MISSOULA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SPECIAL MEETING
Monday, November 4, 2013
6:00 p.m. - Business Building Boardroom
Trustees Present: Joe Knapp, Rose Dickson, Marcia Holland, Jim Sadler, Mike Smith, Julie Tompkins, Ann Wake, Shelly Wills
Trustees Absent: Michael Beers, Debbie Dupree, Diane Lorenzen
Others Present: Nick Salmon, Geoff Badenoch, Brent Campbell, Alex Apostle, Burley McWilliams, Mark Thane, Karen Allen, Heather Davis Schmidt, Steve McHugh, Pat McHugh, Hatton Littman, Melanie Charlson, Sheri Postma
MINUTES
At 6:04 p.m. Board Chair Joe Knapp called the meeting to order. This is an update to the MCPS Board on the Facilities Strategic Plan that has been ongoing for the last month or so. Since it is not a regular meeting and we have a fairly free flowing agenda, this is a report, a status report on the facilities plan. For those in the public who are here, we will provide an opportunity to comment at the beginning and at the end of the meeting on what we are talking about tonight or on any non-agenda items. He asked that commenters give their name and affiliations, and that they try to limit time to 3 minutes in deference to remaining members of the public who may want to speak. There was no public comment. Knapp noted trustees present: Smith, Tompkins, Knapp, Sadler, Wake, Wills, Holland. Knapp said that Trustee Lorenzen is in transit from Idaho and may or may not be able to attend. Trustee Dickson may attend depending on class schedule. Strategic planning has been ongoing since October; there has been a lot of effort, public comment, and involvement by public school staff.
Dr. Apostle: This is the first of quite a few Board study sessions to keep the Board informed as to progress on the long-range facilities strategic plan. As most of you know, we have never had one. We are starting from scratch. Nick Salmon of CTA Architects is leading the charge.
Nick Salmon introduced Geoff Badenoch, chair of the steering committee. Hatton has comments to share as well.
Geoff Badenoch introduced himself as a long-time Missoula resident and citizen who cares about our schools. He does not have children in the schools, but he said he is unwaveringly convinced that his future is entrusted to the kids we educate in the schools, so he has a vested interest in the Missoula County Public Schools. The work we are doing, guided by the steering committee of which he is chair, working with your staff, your teachers, and with your students, is that we are trying to take on something that is very, very important. We are looking at the facilities in which you deliver education to our children. That is no small task, no inexpensive task. It is going to be a task that is going to be successful only if we engage the entire community. That’s why he stepped forward. Geoff said he wants to see the business people, the parents, the entire community involved. They will be no less affected than he will. Everyone has a stake in this. We will try to develop the information for trustees to do their job, of translating our recommendations, which will come to you later, from a cost to the community to an investment. So far we have taken one whole week in October to do the “Assessment” phase, in which we looked at all school district buildings and properties. We had an assessment done by a demographer that tells us how many kids are coming up through our school system. There will be a 5-year bulge that will pass through the system. This week we are undertaking the “Exploring” phase. We will look at how other places teach their children, at opportunities for learning, and at different models of how education can work. The next phase, next month, is an “Application” phase. We will take our understanding of the challenges that the Missoula County Public Schools face, what we know and have learned about educational delivery, and try to distill it down into a process we think will work well for the community of Missoula. As a component of that, very important, is public involvement. He has been involved in public service for a long time. Getting the public to come out and tell you what they think before a decision is made is difficult. You have experienced that. We will face that no matter what we do. We are trying everything, public service announcements, newspaper articles, to let the public know they are invited to tell us their hopes, dreams, and what they are afraid of, so we can factor all that in and give you the best recommendation we can. After Nick and Hatton have had an opportunity to speak, Geoff said he will be happy to answer questions. Thank you for your encouragement and support in helping us get ready to do this very important work for you.
Nick: Brent Campbell of WGM is also here. We have looked at zoning, parking spaces, adjacent pieces, etc. He will answer questions as well.
Why are we doing this? Alignment between 21st century vision and facilities. MCPS has 20th and 19th century buildings and a 21st century vision of education. We are trying to find alignment. School safety and security has been addressed by a separate task force; their recommendations will pull into this also. Technology: MCPS had a major tech levy last year, an investment.
What have we learned? Facility age, condition, utilities, capacity, that information has been updated relevant to today, and there are some things you have tackled. Age: the average age of MCPS buildings is 57 years old; a significant number are greater than 90 years old, and quite a few are over 50. Chief Charlo is the newest, already 18 years old. A large number have been expanded at least twice, some as many as 5 times. The record number of expansions of schools he has worked with is 13, Flathead High, over 100 years old. Roof Age: The district has more than 1 million square feet of roof. A large portion is in good or very good condition; a significant portion is in need of replacement. Boilers: 50 percent are in adequate condition, with the remainder in need of replacement in the next 5 years or so. Another issue they looked at 4 years ago and updated is energy use. The district spends $2 million per year for energy use. Chief Charlo is the benchmark for the elementaries; not many are better. Big Sky is higher than Seeley; other buildings are old enough they don’t bring in frequent air changes. A bunch of buildings highlighted in orange far exceed the energy use index; some are surprises: Russell and a few others. The central kitchen is absolutely off the charts. But if you pushed that usage into all buildings, averaging it out, it would not be off the charts. Facility condition: potential energy savings: 4 years ago we identified $400,000 of energy savings if you made various improvements in buildings. The low dollar/high impact items like replacing lighting are the first targets. Very expensive boilers are next, then windows that are extremely expensive, and mostly improve comfort but not energy savings. It would be a substantial amount of money; you might consider investing in that. Facilities condition: deferred maintenance. When we did the inventory, Gary Botchek and Nick walked every square foot of every building, including Seeley. They identified a long list of items that need to be addressed. The tally is $65 million dollars. One example: the central administration building, built in 1896, needs $2 million of deferred maintenance. You may not want to invest that money. Prescott needs several million dollars of work, but the district is not currently occupying it. Enrollment Forecast: Geoff mentioned the enrollment projections, made by Jerry McKibben, who has worked in virtually all the AA districts in Montana. The initial forecast from McKibben Demographics said we would approach almost 10,000 students in our district. After seeing the fall count, he revised it down to 9,000, due primarily to the improving economy. With the decline in the economy fewer people were leaving Missoula for outlying K-8 districts; now what we are seeing is a trickle of people leaving to move to the outlying K-8 districts. Ultimately they come back, not just in high school, but some in middle school. They transfer in and choose to attend an out-of-district middle school. Half our high school enrollment is from outlying districts, a piece of information we are constantly keeping our eye on. This is a summary; there is detail for every single school. Each school leadership person with their regional director can look at how we are leveling today and what we can do in the future. The Facility Capacity chart illustrates that 5 of our 9 elementaries will be at or over capacity when we hit the peaks. We are determining capacity by the state standards of student-teacher ratios, not by best educational practices. We should have substantially lower numbers in our classrooms. We have to consider the impact on budgets and capacity. Last piece: in terms of capacity, in the steering committee and in sessions, we have to maintain feasibility of capacity over time. We also ask D.A. Davidson to put together a mill levy impact analysis. They look at the question of if you pass a bond at $5 million, $10 million, etc., what the impact would be on homes valued at $100,000 and at $200,000. The right column is the key to look at. In Missoula the impact of a bond of $100 million dollars on a house valued at $100,000 is $59.00 per year, an impact of about $5 per month. The broad economic base we have in Missoula is very much to our advantage if you come to the point of asking the community for support. This is in contrast to Lolo, where there is a much less diversified base, and a much greater impact.
Nick explained that Brent at WGM has looked at all sites, at utilities, other improvements, parking spaces, walkability, and other key details (data on right hand side). If in the future we take some of the studies further, this would be the basis of considering the cost of additional site improvements. There is one for every site within the district. At some point in time when Missoula College moves to their new East Broadway campus, their building becomes an asset that the school district will have. It was a school district-owned facility and will be coming back to you. Today there were conversations that it might be helpful to use as a swing space while a major renovation is occurring elsewhere, or that it could permanently become a new school within our district. WGM also recorded facilities like Mt. Jumbo, Duncan Drive, and 55th and Whitaker. Linda Vista, a county park, you have absolutely no access to the street. You own 5 acres but can’t get to it. It is another asset you have. Drawings we did 4 years ago break down every building, every room, its square footage, age of parts of the building. Several buildings have been expanded: Cold Springs, Porter, Big Sky—the far eastern edge was another building originally.
How are we engaging our community? The Steering Committee; Education Innovation Teams (EIT) representing every school, even Jefferson and Dickinson. Each EIT is a team of teachers, parents, students, and business people. The core team is 6 people, and then there is an extended team of 25 or so. It is important that we not just have a very small group that is highly effective at making decisions, but an expanded team for credibility. We have a mid-week check-in with the community to ask hopes and concerns. We filter the information through the steering community and come back to the Board. More than 225 people are part of the core work we are doing. Last time 75 came to the community listening session. We are hoping for even more participation this week on Wednesday. When you start talking about the range of alternatives that we might do at your school, more people show up. We anticipate the venue will have to change over time as more people show up.
Hatton noted that Nick did good job explaining the part of community engagement. How are we notifying the community, internal and external? Public media: newspapers, Missoulian stories, letters to the editor. Internet: district webpage, district Facebook page, school Facebook pages that collaborate, Chamber of Commerce events calendar, MissoulaEvents.net, TV news: KPAX, KECI, ABC/FOX, MCAT Missoula Live, and PSAs that will run on MCAT and be reposted to the district webpage and district Facebook page; KGVO radio. Public organizations: Dr. Knapp and Dr. Apostle will present to City Club Nov. 11. Hatton will present to Sunrise Rotary this Wednesday and to Noon Rotary later. There will also be a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Committee. We are checking with the Missoula Realtors Organization, Prudential Missoula, and Lambros. One member of the steering committee, Kevin Ritchlin, is a member of Leadership Missoula: in the spring when we have preferred alternatives presented, Kevin will present to Leadership Missoula. Internal communications: weekly staff newsletter delivered by email on Fridays, emails to principals, steering committee and EIT members. [Trustee Rose Dickson arrived.] Fliers and talking points are being sent to principals. Hatton notes that she has received forwards from principals for the two schools her children attend. School Facebook pages, where we have collaboration with the Facebook pages; school newsletters. An opportunity to consider via our AlertNow system is a superintendent voice recording to all families. We could have a prerecorded message from Dr. Apostle inviting people to participate in the Wednesday night sessions. We are investigating. Other ways we are engaging the community: there is a blog on there is not a lot of activity yet, but there are comments from Hatton and from Nick. There are comment boxes in libraries created by district carpenters, so there is a way to submit physical paper comments. Letters to the editor. We encourage the Board, steering committee, principals, teachers, parents, and others to engage in community dialogue. All this effort has paid off. We are seeing the dividends. This started in October. As you ratchet up the level of discourse, you get more participation. We had more today than in the October meetings. We have members of the public media here tonight and hopefully will continue to do so. We are trying to develop a number of ways that people can hear about and participate. People can also talk to their principal as they pick up their kids from school, and they can watch these meetings on MCAT.
Questions
Knapp asked Hatton to speak more directly to how she is engaging feeder school districts for their input, since we rely on them for a sizeable portion of our student body. Hatton: In October we sent personal invitations to all the principals and board of trustees members of all those districts. They have access to the public media campaign. At the first community listening session, she spoke to a Target Range parent whose very young children will go to Big Sky High School. Dr. Apostle added that in terms of outlying schools, as we gear up, he will be making personal visits to outlying districts, meeting with principals, teachers, and parents so they understand where we are going in this effort.
Tompkins: have we considered an online blog survey? Hatton replied that she would love to hear what audience Tompkins would consider valuable to survey and what type of information feedback would be most valuable. Tompkins: In our attempts to engage the community, if there is a portion not showing up—the demographic of people who don’t have time to attend listening sessions—she would like them to be able to provide feedback to blog entries. Hatton: we posted to Missoula Community listserv today; she has received 2 comments already.
Sadler: question: we had a presentation that told us there will be a cohort of students going through and lasting about 5 years. As part of this process are we planning to house them for the 5 years without overbuilding, so that when they leave we are not overlarge? Hatton said she knows Nick wants to speak to that. One of the key guiding principles is creating flexible spaces so we can accommodate for that. Nick: it is truly a 10-year cohort; 5 are already in the schools. The classes that follow them are only slightly smaller, so he would not be surprised if in 15 years we are a 10,000 student district. We want to create flexibility; we certainly do not want to overbuild. Missoula is the only AA district that actually has excess space. The fact that you have some resources that you could utilize on a short term or long term basis is unusual.
Holland: most of the tools of communication you listed would not capture a typical student’s interest. How are you engaging with students? Hatton: at F&O you had presented 2 ideas, about working with student trustees: Reddit, Vine, Tumblr. We are about to switch to Connect 5 that allows us to push out text messages. We could also start to work with student governments in high schools and in middle schools. We would like to work with trustees to identify when a message is salient enough to push out through those organizations.