Monday, October 25, 2010

USD 383 Board of Education

Oct. 20, 2010
Kathy Dzewaltowski, observer

Work session:
The work session focused on course and schedule development for MHS. Board members have been concerned about sections with small numbers of students in them. Terry McCarty, MHS principal, and Tony Wichmann, MHS counselor, explained that the small sections are more complicated than they appear. For example, an advanced art class with 3 students in it may be embedded within an intermediate art class and offered at the same time within the same classroom. McCarty also said that in order to maintain flexibility for students who move into the district during the school year, all sections can't be at their maximum enrollment.

Regular meeting:
Dr. Bob Shannon, Superintendent, reported that all of the schools had received letters from the City of Manhattan notifying them that the City Commission is considering ceasing to offer free drinking water to schools (the district already pays for irrigation and sewer). The district's estimated cost for drinking water used in 2009 was $27,200. Dr. Shannon and board president Susan Marshall will draft a response to the city.

Board members were presented with an annual report on capital outlay projects. Completed projects included new roofing for East Campus, new surface on the track at Bishop Stadium, a new fence at Lee Elementary, a new generator to support the network operations center, and moving mobile units at MHS, Roosevelt, and Northview.

Carol Adams, executive director of teaching and learning, presented the board with a report on the district's 2009-10 assessment scores. Nine schools achieved the state's standards of excellence building-wide in reading, 8 schools achieved it in math, 4 schools achieved it in science, and Eisenhower Middle School achieved the standards of excellence in reading, math, and science. The scores also showed there were student gains in reading and science compared to previous years.



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