There seems to be confusion in how to go about trying to solve concerns some people may have. I want to try and address this here without pointing any fingers at anyone. When your child has some kind of an issue at school that you may need resolved, the first step is to go to the teacher and discuss it with him or her. If it can not be taken care of this way or at least to your satisfaction then you need to go to the building principal. I would hope that in most cases the principal can properly take care of whatever problem your child may have. But if things are still not resolved then contact Mr. Tubbs. He is the administrator over the principals, all the teachers and other staff. It is his job to make sure school policies were properly followed. If you still feel like your issue isn't resolved then you can bring it to the attention of your board member, or I would think any board member you would feel most comfortable discussing the issue with. Your board member will then most likey ask you if you have followed these steps as I just described, and may have further recommendations for you to follow.
It is very important to follow these steps for many reasons. The teacher knows your child better than anyone at the school, so they should know best how to deal with whatever concern you have. I would think the level of knowledge about the student decreases at each level. But this is also why we have policies, so for many issues the school administrators can refer to what is written in our policy manual. We as board members are cautioned not to get too involved with most issues. If there is say a suspension or other punishment given the student has the right to appeal to the board. We should try to stay unbiased so if there is an appeal, we can then hear the facts from all sides, and then as a board issue what I hope would be a fair judgement of the situation. Knowing too much before this would make it more difficult, and perhaps a board member may need to recuse themself by knowing too much.
I know it may be tempting to go right to your board member and expect that board member to solve you problem right away. It is also important to know an individual board member has no authority to take action by themselves. We are a board of five, and there has to be a majority to make any decision. I personally know very few of your children or even very many of the teachers. It is very hard for me to make a fair judgement of the situation. But saying this doesn't mean I think issues should go unresolved. There have been times when a parent talks to a board member about an issue they want delt with, but will indicate they don't want their name used. This is also a very hard situation to deal with. It's not fair to the teacher or administrator to be blamed for a situation that they may have no way of defending themselves over. I have also heard some teachers or aides may be afraid to openly express a concern they may see at the school over fear of being fired. I really don't think this would happen. If ever a teacher or anyone were to feel like their job was in jeopardy over speaking up on anything, as long as their concerns are honest and valid, I would like to know. I could just add from my other board experiences, I have experienced this situation myself and I won't except it at our school.
I would also like to ask for your help. There are some issues with discipline at the school that are very hard for the teachers and administrators to deal with. Please make sure your children of all ages are following the dress code, and for those who have cell phones please talk to them about when to use them. We have new policies addressing both of these issues. I have also heard there is a lack of respect given to some teachers and others. The halls are filled with crude and vulgar language at times. I hope there is a way for this behavior to change.
So to summarize if you have a problem, please follow these steps. Please don't just complain about something without trying to do what you can to solve your issue. It isn't an easy job to be a teacher or administrator, and our budget limitations putting more responsibilities on our administrators make it more difficult also. I hope I didn't offend anyone writing this. I just hope you better understand how to follow proper procedures. Thank you. Brian
Friday, March 29, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
March 21st Cottage Meeting
April and I held a cottage meeting in the high school library Thursday. There were probably about twenty in attendance with some coming late and leaving early.
There was a concern brought up about the area between the high school and seminary building. The students park all over and all different directions. It is a safety hazard with students walking to the seminary building and to get on the buses. Students have come very close to getting hit by speeding cars. We have talked about it as a board and plan on addressing it this summer. We will probably make a bussing lane either in front of the school or to the side with cement barriers. We plan on taking out the trees and putting a barrier across the road coming down I think it's center street, to divert traffic from driving along the east side of the school. The city is going to do major work on this road and we will tie into it somehow.
We talked about the security camera system that was recently updated in the high school. We also talked about the idea of updating and putting in security cameras in both other buildings. I later found out that the cost to do this is estimated to be about $10,000. If we choose to we could pay for this out of our student occupied funds, the same way we funded the bleachers. I think having the added security would be a good idea. The cost of this has come down from what it used to be. Currently wireless Internet is getting installed in the buildings. There is concern with items being stolen from the middle school students.
I mentioned that after looking at the elementary during our walk through that we are going to get a bid to see what the cost would be for weather doorways to be added in the three entrances that don't have them. The wind was blowing that day, blowing in a lot of cold air and the moving back and forth could pinch fingers.
It was suggested that we work on a strategic plan to set priorities. I take the blame for this. Our committee was supposed to go over this but since we haven't had a meeting in a long time we haven't done this yet, but plan too.
There was some discipline concerns brought to us that were talked about at length. I don't feel like its appropriate to discuss it here. There was also some personnel issues brought up that I won't mention either. These type of concerns need to be addressed through proper channels.
There is concerns about how the aides are used in the elementary. When aides are absent they don't have anyone come in and replace them, they just try and move them around the best they can to where they are needed most. When aides are not in the scheduled room to help, it puts a burden on the teachers. I think we need more aides but having more would not be supported by any outside funding. I think this is something we need to talk about during our strategic planning.
There is concern about the dress code and cell phone use. These rules are hard to enforce. It would help if parents would help by making sure their kids are dressed appropriately. Cell phone use in class is a problem that would also help if parents would talk to their kids about using them only at the appropriate time. Some students don't show proper respect for others and their teachers. It's very hard for the school to deal with students that don't show proper respect. These issues need improvement, but parents need to do their part to help.
The school website needs work. The policies are not on the website yet. I think this will be worked on in the near future. Thanks for all who attended. My wife made some good treats you missed by not coming. As a board member I can't solve everyone's problems to their satisfaction, but I will listen and do what I can. I always respond to school emails. Feel free to let me know your concerns. Thanks, Brian
There was a concern brought up about the area between the high school and seminary building. The students park all over and all different directions. It is a safety hazard with students walking to the seminary building and to get on the buses. Students have come very close to getting hit by speeding cars. We have talked about it as a board and plan on addressing it this summer. We will probably make a bussing lane either in front of the school or to the side with cement barriers. We plan on taking out the trees and putting a barrier across the road coming down I think it's center street, to divert traffic from driving along the east side of the school. The city is going to do major work on this road and we will tie into it somehow.
We talked about the security camera system that was recently updated in the high school. We also talked about the idea of updating and putting in security cameras in both other buildings. I later found out that the cost to do this is estimated to be about $10,000. If we choose to we could pay for this out of our student occupied funds, the same way we funded the bleachers. I think having the added security would be a good idea. The cost of this has come down from what it used to be. Currently wireless Internet is getting installed in the buildings. There is concern with items being stolen from the middle school students.
I mentioned that after looking at the elementary during our walk through that we are going to get a bid to see what the cost would be for weather doorways to be added in the three entrances that don't have them. The wind was blowing that day, blowing in a lot of cold air and the moving back and forth could pinch fingers.
It was suggested that we work on a strategic plan to set priorities. I take the blame for this. Our committee was supposed to go over this but since we haven't had a meeting in a long time we haven't done this yet, but plan too.
There was some discipline concerns brought to us that were talked about at length. I don't feel like its appropriate to discuss it here. There was also some personnel issues brought up that I won't mention either. These type of concerns need to be addressed through proper channels.
There is concerns about how the aides are used in the elementary. When aides are absent they don't have anyone come in and replace them, they just try and move them around the best they can to where they are needed most. When aides are not in the scheduled room to help, it puts a burden on the teachers. I think we need more aides but having more would not be supported by any outside funding. I think this is something we need to talk about during our strategic planning.
There is concern about the dress code and cell phone use. These rules are hard to enforce. It would help if parents would help by making sure their kids are dressed appropriately. Cell phone use in class is a problem that would also help if parents would talk to their kids about using them only at the appropriate time. Some students don't show proper respect for others and their teachers. It's very hard for the school to deal with students that don't show proper respect. These issues need improvement, but parents need to do their part to help.
The school website needs work. The policies are not on the website yet. I think this will be worked on in the near future. Thanks for all who attended. My wife made some good treats you missed by not coming. As a board member I can't solve everyone's problems to their satisfaction, but I will listen and do what I can. I always respond to school emails. Feel free to let me know your concerns. Thanks, Brian
March 14th School Board Meeting
I know it's been a long time since I wrote a blog. I don't know if anyone will still want to read my blog. I have been very busy trying to survive in a very challenging business. I hope to get back on track writing this. The last few months meetings have also been mostly about policy updates, not the most exciting information.
This meeting we had more going on. Three of the board seats are up for election. Casey, April, and John. John has decided not to run again. I think Paul Jensen is running for John's seat, and April and Casey are running for re-election. I don't know if anyone else is running. I think John has served for eight years and has done a good job.
This meeting was very well attended mostly because of the visiting government class. The sports teams were acknowledged for their accomplishments. The football team went 11-1 and repeated as state runner-up. Coach Drake was voted the coach of the year. The wrestlers had a great year and finished with one state champion, and four others who placed at state. The wrestlers also have been academic state champions nine times. The girls team went 15-8. In the last nine years the girls basketball team has gone to state five times, coming home with four trophies and has been academic champions four times. The boys basketball team went 17-9. Coach Adams was the coach of the year. They have been district champions eight out of the last nine years. They have won four state championships over that time with a record of 108-8. They also have won two academic and two sportsmanship awards. I hope I got the stats right. All of these groups have done very well. They are a great group of kids, with great very dedicated coaches. I also don't think the kids get the credit they deserve for doing so well academically. During our board walk through a few days ago Jeff Gee said about half the student body is currently participating in sports, besides all the students participating in clubs. I think it's great to live in a small district where so many students have the opportunity to participate and they all do so well.
Mr. Kunz went over the safe busing plan and proposed putting a 1994 bus up for auction. It has something like 140,000 miles, not as many as I would think it would have. He really likes the new bus we bought last summer. It is a different make than the rest of the busses, and is a lot nicer to drive.
April had asked Sid to give us an update about the four day week. He gave us information comparing the ISAT test score from this year compared to the year before we switched. Overall there isn't very much difference. The overall cost savings is estimated to be about 50,000. The student attendance is up a little. Overall I think the four day week has worked out well. I asked the students in attendance how they liked it. A couple comments were they liked the three day weekend and thought it was easier to have the long weekend to do home work. We did talk a little about needing to work on a calendar for next year pretty soon. We might add a few days back to the year. I am very much against going past Memorial Day. It is hard on some students to have such long days. I also don't think it's good to add very many days either, because if we do it reduces our savings.
We also had an update about the soccer program. They had a successful first year. There were fifteen girls who participated. I don't think most of these girls would have participated in any other sport. They had very good support from their boosters, raising funds, and helping to work on the field and goal posts. The program was approved for two years and will be evaluated again after next season.
Sid also talked about the work being done to set up new tee-ball, little league backstops. They are going to put four fields in back to back east of the soccer field. This is a much needed improvement.
There was some discussion about legislative issues, but not a lot known yet. I think we need to consider having a levy a year from now. We have a deficit of $100,000 in our budget this year. Our bond on the middle school ends next year, and I think it would be a good time to have one. We need to start talking about the schools needs, so we can establish a levy amount that will put us back into a positive spending balance.
Thanks to all those who read this. I plan in writing another blog about the cottage meeting. If you have questions or comments let me know. Thanks, Brian
This meeting we had more going on. Three of the board seats are up for election. Casey, April, and John. John has decided not to run again. I think Paul Jensen is running for John's seat, and April and Casey are running for re-election. I don't know if anyone else is running. I think John has served for eight years and has done a good job.
This meeting was very well attended mostly because of the visiting government class. The sports teams were acknowledged for their accomplishments. The football team went 11-1 and repeated as state runner-up. Coach Drake was voted the coach of the year. The wrestlers had a great year and finished with one state champion, and four others who placed at state. The wrestlers also have been academic state champions nine times. The girls team went 15-8. In the last nine years the girls basketball team has gone to state five times, coming home with four trophies and has been academic champions four times. The boys basketball team went 17-9. Coach Adams was the coach of the year. They have been district champions eight out of the last nine years. They have won four state championships over that time with a record of 108-8. They also have won two academic and two sportsmanship awards. I hope I got the stats right. All of these groups have done very well. They are a great group of kids, with great very dedicated coaches. I also don't think the kids get the credit they deserve for doing so well academically. During our board walk through a few days ago Jeff Gee said about half the student body is currently participating in sports, besides all the students participating in clubs. I think it's great to live in a small district where so many students have the opportunity to participate and they all do so well.
Mr. Kunz went over the safe busing plan and proposed putting a 1994 bus up for auction. It has something like 140,000 miles, not as many as I would think it would have. He really likes the new bus we bought last summer. It is a different make than the rest of the busses, and is a lot nicer to drive.
April had asked Sid to give us an update about the four day week. He gave us information comparing the ISAT test score from this year compared to the year before we switched. Overall there isn't very much difference. The overall cost savings is estimated to be about 50,000. The student attendance is up a little. Overall I think the four day week has worked out well. I asked the students in attendance how they liked it. A couple comments were they liked the three day weekend and thought it was easier to have the long weekend to do home work. We did talk a little about needing to work on a calendar for next year pretty soon. We might add a few days back to the year. I am very much against going past Memorial Day. It is hard on some students to have such long days. I also don't think it's good to add very many days either, because if we do it reduces our savings.
We also had an update about the soccer program. They had a successful first year. There were fifteen girls who participated. I don't think most of these girls would have participated in any other sport. They had very good support from their boosters, raising funds, and helping to work on the field and goal posts. The program was approved for two years and will be evaluated again after next season.
Sid also talked about the work being done to set up new tee-ball, little league backstops. They are going to put four fields in back to back east of the soccer field. This is a much needed improvement.
There was some discussion about legislative issues, but not a lot known yet. I think we need to consider having a levy a year from now. We have a deficit of $100,000 in our budget this year. Our bond on the middle school ends next year, and I think it would be a good time to have one. We need to start talking about the schools needs, so we can establish a levy amount that will put us back into a positive spending balance.
Thanks to all those who read this. I plan in writing another blog about the cottage meeting. If you have questions or comments let me know. Thanks, Brian
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