Missoula County Public Schools Minutes Board of Trustees Tuesday, May 9, 2017 – 6:00 p.m. Business Building Boardroom Note: If you have questions regarding the agenda, please contact the Superintendent’s Office (728-2400, ext. 1023, prior to the meeting). Board of Trustees: Board Chair Marcia Holland, Michael Beers, Korbin Bragstad, Grace M. Decker, Debbie Dupree, Heidi Kendall, Vice Chair Diane Lorenzen, Vicki McDonald, Jennifer Newbold, Mike Smith, Vice Chair Ann Wake Student Trustees: Brianna Canning – BSHS, Adam Zimmer – BSHS, Annika Charlson – HHS, Gabby Flores – HHS, Keaton Johnson – SSHS, Ibby Lorentz – SSHS, Dylan Haggart – SHS, Brandon Anderson – Willard Alt HS Trustees Present: Marcia Holland, Korbin Bragstad, Mike Smith, Debbie Dupree, Diane Lorenzen, Grace Decker, Heidi Kendall, Jennifer Newbold, Ann Wake, Michael Beers; Student Trustees Brandon Anderson, Annika Charlson, Gabby Flores, Brianna Canning, Adam Zimmer, Dylan Haggart; Ibby Lorentz (by phone) Trustees Absent: Vicki McDonald Others Present: Mark Thane, Pat McHugh, Karen Allen, Dave Rott, Hatton Littman, Elise Guest, Julie Robitaille, Bea Kaleva, Burley McWilliams 1. Call to Order, Welcome and Roll Call At 5:58 pm Board Chair Marcia Holland called the meeting to order and welcomed all. Roll call: all Trustees were present except McDonald and Beers; Holland thinks McDonald is travelling. Beers arrived during public comment. 2. Pledge of Allegiance was said by all, led by the Student Trustees. 3. Review, Revise, and Approve Agenda – Action Holland asked to move item 10-C, Recognition of Outgoing Trustee, to item 7-C with other recognitions, in case Debbie wants to leave. Holland noted a correction under 9- A-i, School Day Study Committee, that was found by Kendall in proofreading: in the Administrative Recommendation, the last word of the second line should be later—it is later start times rather than earlier. On page 27 of the attachments to the agenda, Superintendent’s Report: all of the dates should really be 2017, not 2016. In item 7-A, Robotics, a correction to the spelling of the name of Dori Pinkerton. There were no objections; no additional changes. Trustees approved the agenda as amended and corrected. 4. Approval of Minutes A. Regular Board Meeting, April 11, 2017 (page 6) No corrections. Motion by Wake, seconded by Dupree. There was no public comment on the minutes. Trustees present unanimously approved the minutes as presented. 5. Public Comment/Correspondence Public Comment Regarding Non-Agenda Items (3 Minutes each speaker) - Items from Audience Correspondence – Written correspondence is included in the packet. page 23 • Holland explained public comment on non-agenda items: opportunity for the public to bring items to attention of the board. Since items were not noticed publicly, under Open Meetings Act the Board will not be talking about them tonight; they can be put on a later agenda. • Rick Wheeler, custodian at Sentinel, thanked Dylan for being their student trustee for 2 years; he has represented Sentinel very well. He hears they are getting Hailey Gray’s sister as their next student trustee. Almost all the Board members have changed since Hailey Gray’s time.

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• Rebecca Nasgovitz, parent of 2nd and 5th graders at Rattlesnake. When her kids started at Rattlesnake, they received art instruction once every 5 weeks, a major disappointment to her. Now it is once every 3 weeks; appreciates improvement. However, she understands that last year the Board considered adding another art teacher to K-5 schools, which did not come through. She is here with a group of other parents from other elementary schools, who would love to see more art instruction in the schools. SPARK brings more drama, dance, expanded art exposure—but also interested in having other art teachers come into the schools. Also having supplies stored in the school for example—right now they are mobile art projects and teacher is working out of their car. Not the best conditions; not the kind of projects they could be exposed to. When looking at budget allocations, please consider expanding the arts curriculum. A lot of parents are surprised that students are not getting art once a week—music is twice a week and gym twice a week. She feels fortunate to be part of MCPS. She grew up in a public school in Wisconsin which was an arts school, which kept her going back, kept her interested. [Trustee Beers arrived.] A more well-rounded program could serve our community even more. • Abby Wiggin, parent: MCPS states that the methods change but the principles do not. Its mission is to ensure every student achieves full potential regardless of circumstance and ability. Its vision demands that we communicate, collaborate, think critically and create. This vision thrives in arts education. We live in a visual world beyond textbooks and how we relate. Her husband has had a wide range of careers, currently a train engineer—said in his opinion, the process of art is so real world: create, manage, explore, decide, search, change minds, weigh new options, rationalize and share. Students weigh so many options with art. Communicate, think critically, collaborate and create. Students currently do not experience that to its full potential at elementary level. Due to lack of time and space, students only scratch the surface; increased exposure would increase outcomes to no limit. Art is real world—it asks you to risk it, manage time vs. outcome, explore empathy and understanding when looking at other students’ art. Art asks you to take chances in environment with no correct answer, problem solve, rationalize and find solutions to produce something truly beautiful. Don’t wait till students are in 6th grade to provide opportunity for learning and discovery through art. 6th graders know everything, and they may have determined that they are not artists, and we will have missed it. Elementary school kids need weekly longer art classes. Change methods to meet the principles of the district. • Cindy Marshall, local artist and business owner, has 2 daughters, one in 4th and one in 6th grade in public school. Last weekend she watched a one-year- old pressing a stick into wet dirt. It reminded her of senior citizens she worked with as an art teacher; many had lost fine motor skills but enjoyed colors, art classes. It is called art work—making art takes a lot of work, concentration, focus, creative problem solving; it forces us into present moment, not past or future. Expressing ourselves in ways that words cannot. Lessons in mindfulness, problem solving, spatial awareness, kinesthetic. If encouraged properly, huge confidence builder. In the U.S. schools generally address linguistic and logical intelligences we all possess; making art can nurture at least 5 other intelligences: spatial, naturalistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily kinesthetic. Most cultures that consider themselves highly civilized

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have strong art programs for students, but in U.S. there is not automatic allegiance to the arts. In 1999 she did student teaching in Missoula for K-12 art education degree; she was responsible for 90 classrooms in 5 schools. She knows it has improved, but room for more improvement. Learning fine art skills helps us understand ourselves and our world, express ourselves more deeply in ways that cannot be captured in words. Art is what makes our culture rich, and will be passed down. When we have retired from our busy lives, art will still be there if reinforced in growing years. Please offer more art opportunities and help nurture important developmental work, our art work • Jennifer Prinzing, parent at Lewis & Clark, has a daughter in kindergarten, and son starts in a couple years. Art has a value in and of itself: hands-on tactile development, construction, composition and color, pride of creating and having something physical to show for it. Benefits of art strengthen the success of an adult: creative thinking is sought-after in almost every professional discipline. Early consistent exposure to different ways to use our brains correlate to breakthroughs in technology and business—Apple, Google, Tesla. If you ask first graders who can draw a horse, the entire class raises their hands excitedly. By 6th grade or sooner, far fewer hands are raised. Less and less time is spent on art, enthusiasm has dimmed. Einstein: imagination is more important than knowledge. Keep encouraging kids to be creative and expand opportunity across the whole city. Art is not extra or bonus; art is our world. • Kathleen Sevilla has 2nd grader at Cold Springs School. Proud to have her in Missoula school system. Asked parents who are here to support more art, but have nothing specific to say. Her daughter was recently tested for COMPASS. She is learning that art is going to be key in her education in MCPS. Please consider art. She said she had nothing formal to say, but thinks everyone understands what she means. • Taylor Valliant, letter press printer, illustrator and small business owner; she has two children at Paxson. Has always been disappointed in lack of art education in the schools at this age; surprised at what was lacking in 1st grade. She supports increased art education in Missoula in the elementary schools. Early creative education important to those who go on to work in the arts, but also to all children as a tool they can apply to whatever career they pursue. • Minette Glaser, mom of 2 third graders. She has volunteered during the times they have art, has been disappointed at how rarely it occurs and how stressed teachers are because they have to juggle so much. Her school is lucky to have a room where they keep art supplies, but still the teacher is stressed in getting everything in for time available. Strongly thinks we need one art teacher per elementary school. Also notes that there are kids not good at traditional skills in reading, writing, math, yet flourish in art—one a troublemaker, distracting the teacher, but gets completely engrossed in art project. He is focused, learning, excited about doing something well. The last time stayed in at recess to finish a project and was fine with that. Important to provide an outlet for these kids other than traditional subjects. Please put more time, energy and funding into art in our elementary schools. • There was no further public comment. Holland thanked everyone who commented.

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6. Community Connection A. Special Olympics Montana – Summer Games in Missoula – Karen Allen, Executive Regional Director Karen Allen will present a video highlighting the 2017 Special Olympics Montana State Summer Games to be held here in Missoula, May 16-19. Karen Allen will show a short video. Karen explained that this is the 3rd year for Special Olympics Montana Summer Games in Missoula. It begins next Tuesday. There are many facets to Special Olympics in Missoula. Many of you know about the torch run the police officers do across the state. We also have teams from all over the state. She compared it to the number of photos a family might have of a first, second and third child---when you have Special Olympics for the 3rd year in Missoula, it is sort of like we know what we are doing but it is really important to raise the same energy and excitement for athletes who are coming next week. We will see a video that includes Missoula kids, epitomizes Special Olympics. First year goal was to fill the Adams Center; we did it. 2nd year goal, to adopt all the school teams; we did it. That is our goal this year; we are a little off. She would be delighted to give you more info about adopting a team, welcoming them to Missoula. Video: Special Olympics athletes spoke about what it means to them: when life brings you down, never give up. Chris: you guys changed his life, a new world view he never thought was possible. Joey: happy and proud, proud of medals. Stacey: got adopted by a family of volunteers for Special Olympics. Jessica: changes lives, part of a team that accepts you. Mary: didn’t have many friends, but Coach WyAnn turned her life around with Special Olympics. For athletes of all abilities, not just higher abilities. We are capable of much more than people think. No matter what ability we are, we try our best. Jay: People of disabilities should feel the same as everyone else. Michael: Supporting Special Olympics as a student is part of something bigger, part of a group, not segregated. It is competitive but it is about being a member of a team. Jason Johnson, Missoula County Undersheriff, said it allows for balance in his life, not just the worst. To create a community that is all- inclusive, tolerant and welcoming. Involvement challenges others to be involved— changes athletes’ lives, parents’ lives. Important for all of us to be part of something great. Compete, volunteer, donate. Karen encouraged adopting teams. If that is not up your alley, she invites you to come to opening ceremony at Dennis and Phyllis Washington Stadium, aka Griz Stadium Wednesday, 7 to 8:30, wonderful community event. Athletic events all day Wed. and Thurs. Schedule is on Special Olympics Montana Summer Games website. There were no Board questions or comments. Holland thanked Karen. There was no public comment. This item was information only. Holland: Where will it move to next year? Great Falls. 7. Recognition A. Robotics Program Service – Karen Allen, Executive Regional Director Karen Allen and Dori Pinkerton, Robotics coach will recognize Alan Bronec. Alan has shown tremendous support for MCPS Robotics through mentoring and continual community service. The Missoula County Public Schools High School Robotics Team has nominated Alan for the Woodie Flowers Award. page 24 Karen: one of the very important things in MCPS is the time people spend volunteering in our schools. Schools would not be what they are without a very special group of volunteers who help us every day. We wish to honor Alan Bronec, an engineer with CTA. Six or 7 years ago Alan and a couple of his colleagues came to see then-Superintendent Alex Apostle; they were interested in finding a way to

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have a district-wide robotics team, pulling from all our high schools across Missoula. Pretty unique in terms of teams in Missoula. Ever since then Alan has been one of the persons, the mentor who has always been there. Karen also wanted to appreciate his wife and his family who are always part of the robotics scene. We have a special award to give Alan: we gave it at the robotics dinner because his daughter is not able to be here tonight; she has participated also. We wanted to thank Alan: thank you for mentoring, support and dedication to high school robotics program. When talking to the young men and women being honored at the robotics banquet, Karen suggested that when he started with the robotics team, they were in elementary school. Karen presented a plaque to Alan. The packet has a copy of a nomination the students have made for Mr. Bronec to FIRST ROBOTICS for the Woodie Flowers Award, a national award for a special mentor. Karen introduced Dori Pinkerton, our coach this year. Dori thanked MCPS for starting FIRST here in the district. She moved here 3 and a half years ago. The first thing she looked for was robotics program; she and her husband had been part of one in Iowa. She introduced mentors: Lindsay Kittelsman Lande and her husband Dan Lande, who teaches at Sentinel; Dave Burtch shares his shop at Sentinel and has been a past mentor; Nicki Bronec, Alan’s wife, has been a mentor and help through the program. One of our teammates who is going to be on the board, Marina Gray, joined the team this year for the first time; she said she really likes science but not sure what to do with it. Thank you for having the robotics team; she is looking forward to continuing to see this program grow. Karen: special thank you to Alan. Board comments: Holland was robotics coach at Hellgate Elementary for 3 years and absolutely loved it. She grew up playing with Legos and wanting to be a computer programmer. When she was elected to the school board, it was really important to her that there be robotics. She pushed from the inside to make sure Dr. Apostle understood how important robotics was. She knows how much time and dedication it takes to be a coach; thank you. It has been a dream of hers to have robotics program in the school district. Thane expressed his appreciation to the mentors and coaches. Alan has been there from the very beginning, 6 or 7 years ago; the program has been very successful. Really likes the comment about knowing science but wanting a venue to apply it; one of the real benefits of robotics program. Hours are amazing; the trip to Calgary. Appreciate what you have sacrificed personally and professionally for our students; we are better for it. Public comments: Dori Pinkerton: Nate Bronec is here tonight as well, also part of the mentors. Holland thanked them; the Board would love to have them stay, but can leave if need to. B. Recognition of Student Trustees for 2016-2017 – Marcia Holland, Board Chair BSHS: Brianna Canning and Adam Zimmer HHS: Annika Charlson and Gabby Flores SSHS: Keaton Johnson and Ibby Lorentz SHS: Dylan Haggart WAHS: Brandon Anderson Holland: thank you to you all; you have been amazing trustees, engaged, involved, here for almost every meeting; you have asked pertinent questions, brought important information to our attention. She personally can’t thank you enough, wonderful year. As the chair she really thinks you have been great. She gave the student trustees certificates.

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Thane expressed his appreciation. Often the student voice is under-recognized. Thank you for keeping us abreast of events in the schools. Many of you have plans; he hopes the future finds you doing all that your potential allows you to do. Great plans out there. One or more of the student trustees may be returning to us. Holland: thank you from the Board and personal recognition from her. C. Recognition of Outgoing Trustee – Marcia Holland, Board Chair and Mark Thane, Superintendent (The Board moved this item from item 10.C.i.)  Trustee Debbie Dupree has served on the Board of Trustees for 15 years, 2002-2017, representing District D (Seeley Lake, Clinton and Potomac) Holland: as indicated at the beginning of the meeting, also fast forward and recognize our outgoing trustee: in 15 years representing Seeley, Potomac and Clinton, Debbie has driven down in deer-fests and rain-fests and snow-fests and has tried to stay to the bitter end in some really, really long meetings, representing her district and kids in the schools everywhere. Life changes, and she is moving on to other things. We gave her a medallion of appreciation at the Seeley meeting last month, in front of the people who benefit most from her representation. Holland gave Dupree a flower arrangement on behalf of the Board. Thane asked the number of miles she travelled on school business over last 15 years; Dupree did not calculate but said one of the reporters did. Thane: over the time he has been engaged with the Board, she has had at heart the best interest of Seeley students and students of the district at large. Big shoes to fill; appreciate the dedication; the veteran of our school board. We wish you the best as you transition off the Board. Thank you for your service. 8.R eports/Announcements - Information A. Student Trustee Reports - Student Trustees from the individual high schools will report on activities at their schools. Student Trustee Reports occurred during the previous item, Recognition of Student Trustees. Holland added she hopes Brandon will be back too. Willard: Student Trustee Brandon Anderson noted that he attended the meeting in Seeley, so has little to report. Willard is still working with CTA on the new building; the general contractor has just been hired but not made public yet. Construction is set to begin in August. New Willard Wire is coming out before school gets out. There will be a graduation celebration at Willard on June 1 for this trimester’s graduates, and one at the UM Music Recital Hall on the evening of June 1 for the entire year’s graduates. Hellgate: Student Trustee Gabby Flores thanked every person on this Board who gives their countless hours and efforts to the MCPS community. Your service honors our Missoula community; she has been privileged to be part of this board. End of April: juniors took ACT on April 19; sophomore class attended a mock crash. Student Trustee Annika Charlson reported on sports: tennis is having great season so far both boys and girls; divisionals this weekend, state in 2 weeks in Kalispell. Track and field is doing very well; there is a meet this Thursday; students are volunteering as coaches for youth track too. Softball is having a rough season, but a huge win on senior night last week. Girls’ lacrosse is doing well so far; huge win over undefeated Bozeman last week. To Jackson Hole this weekend for last tournament before state. Boys’ lacrosse is doing well as usual, senior night over Big Sky last week. 12 senior boys and 6 senior girls; all seniors will be missed; the last state tournament is on Memorial Day weekend in Great Falls. Gabby reported on the arts: Drama 2 had a ten-minute play festival last Tues. and Wed.; last Friday was the renaming of the auditorium to Rothwell Theatre. Senior art showcase was at the same time. Current events: 36th annual Pops

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Concert tomorrow in upper gym. Drama 3 ten-minute plays, student-written and directed, will be June 11 at 7:30 in the auditorium; free admission; they have been working diligently since spring break. Choir has final concert on May 22nd at 7:30; Concert and Symphonic Band concert on May 24th at 7:30. On May 25th is the annual band banquet: seniors will be recognized, followed by final concert by Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band at 8 pm. June 1 is senior class final day: breakfast, talent show, final checkout. Graduation is at 9 am on June 3 in the Adams Center. For the rest of the students, finals will be June 6-8. Last day of school is June 9. Big Sky: Student Trustee Brianna Canning reported on the arts: 42 individuals from Big Sky qualified for State Music Festival. The production of All Shook Up, the musical, was very successful. This Thurs. and Fri. is annual dance concert. Academic news: seniors will present senior projects on May 25, a large undertaking. Health Science Academy seniors will present projects to professors and grad students on May 15. Senior banquet for HSA is the same night, on top floor of First Interstate Bank. Seniors will be recognized for completion of either human body track and vet science track; a few students completed both. Freshmen Annual Amazing Race was last Fri., sophomores this Fri.: multiple stations where students use the info taught in classes to solve problems and answer questions to move on to next station, to win the race and travelling gnome trophy. The 5th annual Academy Awards are on Wed., May 31. Big Sky Envirothon team took 4th overall and 1st in problem solving presentation at competition in Lewistown last month. Student Trustee Adam Zimmer: Big Sky DECA competed at nationals in Anaheim the last week of April. He listed students who received top awards. The first year of IB testing is in full swing; students are stressed out. Senior Kelsi McEnaney is nominated for $2,000 scholarship for Student Athlete of the Year. On May 17 in the Big Sky library athletes who are continuing in college will be signing letters of intent. Lacrosse team is hosting 2nd annual memorial game for Abe Lowder this Saturday. Sophomore Brady Tabish in Tennis received Prep Athlete of the Week for April 23rd. Softball playing Hellgate tonight; beat Sentinel for senior night. Track athlete Josh Malone in running for Prep Athlete of the Week. Sentinel: Student Trustee Dylan Haggart gave the report. Sentinel tennis competes in divisionals this week, state next week. Many students are involved in coaching Missoula youth track. Special Olympics will be in Missoula for third year, at Washington Grizzly Stadium; events include track and field, swimming, power lifting and bocce ball. He listed Sentinel students who will be participating in Girls’ State and Boys’ State. He listed the Elks Students of the Month and Student Government Students of the Month. Ira Williams earned 2nd place in Letters about Literature contest, statewide competition, and was awarded $100 from Montana Committee for the Humanities. He listed Sentinel students who won $200 scholarships to the college of their choice from Montana Council of Teachers of Math competition at UM and the top male and female students at the event. April 27-30 was the Spartainaires biannual trip to Seattle. He listed names of the 2017 Academic Champions; the team knocked out Billings Skyview 2-time defending champions. 3 of the 4 members are seniors who committed all 4 years to this program. Dylan listed a large number of DECA members who were awarded Top 30% Award of Excellence at the conference in Anaheim. More students were recognized as event finalists. Bye Bye Birdie will perform next week: Thurs., Fri. and Sat. Last week and this week students are busy with AP testing. Saturday, May 13, will be the Sentinel prom at the Wilma Theater. His time serving as student trustee is ending: it has been an honor, and he has learned a great deal; he thanks you all. Dylan recognized Marina Gray as the 2017-18 Sentinel Student Trustee.

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Seeley: Julie Robitaille telephoned Student Trustee Ibby Lorentz. Ibby: Sports at Seeley-Swan: golf team has state next week; they are hoping last year’s champion brings home gold again. Track goes to district next week, then divisionals, then state. Student Council had Earth Week Challenges to encourage students to use resources more efficiently; they raffled gift certificates. Leo Club is up and going. Field trip with wildlife biology class, raptors, in partnership with the institution supporting them since 2002. They saw dozens of raptors but did not catch any; there were so many ground squirrels the raptors were more interested in. Tomorrow is Discovery Day; the whole school participates. There will be 8 stations, from poetry to geology to flyfishing. Each student will go to one station in the morning and one in the afternoon. Holland told Ibby that Debbie is bringing to Dr. Pecora a certificate and a gift for her for being such a great trustee; pass our thanks to Keaton as well. Holland told student trustees they are free to go when they need to, and she thanked them for all their service. B. High School Activities Report Winter 2016-17 – The high school activities report for winter 2017 was included in the packet. There was no oral report. page 26 C. Announcements from Superintendent –Mark Thane, Superintendent. At this time on the agenda, it is appropriate for the superintendent to announce items of interest. A list of upcoming important events for the District and Trustees is included in the packet. page 27 Thane highlighted upcoming events. Special Board meeting Thurs., May 11, to reorganize the Board and seat new trustee. Tues., May 23 is next Regular Board meeting. Four-day break for Memorial Day weekend: no school Friday or Monday. Thurs., June 1 we will recognize retirees from MCPS: 3 p.m. recognition at Sentinel cafeteria; trustees are invited. Willard will celebrate graduation of all students who completed the program at Willard this year on Thurs., June 1 at 7 pm in the UM Music Recital Hall. Graduations: Sat., June 3 at the Adams Center: Hellgate at 9 am, Sentinel at 12 pm, Big Sky at 3 pm. Adult Ed program graduation Sat., June 3, at 5:30 pm at the Adams Center following the high school ceremonies. Sunday, June 4 Seeley-Swan HS graduation will be at Seeley Swan HS in the CB & Helen Rich Activity Center. Thurs., June 8, middle school promotions: Meadow Hill at 5:30 p.m. in Sentinel HS gymnasium; CS Porter at 6 p.m. at Big Sky HS cafetorium; Washington at 7:30 p.m. at Sentinel HS gymnasium. Last day of school Fri., June 9: half day of instruction and half day for teachers to wrap up. Southgate Mall Art Show featuring elementary school art is on display for month of May; a lot of work on the part of staff and students. Next Wed. at 7 pm is the Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies. Thane encouraged all to support Special Olympians. D. Announcements from Trustees – At this time on the agenda, it is appropriate for Trustees to announce items of interest to them. • Dupree thanked everyone here for everything. It has been an honor to serve her community. She said she thinks she will actually miss you guys. • Holland said trustees will miss her too. 9. Old Business – Information or Action A. Personnel, Negotiations and Policy i. School Day Study Committee (Action)(Sec) - Mark Thane, Superintendent page 31

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Background Information: The School Day Study Committee held five two-hour facilitated sessions from November 2016 through February 2017. The objectives of the group were to explore the effects of school starting times on high school students and create a report for the superintendent and the school board with recommendations for future action regarding the Missoula County Public Schools high school start time. The White Paper summarizing the process was presented to Trustees at the April 11, 2017 regular meeting and posted on the MCPS website for public comment. Trustees will discuss the option to request that administration proceeds with studying the transition to change high school start times. Public comment received is included in the packet. Administrative Recommendation: Administration recommends that Trustees consider action to direct administration to proceed with the investigation into the logistics to implement later start times for high school students. Holland explained that this was an information only item at an earlier Board meeting; it is now coming before Trustees to consider action. She read the recommendation. Thane: at April 11 Board meeting we distributed the White Paper drafted by the School Day Study Committee. 24 stakeholders gathered over a period of months and studied issues with regard to high school start times and school day in general. The committee included parents, students, and both certified and classified staff, bringing together all the various interests who might have important insight into the conversations to be had. Most incredible to him was that when we got to the final evening and had gone through the rewrites of the White Paper, there was unanimous consensus among a very diverse group to present to the Board of Trustees and to encourage you to direct the administration to research the potential for a later start time. Brief presentations tonight from committee members Janice Bishop, retired MCPS teacher, who was president of MEA for a period of time and taught most recently at Big Sky HS; Jennifer Courtney, assistant principal at Big Sky HS; and Gary Stein, social studies teacher at Sentinel. Janice Bishop: as you read in the White Paper and Missoulian editorial today and heard from Superintendent Thane, it was an interesting process. There were a lot of us. She confesses that when she sat down she thought they would never agree on anything. Three trustees were on the committee. She felt her responsibility as a grandparent heavily on this committee. With all the disparate backgrounds people brought, it was amazing how beautifully the facilitator Ginny Tribe was able to get us focused. Janice felt every meeting was productive. We began with research, done on our own time and brought to the group. One week we had to seek out negative research—we looked and looked and looked. What was important was that we began with guiding principles we adopted early on in the committee process, listed under Roman numeral two in the White Paper. The first two are student-centered. The 3rd is that our conclusions will be based on data and research. It turns out that our conclusions are definitely based on the research that committee members uncovered. Jennie Dixon, mentioned in the editorial, started the local chapter of Start School Later. She was an exceptional resource; she brought to us all kinds of interesting research that has already been done. Jennifer will talk about some of the research. We recognize in the last bullet of guiding principles that this is a topic that has been discussed before in MCPS. When you start with the challenges a change like this presents, you don’t get very far—they are huge. We recognized they exist. That is another

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committee’s challenge. We decided our challenge was to decide whether this is what is best for our kids. Jennifer Courtney introduced herself: she is one of the assistant principals at Big Sky HS. She found it exciting looking at the research, to make connections and the reasons why the kids are coming in exhausted and drinking caffeine. Research tells us that kids need at least 9 hours of sleep and they are not getting it, and also that starting school later does not mean kids will stay up later. We gathered research from the American Medical Association, Centers for Disease Control, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, among others. There is probably research out there that will indicate the opposite; we were willing to be open to that. Starting school later will help with decreased obesity rates and caffeine consumption, decreased risk for anxiety and depression, decreased vulnerability to stress. The opportunity to sleep a little longer improves academics, increasing cognitive function, attention and memory. We were excited at the opportunity. Gary Stein presented the committee’s conclusions. You can read our recommendations; the White Paper is available. He thanked everyone involved in the process, a good example of district’s commitment to collaboration and transparency. Really interesting experience. One of the reasons for the success of the group is the focus on one specific thing. We understood there would be obstacles, but that is for another committee and for the Board. We are providing you with more information to help in decision-making. We had a great time; focused; Ginny did an amazing job. He read the recommendation from the working group: a later start time for the urban high schools, consistent with American Academy of Pediatrics statement that the school day start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. It is not a panacea—the real focus ended up being health, both mental and physical of students. This is a gesture and measure that will show our commitment to students, parents, and the community. First paragraph of recommendations: healthy school start times for adolescents . Next line: opportunities for students to experience a higher quality of life and physical and mental wellbeing. Our focus was not management of time, but the mental, physical, and maybe emotional health of our students. Thanks for your consideration, for the process. Board Questions: Lorenzen: whenever you create an artificial schedule, there are people who try to take advantage: e.g. early gym times that are “optional” and zero period. Besides the 7:50 start time, a significant number of kids are pressured to be there earlier. Did you consider eliminating any practice that puts anyone there early? Courtney: we had a student representative on the committee, Marshall from Sentinel. He said regardless of the policy, he would continue to take advantage of those opportunities; he would want to come to school earlier and take advantage of a zero period. There could be kids who start earlier and finish earlier to be able to go to work or take care of siblings. We did look at it from lots of different angles. Gary: we are not going to deny other programs and options that are already taking place. Zero period can still exist, and still start later. All schedule-making is artificial, trying to manipulate. The focus is emotional health and physical health. People always game systems. We can’t control behavior, just encourage them to do something that is good for them. Thane: a conversation about the expanding school day to provide more flexibility for students, starting later and starting earlier. We are not at a place where we can be as nimble as we would like. But those students who board

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buses well before 7 a.m. in order to get to school on time—that is part of the challenge. Also conventional wisdom might say to us why don’t we just tell kids to go to bed earlier? Part of the science is that adolescents experience a change in circadian rhythms and many simply cannot go to sleep earlier. It seems like a 40 or 45 minute change may not be significant, but in addressing chronic sleep deprivation it has potential to make a real difference. Decker: where were people in their thinking when the committee first met? She hopes a variety of opinion was represented. You spoke about how you looked and looked for the other side—she asked a committee member to speak to the research or data on the other side. Janice: we started the first meeting with everyone writing their name and what they bring to this process. Karen had collaboration; Janice had experience. A few meetings later, Ginny said look at your paper, how are you with what you said you bring to the process? She thought she was experienced, but by then there was so much information; there is always more we have to learn. Regarding the research: if you google ‘late school start,’ you are bombarded with info from a variety of sources. She was looking at the research from a teacher’s standpoint as a longtime advocate for teachers in the classroom. Looking for the hiccups, problems we might encounter. One of the biggest problems was not being asked. Thane did a yeoman’s job of going to every high school, meeting with teachers, addressing concerns, gauging where they were at the early stage of the process. Generally they were ones (“love this”), maybe a couple of twos; she only saw one 5. With that number of people, she was impressed with how they came together. Guiding principles: health—emotional and physical—of students as what you have to come back to; with that thought, it was easy to get on the same page. Thane: when we put the committee together, he sat with Julie, Karen, and Elise, and they listed all the groups that would be interested; they specifically looked for those who might not support it. One person wrote “skeptic” as a descriptor. Many school districts experience what we have previously done: the topic is broached, they immediately identify the hurdles, and they don’t study the issues. We were going to look at the question “is there a compelling reason for us to consider a later start time?” and look at the research of what is best for students. The Board could take direction, and tell us, 1-thanks for the work, stay with the status quo. Or 2- identify the hurdles and problem-solve. Our recommendation would be that we do some exploration and come back to trustees with research identifying the hurdles and how to support it. We are looking at potential for 2018 implementation, because we need student and parent engagement in the process. Transportation is something to solve. Mostly you find districts that run up against the hurdle and abandon the effort. The committee identifies that it is in the best interests of the students; if the Board concurs, we would like to examine the hurdles and see if we can clear them. Dupree: Seeley is not an urban high school, but with a 4-day school week, there are only 24 hours in a day, so what is the research on something like that? Our kids get up even earlier than urban kids to get on a bus. What is the research on it? Courtney: we talked about not necessarily having a one-size-fits-all approach. We have 3 urban high schools with very different schedules. We asked ourselves if we wanted to make a specific recommendation, or do we recommend we look at it and then try to find how each school could do it? Dupree noted that her school loves their four day school week and would probably revolt if you took it away.

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Stein doesn’t think that we looked specifically at that. There does not appear to be any research—and if there was, it would be against itself. You made a 4- day week for specific reasons. No one ever thought this will really impact Seeley and we will take away the 4-day week. Thane: we have a history of allowing Seeley and Willard to craft their own schedule. We invited Seeley to participate in the committee; they are still piloting their 4-day week, and they said that they would let us research and look at it later. Motion: Holland: action item. She read the recommendation that trustees consider taking action to direct the administration to proceed with the investigation into the logistics to implement a later start time for high school students. A little less precise than some motions, for the reasons Superintendent Thane identified. We would like to leave some flexibility to them for the recommendation they would bring back. Kendall said she would make a motion as Holland and Superintendent Thane described it and as described in the agenda where we direct the administration to work toward implementing that in the fall of 2018. Seconded by Wake. Board discussion: Kendall thanked Superintendent Thane for convening this group. Really a wonderful effort; we all learned a lot. She would not say she was a skeptic going in. She loves the idea of starting school later for teenagers. They discovered in the first several meetings that the evidence is just overwhelming: starting later is better for their bodies, minds, souls and hearts. If it were a drug trial, we would have stopped and gone with it. She works in the public health department in suicide prevention primarily. It is really important from a public health perspective and child health perspective that we at least do our best to try to do this. She appreciates Thane’s willingness to take it on; it will not be easy. We are at such a good time in our district: things are humming along, beautiful new buildings, a lot of confidence. We are at a really good time right now to start thinking about it and getting ready to do in a year or two. Smith enjoyed being part of the committee. Overwhelming evidence for reasons to do it; the hurdles include athletics and buses. He appreciates that Thane has noted that is going to be the thing. Also glad Thane said we have a target date for 2018 implementation. That was his one concern with the motion— he wants to emphasize that we work toward that date, and if anything is happening to affect it that you bring it to the Board’s attention. One way he looked at this: a lot of people in the community have asked him about it; Gary and Janice and Jennifer have done great job presenting; one way he looked at it – if we were starting from scratch we would not pick the start time we have. We would look at the research and try to pick the right time, and it would be later. There is no perfect time. But it is our job to make it easier for people to make the right choices. Decker: Reiterated how important it is to use a process that looks at data and research in making decisions. How big and complicated the district is. A focus on not having a one-size-fits-all approach will be important. Focus on avoiding foregone conclusions—even 8:30—not earlier than 8:30. Be open and broad, willing to consider lots of solutions. It is difficult for big districts to tackle—not that nimble. But she is so impressed with willingness to engage in process like this to make change. Newbold also participated in the committee. She echoed appreciation for the process. Very thoughtfully set up as a 2-step process so we could examine the most important question first—is there a compelling reason to look at this as an

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option for the district—and second, if so, how do we go about doing that. Obstacles in the past have seemed insurmountable. We looked at it from the perspective of if they are surmountable, is it something we should do. She did not have strong feelings starting out, but was interested in the process by which we looked at research on our own that showed this was not positive. She looked and looked and looked long and hard. She found one piece of information against it, reviewed it thoroughly, and did not find it persuasive—among mountains and mountains of research that said the opposite. She fully supports the motion. Lorenzen, question to administration: there is a cost to everything; there was a cost to this process, dollars and staff time. What was the cost, and is the second half about the same? Thane: we did have Ginny Tribe serve as facilitator. She is masterful. We knew there would be divergent opinions represented. We wanted someone who came in as a neutral party to make sure we were true to process, best possible outcome. Around $2000 total contract consulting fee. Moving forward, he expects there will be mostly administrative work in the background. He anticipates one potential cost: the district purchased the software TransFinder, which helps us develop school bus routes. We have a 3-tier transportation system—that is an obstacle we need to study. We may need to consider bringing someone from TransFinder on board for a couple days of consulting to run permutations so we can make the best and most-informed decision. We need to look at what are the possible alternatives—can we identify alternatives that are less impactful and possibly less expensive. We will bring that information back to you to help make decisions. Public comment: Matt Rich, MCPS alum; he has a degree in psychology, and he worked for 2 years in youth homes in team therapeutic youth home. Many of the kids he worked with struggled with sleep schedule; they were wired at night and struggled to wake up. They struggled in school and in their program. Overwhelming amount of research shows that the brains of teens work differently, circadian rhythms. Lack of sleep affects our day; when you are deprived on sleep, you are effectively drunk. Education has much less meaning. A child unprepared to learn is a child unable to learn. He voiced strong support from the public for a later start time. We owe it to our kids to follow the recommendations of researchers and pediatricians, for their health and for their education. Jennie Dixon, chapter leader of Start School Later Missoula, a national organization representing districts around the country that are trying to make this change. Info about what she has been trying to do in the background to support the committee, Thane, and the Board, to work collaboratively and ensure success. Around the time of release of the White Paper, she started a petition online. She tried to reach out; she met with the Missoula underage substance abuse program, they sent out a flier to parents about the importance of sleep and making good decisions. Trying to reach out to people in the community: social media, Facebook page, Start School Later Missoula; she announced this meeting, the White Paper, opportunities for comment. A lot of comments on Facebook are that this will never work. She tries to come back with scientific info. That post reached 4575 people, primarily Missoula. She sent a copy of the petition signed online by 170 people. There are 55 comments in support of changing the school start time for primarily the urban area high schools. People on the Facebook page and webpage say maybe we should be doing this for college too. There are studies that show that between the ages of 11 and 19 that

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the circadian rhythm disturbance is a sleep phase delay of 12-18 minutes per year. The sleep phase for an adolescent means that asking them to get up at 6 a.m. is like asking an adult to get up at 4 a.m. Your future is dependent on how well you do in calculus class; it’s important to the kids. The post has 23 shares, multiple comments. She has a copy of the petition, it is still out there, a tiny url, or go to change.org, look for petition Start School Later Missoula. Also Start School Later is here to stand behind you as you make this decision. We ask you to stand behind science and our kids. Julie Merritt: thanks to all the people who served on the committee and to the administration for bringing an important piece of decision-making forward. A lot of people are taking potshots at anyone who says this is a good idea. She is really encouraged to hear talk about options, flexibility and choices. As we move forward and look at hurdles, she hopes we think about options and choices, not the cookie cutter. We are a diverse community; a lot of people bring good ideas to the table. She appreciates the motion and the really good discussion tonight. Board Direction: Trustees present voted unanimously to direct the administration to proceed with investigation into the logisticsof a later start time. (Voting in favor: Holland, Bragstad, Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Wake, Beers. Absent: McDonald; and Dupree, who had left the room temporarily.) Holland: Thanks to all who participated in the committee, to Superintendent Thane, and Ginny Tribe, and Korbin who is in finals week for being here as long as he could. Thane expressed appreciation to the 24 committee members who met from Nov. to Feb., for their willingness to tackle a very important conversation. Trustee Bragstad left the meeting. 10. New Business – Information or Action A. Finance, Operations and Maintenance i. Smart Schools 2020 (Information) - Mark Thane, Superintendent Background Information: Burley McWilliams, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor will be present to provide Smart Schools 2020 bond projects updates. Thane noted that in April the Board had the opportunity in Seeley to see additions: the stage was remarkable to see. They had the opportunity last week for trustees and members of the media to tour Franklin and Lowell. Both designed by L’Heureux Page Werner, with work by Dick Anderson and Jackson Construction. Two of our community’s most deserving schools; to see these as first two major projects coming online is exciting. There were no Board questions and no public comment. This item was information only. Trustee Dupree left the meeting; everyone wished her goodbye. ii. Approve Engagement of T.E.S.T. for Paging and Bells (Elem)(Action) – Burley McWilliams, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor Background: Trustees approved a call for RFP for Paging and Bell systems at the September 13, 2016 regular meeting. The District issued a RFP for Paging and Bells for Chief Charlo, Jefferson, Paxson and Rattlesnake with a due date of October 5, 2016. The District received one response to the RFP. A district committee reviewed the proposal and decided to issue a new RFP on April 2, 2017 for Chief Charlo, Franklin, Jefferson, Lowell, Paxson and Rattlesnake. The District received five responses. A district committee reviewed and scored the submittals. Two firms were invited to interview with the selection committee. Based upon the scoring by the committee, administration recommends the

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selection of T.E.S.T. with the bid amount of $258,378.80. This work will phase in with scheduled Bond projects. These services will be funded with the 2016 bond issue. Recommendation: Administration recommends that the Trustees authorized the engagement of T.E.S.T. for services associated with design and installation of paging and bell systems, subject to successful negotiations of a contract. Holland: elementary only. The RFP got only one responder. We had 5 responses this time. Holland read the recommendation and asked Burley if there is anything new. Burley: we had only one respondent in October; we brought them back to the table, tried to negotiate a price but could not come to terms. We put it back out for RFP; much cheaper than what we had before. A big win for the district. Board Questions: Smith, clarification: the one firm that bid in October was not T.E.S.T.? Burley: Correct. Newbold asked about the timeline for these schools to come online with the system. Burley: RFP called for Lowell, Franklin, and Rattlesnake to be done before school starts, believe end of July. T.E.S.T. potentially getting them all six done before school starts. Another part of the scoring mechanism. Motion: Holland asked for a motion by an elementary trustee to authorize the engagement of T.E.S.T. for services associated with design and installation of paging and bell systems, subject to successful negotiations of a contract. Motion by Smith, seconded by Lorenzen. Board discussion: Holland: sounds like we saved some money. There was no public comment. Board direction: Elementary trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. (Voting in favor: Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Beers. Absent: McDonald.) iii. Approve Engagement of GC/GM Selection for Willard Alternative High School (Sec)(Action) – Burley McWilliams, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor Background Information: The District issued a Request for Qualifications for General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) services associated with the construction and demolition of Willard Alternative High School. The District received six submittals in response to the RFQ. A district committee reviewed and scored the submittals. Five firms were invited to submit a response to a Request for Proposal, and three firms were invited to interview with the Willard selection committee. Based upon the scoring by the committee, administration recommends the selection of Sletten Construction as the GC/CM for Willard Alternative School. Funding for the GC/CM will be paid with the 2016 bond issue. Recommendation: Administration recommends that Trustees authorize the engagement Sletten Construction to act as GC/CM for the Willard Alternative School construction and demolition project. Holland read the recommendation. We have had these on a regular basis, a complex procedure for architectural firms and GC/CM. She asked Burley if there is anything unusual. Burley: no, exactly the same. Committee included Thane, McHugh, Robitaille, Ritchlin. Burley thanked them, and thanked the Sletten Construction representative who is here for coming. Looking forward to working with them. There were no Board questions and no public comment. Motion: Holland asked for a motion to authorize the engagement of Sletten Construction to act as GC/CM for the Willard Alternative School construction and

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demolition project. Motion by Wake, seconded by Lorenzen. There was no Board discussion and no public comment. Holland thanked the Sletten Construction representative for being here. Board Direction: Trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. (Voting in favor: Holland, Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Wake, Beers. Absent: McDonald, Bragstad, Dupree.) iv. Approve Engagement of GC/GM Selection for Russell Elementary School (Elem)(Action) – Burley McWilliams, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor Background Information: The District issued a Request for Qualifications for General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) services associated with the construction and renovation of Russell Elementary School. The District received seven submittals in response to the RFQ. A district committee reviewed and scored the submittals. Six firms were invited to submit a response to a Request for Proposal, and three firms were invited to interview with the Russell selection committee. Based upon the scoring by the committee, administration recommends the selection of Dick Anderson Construction as the GC/CM for Russell Elementary School. Funding for the GC/CM will be paid with the 2016 bond issue. Recommendation: Administration recommends that Trustees authorize the engagement Dick Anderson Construction to act as GC/CM for the Russell Elementary School construction and renovation project. Holland: elementary only. She read the recommendation. Burley thanked committee: Lorenzen, Thane, McHugh and Cindy Christensen. He recognized Steve Miller from Dick Anderson Construction for being here. There were no Board questions. Motion: Holland asked for a motion by an elementary trustee. Motion by Smith, seconded by Lorenzen. There was no Board discussion and no public comment. Board Direction: Elementary trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. (Voting in favor: Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Beers. Absent: McDonald.) v. Authorize Bid for Jefferson School Boiler and Heating System Replacement (Elem)(Action) – Burley McWilliams, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor Background Information: On May 5, 2017 the District began soliciting bids for the Jefferson boiler and heating systems replacement in order for the District to meet installation timelines. The District will have a public bid opening on May 18, 2017. Administration will provide results to the Board with a contractor recommendation at the scheduled board meeting on May 23, 2017. Recommendation: Administration recommends that Trustees retroactively authorize the bid for the Jefferson School boiler and heating system replacement. Holland read the recommendation. She asked Burley to explain. Burley: this was designed GM Engineering; we wanted to get it out as early as we possibly could, get it up and running before this winter came. Retroactively: it is currently out for bid; it closes the 18th. We anticipate it will be on the next Board agenda for approval. Holland, clarification: if she understands, because of time constraints, you put it out to bid. If the Board did not retroactively approve, you would pull the bid. Burley: Correct. Holland read the recommendation. Eventually we will see the responses to the bid. There were no Board questions.

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Motion: Holland asked for a motion by an elementary trustee to retroactively authorize the bid for the Jefferson School boiler and heating system replacement. Motion by Lorenzen, seconded by Kendall. Board discussion: Decker: is there anything legal involved in a retroactive putting out of a bid? No. There was no further Board discussion and no public comment. Board Direction: Elementary trustees present voted unanimously to retroactively authorize the bid for the Jefferson School boiler and heating system replacement. (Voting in favor: Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Beers. Absent: McDonald.) vi. Approve Elementary Transportation Fund Budget Amendment Proclamation 2017-12(E) (Elem)(Action) – Pat McHugh, Executive Director of Business and Operations, and Burley McWilliams, Supervisor of Operations and Maintenance page 35 Background: Expenditures for elementary transportation may exceed the budget by the end of the year due to an increase in the number of routes and leveling. It is anticipated that a budget amendment of $160,000.00 is needed to ensure adequate budget authority. Trustees set this budget in August 2016. The additional budget authority would be funded with Transportation Fund Reserves. The state allows a 20% reserve balance for the Transportation Fund. If additional budget authority is not needed for the expenditures, funds will remain in the reserve. Recommendation: Administration recommends that Trustees approve budget amendment proclamation 2017-12(E) in the amount of $160,000.00 for the elementary transportation fund. Holland noted that the Board sees this on a regular basis. She read the recommendation. Pat: this is something we see this time of year for various adopted budget funds. Next meeting he anticipates we will talk about the retirement fund. When we adopt budgets, based on estimates of in this case cost of routes and number of routes, we estimate that at the end of the year it will be very tight. In order to stay within budget, we recommend increasing the elementary budget by $160,000, pulled directly out of transportation fund reserves. We have more than enough to cover it; it is a stop-gap and safety net for us. Board Questions: Lorenzen: so we are going to draw from transportation fund reserves—how do we ever replenish them? And will we add $160,000 into the budget for next year? Pat: in Aug. we will make a recommendation for the amount of budget to be adopted, adjusting for levies, any funds to be appropriated, and if necessary recommending any buildup in reserves at that point in time. We will talk about in Aug. when we adopt the budget. What was part 2? Lorenzen: will we include it for next year? Pat: presuming those routes are part of next year, they would be included in the budget. Decker: is it possible that the transportation budget will be less next year because we will no longer be transporting Lowell and Franklin kids? Pat: very possible. Transportation fund budget was put in place with those building locations in mind. Motion: Holland asked for a motion from an elementary trustee to approve budget amendment proclamation 2017-12(E) in the amount of $160,000.00 for the elementary transportation fund. Motion by Smith, seconded by Kendall. There was no Board discussion.

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Public Comment: Thane: one of the uncertainties we face in a given year is how many special needs kids need specialized transportation, or how many qualify for transportation under McKinney-Vento. He explained that we will account for the routes serving Lowell and Franklin, but will weigh that against students needing specialized transportation. Board Direction: Elementary trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. (Voting in favor: Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Beers. Absent: McDonald.) vii. Approve High School Transportation Fund Budget Amendment Proclamation 2017-12(S) (Sec)(Action) – Pat McHugh, Executive Director of Business and Operations, and Burley McWilliams, Supervisor of Operations and Maintenance page 36 Background: Expenditures for high school transportation may exceed the budget by the end of the year due to special needs transportation and increased ridership. It is anticipated that a budget amendment of $30,000.00 is needed to ensure adequate budget authority. Trustees set this budget in August 2016. The additional budget authority would be funded with Transportation Fund Reserves. The state allows a 20% reserve balance for the Transportation Fund. If additional budget authority is not needed for the expenditures, funds will remain in the reserve. Recommendation: Administration recommends that Trustees approve budget amendment proclamation 2017-12(S) in the amount of $30,000.00 for the high school transportation fund. Holland: parallel request for high school transportation fund. She asked Pat if anything is of significance. Pat: point out that the proclamation will be published in county superintendent’s office and board of commissioners, and the resolution with your final authorization we will look at in June. There were no Board questions. Motion: Holland asked for a motion to approve budget amendment proclamation 2017-12(S) in the amount of $30,000.00 for the high school transportation fund. Motion by Wake, seconded by Smith. There was no Board discussion and no public comment. Board Direction: Trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. (Voting in favor: Holland, Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Wake, Beers. Absent: McDonald, Bragstad, Dupree.) viii. Approve Resolution 2017-10(S) Authorizing Execution of Quit Claim Deeds from the United States Army Corp of Engineers to Missoula County Public Schools (Sec)(Action) – Pat McHugh, Executive Director of Business and Operations page 37 Background: On January 17, 1966, two road easements were reserved by the Army over property currently owned by MCPS. One easement is for a road over Tract 502E-3, containing approximately 2.05 acres, and the other easement is for a road over Tract 502E-4, containing approximately .56 acres. The subject property is located near Fort Missoula, and is used by the District’s Vo-Ag Program. The Department of Army Engineers has agreed to vacate their easement in exchange for the acknowledgement of the terms of their conveyance via Quit Claim Deeds. A copy of both Quit Claim Deeds with maps depicting location of the easements are attached to Resolution 2017-10(S). Once the Quit Claim Deeds are recorded, the road through the middle of the tract will be removed by Jackson Contracting Group, Inc. Jackson Contracting

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Group agreed to remove the road in exchange for their use of MCPS property for staging during construction of the Fort Missoula regional park complex. Recommendation: Administration recommends that Trustees adopt the attached Resolution 2017-10(S) authorizing the Director of Business and Operations or his designee to execute the Quit Claim Deeds acknowledging the terms of conveyance from the Army Corp of Engineers. Holland read the recommendation and asked Pat to remind us of details. Pat: this is good news for the district and for the Vo-Ag program which uses this property for their program and educational purposes. The property is located at the Fort; it was conveyed to the district by a quit claim deed following termination of the Army installation in 1964. There are 2 maps, attached in the packet; two easements reserved in 1966 over Guardsman Lane, and one adjacent, south of cemetery. The Army Corps of Engineers is wanting to release the easement from 1966, at no cost to the district, through a quit claim deed. We worked with Megan Morris, our attorney, on a document acknowledging a variety of covenants and restrictions, much of which was removed by identifying purposes of education and Vo-Ag. Historical Preservation office said what Parks and Rec had done was sufficient for their purposes, and withdrew restrictions. A number of maps, provisions included for our acknowledgement purposes. We are comfortable with the provisions. In exchange for Jackson putting equipment on the property while working on the park, they have agreed to remove the pavement on our behalf. That allows Vo-Ag to irrigate and seed it for grazing cows; they also plan an orchard out there. Vo-Ag department is very excited. There were no Board questions. Motion: Holland asked for a motion adopt the attached Resolution 2017-10(S) authorizing the Director of Business and Operations or his designee to execute the Quit Claim Deeds acknowledging the terms of conveyance from the Army Corp of Engineers. Motion by Wake; seconded by Decker. Board discussion: Holland: thank you to Jackson; mutually beneficial. Public comment: Thane noted that this is a 4-minute item on the agenda. But he wanted to acknowledge that Pat has spent months on this, working with Megan, the Army, and the state historic preservation office. Work goes on in the background that is not visible. This is really important to our agriculture program, an opportunity to utilize that land for our students and our program. Pat has a lot invested. Board direction: Trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. (Voting in favor: Holland, Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Wake, Beers. Absent: McDonald, Bragstad, Dupree.) ix. Request for Consideration of Hellgate High School Theater Signage (Sec)(Information) – Mark Thane, Superintendent page 58 Background Information: The Board of Trustees approved Hellgate High School’s request to rename their theater the Bolton and Maribeth Rothwell Theatre at the August 11, 2015 regular board meeting. Hellgate would now like to proceed with the official renaming of the theater. Board Policy 8520 Naming Rights for School District Facilities states “the Board shall approve the naming title, all design considerations such as colors, shapes, and sizes along with the location of any and all signage or fixtures to be displayed in and/or on schools facilities and/or equipment.” Drafts of proposed signs are attached. Holland: information only at this point. A request for consideration of Hellgate HS theater signage. In Aug. 2015 the board approved Hellgate HS request to rename theater the Bolton and Mary Beth Rothwell Theatre. She looked at the

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minutes; the Board agreed to the change in name but did not discuss signage to go with the name change. She looked at Board Policy 8520, which says Board shall approve all design, construction, signage, fixtures, but no recommendation for procedures for coming up with a recommendation. This is something that the Board might be asked to consider, signage in a number of places; it seems like there might be some need to look at BP 8520 and add in some language about adopting procedures, how to use signage appropriately at all the schools. She recalled the information from Dylan about the Sentinel sign. There are a lot of factors we need to be aware of. Thane: Pat brought to us consideration of naming rights in connection with sponsorships. We need to be diligent and exercise foresight regarding procedure and protocol for signage on district facilities. As Holland referenced, the Board did approve in Aug. 2015 the renaming of the Hellgate theater. Board policy requires review of any signage for any named facility in the district. Need to be comprehensive in developing procedure and protocol around signage. We have a number of facilities named as memorials. Signage exists internally at a number of facilities; not externally. We want to look at internal/external, procedure and protocol, sponsorships vs. memorials. Since we are establishing a precedent, we should come up with procedures and protocols to meet needs of committees and those recognized in memorial and contemplate commercial ventures and sponsorships. Members of Hellgate community are here: Lee Brown was engaged in the process from the start, and others who would like to speak. We need to be conscious of the distinctions we make with regard to signage, and be sure to have a consistent protocol and procedure we follow when requests come before the Board. Holland: information only. There were no Board questions. Holland noted at a later point, we would have a review of policy and possibly a recommendation of the nature of specific signage for Hellgate. Public Comment: Lee Brown, retired teacher from Hellgate HS. Good to see so many people here, he misses them already. Last week we had theater dedication; a couple hundred people were there for renaming it. Thank you for approving that, a great evening. This process started Nov. 2013. The faculty talked about naming the theater, and in the discussion the idea of a sign was involved, but not included in the final product. With this design we tried to include the students: it is a student design, and students will build it. Students and faculty are involved; they will make it very much their own. Look at the front entrance into the courtyard: they have a certain type of metal, a King Arthur knight theme. We have tried to use same metals and theme. The sign outside above the door now says Hellgate Auditorium, and it is not Hellgate Auditorium anymore. If you look at the southern face of Hellgate HS, it is plain. We hope this structure will enhance it and direct people to where the theater is. It tries to integrate all the different arts. Peggy Cordell, retired Hellgate HS teacher. She left in June 2014 to teach internationally in South Africa for a couple years. When she returned, she asked the progress of the Rothwell Theatre. She requests that the Board not make any decisions in haste but move forward with procedures that will allow us to put signs in place for the newly named Bolton and Mary Beth Rothwell Theatre. Holland: information only now; it will be back at a later date as an action item, and may require action on policies before that.

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x. General Fund Update–(Information) – Pat McHugh, Executive Director of Business and Operations page 61 Background Information: Summaries of the General Fund expenses for July 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017 are attached hereto. Pat: expenditures year-to-date through March 31, a summary on page 61. Various categories: percentage of the budget and percentage expended. Total salaries and benefits: in elementary we are quite a ways from expending the budget total. Reason is we end the year with triple checks for certified staff. A number of expenditures also roll out the last quarter of the year for retirement termination pay, through both retirement systems. We will close the gap quickly between now and end of the year. Looking good through end of year in both budgets. There were no Board questions and no public comment. This item was information only. xi. Technology Fund Update–(Information) – Hatton Littman, Director of Technology and Communications, Russ Hendrickson, Senior Information Systems Manager page 63 Background Information: The elementary and secondary summaries of the Technology Fund expenses for July 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017 are attached hereto. Hatton said she is excited to be back at the board meeting; Russ has much more effective information on this agenda item tonight. Russ: on pace to where we want to be this time of year. There is roughly $500,000 left in technology fund: $300,000 is device replacements which we are ordering right now, $100,000 to rollover the amount of money we save year to year for schools that are on a low cycle this year and next year will be on a high cycle. Leaves us with roughly $80-100,000 left to pick up last minute things we need or hopefully roll over into the next year. There were no Board questions, and no public comment. This item was information only. xii. Transportation Fund Update–(Information) – Burley McWilliams, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor page 65 Background Information: A summary of the Transportation Fund expenses for July 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017 is attached hereto. Burley: page 65 shows funds spent year-to-date, 65% of elementary and 62% of secondary budgeted funds. April and May and June are not on here; we will cover pretty much all of that. It will be really tight but we will get through it with the approval of the resolutions. There were no Board questions and no public comment. This item was information only. xiii. Building Reserve Fund Update –(Information) – Burley McWilliams, Operations and Maintenance Supervisor page 66 Background Information: The elementary and high school building reserve expenditures for the July 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017 are attached hereto. Burley: happy to answer questions; self-explanatory. There were no Board questions and no public comment. Holland thanked him. This item was information only. B. Personnel, Negotiations and Policy i. Personnel Report (Elem)(Sec)(Action) – Dave Rott, Executive Director of Human Resources The monthly Personnel Report was included in the packet (page 68). Holland: big report, end of year, renewing contracts. It is routine in that we see it every month. She read the administrative recommendation that we approve the

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items on the provided personnel report. She asked if there are general questions; there were none. Motion by Wake to approve the items on the provided Personnel Report, seconded by Smith. Holland asked for general public comment not on particular employees; there was none. Board direction: Trustees present unanimously approved the items on the provided Personnel Report. Holland noted that Bragstad and Dupree had left. (Voting in favor: Holland, Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Wake, Beers. Absent: McDonald, Bragstad, Dupree.) ii. Approve MHSA Cooperative Sponsorship Application (Sec)(Action) – Karen Allen, Executive Regional Director and Jennifer Courtney, Big Sky HS Assistant Principal/AD page 107 Background Information: Big Sky High School requests Board approval for the MHSA Cooperative Sponsorship Application agreement with Frenchtown HS for swimming. This agreement will be for 3 years and provide the student athletes at both schools more opportunity to participate. The MHSA Cooperative Sponsorship Application is included in the packet. Administrative Recommendation: Administration recommends that Trustees approve the MHSA Cooperative Sponsorship Application with Frenchtown HS for swimming. Holland had told Jennifer Courtney she did not have to stay for this item. She asked Karen to remind us that we enter into these type of cooperative relationships to allow for smaller programs to partner with our district programs. Karen said Holland said that very well. There are not that many students in Frenchtown who want to swim, but for the 2 or 3 who would like to, this will provide them that opportunity. Holland noted the fact we have one swim coach for the whole swim program; she asked about the coach being ok with this. Karen said there is some discussion of restructuring around the coaching, but that will happen with or without this. Holland read the recommendation. This means that the student athletes at both Big Sky and Frenchtown would train together, but they would swim for their independent schools. Motion: Holland asked for a motion to approve the MHSA Cooperative Sponsorship Application with Frenchtown HS for swimming. Motion by Wake, seconded by Newbold. There was no Board discussion and no public comment. Board direction: Trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. (Voting in favor: Holland, Smith, Lorenzen, Decker, Kendall, Newbold, Wake, Beers. Absent: McDonald, Bragstad, Dupree.) C. Board of Trustees i. Recognition of Outgoing Trustee Marcia Holland, Board Chair and Mark Thane, Superintendent Holland noted that we already did this so Debbie could leave earlier. (Trustees moved this item up to follow Recognition of Student Trustees, above.) 11. Public Comment – Regarding Non-Agenda Items (3 minutes each speaker) None. Consideration of Appeals Under the Uniform Grievance Procedure Holland announced that the Board has two appeals to hear concerning decisions made under the Uniform Grievance Procedure. She declared as Board Chair that the privacy concerns of individuals involved outweigh the public right to know for these two appeals and the Board will go into Executive Session to hear the appeals, and then come back into

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Public Session to vote on how the Board rules on the appeals. Holland declared a five minute recess at 8:23 p.m. and the Board moved into executive session. 12. Executive Session – Appeals under the Uniform Grievance Procedures 13. Regular Session - Appeals under the Uniform Grievance Procedures The Board reconvened in regular session at 10:47 p.m. Appeal Number One: Motion: Holland asked if there was a motion concerning the first appeal being considered. Smith moved that the Board find that the appellant did not meet his burden of proof that the decision made by the administration was in error. Lorenzen seconded the motion. Board question: T Decker asked to clarify whether the motion should be worded in the negative (deny the appeal) or in the positive (uphold the administration’s decision). Holland indicated that the question before the board was whether the appellant met his burden of proof that the decision of the administration was in error. Smith clarified that his motion was to find that the appellant did not meet his burden of proof that the administration’s decision was in error. Board Direction: Trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. Voting in favor: Wake, Newbold, Kendall, Decker, Lorenzen, Holland, Smith and Beers. Absent McDonald, Bragstad and Dupree. Appeal Number Two: Motion: Holland asked if there was a motion concerning the second appeal being considered where the administration’s determination that the grievance had not been filed in a timely manner was being appealed. Decker moved that the Board find that the appellant did not establish that the grievance was filed in a timely manner and that the administration’s decision be upheld. Lorenzen seconded the motion. Board Direction: Trustees present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. Voting in favor: Wake, Newbold, Kendall, Decker, Lorenzen, Holland, Smith and Beers. Absent McDonald, Bragstad and Dupree. 14. Adjourn At 10:51 p.m. Board Chair Marcia Holland adjourned the meeting and thanked all for being here. 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, Marcia Holland, Board Chair, Pat McHugh, District Clerk

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