Jan Mitchell, LWV Observer
All members were present.
Public Comment:
Judy Dirks spoke in opposition to the Spanish immersion program, saying that it made native speakers of languages other than Spanish or English feel slighted, and that the money spent would be better used to provide more ESL instructors.
Ms. Otterdahl form Keya Paya expressed concern about the lengthy bus ride her children would have with the proposed Companeros program .
Ms. Peterson spoke with a similar concern.
Minutes of the last meeting were approved.
Supt. Richardson commended elementary students who paid to wear hats to school (Hats for Haiti campaign) which generated $2000 for Haiti relief. He also noted the K-6th choral festival success, and the accomplishments of the gymnasts, wrestlers, swimmers, divers, weight-lifters, Alpine skiers, and Science Olympiad contestants in recent competitions. Anne Maple complimented the Greenvale students on the artistic and poetic creativity on display there.
Staff members addressed the concerns raised recently about the Companeros plans. The cap of one section per grade level per school is in place to help reduce class size discrepancies, and to assure the District of staffing to achieve the higher rigor expected in the proposal. The controlled lottery to blend native speakers of English and Spanish is the system best suited to balancing the classes with equal access opportunities. Student who are open-enrolled will only be able to participate if there are not enough applicants within the district for the programs. The bussing of students from Keya Paha is challenging, since they will have a ride of 51-58 minutes to attend Greenvale in the morning. The district & the bus company have worked to minimize this situation, and this is the best alternative available for the 14 children from this neighborhood.
Tom Stinger presented the proposed 2010-2011 Debt Service Budget and the Trust Fund Budget.
The Board unanimously approved the Companeros Program revisions, thanking the staff for a great deal of work over many months, and the parents for their interest and input.
The Board held a closed session to consider a parent request for grade change, and they resumed their public session to announce that the final decision on such issues rests with the Superintendent.
Comments
Jan: is it the Policy of the School Board that the decision on a grade change rests with the Superintendent? and if so was the closed session to consider changing the policy?
Shows how old I am, but I thought the only way a grade was changed was by the evaluation of the teacher who issued it?
Are teachers now 'second-guessed' by persons who have not experienced the student's classwork?
Enlighten me, please...