Creswell

School board approves committees; discusses reports, board communication

The Creswell School Board met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 8 to approve the list of compensated committees, discuss changes to board communication and the board negotiations committee, as well as relay department reports.
Annually, the school board is responsible for approving a list of compensated committees, which are in accordance to collective bargaining agreements for licensed and classified staff. A mix of school-based and district committees, these groups meet outside of the regular work day, and provide additional salary or stipend; also known as classified and licensed, respectively.
Committees that were up for approval were: Continuous Improvement Planning, which annually reviews and updates improvement planning; Student Success Teams, which meet to review and discuss students’ individualized education plans for special education; Labor Management Committee, which are ”a mechanism for dialogue and a vehicle to discuss issues of mutual concern to staff and administration;” Creslane Elementary School Site Council, which addresses professional growth, instructional programs, school improvement efforts and grants-in-aid; Creswell High School Leadership Team and Site Council, although it generally meets during the work day, making compensation only applicable to staff working outside of regular hours; and the Teacher Evaluation District Team, which focuses on developing and implementing the teacher evaluation system.
Paul Randall approved the list of committees, and Dave Eusted seconded the motion. The board was unanimously in favor.
The board also discussed meeting with the Board Negotiations meeting, as the supreme court decision JANUS v. AFSCME, which ruled that public employees do not have to pay fees to unions to cover the costs of collective bargaining, was overruled and created a need to renegotiate part of the current collective bargaining agreement. (Savings Clause Article 19A; Article 5 – Association Rights, K-L).
The revision bargaining committee will be made of three board members and three members of the school district. Chair Tim Rogers appointed Lacey Risdal, David Eusted and Mike Anderson, because these members already have bargaining experience and it will provide continuity.
Reports were then made by various departments, most notable were the business manager and transportation reports.
For the 2017 to 2018 school year, the total amount of meals (comprised of breakfast and lunch, and included both paid and free/reduced) was 147,489; this is 9,784 more meals provided than the 2016 to 2017 year.
In regards to transportation, Business Manager Anna Houpt had been working with Transportation Manager Sarah Hansen to create a bus replacement plan. As they were working on retrofitting the older vehicles, Oregon received money from the Volkswagen diesel settlement, which they are using to help replace older busses. Although the State is in the process of getting that program going, the district took the money that was going toward retrofitting the old busses, and bought another vehicle used to transport children with special needs to their programs in the larger Eugene area.
The board also discussed board communications during the meeting. Currently, if one sends an email to the board email address, it is received by Technology and Maintenance Supervisor Joel Higdon, who sends a ”received” message and copies the board and Superintendent Todd Hamilton to the email. Chair Tim Rogers wants to change the procedure by adding the Chair position to the email to respond after Higdon, to personalize the message while the board is waiting a response. Although not an action item, the board supported this addition to the chain.
The next board meeting will be held Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.

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