SCC Meeting Notes: Sept. 20, 2017
5:30 pm
Prepared by Suzanne Riches
Attendance: Greg Leavitt, Jan Hansen, Michelle Hawkins, Renae Dalgleish, Shelia Armstrong, Ram Jayakumar, Brant Thomsen
Welcome and election of officers by Greg Leavitt
Brant Thomsen elected Chair
Sheila Armstrong elected Vice Chair
Suzanne Riches appointed Secretary
Bond Election
Shelia: Discussed what she learned about the bond at the district
luncheon she attended earlier in September.
Bond for 283 million dollars to be raised. No tax hike for taxpayers. The Jordan bonds will expire. Money currently going to those bonds will be used to fund the current Canyons list of rebuilds and additions to schools. Rebuild for Hillcrest and Brighton High are at the top of the list. If the bond passes, we would most likely break ground next summer.
Mr. Leavitt: The bill is tax neutral—should not raise or lower taxes.
Sheila: Without the bond, the district would be able to build a new
elementary school every two years. However, to
build new high schools, it will take a bond.
Mr. Leavitt: The bond also includes a new wing for Corner Canyon High
School. This would take only about two million dollars of the
bond money.
Tax bills would only be reduced by an average of $9 per year per tax payer without passage of the bond.
Vote for District Bond
Brant called for a vote by the SCC for or against the bond.
The vote was unanimous for the bond.
SCC Training
Mr. Leavitt: SCC training should be attended. A schedule for the trainings was circulated.
Discussion of what HHS may include should the bond pass.
- Three-year build.
- Will keep the football field and STEM building.
- Would use a right turn in and right turn out on 9th East, avoiding Hillcrest Drive.
- The building would emphasize our views and would go up 3 stories.
Concerns expressed by members
Shelia expressed concern about the auditorium size and quality.
Mr. Leavitt said that the auditorium would continue to have the current features and would seat 1600.
Michelle brought up a concern with classroom size and parking for
new building.
Mr. Leavitt responded that these concerns have been taken into
account.
Mr. Leavitt stated that renderings will be released and the SCC will be asked to weigh in if the bond passes. Many issues will need to be considered, such as lockers. Would we even want lockers? If so, how many? These are the types of questions that will need to considered if the bond passes.
Brant brought up the baseball fields: How would these be utilized? He thinks keeping the fields would be wise.
Some earthquake upgrades were completed for Hillcrest in the 90’s. Members asked if earthquake protection is currently in place.
Trust Land Budget: Mr. Leavitt
$211,000 dollars were spent from last year’s budget. 3.5 teachers were hired and several support staff who work directly with students. Some classes with students needing extra help are now at 20 in 9th grade math, 9th graders who have very low-test scores were put into skills courses.
Math teachers are doing math instruction in small groups and using the groups for re-teaching purposes.
The .5 teacher is a social worker who was hired to deal with special problems.
Data Review: Graphs were circulated by Mr. Leavitt, see attached.
Summary
Grad rates went up—82.63% to 84.86%.
Overall GPA Graph measured by quarter—GPA’s have remained fairly level from T4 2015-T4 2016. Some quarters showed a rise in GPA.
Grade 9 GPA’s are up, reflecting results of special programs now in place.
Grade 9: 62% are now on-track to graduate.
Students on track to graduate went up.
Ram: What happened after the start of T1 2016-17? Why did we see a rise in D and F’s?
Mr. Leavitt: We don’t know, but in November we will be able to chart the data for T1 of 2017-2018. This will tell us more about the success of the efforts we have been making.
Attendance:
Positive comments about Taco Fridays were made by parents in the group.
Mr. Leavitt: We serve 550-600 tacos per week. These are given for perfect attendance and no tardies. He is pleased with the results.
Mr. Leavitt: Huskie Strong Arm is the stick for attendance. Kids are doing better. Teachers are putting a lot of time into this. Teachers confirmed that this is working. Teachers are in the halls for several minutes every day during prep periods. Students without passes receive notices and must report to B-106 where the absence is recorded and parents are called.
Other
Ram: What happened after the start of T1 2016-17? Why did we see a rise in D and F’s?
Mr. Leavitt: We don’t know, but in November we will be able to chart the data for T1 of 2017-2018. This will tell us more about the success of the efforts we have been making.
Meeting adjourned
Members informally discussed beginning SCC meetings at 5:00 pm from now on. Group voted to adopt the new time.
