Topic takes up large part of regular March and special April board meetings
A resolution calling for the periodic evaluation of Butterfield-Odin Public School (B-OPS) Superintendent/Principal Lisa Shellum has been the “hot potato” topic for members of the B-OPS School Board at both its regular March meeting on Monday, March 16, and at a special board meeting on Wednesday, April 8.
In Minnesota, a superintendent evaluation and a principal evaluation is required each year by state law, but a principal evaluation on Shellum has not been conducted for years (board members complete the yearly superintendent evaluation). And, since Shellum also has the role of principal, she cannot conduct an evaluation on herself in that position. She did share, however, that she had conducted a self-evaluation, under the lead of a fellow Minnesota superintendent.
The issue was initially raised at the March 16 regular meeting, with a board vote of 6-1 to approve the evaluation. The lone “no” vote was from Kristy Haseman based on the wording of “superintendent/principal” in the resolution.
A second motion, however, to hire Keith Dixon to conduct the principal evaluation of Shellum failed on a 2-5 vote. Dixon was recommended for the job by the school’s attorney, Kevin Rupp. Voting in favor were Board Chair Joel Penner and Leon Wenner, while Tammy Wolle, Kristy Haseman, Diane Peterson, Renae Meyer and Andy Pierson were the five nay votes.
The motion to table the hiring of Dixon until the cost per hour was determined was passed unanimously.
At the special board meeting on April 8, members passed, by a one-vote margin at 4-3, to hire Dixon to complete the principal evaluation of the 1/2 time principal assignment of Shellum for a capped amount of $3,800. His fees are $1,200 for a full day, $600 for a half day, $200 per additional hour, two nights lodging plus mileage from Minneapolis and $600 (half-day) to complete the report. Aye votes were from Pierson, Penner, Wenner and Wolle, and voting against the motion were Meyer, Peterson and Haseman.
Pierson noted that he had learned that grant money is available for evaluations from the Minnesota State House of Representatives.
It was at this point that Superintendent/Principal Shellum, who has been with the district for 15 years, left the meeting to direct play practice, but not until after first making impassioned comments on the decision to spend funds to evaluate her job as one of the school’s principals (Barry Schmidt serves the school district as K-12 principal, and Shellum conducts his evaluation), without first, she stressed, coming to speak with her about concerns on what is going on in the district. Shellum noted that the evaluation to be done would not be acceptable to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), or the principal’s association, or the office of civil rights. She also called the decision a “headhunt.”
The board went on to select Form 1 to be used for the formal evaluation form for 2014-2015, per the recommendation of Sandy Gundlach of the Minnesota School Board Association, on a 6-1 vote. The roll call vote had “yes” votes from Haseman, Wenner, Penner, Meyer, Pierson and Wolle, with Peterson submitting the “no” vote.
According to an e-mail from Dixon and presented at the special meeting, his evaluation would last two days. Prior to his arrival, Dixon requested that the board chair and superintendent/principal work together to arrange his schedule. He additional requested that the superintendent/principal do a self-appraisal using the MDE Principal Evaluation Criteria and collect data for review relative to those criteria.
During the two days Dixon is at the school, he will complete the following tasks:
* Interview the board chair (1-2 hours).
* Interview the superintendent/principal using MDE criteria (2-3 hours).
* Interview the 22 licensed staff on a 20-minute schedule (7 hours).
* Interview a representative sample of the remaining staff (2 hours).
* Interview selected parents and students (2 hours).
In terms of efficiency, interviewing a sample of the remaining staff and interviewing some parents and students could be done in focus groups if desired by the board chair and superintendent/principal.
Dixon will then complete a summative evaluation and submit it to the school board for review and use.
(Dixon will be at B-OPS to conduct the information on Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6.)
Additional minutes of the March 13 meeting
* Resolution to start school before Labor Day be presented to the Minnesota State Legislature failed due to lack of a second.
* Approved the retirement request by third-grade instructor Barb Salem after 30 years teaching in the school district.
* Approved the installation of an eye-wash station and four mixing valves in the kitchen at a cost of $2,419.
* Approved an amended contract in the amount of $14,357 for the 2015-2016 school year for K-12 physical education teacher Yolanda Geistfeld.
* Approved the 2015-2016 Integration and Achievement Budget of $44,284.
* Heard a presentation by Title 1 Staff Jen Harris and Angie Becker on Title 1 programming. The presentation dealt with innovative ways of reaching their students.
* A breakdown of county-wide financial comparisons was distributed, with Shellum discussing the information, expressly compared to Butterfield-Odin and St. James
* Heard Community SHIP (Statewide Health Improvement Program) Grant Information form Janet Fisch and Terese Hall. These included Hands Around the Lake, Safe Routes to School and Walk and Bike Safety. The tentative date for the SHIP grant is Friday, May 1.
* Heard from Brenda Kelly, school social worker, who discussed what she does in her position. She is at the school three days a week.
* Learned the annual Bus Inspection was slated for Wednesday, April 29.
* Learned that the spring play dates were Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25.
* Learned Kindergarten Round-Up event was Wednesday evening, April 13.
* Learned that Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart was held March 17.
* Heard about an academic pairing meeting held on March 11 with St. James Public School. Discussion was also held on classes and shared teachers. St. James will be switching to a six-period-a-day schedule next school year. The meeting focused on the cost per pupil for B-OPS to send students to St. James for classes. Currently the cost is calculated by taking the total program cost, plus the teacher’s salary, benefits and supplies – and then dividing it to create a student number. Depending on the class in which the student is enrolled, B-OPS may have to pay more or less. St. James proposed a rate of $400 per student, regardless of the class – plus $10,000 no matter how many students were registered. B-OPS representatives, however, would rather have a set per-pupil price, as the $10,000 fee would be the same, whether it was 70 students – or 30 students. With the St. James School District facing cuts, there might be a limited number of enrollment spots in classes. While B-OPS favors continuing working with St James, the district needs to make certain that the agreement benefits both parties. Two teaching positions that come to B-OPS from St. James for music and art – are among those under consideration to be cut. The Buttefield-Odin School District controls 60% of the music contract and 20% of the art contract.
* Learned about what was discussed at the March 11 Building and Grounds Committee meeting. Topics included security upgrades such as auto locks, door buzzers and card readers. Also discussed was upcoming summer work on asbestos in the tunnels. It was noted that the roll-down curtain in the kitchen was cited for health and safety. Local bids are being sought for a new curtain.
* Heard from the Personnel Committee about Superintendent/Principal Shellum wanting to discuss and go through ideas for staffing for 2015-2016.
* Learned that enrollment at River Bend Education is currently at 71. Next year’s calendar has been approved, and graduation will be in May. Students had sent thank you notes for support of the business adventure.
* Learned from the Staff Development Committee that five teachers from the school district will be attending a class by Educate MN for $25 each.
Additional minutes of the April 8 special meeting
* Approved the three-year lease of 60 Chromebooks from Tierney Brothers for use by elementary and high school students for $21,087.40, at no interest. Chromebooks are laptops running Google Chrome OS as its operating system. These devices are designed to be used primarily while connected to the Internet, with most applicatons and data residing “in the cloud.” This technology addition will lower the congestion in the computer labs, and since they run on Google Chrome apps, will let students access their files through their e-mails form any computer.
* Heard tentative information on staffing for next school year.
* Learned that the math teacher interview was to be held Wednesday afternoon, April 15.
