About ESPB
Board Minutes
January 8-9, 2003
State Capitol, PSC Conference Room, Bismarck, ND
The Education Standard and Practices Board (ESPB) meeting was called to order by board chair, Amy Benz. Board members present were Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Dean U. Koppelman, Neil Nordquist, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad.. ESPB personnel present were Deb Jensen, Loris Marcusen, Diane Weber and Janet Welk. Visitors who attended the meeting were Bill Peterson from Attorney General's office, Leann Nelson, Joe Westby and Gloria Lokken from the North Dakota Education Association, Gary Gronberg and Laurie Matzke from the Department of Public Instruction, Mark Wilson from the State Board of Vocational and Technical Education, and Bob Gibson from the Devils Lake Public School system. Board member, Kathy Kiedrowski and ESPB personnel, Louella Aronson attended the meeting on Thursday.
Board members Laura Carley and Marianna Malm were unable to attend the two-day board meeting.
Introductions were held prior the agenda items being addressed. It was announced that Dean U. Koppelman had been awarded North Dakota Superintendent of the Year by the North Dakota Association of School Administrators (NDASA). Agenda item additions would be discussion by Gloria Lokken and the executive director's evaluation summary.
Kirk made a motion to table the December minutes and to bring back the minutes on Thursday. Second by Chris. On Thursday, a motion was made by Kirk to approve the December minutes as written. Second by Dan. Motion carried. Board members who voted in agreement were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dean U. Koppelman, Neil Nordquist, DanVainonen and Kirk Welstad.
Due to training of new personnel and the month of December being part of the second busiest time of the year, the December financial report was not available.
Deb invited any board members to attend the Program Advisory Committee meeting which will be held on January 29th at the Doublewood in Bismarck.
The PAAC recommended that the following Turtle Mountain Community College standards be approved:
- Standard 2.3 - Operating Procedures Manual standard is now MET.
- Standard 2.6 - Dr. Karen Roberts has been hired as Elementary Education chair, standard is now MET
- Standard 2.7 - Updated, dated policy documents were received as required in the
condition and standard is now MET - Standard 4.8 - Documents defining faculty loads within the parameters of the standard is now MET.
A motion was made by Dan to approve the PAAC recommendations of the four standards as being met and also being in alignment with the NCATE standards. Second by Neil. Motion carried. Board members who voted yes were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dean U. Koppelman, Neil Nordquist, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad.
Deb provided updates on future approval visits and team training from her written report.
Deb then asked for board direction regarding the future plans in the area of professional development. The board authorized moving forward on repeating the standards alignment conference which was held last August. The motion was made by Kirk to move forward. Second by Dan. Motion carried. Board members who were in agreement were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dean U. Koppelman, Neil Nordquist, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad.
Deb reported that North Dakota Colleges of Teacher Education (NDACTE), North Dakota Curriculum Initiative (NDCI), Association of Teacher Education (ATE) and North Dakota Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (NDASCD) will combine resources for their spring conference to be held on April 3-4, 2003.
Janet informed the board that she would be meeting with Sandy Paulson from OMB and Rowean Hulsing, Hulsing CPA regarding the management of the grant dollars. Due to the amount of the grant, flow, in-kind and staff, the board recommended that the grant accounting be contracted with an accounting firm. Janet indicated that the board would receive about $145,000 per year, as indirect administrative dollars. During the grant discussion, it was suggested that a Budget Committee be formed. The Budget Committee members are Kirk Welstad, Dean U. Koppelman, Neil Nordquist, Amy Benz and Janet Welk.
Janet informed the board that Dickinson Public Schools will be providing an office for Loris Marcusen at the Adult Resource Center. Janet thanked Dean for his help and assistance in this effort.
Much discussion was held on the “No Child Left Behind” bill rewrite.
Gloria Lokken visited with the board and expressed NDEA concerns with “no child left behind”. She cautioned the board on moving too fast, asked that we work with the congressional team on flexibility, that ESPB be a resource and that all entities work as partners targeting: restoring funding in the rural areas, teacher quality, etc.
The board discussed a variety of options for dealing with composite majors in administrative rule.
The board authorized Amy, Janet and Deb to meet with Bill Peterson to work out details on the ESPB teacher quality bill draft, within board requirements to not go beyond the federal law. Kirk will assist with presenting our bill to legislators for sponsorship. The board will be update via conference call on Monday, January 13, 2003.
The board agreed to have a conference call scheduled for Monday, January 13 regarding drafting ESPB Teacher Quality legislation. The draft will be faxed to all board members and to Bill Peterson for their review prior to conference call.
Amy summarized Janet's evaluation. It was suggested that a different evaluation tool be developed and this could be an item could be explored at the board retreat. Janet asked the board for their consideration to grant her leave this summer for her to pursue her PHD. A motion was made by Kirk to approve leave time for Janet to pursue her degree. Second by Neil. Motion carried. Board members who were agreement were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dean Koppelman, Neil Nordquist, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad. It was also suggested that a policy be developed at the board retreat regarding professional development for the staff. The board thanked Janet for a good job. The board also thanked the rest of the staff for their good work.
New office personnel, Sheila Wald and Jean Bechhold were introduced to the board.
CASES
Aucker, Ray (Administrative)
Bill Peterson informed the board that Mr. Aucker will be appealing to the administrative law judge. The Arizona State Board of Education has requested Mr. Aucker's file.
Whalen, George (Administrative)
A motion was made by Chris to dismiss the request for inquiry. Second by Dean. Motion carried. The administrative board who voted yes were Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dean U. Koppelman and Kirk Welstad. Mr. Whalan is a principal at Lake Agassiz School in Grand Forks. A request for inquiry was filed to due code of ethics.
Langland, Richard (FYI)
Bill Peterson reported that the school will be sending his personnel file.
Campbell, Thomas (FYI)
Bill Peterson has not yet received the answer to Mr. Campbell's complaint. The twenty day deadline is just about over.
Lehman, Richard
A motion was made by Chris to table the case due to missing information. Second by Dan. Motion carried. Board members who voted in agreement were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad. Dean U. Koppelman, and Neil Nordquist were absent during the vote.
Nygren, Maren
A motion was made by Pam to dismiss the case. Second by Dan. Motion carried. Board members who voted in agreement were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrwoski, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad. Dean U. Koppelman and Neil Nordquist were absent during the vote. Ms. Nygren's license renewal was brought before the board due to question #3, part 2 of the application form. Ms. Nygren is employed with Almont Public Schools as an elementary instructor.
Rettinger, Gordon
Bill Peterson suggested that a request for inquiry be filed, seeking information from law enforcement to see if an investigation was done and to view the findings. It was also suggested that the school district be contact to see what the district has in the school file. A motion was made by Kirk seek the information that Bill has requested. Second by Dan. Motion carried. Board members who voted yes were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrwoski, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad.
Dean U. Koppelman and Neil Nordquist were absent during the vote. Mr. Rettinger's license has been brought before the board for possible sexual misconduct. He was last employed at Griggs County Central High School at Cooperstown/Hannaford Public Schools as an English and German instructor.
Reynolds, Benny
A motion was made by Pam to proceed with formal disciplinary action against his license and offer an informal settlement agreement. Second by Chris. Motion carried. Board members who voted yes were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad. A motion was made by Chris to offer an informal settlement agreement of $150. Second by Kirk. Motion carried. Board members who were in agreement were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad. Dean U. Koppelman and Neil Nordquist were absent during the vote. Mr. Reynolds had been teaching without a license while he was employed as a social studies instructor at Roosevelt Public Schools in Carson. NDCC 15.1-13-25(1)(h) and NDCC 15.1-13-17(1)
Solein, Shirley
A motion was made by Kirk to proceed with formal disciplinary action against her license and offer an informal settlement agreement. Second by Dan. Motion carried. Board members who voted yes were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad.
Kirk made a motion to offer an informal settlement agreement of $100. Second by Chris. Motion carried. Board members who voted yes were Amy Benz, Pam Cronin, Chris Douthit, Kathy Kiedrowski, Dan Vainonen and Kirk Welstad. Dean U. Koppelman and Neil Nordquist were not available during the vote. Ms. Solien was teaching without a license while employed at the Lidgerwood Public School as an English and family /consumer science instructor. NDCC 15.1-13-25(1)(h) and NDCC 15.1-13-17(1)
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