General Information

Government Type

Public School

Entity

Morgan County School District

Entity Website

www.morgan.k12.ut.us

Public Body

Morgan County School District

Notice Information

Add Notice to Calendar

Notice Title

12-1-15 Board Minutes

Notice Tags

Public Schools

Notice Type(s)

Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

December 1, 2015 12:00 AM

Description/Agenda

MINUTES MORGAN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT PLANNING AND BOARD MEETING Tuesday, December 1, 2015, District Office 4:00 p.m. Present: Board Members: President Ken Durrant, Vice President Mark Farmer, Neil Carrigan, Ted Taylor, Ron Blunck, Student Board Member Jacob Rice District Staff: Superintendent Doug Jacobs, Business Administrator D'Lynn Poll, Secretary Denise Rich Other Staff and Patrons: Terry Allen, Jennie Earl, Bobbi Eddy, Dana Wilde, Heidi Andreasen, Tim Wolff, Shana Croft, Representative Mel Brown, Utah State Board of Education Representative Terryl Warner, Senator Allen Christensen, Janice Christensen, Gina Stuart, Samuel Winn Planning Meeting: President Ken Durrant scheduled this planning meeting to discuss enrollment growth in the district. He said Morgan City and Morgan County can't stop people from building and moving to Morgan if they meet the requirements. This is a challenge for the district to find means and building space to accommodate this continual growth. President Durrant reviewed with board members potential future developments for Morgan City and Morgan County. As of the first of 2015, there were 250 plus home sites approved in Morgan County. Morgan City had approximately 1,200 sites. Phase 1 of the Snowbasin development has started which includes improvements to the existing base area. Phase 2 could start as soon as next year. It will consist of both residential-primary and residential-other units. He said enrollment growth from one year to the next is consistent. There are 40 more students than projected. An estimated 5 years of enrollment growth based on the last 5 year average of 4.217% will increase enrollment to 3,530 students. Business Administrator D'Lynn Poll said enrollment as of today is 2,880 students. President Durrant talked about the recommendations made by the Growth Task Force Committee that was established in February 2014 for the purpose of involving a diverse and inclusive cross-section of the community in evaluating the long-term growth patterns in Morgan and the capital needs of the district. He said bonds have failed in the past and employees have to be onboard. He feels now is the time to bond. A group of friends of the district needs to be formed, small township meetings held, and social media are all needed. He put down a timeline with two plans. Plan A would be to bond and Plan B would be a Capital Lease. He said whether a bond passes or fails, construction must begin the spring of 2017. Vice President Farmer said employees can't be pressured to promote a bond and he doesn't support a plan saying we are going to do these things regardless of what the people want. Ron Blunck said growth projections will be reached sooner than estimated. Priorities need to be determined and input from administrators is important before any plans are made. He said if a bond does not pass, we need to do something beyond using portables. There are realities we have to face. Ted Taylor said the possibility of another elementary school in Mountain Green needs to be discussed. D'Lynn Poll will find out the requirements for bonding. Superintendent Jacobs said we need to be conservative. There will be a planning meeting in January. Administrators will be invited. President Durrant wants the Board to take direction at that meeting. Regular Board Meeting: Welcome/Pledge/Prayer: President Ken Durrant welcomed everyone. Neil Carrigan led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance and gave the prayer. Consent Agenda: MOTION: Ron Blunck made a motion to approve the consent agenda. SECOND: The motion was seconded by Neil Carrigan. DISCUSSION: There was no discussion. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. Public Comment: Nobody signed up to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. Superintendent's Report: Utah Core Standards - Language Arts Grade 6 Morgan Middle School 6th Grade Teachers Dana Wilde and Bobbi Eddy talked about the Language Arts Core. The new reading standards are considered secondary level not kindergarten through fifth grade level. The skills applied are 6th through 12th. The Core requires students to focus on the writing process. Students are to read, understand and analyze what is said and what is inferred. The writing core doesn't completely relate to the tests. Positive changes have been made to the science core. Utah Consolidated Application (UCA) Superintendent Jacobs said each year school districts in the State of Utah are required to complete the Utah Consolidated Application and submit an LEA Compliance and Assurance checklist. The UCA is a unified grant application and verification system consisting of the Planning Tool and the Funding Application. The Application requires board approval each year. Business Administrator D'Lynn Poll said it is a way of justifying funding and also for accountability. Competency Based Credit Superintendent Jacobs said students can test out of course subjects if they can pass a competency test. Tests can be written by the district and administered by the district. He said Morgan District needs a policy for Competency Based Credit. Teachers will have input. This will be discussed at the January board meeting. Business Administrator's Report: Building/Grounds Update - Boilers D'Lynn Poll said there are problems with getting the controls for the heating system online. Wasatch Controls is installing the controls and finding additional problems with the system. The boilers at the high school are 50 years old. They are failing and are not efficient. She said there comes a time when money needs to be spent to bring buildings up to date to provide an environment where students can learn. She said the high school is a high priority. There are also problems with the middle school heating system. Wasatch Controls will update board members at the January board meeting. Superintendent Jacobs said building checks are in place to make sure the boilers are working. Discussion Items: Technology E Rate Grant Presentation IT Director Terry Allen and assistant Ven Savage made a presentation to board members. The district qualifies for a Technology E Rate Grant. This grant would be used to do wireless projects in the district. All schools would benefit. With the installation of devices, it would provide schools with extended coverage now and meet future needs. It would cost the district $160,000 up front but the district would be reimbursed $80,000. Mr. Allen and Mr. Savage asked for board approval. Discussion with Legislators President Durrant welcomed Representative Mel Brown, Senator Allen Christensen, and USBA Representative Terryl Warner. Representative Brown said the education fund which is revenue from income tax is showing growth. There was money left over at the end of the budget year which means revenue exceeded projections. He said the catch point is with the general fund of the state which is essentially funded by sales tax. It is showing a deficit from last year and an expected increased deficit for the coming year. He said generally speaking we are showing consistent growth in the budget. Senator Allen Christensen said to fund growth it will take $90 million. He is trying to keep social services spending under control. Sales taxes are down because people are shopping on the internet. He will be seeking reelection when his term is up. Terryl Warner said she hasn't seen a budget from the state office of education and she is concerned. She said income tax is good but sales tax is down. She is also concerned about the number of bills filed every year. She said we need to look at the amount of testing going on in schools. We need to look at the idea of holding teachers responsible for how a student does without taking into effect all of the factors. More professional development is needed for teachers. Approval Items: Policy DCA Administrative Relations MOTION: Neil Carrigan made a motion to approve Policy DCA Administrative Relations. SECOND: Ron Blunck seconded the motion. DISCUSSION: Vice President Farmer asked to have a few grammatical changes made to the policy. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. Technology E Rate Grant MOTION: Vice President Farmer made a motion to approve the E Rate Grant. SECOND: Ron Blunck seconded the motion. DISCUSSION: Neil Carrigan asked where the money would come from. D'Lynn Poll said from the capital budget. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. Home School Application MOTION: Neil Carrigan made a motion to approve the home school application. SECOND: The motion was seconded by Ted Taylor. DISCUSSION: There was no further discussion. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. Utah Consolidated Grant Application MOTION: Ron Blunck made a motion to approve the Utah Consolidated Grant Application. SECOND: The motion was seconded by Vice President Mark Farmer. DISCUSSION: There was no further discussion. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. Advanced Planning for Upcoming Events The USBA Convention will be January 7-9 in Salt Lake City. All board members will be attending. The next board meeting will be January 12, 2016. There will be a planning meeting at 4:00 p.m. prior to the board meeting to discuss growth issues facing the district. MOTION: Vice President Farmer made a motion to adjourn. SECOND: The motion was seconded by Ron Blunck DISCUSSION: There was no further discussion. APPROVAL: The motion passed unanimously. _____________________________________ Business Administrator, D'Lynn Poll

Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)

NOTICE OF SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION DURING PUBLIC MEETINGS In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations (including auxiliary communicative aids and services) during this meeting should notify Denise Rich 801 829-3411

Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation

None

Meeting Information

Meeting Location

240 East Young Street
Morgan, 84050
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Contact Name

Jana Brown

Contact Email

jbrown@morgansd.org

Contact Phone

801-829-3411

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

January 14, 2016 07:34 AM

Notice Last Edited On

January 14, 2016 07:34 AM

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