October 2018 Board Meeting Minutes
PCEP BOARD MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 23, 2018
MAPLEWOOD LIBRARY
7:01– 7:57
PRESENT: Robert Jourdan, Kristi Larsen, Laurel Blanco, Brian Johnston, Chris McGinness, Shannon Alyea, Michelle Mathis, Christi Mullet, Lisa Pratt, Vanessa Stedman, Mitchell Below, Candi Richardson, Matt Erickson, Vicki Sargent, Lori Wendt, Erin Zackey, Julie Ballard, Gwen Russell, Danielle Mitchell, Cody Brick, and Erin Shull
ABSENT: Misty Alseth
GUESTS: Jessica Peterson, Bob Rutherford, Dave Metallo, Nick Freyberg, Ben Newton, Hava Skovron, Abdurehim Mustefa, Alex Katopodis, and James Wilcox
CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: Mr. Jourdan
The meeting was called to order by Mr. Jourdan at 7:01 PM. Mr. Jourdan welcomed everyone to the meeting. Mr. Jourdan thanked Ms. Alyea for researching the issue of which body approves the parent meeting minutes. Mr. Jourdan conducted research, and both found it OK to have the minutes approved from the parent meeting by the board, so we will continue this practice. Ms. Stedman presented a proposal to the Executive Committee for a presentation at the Parent Meeting. This presentation was approved and will take place at the parent meeting in November. It is called Be Smart, which is a child safety campaign around keeping children safe around firearms.
SCHOOL HOUSE REPORT: Michelle Mathis
Ms. Mathis thanked everyone for coming. The staff is focused on culturally responsive teaching and how the brain works. Ms. Mitchell and Mr. Brick are leading the work. The staff learned about the amygdala hijack, which is the part of the brain which releases cortisone when under stress/fear and it can temporarily block learning. Ms. Mathis talked about creating safe learning spaces, so brains don’t block learning. Ms. Mathis also talked about socialization and implicit biases and the importance of recognizing our implicit biases. Ms. Mathis referred to a self-assessment, which helps people learn their biases and how to challenge those biases, so that we can learn other perspectives and work with people who are different than us.
Ms. Hendrix is hosting a parent volunteer Q&A forum. Ms. Mathis shares this is a place for parents to ask questions to better engage students. Ms. Hendrix is a long-time primary teacher who has transitioned to helping students be their best selves.
Ms. Mathis reminds us about conference week this week. Maplewood is special, because of the high rates of participation in conferences. Ms. Mathis asked the board to get the word out that conference week is still a dedicated learning and teaching week and a week to talk about our children’s progress. Attendance falls off a bit during conference week.
Ms. Mathis shared that Literary Character Day is upcoming on Friday October 26th. There is a parade at 10:45 and an assembly at 11:10. Students are encouraged to dress as a literary character and bring a book to accompany their costume. This is a kickoff to focus on reading, which culminates with the book fair & dessert social.
Ms. Mathis encourages families to sign up to Securly to have information and conversations about the websites students are visiting on their school chrome books. More information will be made available in the Newsflash.
MEETING MINUTES APPROVAL: Laurel Blanco
Ms. Blanco confirmed the board had received the following board and parent meeting minutes (listed below) and asked if everyone had a chance to review the minutes and if there were any revisions, comments or changes. Mrs. Blanco called for motion to accept the following minutes:
September 2018 Board Meeting Minutes – Ms. Stedman motioned to approve, and Ms. Sargent seconded. The minutes were approved with no opposition or abstentions.
October 2018 Parent Meeting Minutes – Mr. Johnston motioned to approve, and Ms. Richardson seconded. The minutes were approved with abstentions from Mr. Brick and and Ms. Brinck.
February 2018 Board Meeting Minutes submitted by Mr. Allred – Ms. Mullet motioned to approve, and Ms. Larsen seconded. The minutes were approved with abstentions from Mr. Johnston, Ms. Alyea, Ms. Wendt, and Ms. Pratt
March 2018 Parent Meeting Minutes submitted by Mr. Allred – Ms. Stedman motioned to approve, and Ms. Mullet seconded. The minutes were approved with abstentions from Mr. Brick and Ms. Mitchell.
March 2018 Board Meeting Minutes submitted by Mr. Allred – Ms. Wendt motioned to approve, and Ms. Sargent seconded. The minutes were approved with abstentions from Mr. Brick, Ms. Wendt, Ms. Alyea, Mr. Johnston, and Ms. Pratt.
April 2018 Board Meeting Minutes submitted by Mr. Allred – Mr. Brick motions to approve and Mr. Johnston seconded. The minutes were approved with abstentions from Ms. Alyea, Ms. Wendt, and Ms. Pratt.
April 2018 Parent Meeting Minutes submitted by Mr. Allred – Ms. Larsen motioned to approve, and Ms. Mullet seconded. The minutes were approved with abstentions from Mr. Brick and Ms. Mitchell.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Brian Johnston
Mr. Johnston shares that Maplewood Madness came in $23,661 with some money still coming in for the silent auction. Their expense budget was $3,800 and they are only at $1500, so they absolutely rocked it this year. Mr. Johnston asks if there are any questions.
Mr. Johnston passed out the information on the surplus proposals. The surplus committee met last week and went through all the line items and had in-depth discussion on each line item. The guideline for surplus proposals from our PPG’s states, “It is intended the surplus proposals will provide the most benefit to the most students or will directly fund enrichment opportunities for a smaller number of students.” This is the guideline we have used for many years. The surplus committee spent two hours reviewing the proposals.
Most items were approved at the recommended amounts. A few items were approved at a higher amount than requested. Soccer nets were approved with a higher budget than requested, so that we could obtain a better-quality product. This was the same situation with the recess cart to get a better-quality cart.
Two items were not approved: Funding for College Place Elementary for their PE and Recess Equipment. There was a lot of discussion with the Surplus Committee and it would be super to help a neighboring school, ultimately, the guideline from the PPG’s benefitting our students at Maplewood, the precedent set for future requests from other schools or not-for-profits and pledges being used. Also, there was discussion if parents were going to look at this request and say I am providing my pledges for my child at Maplewood and don’t want them given away to a neighboring school. There was also discussion about if there was a middle school or student body team who could pick an organization and donate funds.
Mr. Johnston shares that a resource book on swallowing and feeding education was not approved by the surplus committee. This one we decided not to fund, because it was more for educating faculty versus directly impacting students at Maplewood and there might be schoolhouse funding available.
The sound system upgrades were approved. There was discussion that the sound system had come from the school district, but it actually came from PCEP surplus. The Stem bulletin board was also approved at a higher amount than requested, because of the hanging required and working with Ms. Mathis to select the board for the school. Last year we decided to only do composting for special events, but the teachers like it and we decided to bring back composting and working with Cedar Grove.
There was a question about the only two items not approved and if there was surplus left over. There was balance still available. Discussion ensued about if there was budget left, why would the resource book note be purchased. Ms. Mathis indicated she was happy to work with Mr. B. to see if it could be purchased with professional development funds.
Questions remained about the proposal for the book and how not funding it can be perceived as a lack of support for students with special needs and the educators who work with them. Mr. Johnston shared it was not the dollar amount of the book, but that it didn’t follow the PPG’s, because it was more of a teacher resource. One person in attendance indicated he was willing to buy the book if it was needed. Discussion continued about whether PCEP surplus funds should be used for professional resources that professional development does benefit the children. Ms. Mathis reiterated she would talk to Mr. B. to fund the book. Questions and discussion about support of the book remained in the room. Mr. Jourdan shared the only information the surplus committee had was what as in the proposal and no one attended the surplus committee meeting to support or explain it and then indicated you do not have to vote in favor of approving the surplus committee’s recommendation. There was a comment about not being generous to other schools in reference to the College Place proposal. Mr. Jourdan indicated the proposal didn’t meet the PPG’s and there is low pledge participation. Ms. Mathis shared there are other ways to support other schools and shared an example of a toy drive and that the funding doesn’t have to come from the PCEP. Ms. Mathis echoed what Mr. Jourdan was saying about the committee following the policy guidelines and procedures. There was a question about whether we had changed the guidelines last year to get the playground equipment. Mr. Jourdan indicated we did not change anything last year and reiterated everyone is invited to come to the surplus proposal meeting and participate. Mr. Below asked for clarification about whether we were approving these surplus proposals as a block or individually and it was confirmed we were approving the block of proposals. Discussion about support for the educators who support children with special needs continued and it was asked if the book was for general education if the response would have been the same and yes, it would not have been approved based on the PPG’s. One attendee was concerned about special education not getting the same treatment as other classrooms. Mr. Jourdan confirmed every classroom in the school has the same budget, e.g. $120/student. The attendee asked for name and author of the proposal, so that he could help fund it. Ms. Mathis confirmed it is public and shared it was Ms. Pedersen who submitted it. Ms. Zackey shared she had submitted the proposal for College Place and didn’t look at the PPG’s. She was visiting College Place and asked about what they needed. She also mentioned the Celebrate Schools Fun Run and how that generates money back to Maplewood, but there is less participation now because it is the day after Maplewood Madness. Ms. Zackey said she feels OK about the College Place proposal not being funded and we can move on. Ms. Pratt shared she has learned a lot from the silent auction about how to get free stuff and maybe our gift could be education about how to get items from Big Five, Home Depot, Brooks, etc. Ms. Mathis reiterated we are a school with 473 children and every single child matters. Parents and staff had the opportunity to submit proposals and the committee did their work. Funding for the book would be looked into through the professional development funds.
Mr. Johnston called for a motion to approve the surplus proposals as presented. Ms. Larsen motioned, and Ms. Zackey seconded. The motion was approved with an abstention from Ms. Mitchell.
A detailed Treasurer’s Report can be viewed on our website every month at maplewoodpcep.org
Open Floor: Ms. Mathis commented Mrs. Brinck would work with the ASB on an equipment drive in support of other schools.
ADJOURN:
With no further business to discuss, Mr. Jourdan thanked everyone and adjourned the meeting at 7:57 pm.
Submitted by Laurel Blanco.
