IC3S Meeting Minutes

Place: Corbett Fire Hall

Date: November 28, 2018

Time: 7 – 8:45pm

Present: Mikaila Way, Andrew Kurkinen, Cless Woodward, Jeff Aho, Brad Garrett

Agenda:

1. Sharing community requests and recommendations for IC3S

The group was provided with a short summary of correspondence Mikaila has received via emails since the community meeting. The group is encouraged to see more community members reaching out and becoming more involved in the conversation about the future of schools in Corbett.

2. Update on school board meetings last week

Special Board Meeting – Nov 19

Mikaila, Jeff and Andrew attended the special school board meeting conducted on Monday, Nov. 19^th at Manucha Lodge regarding the process of charter district formation. An OSBA Facilitator and former Director of Charter Schools for Portland Public Schools, Kristin Miles, facilitated a discussion with the seven board members, Dr. Randy Trani and Robin F. Lindeen about what it would mean for Corbett to become a charter district. She guided the conversation through pros/cons, timeline, application process, future questions and responded to questions from the Board and community audience members.

A segment of the community is frustrated that the district provided short notice of the meeting, on the tail of a school newsletter article expressing the desire for increased community engagement in this discussion. Furthermore, the group discussed some of the concerns and conversations happening in the town and schools about the formation of a charter district vs. the slow attrition process and the various implications and challenges of these potentials.

The group discussed the timeline drafted by the Board on deciding whether or not to pursue the charter district application process is March 2019. At the Monday meeting, some Board members and community members expressed concern that the March decision timeframe will leave little time for discussion and consideration of Rob Saxton’s report being released and delivered mid-February. In our discussion the group echoed these concerns that the board, district and community will have a limited amount of time to process and provide feedback after the release of the consultant’s report. The group is hopeful that the board will consider these concerns prior to making any final decision on pursuing the charter district application process.

To help bring some clarity to the charter district conversation the group discussed and agreed to post a charter district Q & A to the IC3S website that would attempt to answer common questions related to implementation of a charter district. The questions will be submitted and answered by staff at the ODE and OSBA.

The group tabled a discussion regarding reaching out to community members to assist with documentation of any board discussion or decision related to implementation of a charter district.

Regular Board Meeting – Nov 20

Mikaila, Jeff and Brad attended the board meeting representing IC3S. IC3S asked the board and Dr. Trani/District to sign off on a Memorandum of Understanding that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of IC3S as Project Managers, the District as Contract Managers, and the Board as overseeing the configuration and process.

After a presentation by Mikaila and Jeff, and extended discussion with the board, the board did approve the MOU. Further clarified was the understanding and agreement that IC3S is not a “committee of the board” and is recognized as independent project managers. As a part of the agreement, IC3S will continue to follow all Oregon open public meeting laws.

It was also discussed and agreed by the Board that any work IC3S does as a community group separate from the scope of work with Rob Saxton is for the community and not part of the responsibilities as Project Managers for the Board. For example, any work IC3S does regarding taking a role in providing information of the Charter conversation is “outside the SOW with Rob Saxton”. For any additional community work, we are reporting to the community, not the Board and we are not requesting appointment by the Board to carry out this work.

3. Consultant Update

Rob has used 24 hours of his contracted 50 hours. For interviews, he has met with Dr. Trani, the district staff, the first community meeting and is arranging for meeting with students of the high school in the coming weeks. He is also communicating with the Chair, Mikaila, when necessary. Rob has received many questionnaires since the staff meeting and community meeting, and continues to receive and process these questionnaires. His goal is to have all data collected and interviews completed by the start of winter break. He is on track for a February 15 report delivery.

4. Follow up from Nov. 15^th Community Meeting with Rob Saxton

The group discussed how the first community meeting went. A total of 98 People attended, with 86 providing emails for continued correspondence. There was a diverse showing from the community including families, staff members, administrators, and community members with and without students in the schools. Rob did an outstanding job of describing his scope of work and process that will be used to issue a final report. He focused on three goals for the meeting: 1) create credibility for the future report, 2) making clear that he is maintaining independence in this work, and 3) wanting to glean the perspectives and opinions of the audience. After introductions he spent forty minutes facilitating and responding to questions from the audience. At the end of the meeting, Rob passed out questionnaires for folks to fill out individually and send back to him. Meeting minutes were written and provided by Rob, and are posted to the IC3S website.

Mikaila is drafting a frequently asked questions document resulting from the meeting that will be posted to the IC3S website after completed.

Rob’s questionnaire that was passed out is posted to the IC3S website for anyone to download and submit. IC3S members do not have access to these questionnaires – all are submitted directly to Rob for review and consideration.

5. Planning ahead for future meetings - setting dates in advance

The group agreed to schedule future meetings. Brad will distribute a Doodle scheduler, so all members can identify their availability. The next meeting is likely to be Monday, Dec. 10th. This date will be confirmed once group members have a chance to check schedules and confirm. Date, time and place will be announced as soon as possible.

6. Discussion: Charter district information/district discussion – does this effect our purpose and scope of work? If so, how do we go about collecting and sharing objective, impartial and accurate information?

See #2 above

7. Discussion: format for community meetings in Feb. when R. Saxton delivers report of findings and recommendations

The group discussed potential sites that would be large enough to support all of those interested in attending. The Corbett Community Church and the school gyms were sites discussed as potential meeting locations. Group members are going to begin looking into the details and logistics for these sites. We will need to have the capability to present information visually and have adequate seating and audio so everyone can hear. The specifics of how the report will be presented and whether the meeting will be videotaped and posted will be finalized at our next meeting.

8. Closing: Next steps & delegating tasks

Brad – update website to indicate all feedback is directed to Rob Saxton, build Doodle Scheduler, and finalize meeting minutes.

Mikaila – finalize FAQ from community meeting

Andrew – explore site options for next community meetings w/ Rob Saxton