By Margaret Hopper

The Silver District school board met January 19 at the Administrative Offices, with four of the five members present: Chris Arvidson, Arnold Torres, Mike McMillan and Frances Vasquez, president.

The meeting was called to order at 5:58 p.m.

Vasquez commented on December minutes, saying she had said she would look at Los Alamos to see how it handled the public/limited comments on its agenda, and Deming about the form it used. She asked that the minutes be amended to reflect the correction. The board complied with her request.

Principal David Lougee and staff of Stout Elementary informed the board of changes and improvements going on at Stout. Lougee mentioned new wall mats in the gym, as the old ones had become unsafe, some tables and chairs in the conference room, and a new computer lab.

Stout had expected 373 students when school opened; the actual number was 407, and at present, there are about 400. All classrooms have maxed-out the teacher/student ratios and were doing well, he said. He mentioned a number of all-school activities up to the present. High school kids read to the kindergarteners, there was a school play, parent advisory meetings, a dodge ball tournament, and more.

Before long they hope to hold a science fair. They hope to hold Discovery scores at 80 percent for math and reading, a high expectation. At the end of last year they were at 74 and 71. In preparation for the PARCC test, they are helping kids learn to respond better to open-ended questions. He then introduced Joan Eng, counselor, who reported on her efforts to Gǣbully-proofGǥ every classroom.

Last year she went to the rooms a half hour each week; this week, she was given her own room and students came to her twice a week. First lessons were on respect and responsibility. Next, she said, were lessons on how to avoid being drawn in by others who insulted and disrespected. Coping skills included how to hold personal power and not hand it to others. Safety was discussed, boundaries, how to get help appropriately, and emotional balance and growth.

Lougee gave her the lead on PARCC open-ended questions, Eng said. She created story-situations and they practiced answers that allowed many solutions, which she thought would help with PARCC tests later. These were critical thinking situations which she said were very successful both for problem solving and character development. Role-playing will follow, as will discussions of difficult situations and any school-based issues the kids sense as crises.

Laura Brown, kindergarten, told how Lougee has asked teachers to interact by grades, meeting at regular intervals, looking at how to identify and remedy weaknesses they see in instructional work. Lougee has also introduced a variety of books, papers and other helps they can borrow for self-improvement, she said. They, as teachers, are growing, too. One exercise was to analyze what a major test was really asking of students; teachers had to adjust their perceptions of the test to help the kids. They needed to address higher levels of thinking to meet student needs.

Nora Duarte, second grade, explained Lexia, one of the computer programs students use. Students varied greatly; the program alerted teachers what skills certain students needed, and how much time it should take to move a student to a higher level. She said her second-grade students usually entered at level 9 or 10, and hopefully finish the year at level 12. The program Stout uses goes from K through grade 5.

When an area needs work, the program suggests interventions that can be used immediately with that student. When that issue is corrected, the student goes back to the regular track. She said understanding the lesson and completing the time are major goals for her students. Each lesson has spelling, phonics and comprehension. When a lesson is completed, the program lets a child go to the next lesson. Lougee noted that Discovery, Star, Dibble and other programs were also used.

Two other teachers, Chrissie Souders and Jessica Osuna, Title I and Student Assistance Teams, talked about those who made intervention plans: teachers, parents and others who made the plans for nine-week periods; on successful completion, new plans were drafted. When a plan isn't working well, a new conference can be called and adjustments made. Intervention groups are limited to five. They reported good gains for students, especially by second grade.

Ben Duran, fifth grade teacher at Stout, told of his work with Kiwanis International. K Kids is a service group; they serve the local community, he said. At middle school, they become the Builders' Club, and at high school they are the Key Club. Duran credited Fred Baca and Judge Maurine Laney with starting the charter. First service begins at the local school and expands out into other community organizations and groups.

The food drive helped The Volunteer Center. Toys for Tots and other activities benefited from work the K Kids did. Duran reported on many other things the kids did, and noted that other schools also have K Kids groups. At the conclusion of the presentation, Vasquez commented that Lougee's staff people really made him look good.

Under Information to the Board, Superintendent Lon Streib said the state legislature was now in session; they didn't know what budgeting would come down from the state, but Silver was expecting reductions. In budget meetings, personnel was looking at which programs and activities to prioritize and how to continue building the reserve funds. All would be included in the process; administrators, board, teachers, students and parents in these decision-making sessions, which were coming shortly.

By April, Silver will present a preliminary budget to the state, he said. June would be the budget hearing and a final budget would follow shortly. By the end of August, some state money would be committed, but they still change it up through October. Present reserve money is still untouched; in a week or so he thought it could be released. The budget process (in Santa Fe) is so far behind, Silver will expect to use it from now until the new funds can be determined and received.

Streib said Barry Ward's business office staff is busy developing facts about the costs of staff, aides and other variables, anticipating both the updates that should happen as well as the governor's mandates. He is trying to position the information for the real decisions that must be made by April for that preliminary budget.

The board could help by doing its homework, also consulting community, to learn what curriculum and activities are priority. Everyone had a part and could help with input; this was a community effort. The idea was to place student skills development first and keep as many and as much of the activities as finances would allow for them.

Vasquez asked about bonds. Streib said the district was in position to do that; it could ask for this with the new board elections in 2017, but would watch what the state did first. If that were asked for, the District would need to inform property owners well about the impact it would make on them. Vasquez brought up House Bill 33 funding. Streib said it was more for maintenance, not new projects. Silver is in its fourth year of the six-year cycle; there is already some deferred maintenance, but at present, the buildings are safe, heating and other systems work.

Nice things, such as more solar or efficient systems could be used but the money isn't there. One program monitors utility expenses; usage has not gone up, but rates have. With efficient use, the bills have not gone up; the district is actually saving on its utility bills over years past. The thanks go to maintenance staff, teachers and others who have avoided waste, he said. Perhaps more can and will be done, but it all helps. That ended his budget report.

Part B of the report, Emergency Administration of Medicines, a policy advisory, will stay on the agenda until state nurses and others can come up with more and better information to help the board write that into a usable form, he said. This item may take more months yet to resolve; nurses have not arrived at a consensus on how to handle the drugs, needles and equipment, and who should have access.

Under reports from associate superintendents, Trish Martinez said she had an update on a reading adoption that affects K through eighth grade; they finally have all the publisher samples for teachers to try out, so in another month or so meetings will be held to see which direction the adoption will take. While books may be used, other digital work and research may be involved, too. Common Core has changed the look of instruction. It can be complicated, she said.

Candy Milam said she would report on the PARCC and some changes being made. Windows, or timing, to give the tests have been shortened. The minutes allowed for testing have been reduced; last spring, students didn't need all the time given. The number of testing units has also been reduced. The tests will be given a month later, April and early May.

The state's stand, she said, is that there is no parent refusal. Locally, that may be unrealistic. Silver is planning some procedure for opting out. Media would be notified so parents could be informed. By February 29, parents should be prepared to meet with a building principal and sign forms if that is their choice. There was a lot of confusion about the opting-out process. This time, both benefits and consequences will be outlined beforehand, as they especially affect high school kids. PARCC is a graduation requirement and parents must consider this, she said.

She said she met with about 130 parents over this issue last year. Meeting with school principals is a convenience, especially for Cliff parents. By ending the process on February 29, the district will have time to make schedules and get the computers ready for the April 4 start of testing. Presently, attention is being given to skills development; third graders and others must think how to type in answers. Last year, many students were afraid, going in, but admitted it wasn't that bad afterward, she reported.

Streib commented that Silver was learning to focus on the Common Core state standards, not the PARCC, itself. Regarding the state Gǣreport card," Martinez said they had published it as the state required, but it was based on the year 2013-2014, not new information. They were waiting for better and newer information, hoping for more reliable facts to give out.

Vasquez said the board self-evaluation was to begin; materials were in the packets. Evaluation tools for the superintendent are under consideration. There are four models being looked at, presently. On the proposed policy changes for public comments, Tony Egan was absent, but the policy change was to read Gǣlimited," not Gǣopen." Vasquez said after a second reading, action would be taken.

Streib countered that the action could be taken, but it was on the agenda for discussion; action was not mandatory, he thought. He would rather not vote on it at this session. McMillan noted that it was under information, not action items. Others agreed. It could be placed on the next agenda as an action. In Egan's absence, Streib and Arvidson said they thought Egan would be OK with the status quo if speakers would respectfully and responsibly address the board in the future; policy could remain in its present condition if the rules were followed, and the abuses were ended.

The Finance Sub-Committee consists of Egan, Vasquez, Streib and the business office. Vasquez said the unencumbered balance usually drops about $200,000 a month; this last time it was about $100,000. That balance is now a little over $500,000. The budget remains very tight.

Under Comments, Vasquez said she met with Deming Public Schools to discuss the forum; it seems the administrator and board have had good results with their efforts. At Los Alamos they had discussed the public comment periods.

Limited Public Comments included three speaking on the Public Comment periods. Ben Duran, Stout teacher, spoke in favor of keeping the open comment period, as restrictions might threaten the freedom of speech. Bill Hudson, retired teacher, said eliminating open comment would eliminate bringing any means for the public to bring concerns to the board; administrators might not respond. Forums were good, but not a substitute for direct contact with the board. He was against limiting the open policy.

Linda Pafford said she was concerned that the proposed change would put communications behind closed doors; speaking to individuals may not go far enough. The public needed to have access to the entire board, not just part of it. She said it was difficult to get on the agenda; this diminishes the public role in education. And when it is time to vote on the issue, the responses of each board member should be clear to the public.

The Consent Agenda followed. Streib said the checks written for expenses through December were $2,455,686.76. Credit card expenses were $44,000, of which $24,000 was on the operational budget, $20,000 was trust money or money raised by students. Salaries are on track, $15,498,236, and have settled down. Next month there would be budget adjustments, but at present, he recommended accepting the figures. The vote approved them.

The next item was for a leave of absence for an employee between May and November to finish an on-site clinical rotation as an occupational therapist. Vasquez questioned that the arrangement might conflict with the collective bargaining agreement. Would the OKs by Gus Benakis and Milam fulfill the needed conditions? Discussion followed as to how the vacancy would be covered; the vote approved it, but Vasquez voted against it, saying it would violate the agreement.

The next board meeting is scheduled for February16, starting at 6:p.m. The next board institute meeting is to be held at Santa Fe on February 11-13. Because rooms have been reserved, Streib asked for commitments, as they would like to cancel any rooms that might not be used.

The second public comment session saw Dick Pool, who spoke on the Gǣreport cardGǥ results and PARCC testing. He said of the schools around, Silver's performance was bad, really bad. He gave Internet sites where people could look for the results. He advised them to compare with Farmington and other places, where the whole district Gǣgot better." On reading and language arts, he said he only found one school with a lower score than Silver; he would put other issues to the board in writing, and PARCC wasn't going away.

Justin Wecks talked about the public forums and the open comment policy. He said he heard that by following the rules, maybe they would be able to keep the public comment. He said he had not heard what he would characterize as a personal attack, but he knew of many interruptions on the part of a board member. He said he thought the suggestions were intended not so much rule-following, as to censor public scrutiny and criticism, which was exactly what this forum was intended for; he urged all the board to reject the proposal.

The board went into executive session at 8:03 to discuss staffing and superintendent's evaluation. The session ended at 9:35, when they returned and also adjourned, without making any decisions.

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