MEDICAL LAKE — The Medical Lake School District Board had a full agenda at its Tuesday, Jan. 28, meeting, considering a number of policy changes, approving grants and accepting an anonymous donation, curriculum changes and the cost of the state’s new district employee benefit program.
The board passed five new board policies on first and second reading, all generally related to violence and harassment and how the district is to deal with it.
Board policy 3207 prohibiting harassment, intimidation and bullying, policy 3225 relating to school-based threat assessment and policy 4314 regarding the notification of threats of violence or harm all passed on their first reading without questions or discussion from the board.
Policy 4210 regulating dangerous weapons on school grounds would prohibit the carrying of any firearms, even if a person has a legal concealed carry permit without the district superintendent’s permission. It also prohibits things like air guns, which are occasionally used by Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets for competition. They too would require prior permission for use.
New board member Laura Parsons asked if exclusion included pepper spray. Superintendent Tim Ames replied it was not, but was to remain in purses or lockers during school hours and for use as self-protection when away from school.
Board policy 3241, an entirely re-written policy regarding how the district will deal with student discipline, was passed on second and final reading, also without any questions or comments from board members.
The discipline policy is based on legislative guidelines aimed at ensuring due process for students facing disciplinary measures at school.
The board voted to accept an annual Perkins Grant, an $8,000 – $10,000 federal grant. The money will be used to complete the purchase of engineering computers, half of which were purchased with the grant last year.
The board also accepted an anonymous $6,500 donation.
According to Ames, the donor arrived on Dec. 23 saying he had trust fund money that had to be spent “by tomorrow,” with the stipulation that no one know who he was. It was enough to cover student lunch balance arrears, Ames said.
Assistant Superintendent Kim Headrick provided a summery regarding Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt math materials for middle and high school students that had been previously piloted by district math teams. She said she felt the material “meets the needs of our students for the foreseeable future” as core instructional material for algebra, geometry and algebra 2.
The cost, according to a proposal form is approximately $52,000 for the material and another $15,000 for “professional learning.”
The board passed the request unanimously. The material will be implemented immediately, Headrick said.
Ames offered an overview of the district’s legislative priorities that includes funding the newly implemented School Employee Benefits Board (SEBB) health insurance program forced on school districts as part of the so-called McCleary Decision.
According to Ames, 48 employees — 20 percent of eligible district employees — have opted out of the program because they have other insurance available.
But the district must still pay the state their premiums at a cost of $500,000 that goes into the state SEBB pool.
“That’s not state money,” Ames said. “That’s coming out of local dollars. That’s coming out of Impact Aid (federal money) and our local levy.”
While the anticipated opt-out rate was 10 percent, the actual rate is 13 percent, Ames said, which represents about $100 million more than anticipated going into the state pool.
Board members were also honored with a certificate from Gov. Jay Inslee in celebration of School Board Recognition Month.
Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)