Minutes from Board of Trustees Meeting
January 17, 2018
Conference Call
Board Members Participating: Dennis Mathews, Michelle Farrell, Yang-su
Cho, Cindy Bennett, Greg Szabo, Ed Snook, Jim Kemp, and Nancy McDaniel.
Board Members
Absent: Keri
Clark and Berl Colley.
Ex-Officio Members Participating: Joleen Ferguson (Washington Council of the
Blind), Jennifer Butcher (Teacher Representative), Jim Eccles (Washington
Federation of State Employees Local #1225), Marci Carpenter (National
Federation of the Blind of Washington), and Krista Bulger (Parent Representative).
WSSB Staff Members Participating: Mr. Scott McCallum (Superintendent) and Janet
Kurz (recording secretary).
January 17, 2018 – 7:30pm
Dennis
called the meeting to order at 7:30pm.
New board members Greg Szabo and Jim Eccles introduced themselves.
Business Meeting:
Old Business:
Approve
board meeting minutes of November 17, 2017.
Jim moved to approve the minutes as submitted; Michelle seconded the
motion. The minutes were approved
unanimously.
New
Business:
Superintendent’s
Report
Scott
reviewed the following:
Scott discussed the positive impact of listening
sessions with staff. Scott will be
holding a listening session with Outreach staff on January 26.
Scott has been getting into the classrooms with
school administrators in an effort to see how classrooms operate at the WSSB
and to observe the feedback loop between administrators and teachers.
One of WSSB students invited Scott to visit his
work place (Paper Tiger Coffee Roasters) over winter holiday break. During the visit, the student explained his
position and did it with such pride. The
student’s boss was very proud and had great things to say about him.
The Legislative Session began in January. There is no legislation we are aware of that
will affect us directly. Scott attends
weekly meetings to discuss any potential legislation relating to education.
The Governor has been in full support of our
proposed supplemental budget. The agency
has responded to several questions regarding our requests for additional
funding for transportation.
Scott had dinner with the students this evening
in the cottage; Scott has another dinner scheduled next week.
Scott has been working on scheduling a Strategic
Plan session this school year. Several
meetings were held with a potential facilitator, which resulted in a bid for
services. Due to the amount of the proposal, the WSSB will need to go out to
bid for the service. At this time, the
plan is to move forward with this during the 2018-2019 school year. Scott will
keep the board posted regarding the timelines and development.
Jim remarked that he likes the new superintendent
report format (see below); Scott said he appreciates the feedback.
Ed inquired about the Office of Superintendent of
Public Instruction (OSPI) memo referenced in Scott’s report below. Scott reported that in January of 2016
(before his arrival at the WSSB), the OSPI issued Memo 003-16M impacting school
districts and both the WSSB and the Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing
Loss (CDHL). The Memo attempted to
clarify questions around “residency” for students who attend either of the
state schools, and in effect placed the burden of transportation and other responsibilities
on the “resident” district rather than on WSSB as has been practiced
historically. This created an issue with
the WSSB as we assume the provision of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
for students enrolled at WSSB; we do not charge for enrollment and we are
legislatively funded to provide transportation, etc. After ongoing discussions with OSPI, they revised
Memo 003-16M and issued Bulletin 037-017 in June 2017, which required that WSSB
and CDHL be considered a school of “Choice”.
The WSSB was OK with the updated requirements of Bulletin 037-17 as it
did not have drastic impacts on WSSB, but required a more formal process for a
district releasing a student and for WSSB in accepting the student. Recently, we were informed that, within the
OSPI, this created an issue, so meetings are being held regarding an agreeable
outcome. Scott is confident that a
reasonable solution for WSSB, CDHL, OSPI, and School Districts will be
negotiated soon. Scott is working
through the process and will keep the board informed.
Jim E. asked if the WSSB is affected by the
ongoing capital budget impasse that extends from last June. Scott said yes and that several staff from
the WSSB attended a training regarding “Limited Public Works”. This enables the WSSB to administer projects
that are $35,000 or less that are considered public works (projects other than
scheduled or routine maintenance). Until
the Capital Budget is passed in Olympia, WSSB’s larger projects such as
replacing sewer lines, re-roofing of the cottages, etc. are on hold.
Committee
Reports:
Management
Committee (Ed Snook):
·
Jim volunteered to join the committee. Ed does not have an update to report at this
time.
Education
Committee (Michelle Farrell):
·
Michelle reported that she and Sean McCormick,
Director of On-Campus Programs have met several times and they are currently in
the process of putting together a braillist/para-educator training that was
discussed during the November, 2017 Board of Trustees meeting. The goal is to have the first training in
February 2018. Sean and Michelle decided
that once the braillist completes the training, they would debrief and work out
some of the kinks and change what they need to.
They are hoping to do this 5-6 times per year and open this to districts
across the state. Scott said he would
love to see an evaluative feedback from the participant. Michelle said if Scott
has any suggestions as part of the evaluative process, to let Michelle and Sean
know. Dennis asked what the university
is that is assisting with the Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI)
program. Scott said it is the Stephen F.
Austin University in Texas. Dennis asked if the university would be interested
in doctoral or graduate students to assist with the evaluation. Scott felt this was a good idea and could
also reach out to Portland State University (PSU) in this endeavor as well.
Buildings
and Grounds Committee (Nancy McDaniel):
·
Nancy reported that she has not been to the campus
recently. Scott said there is nothing
major happening at the school right now and everything seems to be functioning
well. The WSSB has replaced the lights
in the gym to LED lights, which will create a savings over time. A similar project is being looked at in the pool
area.
Legislative
Committee (Berl Colley):
·
Marci reported that there appears to be no activity
legislatively that would affect the WSSB. Scott said he receives weekly updates
from the Governor’s office and hasn’t heard of anything either.
Miscellaneous:
Scott
reported that the WSSB has been contacted by a donor from the Seattle area who
has been working with the schools foundation to provide funding for us to be
able to receive exchange students. The
donor is working with an organization in Nepal and they are proposing that we
do a fully funded exchange program whereby the WSSB could either send a teacher
or administrator for 2-4 weeks to study their school for the blind and they
would send somebody to us for 2-4 weeks; Scott feels this is an exciting
opportunity to find out what is happening in another country and may have a
positive impact on both entities. Dennis
felt this was a wonderful opportunity.
There
being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:00pm. The next Board meeting will be held at the
WSSB campus on Friday, March 16, 2018 at 11:00am.
Dennis Mathews, Chair Scott
McCallum, Superintendent
I
am trying something new with my board reports this year. I will provide, in bulleted format, a list of
the more significant activities of the Superintendent’s office. For each month, I will describe a highlight
or two in more detail. If at any point you would like more information or have
questions, please do not hesitate to call, email, or schedule a time to meet in
person. I want to make sure that you
have the information that you need to advise and guide what we do to meet the
needs of students who are blind or visually impaired throughout Washington
State.
November
November
16: WSSB staff “Listening Sessions”
November
20: Blind Youth Consortium meeting, meeting with Department of Services for the
Blind (DSB) leadership.
November
27: Results Washington All Goal Council
meeting
November
29: Meetings with Numa Marketing regarding Strategic Planning, Meeting with
AAG’s office regarding drivers as reasonable accommodation.
Highlight
Listening
to staff speak about what is important to them is, in my mind, time well spent.
In an effort to connect with staff, I began offering “Listening Sessions” last
school year. Staff have requested that
these sessions continue during the 2018-19 school year. During these sessions,
I have asked that supervisors/administrators/managers not be present so that
staff may be more inclined to speak their truth. I promise to maintain staff
anonymity and that I will share the themes of the listening sessions with the
administrative team. General themes of
the “Listening Sessions” this year have been agency communication, student
technology and assessment, and staff culture/climate. Each of these “themes” have been part of
ongoing discussions with the administrative team or individual manager so that
improvements may be realized within the department or agency. Later in January, I will have a session with
the Outreach team, completing my initial round of “Listening Sessions” for
2018-19.
December
December
4: Meeting with Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and
the Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss (CDHL) regarding Memo
003-16M/Bulletin 037-17
December
6: Irwin Classroom observations with Sean McCormick (Director of On Campus
Programs/ Jennifer Langley (Director of Curriculum and Instruction)
December
10: Feel the Music event hosted by WSSB and the Pacific Foundation for Blind
Children (PFBC)
December
11: Irwin Classroom observations with Sean/Jenn
December
12: Irwin Classroom observations with Sean/Jenn
December
13: Legislative Forum hosted by ESD 112, Dinner with students in Chapman
Cottage
December
14: Computer Science Principals (CSP) Access for All meeting, Winter Holiday
music program
December
15: Holiday reception for Governor’s staff at the Executive Residence
December
19: WSSB student workplace visit (Paper Tiger)
December
20: Collaboration connection with Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC)
December
21 & 22: Completed mandatory “Safety” trainings.
Highlight
December
is a very busy month with many highlight-worthy opportunities from the
Superintendent’s office. Spending time
with students always tops the list for me.
I truly enjoyed having pizza with the students and staff in Chapman
Cottage. I always enjoy the Winter
Holiday music program. Also topping my
list was an opportunity to visit one of our students at their workplace during
the winter break. WSSB student, Jordan,
works at the Paper Tiger coffee shop.
Jordan takes great pride in his work at Paper Tiger and invited me in
for a tour when he was working during the winter break. Jordan explained the ins and outs of coffee
roasting, his main duty at Paper Tiger.
Jordan introduced me to his boss and walked me through the roasting
process he was in the midst of during my visit. Seeing Jordan in action was one
of my proudest moments as Superintendent of WSSB. Jordan is, without a doubt, going to be a
positive and contributing member of his community-he already is. Keep up the great work, Jordan. I am very proud of you and the great work you
are doing at Paper Tiger.
January
January
2: Meeting with OSPI regarding Memo 003-16m/Bulletin
037-17
January
3: Collaboration connection with Oregon Commission for the Blind re: food
service partnership
January
4: Public Hearing for proposed WAC revision related to Public Records and the
requirements of ESHB 1594 and EHB 1595.
January
8: Education Sub-Cabinet Meeting
January
9: State of the State Address by Governor Inslee
January
10: Dinner with the students in Hall Cottage
January
15: Education Sub-Cabinet meeting
January
16: Meeting with JaReda Webb, PFBC and Dr Closson, Low Vision Clinic, to
discuss mobile low-vision clinic.
January
17: Dinner with students in Clarke Cottage
Highlight
Happy
New Year! In December, we (WSSB and
CDHL) were notified of an issue with how OSPI had recommended we move forward
in response to the original OSPI Memo 003-16M and the follow-up Bulletin
037-17. The issue, according to OSPI, is
that WSSB and CDHL cannot be a school of “choice” as was implied in Bulletin
037-17, which had been the fix for issues raised in OSPI Memo 003-16M. As of January 16, no official resolution has
been reached; however, we continue to work towards an appropriate resolution.
The real highlight of the month was having dinner with the students of Hall
Cottage. The students made teriyaki
meatballs, rice, green beans, and yogurt parfaits for desert. Even better than the food was the wonderful
conversations with the students. It is always
a treat to spend time with the students; they truly are what makes WSSB so
special.
Ongoing
Meetings
with department managers and administration team
PFBC
meetings
Executive
Cabinet meetings
Goal
Council meetings
Clark
County and Regional Superintendent Meetings
NWABA
Board meetings
UEB
committee meetings
Oregon
Commission for the Blind Board meetings
Washington
Deaf/Blind Advisory Council meetings
Highlight
Finally,
we are in the midst of another legislative session. This session, known as the short session,
lasts 60 days. I had the opportunity to
attend the “State of the State” address at the Capitol from Governor Inslee in
which he lays out the priorities for the session. Governor Inslee is
recommending that additional funds from the State’s reserves be tapped to fully
fund education, providing additional funds for special education earlier than
that which is required by the courts in the McLeary case. He also recommended
speedy passage of the Capital Budget and decoupling the Capital budget from the
Hirst water rights decision. During the
“State of the State” address, Governor Inslee touched on his other priorities
for the session. The Governor has
provided steady support for WSSB through his support of our supplemental budget
request. WSSB requested additional funds
to support our needs around student transportation, digital braille literacy,
reasonable accommodation, and a technical adjustment from the previous
budget. We will continue to monitor legislative
movement related to our operating and capital budgets as well as any potential
legislative impacts.
Strategic Planning Update:
After meeting with Tiffany Meyer of NUMA Marketing and receiving their official proposal, we have decided to delay our strategic planning efforts by one year. While we were very excited to dive into the strategic planning process proposed by NUMA Marketing, we realized that our enthusiasm was a bit premature. Because we are asking that our strategic planning facilitator be more involved than they had ever been with WSSB in the past, the cost for providing such personal services requires that we submit a proposal through the state bid system. Because this bidding process will take time which will significantly delay our efforts this year, I have decided to delay strategic planning until next year. We must be fully transparent in our processes and follow the appropriate procurement rules for this type of service to the agency. During the information gathering stage, we did gain knowledge and understanding that will have a positive impact on our strategic planning efforts moving forward. WSSB greatly appreciates and would like to thank NUMA Marketing for their preliminary efforts related to our future strategic plan.