Labor/Management Meeting

Minutes

December 16, 2003

Present: Don Barber, Bonda Albers, Lori Pulliam, Tina Corey, Jim Eccles, Sandy Prouty, Dean Stenehjem, Mary Sarate, Renee Corso, Dee Amundsen, Craig Meador and Janet Merz (recording secretary).

1. Communication (Dean Stenehjem).

Dean stated this issue was tied to an e-mail that was sent out last month. Dean asked that if anyone has a question or concern that they go to him first, instead of sending out blanket e-mails. Dean feels that many situations can be resolved by contacting the person directly as this should be the first step and it produces less anxiety and it will enable people to work together. Don stated that he wants to keep communication open and will pass this information along.

2. Teacher’s Request Meeting (Lori Pulliam)

Lori said this agenda item was carried over from the last meeting. The teachers would like face to face meetings with administration if issues come up. Dean said he has shared before that he would be more than happy to meet with the teachers anytime. Lori said the teachers would prefer to have the meetings with teachers only however this year it will be difficult because of the many different schedules. Jim said that the residential department faces the same frustration and that if the issue is important enough people will come to the meetings. Dean stated that he would be happy to meet anytime and to contact Janet to set it up.

3. Miscellaneous

Renee said she spoke to Bonda regarding a recent situation she has in Chapman with two adolescent girls. One student has subtle seizures and her mom is concerned having Jim on graveyard and the other issue is regarding diapering. The other adolescent girls require hand-over-hand toileting. One of the options was to have Jim and Catherine Orr switch cottages, however Catherine is happy in Clarke but agreed to move until the end of the year. The hours for this change would be from 12:00 to 6:30 a.m. only. Don stated this issue was discussed at the local meeting and also at the pre-meeting today. Don felt the issue was dealt with last year with the Human Rights Commission however he understands the bind we are in. Dean felt the situation has changed drastically since last year due to the hand over hand toileting situation and Dean is very concerned about putting an employee and/or the school in a litigious situation. Bonda stated that the I-team met and agreed that they would not hand-over-hand toilet train this adolescent girl. Craig said his understanding was that they were. Sandy said that there is nothing in writing regarding this and they currently are not doing hand over hand. Jim said his issue was that Catherine is only agreeing to do this because she is a good team player, but he knows this is not her preference. Bonda asked Jim if he wanted to stay on graveyard. Jim said he does not want to do the bus run. Bonda stated that we may have to re-bid all of the positions. Jim suggested we look into obtaining a monitor to help the seizure situation. The student will return to WSSB on January 5. Dean suggested that Renee call the family to see if there is a monitor available. Renee said that Donna agreed to change the student’s diaper if needed when she is on graveyard starting in February. Janet suggested having Donna switch to graveyard beginning when the student comes back to WSSB. Renee will call Mrs. Coomer to discuss the seizure monitor and she will also talk to Donna about changing to graveyard in January.

Don stated there were some questions regarding the Winter Ski Program and the selection of Boni Moran and Mark Raetzman. Don asked if this was part of the Recreation Coordinator’s position. Renee said it is a small piece of that position. Renee stated that Mark was very involved with the ski program last year as he ran the slopes with the kids and this year he will be collecting the names of the kids who are interested in participating. Boni is contact volunteers and sending out information, while Renee is handling the lunches and medication coordination. Bonda said that people have been asking whether Jan Person is a volunteer or paid intermittent. Renee said she is a paid intermittent. Dean stated that due to some unknown expenses that our immediate plan is not to fill the Recreation Coordinator’s position at this time and we are asking people to be flexible and to work with us during this time. Don asked if these positions were temporary. Renee said yes; there will be 5 trips to the mountain this year. Don asked Renee how she chose the people for the positions. Renee said that she sent an e-mail to all staff on-campus asking for interested parties and let them know that it may involve some overtime. Don asked how Renee came to the final decision. Renee stated that she received four e-mails back. Jim asked if these additional duties were on top of their daily duties. Renee said yes. Dean stated that 12-14 students are signed up for this program, therefore they will not be in the cottages during these evenings. Jim felt that a concern may be that these people are working out of their class but since it is temporary it is not an issue as it becomes other duties as assigned. Bonda asked if Renee spoke to Adrienne about her interest in this position. Renee stated that Adrienne was ill during the time of the selection and she had a short turn-around time and had to make a fast decision.

Dean said that our goal is to run Summer School again this year. Last year the Summer School was run by funds raised only (no state dollars). This year we may look at charging tuition. Lori asked if we had a dollar figure worked out yet as she will be sending out a mailing in January and could include this. Dean would also like to offer a Summer Institute once again for teachers. Dean feels this should be able to be self-sufficient with tuition as well.

Dean reported that the Vancouver Police Department contract for Ahlstein is going forward and they anticipate moving in sometime at the end of August, 2004. The Vancouver Police Department would pay for the utilities, custodial services, and maintenance. Jim asked if there would be any remodeling. Dean stated that we had $250,000 left over from the Ogden Resource Center, partially due to the poor economy and great bids we received on that project. The city will also be upgrading the facility.

Dean attended a meeting last week in Olympia regarding Sustainability in Washington. The Governor recognized WSSB for the Ogden Resource Center and its focus on green architecture. Many private industries were in attendance and this was a great recognition for WSSB.

The meeting adjourned at 3:05 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. (WSFE to meet at 1:00 p.m.)

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Dean O. Stenehjem, Ed.D. Bonda Albers, RLC

Superintendent President – Local WSFE