001Hey Lee, can you hear anything? >> I can't hear you, Member Bell. >> Hi. Hi, everyone online. We're still waiting on Pat to get here to uh start the meeting. Uh he was just a couple minutes late and so we don't have a committee. Okay, so that's what we're waiting on. So just a few more minutes, please. Thank you. >> Oh, no problem. Thanks. I thought it was my my equipment, but I see your text now. >> Yes. >> I appreciate you saying something cuz I worried too. >> Yeah. Thank you. Mhm. Okay. At 11:10 on Thursday, December 18th, this is Andy Hollman, ASD board member, calling a meeting of the governance committee to order. And I will ask that the governor and everyone introduce themselves. I'm Mike Fleenstein, chief information officer for the district.
002>> Higgins, school board member and member of the governance committee. Eric, superintendent. Andy Raba, CFO Lang, chief of HR, deputy superintendent. >> Ali Cussell, director and mental health student support. America Sullivan, executive assistant, >> observers, >> Katie Grant, executive assistant, superintendent, >> Riley, senior director. And online we have member Bellamy, member Wilson, and Mr. Lee Baxter. >> Thank you very much. Um, looking at the agenda, the first item is board policy 5141.4. Um, [clears throat] I believe this is brought to us by member Bellamy and Wilson. Would you like to speak to it? >> Yes, thank you. Thank you so much. Um, I was having a meeting uh unrelated to this actually with but with other uh child um safety advocates and uh one of them actually one of them mentioned had a question about
003how we report uh how we are not allowing uh following the the um statute relative to reporting like who reports specifically. They were concerned with uh classified staff not being seen as mandatory reporters and I I told them I would bring it forth and I would get more information. That same individual subsequently sent me an um a copy of an email that um had come from uh the child the uh child safety uh child rep what is it at APD whatever they call themselves. Um and that individual who works who indicated that they have worked with the district uh in showed some concerns also relative to how we are how we are interpreting and following that policy. So I know that that um there must be something that I just want to make sure I'm
004giving the right that we are following the pol the statute as it is now and that we um that that so that I can explain it even uh better. So uh that that was why I brought it forth. I'm not advocating for any change. I'm just wanting to understand um how we are interpreting the statute and if this policy is indeed um compliant Mr. So, we took that and our staff, especially Yi Sussell here, um took that and actually worked with our legal team, Lee Baxter's online also today. And we have a recommendation for um updating our board policy in this realm because there were some problems with it. But I'm going to let Ally and uh then if Lee has something to say kind of go into what those those changes would be. >>
005Awesome. Thank you so much. and le we can kind of do this in tandem but um overarching you can see that we've um uploaded um two documents one being the um track changes that we're re co-recommending uh to really add spec specificity [laughter] and clarity to the roles when and whom um are the mandatory reporters and also how um uh others who aren't in that category um can follow the reporting procedures. So the changes you can really see um expand and and clarify um school staff um as well as clarify um coaches and where they fall um within the the guidelines to really hope bring hope to bring clarity um to what was previously known as um teachers and school administrators. um was the the terminology previously learned. So you can kind of see the
006track changes there um including um obviously the open opportunity to have other personnel in other departments who don't have direct contact with students to participate in the in the training down below. That's the main changes in the the first paragraph that I think address uh maybe um member Bellamy uh some of your um questions and wonderings. >> Absolutely. Thank you. uh down um kind of towards the middle of the page um in uh collaboration with Lee, we did update some language there that previously um was outdated where it included um that ASD would be um kind of in contact in supporting private schools in our area with training um opportunities. Um and so that um certainly could be removed to focus in on um our our district staff and the trainings that we that we
007do. >> Great. >> Uh other updates include just updates to kind of the the structures of who you're reporting to, some name changes that that happen with that. Um and then again um that idea that there are some staff within ASD that don't fall under the mandatory reporting guidelines, people who work here, u maybe people on um that support other avenues and that they would be um going to their um site administrator for guidance on that. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Maybe if if if if the committee wanted I could chime in and give a broad overview of what we're doing here. Uh just to follow on what what Miss Sussell just said. >> Yes, please. Oh, I'm sorry. >> Go ahead. >> Okay. >> All right. >> Sorry, Andy. >> Good to see Good to
008see you all. Um, like Miss Cussell just said, um, we took member Bellamy's concerns and went back and looked at our board policies. Like many of these things, if we're going to look at them, they likely warrant updating and clarification. So, most of these ch most of these proposed changes are just to clarify and make the language more specific. under the law, the the Alaska state law sets out um explicit categories of individuals who are mandatory reporters. Uh within that is for for for school districts. What's important is that teachers, school administrative staff and coaches are explicitly listed in the statute as um individuals who are mandatory reporters. Our prior board policy um had that athletic coaches were not subject to mandatory reporting if they only were part-time coaches and uh were only there for
009a short period of time. I think it is a wiser course of action given what the statute says with athletic coaches being a category of mandatory reporters that all anyone who is a coach uh be subject to the um mandatory reporting um education each year and fulfilling those state modules that I know that we utilize. Um other than that we just went back and cate you know placed things in categories so that if someone comes and looks at them a teacher staff member um or if it comes up in legal proceedings these things are organized in a manner that uh you can see under each category what it is. So for the board policies, we have the first category, what the mandatory reporting, who is subject to the mandatory reporting. Um, and that we're going
010to provide that at no cost to school district employees and volunteers who are um subject to the law. Uh, and then under the second category, we have what those reporting requirements are. And those mandatory reporting requirements are not to take the concern to your boss. It's not to take your concern up to a direct report. it is to take the concern to uh the office of children's safety and if involving um allegations of sexual offense then it's to contact local law enforcement which for us would be the Anchorage Police Department >> they um so that that's generally what we did. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? >> I'd just like to say thank you thank you guys for this. Um I suspected that we were we needed to update this a bit but
011I wanted to understand exactly um where we where we I knew where we were but this is this is even better than anything I could would have recommended. It makes it crystal clear and I believe that uh and and eliminating not eliminating but clearly defining who are mandatory reporters I think is a crucial piece of this. So thank you guys. Thank you Mr. Chair. I'll add that I think for a lot of people that come to work for a school district, um, learning that you're a mandatory reporter is news. It's not something they talk about so much in schools of ed or or anything. Um, but having the language be clear and pushing, for lack of a better word, um, helps people do the right thing. >> Yeah. also widening the umbrella. Um while you
012know something we always have to be aware of and worry about within our own staff the reality is school is where a lot of child abuse get stopped and I think this policy will get more clear everybody but I very much >> this this will change business process not the processes in a school especially on par professionals and volunters um we'll have to monitor which volunteers will need to have training and and pair of professionals have all been going through the training anyways but now they'll be mandatory for >> do but that hasn't been the practice that's been high school building >> and and I think without that without that policy without that clarity it [clears throat] was easy for someone to try to balance the uncertainty of it facts and all that that that
013just needs to be off the table. Any other comments, questions? Seeing none, I'll ask for a vote of committee members. Uh all in favor of forwarding this to the board for consideration say I. >> I. Um >> Oh, am I the I am on the committee, right? >> You're not, Margot. But that's okay. We appreciate the vote. [laughter] >> Your vote is noted anyway. >> Okay. >> Then you can keep voting. >> Thank you, fellow board members, for pushing it forward. We can put you on mute and I can go I >> so actually without the third member president Jacobs also >> she's present um she's just not able to speak she approves of it. >> Oh okay thank you. >> In that case uh yeah this is passed and we'll go to the whole
014board. >> Um that brings us to item two. Um can can we bring one more thing up while we're here >> and that is we this is board policy but we do have the AR >> yes [clears throat] >> um ready as well and can we I know it's not >> America was it on the agenda? >> Yeah. >> Can we just look at that really quick because that's also on here. That way we can go ahead and when it passes the board then we can go ahead and >> present at the same put them put them both into the policy. >> Oh great manual at the same time. Um so this is you want to talk what changes >> and Lee again please um feel free to jump in again the main points were
015to make it more clear to um the users and uh to administration. Um the first top um we just headed it with a header resources training components and currents contact information following the procedures of um of who and and how to be reporting. And then um in conjunction with this AR um the bottom portion is focused on um the steps that the school district takes should there be um a complaint concerning a school personnel relative to this topic. Um this was part of the AR and and we did talk about you know its place within um keeping it as as one administrative regulation. Um and this topic is connected so we did decide to leave it. Um but um we hope that by inserting the um header it kind of gives some buffer between the
016resources and then what school personnel or how the district would be um taking steps forward should the suspected abuse be of a from a an ASD employee. Um so the updates down below again were to bring clarity um updates with um the different departments and divisions that we now operate in within ASD and um just some clarity about engaging with uh APD. Um Lee, did you have any other um bullet points to bring up when it comes to the AR that we were? I'll just briefly add that's that's that's exactly right. We wanted to include in the top the top uh header was uh if someone wants to know um who to contact, what the where to find that contact information. Um uh and under the second heading, which before there wasn't a heading there,
017it was a little bit confusing to me at least about when this applied. And this this uh this applies when the school district receives a public complaint from outside the school district. So we thought that they know that's a different process. If there's a >> if there's a if there's an internal complaint, let's say one employee suspects something of another, then we're going through the normal mandatory reporting uh stuff. You have an obligation as a mandatory reporter to contact OCS and APD if it involves sexual allegations. This stuff is this second heading is if we receive a concern from the public and that's when the process is a little bit different because um that's involving an outside concern not an inside concern but we thought that because of that different context uh that it warranted
018a separate heading so that people would understand that. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? So yeah, my understanding is should this the board policy change be adopted, the administration's ready to produce [clears throat] the ARS on the >> Yeah. >> Okay. Um, seeing no other questions about this, we move to item two, board policy 6161.2, damaged or lost construction materials related. Whoever is bringing it would like to visit. >> Eric Bethman is on his way uh on his way. >> Okay. Um in that case, we could drop to item three and come back to this without object. Um and that would be the changes the board to regarding pair of professionals. And >> yeah, Mr. I think this is the third time this has been on the agenda initially part of the triannual
019review. Uh we forwarded a couple of administrative changes just because our internal nomenclature has changed. We don't use the term teacher anymore. We use pair of professionals. Uh we brought that update I think to the November meeting and member lessons pointed out that volunteer was also in there. We had struck that out. So I think that addition was made uh by Patty Rankin. So this should be kind of the final updated version for more consideration. >> Any questions or comments from anybody that we have seen all this before and yet thank you for the additional vetting and changes. Um, seeing no hands, I'll ask committee to vote on sending the [clears throat] changes to board policy 4222 onto the full board. All in favor? >> I >> Dor as well. So done. Dropping back to
020item two, Mr. Bman is here. Um, looking at the board policy 5161.2 to damage lost instructions. Did you want to speak to that or >> Yeah. And I may um call on Katie to assist. It's been a long time since we reddrafted this, but essentially we adopted language from the state superintendent. >> Um a it's from the AAS policy updates. uh they recommended getting uh rid of the withholding grades and diploma because of uh damaged or lost items. The the added language uh was included in that withholding grades. And so before deleting it, we we moved that over here so that because it was something that Eric uh thought we thought that it was important still to be in policy. We didn't want to lose all of the language. >> Yeah. So, it just it
021provides us other means through the superintendent's office to recoup lost or damaged goods, but we wouldn't withhold grades or a diploma as a result of a missing government computer or textbook or the like. >> I have one [clears throat] grammatical question. When I first read it because it said provided that they're used by students, I took that to mean things that students brought and then it says remain property of the ASC. Um, should it say two rather than five and Mr. Baxter still on the line? This might be a question for him over >> he he got off. Did we [clears throat] did our credit card reachment? >> He's he's making sure that the only thing we' asked him to do before [laughter] was the things he's gonna build. >> Understood. [clears throat] Um >>
022Yeah. Or >> English teachers. >> You could say instructional materials and equipment provided by the district or used by students. >> Yeah. That would make it more. >> Yeah. by the actor >> by the district >> provided by the district for use by student shall remain property of the district. [clears throat] >> Um yeah and I think most importantly that we wouldn't withhold a student's diploma because they still have a Chromebook. Uh and larger context here, we're working um consistently with the IT department on better and more efficient ways to recoup lost devices and we're having a lot of success. Truly began springtime last year. We just did another roundup. Um and this year's was more successful than last year. So, >> yeah. >> The other thing that caught me was that because you mentioned
023Chromebooks, um, if a student loses a three-year-old Chromebook, is it reasonable for us to ask for replacement value, which I assume means a new >> app. [clears throat] We appreciate it. >> Okay. Um, and I think that's the reasonable way to go. Um I would want to make sure that no one would read this otherwise than than what we're doing. >> Yeah. >> Um and that might be clarified in ARS just because I have a moral chapter to anyone trying to rewrite a motion from the floor. >> Yeah. >> I'm not going to try to word Smith. That's myself. >> Yeah. Reparation equal to the current replacement cost. >> Okay. [clears throat] >> Yeah. I have no anyone else. Member Dickens. >> Yeah, I'm wondering how big a problem this is and how much does
024he account for and what do you do for a student who refuses to pay or parents that refuse to pay and they're not doing the thing? What are the consequences? >> I can jump in on a part of the magnitude from the technology side. We see up to 20% loss and breakage per year on the technology side for students. And that varies by grade level. It's more impactful at some grade levels than others. For instance, middle school tends to be um very high on on the breakage and loss factor >> financially. >> Yeah. Yeah. And so that's about do the math in my head. Two and a half million dollars worth of equipment per year um in that bucket that gets damaged or lost. Um and so we do have a team that does repairs
025for a lot of those items. And so if we can repair it and we have some of those parts, then there's just a time to transport and move the device, do the repair, and we we keep spares. We'll give the school a spare. We'll take a device that's broken, repair it if it's if it's economically feasible to repair it. Um if not, replace it. And so it's up up to that amount of money for a year. It's not always that much. It's sometimes more, sometimes less. >> And then if they don't pay, what do we do? Well, it's a case-bycase basis. Some families are are far more able to pay for a missing device or a broken device than others. And, you know, it's it's true that we have families that really struggle to pay
026for lost devices. And that involves conversations, you know, between our school administrators and families. And we do the best we can, frankly. And it really >> We do what you can't do. >> We do what we can do. >> I appreciate that. And we need to maintain a certain flexibility and sensitivity to a family's economic position. >> Member Wilson, >> I have a question. Maybe this is an appropriate thing, but I ask it. Do we have um an ability to create some kind of a foundation for community members to donate to offset the costs of something like this? I'm thinking also when it comes to school lunches, right, when we eat, um, you know, a few hundred,000 in bad debt, it would be really great if community members were interested and able to help, you
027know, help the district absorb $400,000 in broken or lost Chromebooks and another 400,000 that's eight, well, seven teachers >> that we could pay for between Chromebooks and bad debt. So if there was a >> great idea >> gofundme that [clears throat] >> Yeah. Um Andy, what are our options for receiving money like that? Is that typically a PTA or >> Yeah, I mean we don't have a great option for people just to donate to the district, especially like electronic. Um it'd be something we probably work through, right? Paper schools foundation or something and try to set that up and get donations to them and then they could direct it towards our student program. So there are options out there if we want to try to set up and have the advertising for the program. But
028>> because the piece is that if they can donate to the foundation, then they can get the tax benefits too for a donation. >> Yeah. Yeah, that would be good. >> That's what we couldn't offer if they just donated money to the district, >> right? Whenever we get donations, typically we just give them the donor a letter say we're um tax exempt government entity, you know, thank you for your donation for >> and I don't know what their accountant does with it at that point. >> But if the state of Alaska buys into some changes happening at the national level with like the scholarship thing, >> there's a conversation for elsewhere. >> There's a there's some sort of a tax deduction for scholarships like a $100 item. >> I think there's one at the state
029level, too, isn't there? Like a high or some sort of education tax credit on the corporate tax. >> I think I don't know what it is. >> Anyways, it would be great if we could um >> Yeah, we can definitely look into setting up that structure having >> I mean really just people knowing direct fund is biggest issue. I have a feeling one will get a lot more contributions and technology but that might be something anchor school foundations >> this occurred to me off and on that permanent fund set up for the anchor school district wouldn't I'm sure but but it would >> they currently use do the west high foundation to give them it's just a percentage of the money that comes in and that they [clears throat] charge for for administration. [clears throat]
030>> Yeah. Um, do we want to set up something formal to look into this or come back? >> I don't know. This is I mean we're talking about BP6161 and I think Savannah has Yeah. Yeah, just trying to develop and get the district more of a a role in that organization. >> Okay. So, um >> has Oh, I'm sorry. Member Bell. >> Oh, sure. Thanks. Um the question member lesson's question about um setting up some kind of fund uh kind of reminded me of an email we got recently from a teacher up at East High School wanting to set up a nonprofit something um to to to benefit a program. Now, I'm not uh saying I support that, but I'm I'm thinking um if we were able to set up on a district level, not
031a school level and not an individual teacher level, some kind of um or or expand what we already have. So, people can pay for lunches, they can pay for lost equipment, they can pay for lost books or donate to those to funds that would do that. Um but uh so I say that to say I would like more information on what we can and cannot do legally >> uh and I would like uh input from the staff and not today. It may have to go a little bit longer and that would be fine with me. Thank you. >> I just remember we do have an anchorage in because they do those mini grants. So they're set up. It's just I don't think that particular group of moms who I know really want to go into
032the big things, we have to talk with them. I think that's >> Yeah. Just a way we can help support them to kind of get that growth. Right now, it's kind of a skeleton people just >> keeping it active essentially. >> Yeah. Um I I would be interested just in in getting an overview of what is out there. I tangentally have bumped into some of these different groups over the years, but I I couldn't explain coherently what exists or direct someone. Um, I was I am aware of someone who's who's about to take retirement account distributions that wants to support a program at East that her son happens to be the teacher of. Um, but the question is how do you do that in in a way that'll be sustaining for that program? Um, as
033opposed to just handing cash over and not really being sure of what happens to it. So, I I would think we'll have people that at times want to make a significant sum, but they will want the tax benefit. They will want the assurance is going to go to that. in in in the same realm. I just had a couple who want to write in. They know they can do the West High Foundation, but the husband is from East High and she's from West High, so they want to split it, but there isn't an east side one. So, we're looking into that as well. We're also just to piggy back on to what >> member Bellamy said with the uh question regarding the teacher at least we actually are bringing together a group that includes those
034that do contracts and stuff to make sure that we're also ethically >> in line whenever we have a teacher on a board for the programs they teach and that kind of stuff we have to watch all that. So they're bringing that together and probably right after the new year to talk about that specific because there's there's another program at east that has the same exact question. >> So we're we're working on that. >> Awesome. >> Much more pleasant problems to have than what we usually get. >> Yeah. Um, so we're looking at this with the change of adding by the district between the words provided and for >> Americ I I capture. >> Yeah, >> given those changes, I'll ask board members to vote on sending this to the full board for consideration. >> Yes.
035member Wilson. >> Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. Um with that that passes. Anyone have any other business to bring before the committee today? Um I would make a note that uh pursuant to the passing of our microlastic resolution. Uh my question to the administration is should this be handled by administrative regulation or do you want us to actually put it in policy? Um it's it's kind of specific to go in policy but we can >> yeah we discussed it on the finance side and we can include that in like our procurement manuals say you know you buy the biogradable and then our warehouse would support if they have the plastic litter to move that over to players. >> Okay. So they're all prepped to do that. Um if we want to do anything more >>
036there's some more in that that had to do with the teaching of about microplastics and we've been talking on [clears throat] our side about where that would fit >> into the it probably be around in the elementary science >> and should that be in administrative regulations then >> I mean we do want to record it somewhere. >> Yeah. >> So it don't just happen and then fade away. >> Yeah. So, >> let's see that. >> And and I would just ask that the AR reference the date the resolution has passed five years from now when we're all gone. Um, some of us >> um it's always good to [clears throat] know how to look back and find out where something originated from. >> I would imagine that this is one of those things. one, you
037got the existing inventories, whatever you might have to deal with. And then the other one is purchasing, putting a limitation on what you do with that. Um, I don't know if there's other issues out there, too. And I'm not going out opening the door asking the Boy Scouts to compete against the Girl Scouts or whatever's going to go on here, but I I I don't, you know, know what they do with the existing uh micro plastics. And then the question is put a limitation on purchasing is what I think you would do, right? >> Yeah. You have to tell you have to tell the teachers you can't bring it in can't buy bring it in either. >> Yeah. And it's I mean frankly it'll be really difficult for us to police this. They're going to
038go buy it on a pec card. The receipt's going to say glitter and we don't have the staff to contact and say that but yeah but we want to encourage that for our process and say this is what's allowed. >> It seems like you go off some communications even if you buy on your own you're not bringing this in. So that's important to you know address that issue that way. at least communicate who want. >> Um, I hesitate to even ask, but I I assume no one has >> of how much nonbiodegradable glitter we have on hand. >> I'm thinking it's not a whole lot, but the girl scout troop is collecting as much as they can find and they're going to make a sculpture using acrylic [clears throat] so that basically it's encased >>
039and can't ever be scattered. So if we do have any and we can legally channel it to them >> of the regular glitter, we're we're >> that's already in play getting it over to Claris to the [laughter] truck transfer and everything because we're that's already going on started that. >> Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Um any other new business questions or comments? Without that simply note the upcoming meetings January 22nd February 26th >> you don't need a mot [laughter] >> in the in the case that we have no one asserting a motion to adjourn this