS. We intend to have a language immersion program in each of our regions so that all students will have an opportunity to access them. Why immersion? Students attain high levels of second language proficiency in a language immersion model, not just receiving limited access to language instruction. Young children thrive in this environment. It is very much a part of what our 21 st century model of education is about, engaging students, communicating and understanding the broader world. Proven benefits: second language skills, high proficiency; performance on standardized tests is as good or better for English and math when administered in the English language. Cognitive skills: greater cognitive flexibility; immersion students have better memory, superior problem solving skills, better understanding of primary language, cultural sensitivity, positive attitudes, better understanding and appreciation. Long term benefits related to job market. What is language immersion? Program objectives: to maximize students’ second language proficiency, provide a rich academic environment, develop students’ abilities to work successfully in multiple cultural settings, offer a rich, culturally diverse experience for the students; benefits to the entire school. Long-term language proficiency goals: for students who participate from kindergarten to 8 th grade, they will complete the AP exam by the end of 8th grade in the immersion language and have an opportunity to earn a college minor in the immersion language by the end of high school. A long-term goal is dual credit concurrent enrollment. How are we going to do this: First, determine who can participate: the dual immersion program is open to all students of all backgrounds; all are encouraged. It may not be a wise choice for students experiencing significant communication delays in their primary language. Parent and guardian responsibilities: opportunities to engage and participate; we ask that they commit to long-term participation in the program, develop an understanding of immersion education, read with your child in English 20-30 minutes daily, encourage the use of Spanish outside of school, provide community support and when possible volunteer, enjoy the challenges and celebrate the results. We want that involvement in all our buildings with all our students and families. Selection process: there may come a need for a selection process. School and district personnel will determine the number of available spaces each year at each grade level. Out of attendance area and out of district students will be considered on a space available basis. A lottery will be held if applications exceed the space available. What to expect: instruction divided between English and Spanish, a 50/50 immersion model: half the day in a classroom where they speak English, with a teacher who teaches English/language arts skills, another half of the day in a Spanish-only classroom. Math is typically the curriculum taught in the target language of Spanish. In addition students learn social studies and science in both English and Spanish, and there is vocabulary support in both languages to ensure students have the vocabulary they need in both. The fidelity piece that is really important to the success of the program is that when students are in the Spanish classroom, only Spanish is spoken, even by observers. Why Spanish? Access to quality teachers and curriculum materials. In research and travels we have learned that access to teachers is sometimes challenging to other communities, and it is really important to success. Most curriculum materials we use in the district are already available in Spanish, so it will be an easy transition to continue using the instructional materials we use. Career opportunities: cinema, law, business; Spanish language is an asset in many fields. For more information, contact Heather, ERD, at 728-2400 x 1074.

Student Recognition/Graduation Protocol: The student recognition advisory committee has been meeting. In addition to a website that highlights achievement for individual students, they are recommending 2 annual award ceremonies to recognize achievements in front of peers. We will continue to meet and continue to refine, and will bring their recommendations forward.

Student Grading and Measurement: This committee will present to district-wide leadership teams; it includes representatives from each of 17 buildings. They are beginning work to develop a grading processes document on best practices that they will share across the district.

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Region 3 – Karen Allen, Executive Regional Director 21st Century Strategic Plan: one of the things mentioned this evening is that our strategic plan has not been

updated since 2009 . We are working on that to integrate our 21st century education into the next iteration of our strategic plan. One area our administrators and coordinators have been working on is wrestling with the mission of the district, why we exist and what is our purpose. We are moving from a long era where each individual principal was essentially an independent contractor to a much more coordinated, collaborative , much more focused in one direction model. A group of rowers all rowing in one direction, the positive direction, together.

Leadership Innovation Institute Summer 2013: Karen was sorry that Dr. Philp and the kids are not still here. Essentially

this is taking what you heard tonight and making it more accessible to more kids. We are planning a 4-week activity for anyone in grades 9-12 who would like to be part of the activities the young men discussed this evening. We’re looking for MCPS instructors and UM instructors who are interested in coming in and participating. Dr. Philp and Dr. Apostle are in partnership to go find a certain amount of money to support this. We’re planning to pay students an amount of money because it will take a chunk out of their summer and they may not have summer jobs, and to pay instructors. In the near future every incoming 9 th – 12th grader will receive a letter describing the program, piquing the interest of students who would like to participate in something outside the walls and structures of the classroom. This is a partnership with the business community, MCPS and UM. It is an opportunity to interact with some young business people, age 25-35, who are seeing the world in a different way. They are bringing us things, such as the companies in Missoula have lists of problems they would love to have someone tackle. We will have no problem finding meaningful projects for kids to latch on to.

Health Science Academy: Students are out in the community participating in health fairs, recently at Russell School. Tomorrow they are going to the Capitol on a trip to the legislature to show the Health Science Academy and to see the legislature in action. All of these students in the Health Science Academy have had a social studies experience in their 9th grade year, which is not typical of all 9th graders.

Robotics/Electronics K-12: Tanner might have implied it is a Sentinel activity; Sentinel is the site where students come to build their robot from across the district. The robot is on the way to Salt Lake City, and in the near future our team will be going to the FIRST Robotics Competition. At recent Griz games, last year’s robot has been shooting t-shirts very effectively. Middle school students are in the process of developing background knowledge and getting more kids involved in robotics; their competition is over. The Shape P20 grant has a component of robotics for kids; through the grant we have been able to purchase Lego Mindstorms kits for all of our elementaries for 4th and 5th grades. More opportunities for more kids. Holland: A comment was brought up at committee where the innovation institute was discussed, that it is a STEAM program: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. Karen said even STEM has arts: the Health Science Academy kids will have an opportunity to participate with the ballet company which has developed a ballet around a virus. Apostle asked Karen to comment on the increase in students interested in the Health Science Academy. Karen: Last year we had 93 ninth graders; now we have 126 for next year for the 2nd cohort; that is capacity, we can’t be bigger. Apostle: this summer institute is an expansion of everything we are striving to achieve as relates to the 21st century world. It’s an exciting endeavor; we have a meeting this Thursday to put the final touches on; it will be very exciting. Karen: Heather mentioned Simon Sinek, who talks about a way of organizing thinking, and how important it is for people to do things for themselves. We are really looking for young women and men who want to participate in this entrepreneurial opportunity for themselves. Apostle added that a big piece is our relationship with UM and the Dennis and Phyllis Washington grant and its push toward our initiatives.

FINANCE and OPERATIONS – Pat McHugh, Executive Director of Business & OperationsApprove Claims and Extracurricular Report Board Direction: Trustees approved the January 2013 claims and extracurricular report on the Consent Agenda.

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Approve Out-of-District Attendance Agreements Board Direction: Trustees approved the February 2013 out-of-district attendance agreements on the Consent Agenda.

Approve Grant Application Summary: Donors Choice – Folks, Let’s Band TogetherBoard Direction: Trustees approved the grant application summary on the Consent Agenda.

Approve Deletion of Board Policy 7328 Petty Cash Accounts, 7328P Petty Cash Accounts Procedure and 7328F Monthly Report of Petty Cash Accounts Form

Board Direction: Trustees approved the deletion of BP7328, BP7328P and BP7328F – Petty Cash Accounts - on the Consent Agenda.

Approve Tax Compliance Procedure Relating to Tax-Exempt Bonds Board Direction: Trustees adopted the Tax Compliance Procedure Relating to Tax-Exempt Bonds on the Consent Agenda.

School Election Resolutions 2013-4(E) – 2013-7(E) and 2013-6(S) – 2013-9(S)Board Direction: Trustees approved Resolutions 2013-4(E)-2013-7(E) and 2013-6(S)-2013-9(S) on the Consent Agenda.

Permission to Bid Retrofit Cabling for Summer 2013 Board Direction: Trustees granted permission to bid summer cabling and wireless access installs on the Consent Agenda.

Awarding Long Range Facility Study Plan to CTA, Inc. Missoula Board Direction: Trustees awarded the Long Range Comprehensive Master Facility Plan to CTA, Inc. to be funded as set forth in the attached spreadsheet on the Consent Agenda.

Interlocal Agreement between City, County, YMCA, U of M, Fairgrounds and MCPS for the continuing Purpose of Partnering and Planning for a 160 Acre Central Park

Board Direction: Trustees approved this Interlocal Agreement between the partners listed (MCPS, U of M, City, County, and YMCA) to establish a commitment to continue the planning process for the CENTRAL PARK 160 Project on the Consent Agenda.

Approve Audit Report for Period Ending June 30, 2012This item was moved to follow Announcements from Trustees, above.

Topic: General Fund Budget Update – Pat McHugh, Director of Business and Operations: With the consent of trustees, this item was moved to follow the Cost Neutral Sabbatical Leaves, below.

BUILDINGS, GROUNDS and TRANSPORTATION – Scott Reed, Director of Maintenance and OperationsBuilding Reserve Budget Update – Scott Reed, Director of Maintenance and Operations – Information Only Background Information: Scott Reed will provide an update on building reserve expenditures.A summary of Building Reserve Expenditures July 1, 2012 through January 31, 2013 was included in the packet. Scott noted that we are in a bid cycle right now for a boiler at Lewis & Clark, which will be installed this summer. It will be paid for by a grant we obtained and some rental funds. A week ago the 1966 boiler at Willard failed completely, and we are using portable heating units over there. The replacement boiler is off the shelf and on its way here now, and we expect to have it up and running in a week and a half. Apostle: boilers are very expensive. We’re fortunate the one at Willard is not as expensive as some others. It is $45,000. Sadler said he recently completed a round of doing testing in Missoula schools and surrounding districts. He was astounded to find out that Missoula has 2 of the oldest schools in the area. While they might be somewhat in

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good condition, they do not serve our district well: Lowell and Franklin Schools. He knows you have scheduled repairs as needed and are doing the best you can with the age of the buildings. The public needs to become aware that we will either have schools on those sites or historical museums there. They can’t be both. Apostle agreed those are 2 schools we need to take a good hard look at. We are currently developing a facilities strategic plan, to take into consideration all these different issues and to come up with a comprehensive plan to deal with facilities. We have never had a facilities strategic plan, but we are moving in that direction. This item was information only.

PERSONNEL, NEGOTIATIONS and POLICY – Steve McHugh, Director of Human ResourcesPersonnel Report The monthly Personnel Report was included in the packet. Motion by Sadler, seconded by Bixler, to approve the Personnel Report as provided. The board does not take comment on the Personnel Report. Trustees unanimously approved the Personnel Report.

Compensation for Classified Summer/Seasonal Employees Board Direction: Trustees approved the summer/seasonal rates as established, on the Consent Agenda.

School Calendars 2013-2014 Board Direction: Trustees approved the detailed school calendars for 2013-2014 on the Consent Agenda.

Cost Neutral Sabbatical Leaves Background Information: The District has one (1) applicant for the 2013-2014 school year. As the Board has directed, sabbaticals will be totally cost neutral with the District employee on sabbatical leave paying the full cost of the salary and insurance of their replacement. A committee of three (3) teachers, two (2) administrators, and the MEA president have reviewed this year’s sabbatical request and are recommending one (1) application for a full-time sabbatical leave. This item was discussed at the February 27, 2013 Personnel, Negotiations and Policy Committee meeting and forwarded to the March 12, 2013 regular Board. Administrative Recommendation: The Committee supports Administration’s recommendation that the Trustees approve the one (1) cost neutral sabbatical leave for the applicant recommended by the Sabbatical Review Committee, and forward to the March 12, 2013 regular Board meeting.Board Discussion: Rehbein noted that the report was given at PN&P, and the committee approved the administrative recommendation. Motion by Bixler, seconded by Sadler, to approve the one cost neutral sabbatical leave for the applicant recommended by the Sabbatical Review Committee. Discussion: Bixler noted this was brought before PN&P. It is something we are able to do at the district level for our teachers. Unfortunately we can’t pay them. We would like in the future at some point to be able to pay them, but at least we do allow them to take time off to enrich their educational experience, which will help the district in the future. We appreciate those who applied; it is a rigorous process. Congratulations. Steve McHugh: there is another person we are going to take a look at on Thursday. We asked her for more information. He thanked the committee: Melanie Charlson, Carole Monlux, Nick Shepherd, Mary Pat Laforest and Becky Sorenson. This is cost neutral. Thanks for approving it. Board Direction: Rehbein noted there is a motion on the floor. There was no other board comment and no public comment. Trustees unanimously approved the one cost neutral sabbatical leave for the applicant recommended by the Sabbatical Review Committee.

Topic: General Fund Budget Update – Pat McHugh, Director of Business and Operations Background Information: Pat McHugh will provide an update on general fund expenditures.A summary of General Fund Expenditures from July 1, 2012 through January 31, 2013 and the 2013-2014 Budget/Election Calendar were included in the packet. Pat referred to the spreadsheet attached to page 132-33. We talked about this at F&O committee meeting. The one item he would point out is the utilities and YTD (year to date) expenditures on them—in both districts we are doing better than budgeted on a month by month basis. Hopefully that will mean that at the end of the year

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funds will remain in the utilities line item budget. We will evaluate whether we can recommend a reduction in that line item. But it fluctuates over time based on the cost of energy and transporting energy and the usage of energy. Good news. He thinks from talking to engineers that the replacing of the ballasts that the O&M department did over the past couple of years using stimulus funds is helping with electrical costs. This item was information only.

CONSENT AGENDA Chair Rehbein noted that Trustee Toth had to leave to pick up his wife at the airport; Mr. McHugh will try to get him on the phone for the vote, because we don’t have a quorum for elementary without him. Rehbein read the Consent Agenda, which was included in the packet. Trustee Toth rejoined the meeting by phone. Pat said that we are good to go for the vote with Toth on the phone. Motion by Sadler to approve the Consent Agenda, seconded by Todd. We do not take board comment on the Consent Agenda. Public Comment: Nick Salmon, CTA: We are truly honored to be selected as the team to guide the school and community through the long range comprehensive master planning process with partners; they are truly looking forward to what’s ahead. Rehbein thanked him. There was no other public comment. Trustees, including Joe Toth by phone, unanimously approved the Consent Agenda.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT – Dr. Alex Apostle, Superintendent Dr. Apostle congratulated Karen Deden, head basketball coach at Sentinel, and the students, staff and parents for bringing a second state championship to MCPS; very proud. He also congratulated Jeff Hays, basketball coach at Hellgate, his students, staff, parents, and school for the state championship in boys’ basketball. Wonderful accomplishment, one that coaches and students will never forget. Congratulations also to our hockey players; wonderful accomplishment, both boys’ and girls’ hockey won state. Quite a weekend, wonderful, great effort. In anticipation of this meeting, and he wished more people here, he prepared a written statement to read: He has a 3 year contract approved by the board on January 8, 2013, which concludes June 30, 2016. The board unanimously approved his contract extension and voted 6 to 4 to compensate him according to his performance. He will fulfill his contract obligation as legally agreed upon through the conclusion of the 2015-16 year. Apostle would like to comment on the 3 year math requirement: he believes we need to further examine through committee work the specific ramifications, support, student, staffing, budget, and any and all circumstances. We all want our students to succeed, and we want mechanisms that provide supports as we increase expectations and standards. He hopes the board will agree and bring this back to committee for further review. As we do that, take into consideration that the new Smarter Balance assessment in 2015 which becomes our state assessment for AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) tests juniors through Algebra 2 concepts. This is the test that Adequate Yearly Progress will be based on. Most states already have a 3 year requirement for math. And many of our students are taking 3 years of math already. The University of Montana, among others, has set 3 years of math as an admission standard, though they currently allow a waiver, which he thinks will go away in time. We have proposed that the 3 years of math will apply beginning with next year, the high school class of 2017. The initial impact is that all freshmen who did not take Algebra in grade 8 will take it as a freshman, unless their IEP dictates otherwise. Those who need support will be scheduled for a math lab. These points are very important, if the board approves to take this back and review how we came to this decision. It is a very important decision, because math can be very difficult for students. We want to make sure if we go ahead and require 3 years of math, that we make sure we have a system to support our students and teachers. Dr. Apostle read the Superintendent’s Report. The open forums for the tech levy have not been well attended, but we are reaching out to the public in every way we can. Many open forums are listed on the Superintendent’s Report in the packet; we are reaching out to feeder schools, including Bonner, to make sure they understand the importance. Monday, March 18, is the Day of Advocacy in Helena, when public educators will be there to promote public education. Apostle and many board members will be there, and the union has scheduled a bus to take parents who are interested. There is a Special Board Meeting to approve ballot language on Thurs. April 11 with a Budget Study Session to follow. As you can see there are a great number of open forums regarding the tech levy. We are doing everything possible to communicate the importance of the tech levy. This is for our students; this is for our teachers: it will replace and repair computers, pay for licenses and fees, and provide for some professional

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development. It is an important levy for our school district. It is $848,000 total for both elementary and secondary, which is not a lot in terms of technology. We have not gone to the public in 10 years, and it is extremely important to provide support for our students and our staff.

OLD BUSINESS – Dr. Alex Apostle, SuperintendentThere was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS – Dr. Alex Apostle, SuperintendentThere was no new business.

Chair Rehbein adjourned the meeting at 9:35 p.m.

As recording secretary for this Board meeting, I certify these minutes to be a true and correct copy of what was taken at the meeting.

______________________________Elizabeth Serviss, Minutes Recorder

______________________________ ___________________________Toni Rehbein, Board Chair Pat McHugh, Board Clerk

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