Present: Jane McLaughlin, Whitney C., John T., Mary Herbert, Gail Cooluris, Heidi Loper, Fern O'Brien, Mike Cawley, Gail Heckemeyer, Jean Meyer, Sarah O'Keefe, Eisha Z., Bipasha M., Midori Wong.

Guests: Keltie Jones, BJ Kline, Fay Hulbert

1. Presentation by visiting school board members on the renewal of the school bond measure (currently Measure S) scheduled for the November 4, 2003 election.

Keltie Jones and BJ Kline distributed and discussed a summary of what Measure S currently provides at each school level and district-wide, approximately 5.5% of the total budget. They asked for comments and suggestions as the board will be revamping the proposal, including possibly putting forth a perpetual measure with a built-in cost of living adjustment.

2. Presentation by WASC coordinator on the accreditation team visit and report last week.

Fay Hulbert said it was a successful visit and believes we are likely to receive a six year accreditation with a three year review. The team recommended that the school narrow the focus of our action plan. Two specific areas were mentioned, better services for ELL students and a comprehensive staff development program tied to student outcome data. The language of the action plan will continue to be intertwined in the SIP plan. With the WASC process completed for the faculty this year, collaboration time can now refocus on something other than WASC.

3. Approval of minutes.

Minutes from the January 30, 2003, meeting were approved.

4. Principal's report.

Michael Cawley asked that the council consider one further grant request, to fund one sixth of the cost of the third Assistant Principal position, approximately $13,000. Sarah O'Keefe drew the members' attention to page 35 of our site plan, referring to our mandate to improve attendance and cut truancies, and pointed out that it is part of the responsibility of this position to oversee and address school attendance issues. This request was added to those already submitted and designated request "C."

5. Consideration of SIP Proposals 2003-2004.

Sarah O'Keefe said that after a contingency fund and the coordinator's salary are set aside, the amount we will have to distribute will be $57,479.

The process of examining grants 1-36 and A-C began. The council will keep the stated priorities in mind: to consider funding those proposals which address the needs of students who have not reached proficiency levels on standardized tests and whose poor attendance might be a factor in low achievement. The numbers are those on the copies of proposals distributed to the committee, and this will be most easily understood in reference to the summary sheet provided by the coordinator.

Several proposals were excluded for various reasons (e.g. something the council cannot fund, something with other, more appropriate sources, something requested for the current school year). These were numbers 2, 4, 6, 13-15, and 17.

Several were requests for LCD projectors. The council will consider these all together at the end of the cycle. These were numbers 3, 8, and 27.

Grant A, for 1 0-15% of the budget for teacher training and support, will be considered at the end of the cycle.

Grant B, the traditional 5% of library funding, will also be finalized at the end.

Grant C, for the Assistant Principal salary completion, will also be considered in full after the others have been discussed.

Grant 1 was for consumables for Biology: it was given a low priority and a status of "maybe."

Grant 5 was approved for $520.33.

Grant 7 was questioned because of its nature: it is a pilot program for a particular company. Why is the company not providing equipment needed? Calculators have been purchased by this council previously, and it our understanding that the library has an adequate supply for students to borrow. The coordinator will investigate.

Grant 9 was partially funded: $60 was approved as it seemed a better price could be obtained.

Grant 10 seemed a large amount of money in this tight year for a relatively small number of students.

Grant 11 brought up a question as to whether a less expensive price could be obtained. Ted Fontaine will be asked this question. The investment otherwise seems appropriate.

Grant 12 was approved for $1,165.78 as it is for all students.

Grant 16 was approved for $160.

Grant 18: Sarah O'Keefe will ask Ricky Davenport about the 13 video series - is it for Government only, or for US History also?

Grant 19 was put into pending status depending on funds left after other allocations are made.

Grant 20 was approved, $44.11.

Grant 21: $500 was approved.

Grant 22 was approved, $127.15.

Grant 23 was approved, $5668.83.

Grant 24 was partially approved, $2,513.89.

Grant 25 was approved for one projector only, approximately $600.

Grant 26 was put into pending status: are the computers and software already in place? What is an imaging drum? Can Lynnette Diem come to the next meeting and explain the need for these to the committee?

Grant 32 is a subscription: Sarah O'Keefe will ask if it is for more than one class or classroom; how many students will be affected?

Grant 28 is a subscription that was funded previously. The discussion was not completed as it was time to adjourn.

The next meeting will be April 24th. We will not meet with C & I as this work is not finished. The location is TBA.