The Houston School Board met at 6 p.m. in the library of Houston Public High School on Thursday, June 15. In attendance were Superintendent Abraham and Board members Norlien, Bonner, Wilson, Stillin, Krage and Evenson. Board member Carlson arrived soon after the Pledge of Allegiance. After approving the agenda and seeing no public comment, the board moved on to consent items. Board member Bonner raised questions about the number of QComp coach and mentor hiring memos in the consent items, of which there were eleven. Superintendent Abraham replied that scheduling conflicts had required many of the coaches to switch to half-time, but the number of full-time equivalent for teacher/leader positions is still in compliance with the Minnesota Department of Education. Bonner also asked about the payment of the QComp stipend, and Abraham replied that the coaches are evaluated by their overseeing mentor to determine payment.
According to the Department of Education website, “Quality Compensation law (Q Comp)… is a voluntary program that allows local districts and exclusive representatives of the teachers to design and collectively bargain a plan that meets the four components of the law” which include “Career Ladder/Advancement Options, Job-embedded Professional Development, Teacher Evaluation, and Performance Pay and Alternative Salary Schedule.” With all questions answered, the board unanimously approved the consent items and moved on to discussion items. Abraham noted to the board that she did not receive everyone’s Minnesota School Boards Association self-evaluation forms, and results cannot be given until all results are in. Each board member said that they had completed the evaluation, and Superintendent Abraham said she would contact MSBA to clear things up.
Next, the board reviewed several reports from the previous year including the Qcomp Annual Report and two reports detailing field trips taken and fundraisers given at both the elementary and high schools. The Qcomp report did not require board action, but Abraham noted that “all coaches and mentors reached a level of competence on their evaluation to earn their stipend,” and added “that’s not always been the case.” The report was generally positive, with the teachers completing between 90-100% of goals and all licensed staff earning their performance pay. The board then discussed the field trip and fundraiser reports, with Board member Bonner requesting more detail for future reports as to which fundraisers and trips did well or changes in profit from previous years.
The board moved on to old business, approving where Board member Carlson raised objections to the proposed budget for fiscal year 2018. Carlson questioned the notion of budget assumptions, in particular regarding money that was budgeted for computer purchases. Carlson disagreed with Board member Krage’s comment that “a lot of this is just to keep the business running,” and Carlson expressed distaste for the board making a $50,000 purchase part of the budget assumptions. Superintendent Abraham noted that part of the spending needed to be approved to keep the computers in the business lab current and working, to which Carlson replied that it “deserves its own discussion.” Bonner expressed some confusion at Chromebooks earmarked for staff to take home, and Abraham replied that the terms of their lease from Apple states the Apple computers are not to go home. Overall, Bonner and Carlson asked to have more time to discuss technology purchases in the budget before approval. After learning that the budget needed to be approved by June 30, Carlson asked for the language in the technology budget to be made more vague. The board then moved to approve the budget with the vague language, and allow further discussion on purchases in the future.
The board then read and approved two policies: one health and safety policy and a policy for unpaid meal charges. Abraham announced that, due to legislative changes, the unpaid meal policy needed to be approved before July 1. The policy was passed as an emergency for the coming year after going through the policy committee, and will be up for review for next year. The board raised questions about the meal charge policy before approval regarding when the policy would take effect and how large an unpaid school meal balance will be before steps are taken. The policy was amended that any unpaid balances before June 30 will be included in the new policy, and notification will be first sent out when the meal balance hits zero dollars, and a phone call will be made when an individual has a $50 negative balance. When asked by Carlson, Abraham mentioned that there are 31 students currently affected by an unpaid meal balance, and that phone calls will be starting soon. The board passed the policy, resolving to discuss the matter further at later meetings.
The Houston Public School Board will meet again at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Houston High School library.