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School Board finalizes policies on drug testing,
emergency response; plans upcoming M&O
Levy request |
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December 17, 2014 |
The Board of Trustees for Boundary County School
District 101 met Monday, and among other things,
finalized updated policies on drug testing of
students, finalized changes to the District's
Emergency Response Plan, and came closer to
determining the amount they plan to request from
voters for the upcoming 2015 Supplemental
Maintenance and Operations Levy.
Drug Testing Policy
There have been several issues on drug testing
that the School Board has taken under
consideration, and they have had public
discussions on the policy at multiple previous
board meetings.
At Monday night's meeting, the board finalized
their policy as they voted for and determined
the following:
The drug testing program will apply to students
in grades 7 through 12. Sixth grade students
will not be included in the program.
Students who violate the policy will have
consequences that are specified, depending on
the type of violation. Consequences include
discipline such as being removed from the team
they are on for the remainder of the season,
being removed from any leadership position they
may hold in the school, or other consequences.
The board is considering changing the wording in
the policy so that instead of saying that
because of a violation a student CAN lose any
leadership position in a school organization, it
would instead say a student WILL lose their
position.
In addition, students who violate the policy
will have "strikes," placed on their record, and
accumulating more strikes leads to more severe
consequences. However, it was determined that
any junior high student promoting into high
school who carries strikes on their record will
have all strikes removed, except for one strike,
to help them get a fresh start in their high
school career with a chance to do better, but
with the single strike remaining to remind them
that consequences will result from further
violations.
Finally, there was a discussion at the Board
meeting on the idea of doing pre-season drug
testing for students involved in athletics. This
would be in addition to the ongoing random drug
testing which is already in place at the school
and which would continue. It was argued that
drug testing of athletes, including the proposed
pre-season testing, was largely a safety issue
in athletics. It was expressed that team members
should have full confidence that all their
fellow team members are clear headed and at full
physical performance capability, as they rely
upon each other in demanding situations, such as
when cheerleaders are tossed into the air and
caught by other cheerleaders, or when football
players or other team members are relying on
their teammates in physically demanding
situations.
After prolonged discussion on whether this rule
should apply to only athletics or to all
extra-curricular and co-curricular activities,
the Board finally voted that the policy would
include pre-season testing for athletic
participation only. This new policy will begin
immediately. The pre-season testing will cost
the athlete $15, and the board mentioned that if
this is a financial hardship for a family, funds
may be available to help those who need it. The
random drug screening as currently done
throughout the year will continue, and all
random testing is paid for by the District.
Emergency Response Plan
The Board voted to adopt major changes in their
plan to respond to emergency situations,
specifically in the context of bomb threats. It
was noted that in the past, a single word
scrawled on a bathroom wall led to a full
evacuation of the school, with a full response
from local law enforcement, medical personnel,
and county emergency response resources. Under
the new plan, each individual threat would be
assessed individually, rather than having the
same blanket response to any and all possible
threats.
If the threat is considered to be a simple,
less-than-threatening repetition of previous
threats, such as a word written on a bathroom
wall, that may in the future lead to a much more
limited response, if administrators determine it
is a less credible threat. However, school
administrators could determine with any threat
at any time that a more complete response is
required. Any threat that seems to be beyond
what has proved to be more of a harmless threat
in the past may lead to the full emergency
response.
The Board made it clear that changing this
policy was not done lightly, that they have
spent many hours over the last several months in
investigating this issue, and in meeting with
law enforcement, the community, and school
administrators, to arrive at a policy that will
be realistic and still provide a safe response
to individual threatening situations.
2015 Supplemental Maintenance and
Operations Levy
The M&O Levy has been at $1.4 million dollars a
year for the past two years, and the time has
come to set a request for the 2015 Levy.
The School Board just learned that the "forest
funds" they have received from the federal
government in the past have not been included in
recent federal legislation, and as it now stands
will not be provided. Those funds may or may not
be reinstated at a later date, but whether those
funds will ever be received is not now known.
Superintendent Richard Conley reported that
continuing with the same amount of $1.4 million
from the last levy, especially without the
forest funds, would be very difficult, and
likely would not provide sufficient funding
needed.
School Board Trustee Ron MacDonald stated that
requesting just enough money to get by for the
2015 levy will not work, especially if any
unforeseen problems should arise.
He pointed out that the roof of Valley View
School is already leaking. A sprinkler system at
Naples is in need of repair. The Middle School
has huge energy losses through its archaic
plexiglass windows, leading to wasting of money.
Additional items in need of attention include:
the floor scrubber at the Middle School is
broken and in need of repair or replacement. The
"new" track, which is now 10 years old, is in
need of re-surfacing. The gym at Valley View
needs new bleachers, the older current bleachers
becoming more of a safety issue. The two
buildings at Naples need to be connected, which
is another safety issue as there are too many
unmonitored entrances at the Naples campus. The
computers available in labs at all the schools
are dated.
"Our technology is falling behind, and
unfortunately teaching kids on outdated
technology isn't getting kids where they need to
be before they graduate," said Mr. MacDonald.
Mr. MacDonald went on to say ""The longer we
just 'make do,' and we just 'get by,' the more
the buildings are going to start falling apart
around our ears. At some point we're going to
have to ask for more [levy funding] because
these buildings are starting to fall apart."
He further pointed out that the age of the
school buildings in the county is also a factor:
"My parents went to this school [Valley View],
and they're 73 years old. I went to this school.
I was one of the first classes in those
portables over there, which were supposed to be
temporary. My kids have been through those
portables. At some point we're going to have to
start paying for this."
"There's only so much duct tape, and eventually,
even as good as duct tape is, it's gonna give,
and then we've got a mess," said Mr. MacDonald.
Trustee Melanie Staples pointed out that raising
funding for improvements or repairs on buildings
would require a request and a vote on a Plant
and Facility Levy, which would be separate from
the annual Maintenance and Operations Levy. She
further indicated that it has been many years
since any Plant and Facility Levy was requested
by the School District.
Current Funding at Other Nearby
Districts
For purposes of information, nearby school
districts of similar size were contacted by
NewsBF, and following is information on the
current M&O levies those school districts have
in place, along with their current total school
enrollment throughout each school district:
• Boundary County School District: A two year levy for $1.4 million
each year, ending in 2015. Total student
enrollment: 1,353 students.
• Kellogg School District: A two year levy for $2.78 million each
year, ending in 2016. Total student enrollment:
1,139 students.
• West Bonner County School District (Priest River): a one year
levy for $3 million, ends in 2015, was passed in
2014 by a margin of only 11 votes. Total student
enrollment: approximately 1,200 students.
• Orofino School District: A two year levy for $2.285 million each
year, passed in March of 2014 and ending in
2016. The Orofino School District also passed in
2014 a Plant and Facilities Levy of $100,000 per
year for the next 10 years. Total student
enrollment: 1,005 students.
• Wallace School District: A two year levy for $2 million each
year, passed in 2014 by only 2 votes, 261-259.
Total student enrollment: approximately 500
students.
Final Decision on Levy Request to Be
Made Soon
After discussing this issue, the Board
determined that they needed to have additional
information, and wished also to take the time to
look more closely at the funding needs of the
district and money that would be required to
meet needs for repairs and improvements on
school buildings. They decided to have an
informational meeting in another week to look at
funding needs, then to proceed with a formal
decision on the amount that will be requested of
voters in 2015.
The entire School Board meeting was broadcast
live on the website
www.boundarycountylive.com The full
replay broadcast is on archive there, and anyone
can view a replay of the School Board meeting by
going to that website. |
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