District Health Council Meeting

Meeting Minutes

April 15, 2015, 4:15pm

In Attendance

Bonnie Bagheri, ASB Director, SMHS
Donna Erfe-Beltran, Public Health Nurse, HHSA N. Inland Region
Kelly Bowman, Supervisor of Nutrition Education, SMUSD
Sandra Coleman, Head Librarian, San Marcos Public Library
Dena England, Director CNS, SMUSD
Sandi Kaufmann, San Marcos Public Library
Liticia Robles, SMUSD DELAC
Luzmam Vigil, Program Coordinator, N. County Health Services

Introductions

·  A new member, Luzmam Vigil, from N. County Health Services was able to join the meeting.

DHC Site Representatives

·  Dena and Kelly created a summary of the duties to be fulfilled by the new site representatives who will be representing the DHC.

·  Dena informed everyone that she did submit a request for two additional representatives.

·  Bonnie noted that the middle school level would best be served with three representatives, one for each school.

·  Dena said that she would request an additional representative, making the total request equal to 8 representatives for the entire district.

·  Dena asked the council to review these duties and note any additions or changes.

·  No changes were recommended and the committee approved the duties for the new site reps.

·  Kelly will send the duties to the superintendent, who will then send out a district-wide email in request for site representation at the DHC.

Goals for 2015-16

·  Dena noted that the council typically determines goals for each year at the first meeting.

·  However, Dena would like to be able to get started working on the goals immediately and, therefore, drafted a list of proposed goals for the 2015-16 school-year.

·  The first goal, which is mandated by the state, is to review/update the Wellness Policy and Procedures.

·  The second goal will be to update and re-design the Wellness Policy brochure.

·  The council must determine the information to be included in the brochure, how the information is to be presented, etc.

·  The third goal will be communication. The council will work to reach target audiences in regard to the Wellness Policy. One duty assigned to the site representatives will be to identify areas/populations in greatest need of communication and education related to the Wellness Policy.

·  Finally, the fourth goal will be data collection. The council will strive to gather information related to site-specific successes as well as barriers to Wellness Policy implementation.

·  Dena asked the council for their thoughts on the proposed goals.

·  Letti asked whether Child Nutrition Services foresaw any issues in obtaining site representation.

·  Dena responded that she was indeed concerned; however, the stipend should hopefully serve as a nice incentive to join the DHC.

·  Bonnie added her thoughts regarding ways to streamline the wellness-related efforts occurring at the district as well as each school site. She mentioned the VEBA Walk Challenge for district staff and the fitness classes offered to staff members at her site, San Marcos High. She asked whether the individuals involved with staff wellness might also want to represent the DHC.

·  Dena agreed that the greater the integration among students, teachers, staff members, and parents in relation to wellness initiatives, the better. However, Dena noted that the DHC has to ensure that the efforts put forth are directly beneficial to students. If the individuals who represent staff wellness wanted to also represent student wellness, there should be no issue with that.

Changes to Wellness Policy Procedures

·  Dena informed the council that the changes made to the procedures to reflect the new Smart Snacks guidelines will be proposed to the board for approval in May.

CNS Audit

·  Dena informed everyone that the District Wellness Policy is now included in Child Nutrition Services audits.

·  Our district just had an audit this past February and, luckily, the auditor allowed the CNS department to correct what would have otherwise been an official finding. Each school district is now required to officially assess their Wellness Policy each year and our DHC did not post our assessment findings in writing to the public.

·  According to the auditor, an assessment is simply a statement of the goals for that year and a brief explanation related to whether or not the goals were reached.

·  For the 2014-15 school-year, we reached all but one of our goals.

·  The formal assessment is now available on the district website.

Shade Structures

·  Dena explained that, earlier in the year, some parents had expressed their desire to have the topic of sun protection added to the Wellness Policy.

·  In addition, the parents wanted the DHC to ensure that additional shade structures were installed at the school sites.

·  During the last two DHC meetings, the council agreed that sun protection should not be added to the Wellness Policy as it does not fall within the DHC’s jurisdiction nor would the DHC have the resources to achieve goals set forth in this topic area.

·  Dena announced that the maintenance and operations department is already working to increase the number of shade structures at the school sites and several new structures will be added during the summer months.

·  So, the issue of shade structures may now be put to rest as the district has taken on all related projects.

Future Meetings

·  TBD

·  Kelly will email the council with the dates for 2015-16 as soon as they have been confirmed.