O’Rourke Middle School Building Council
Monday, December 8, 2008 and December 22, 2008
2:45PM
 Library Classroom

* The members agreed to hold two meetings in December to complete the extensive business agenda.  These minutes reflect the discussion from both meetings.

Attendance:  Don Germain, Valerie Wadsworth, Suzanne Rayome, Amy Clark, Pattie Rakvica, Lori Moore, Robin Gawrys, Judy Brinkman, Kevin Ahern, Janet Bianchi, Nancy Pearse, Penny McDonnell, Sharon Salmon, Karen Shipston

1. Review of the Minutes:  The minutes from the November 21, 2008 meeting were approved as written.
2. Standing Committee Reports: 
   1. Class Night:  The first official organizational meeting of the Class Night Committee will be held the week of December 8, 2008.
   2. American Education Week:  The American Education Week activities and visitations were once again a great success.  Attendance was very good and parent feedback was positive.
   3. Committee for Academic and Personal Excellence:  The committee will meet after the first of the year.  They will be working on the development of a rubric for the Personal Development averages that provides for more consistency in their application. 
   4. Health and Safety Committee:  Members of the Administrative team and the Health and Safety Committee attended a workshop on the management of safety procedures, particularly with regard to bomb threats.  They also reviewed protocols for lockdown, lockout, and shelter in place applications.  The discussion of updated emergency information packets such as grab and go kits and phone trees also took place.
   5. School Climate and Character Ed. Committees:  The Character Ed. Committee is continuing its work on defining core values for our school and memorializing them in document form through the development of a character vision and mission statement.  The committee generated a list of 21st century character skills our students need to have to be successful in a global society.  Constituents will be asked for input on the document before it is finalized.  A cross referenced comparison to the building vision and philosophy statements were completed so as not to duplicate information or supersede previous Council work in this arena.
   6. Transition Committee:  This committee will hold its second meeting after the first of the year.
   7. Connecting Disconnected Kids:  This committee is scheduled to meet after the first of the year to discuss the Academic Support Program and potential use of some grant funding.
   8. Technology, SASI, Sunshine:  There were no reports at this time from these committees.

3. Charitable Contributions:  The Council spent the better part of both meetings deliberating over the issue of solicitation by and support of charitable organizations and persons in need.  Research was completed on District policies and the law, past building practice was reviewed, and the principles and practices of other buildings were discussed, among other things.  Issues such as fiscal management, equity, bias, philosophy and principles, character development, accountability, individual vs. globalized group causes, and many other factors were discussed prior to rendering a decision on the matter.  Based on these considerations, the following decisions were approved by the Council members:
   1. An archive of currently supported annual programs will be developed (Holiday Food Drive, Toys for Tots, etc)…
   2. Staff members or school groups who wish to solicit funds for or provide for a charitable cause by other means must present a written proposal to the building Principal for review and approval.  The proposal must include the goal of the project, documented research on the reputability of the cause that will be supported, information on how the cause will be supported (financial, community service, other…), and how funding, if any, will be solicited.  Priority will be given to causes that have a building, district, or local flavor. However, this does not preclude consideration for support of outside organizations or causes (Red Cross, Katrina Relief, etc…).
   3. The building Principal and/or his designee will review the proposal and then have discretion over the approval of what cause(s) get supported.  The Principal can choose to defer to the Council and they will in turn have the deciding say on those matters that may be controversial or discretionary.
   4. If funds are raised and distributed, they must be done so in accordance with the guidelines established by the District Business Office and Board of Education.
4. Report Card Comments:  A discussion took place regarding the historical decision from the Committee on Academic and Personal Excellence and the Council to have one comment and one grade range on comment slips.  Student case loads for individual departments were reviewed in light of this practice, as well as other considerations for the rationale behind this practice.  Members agreed to continue the protocols as prescribed for the near future and review these practices regularly.
5. Construction:  The District is moving forward with the development of a construction proposal that will contain two elements: infrastructure considerations and program considerations.  A District wide committee is being established with representation from all constituent factions to review proposals and make recommendations to the BOE.
6. Organic Vending:  The organic snack machine has been placed in the vending area of the cafeteria.  Snack samples were distributed to students and sales have been healthy since its opening.  Snack lines have also been reduced to some degree because of this change. 
7. Fiscal Climate:  The economic climate and its potential impact on education were discussed.  To date, all expenditures except those of an emergency, mandated, or required programmatic nature are allowed.  Building budgets for the 2009-10 school year have been presented to Cabinet for review and submitted to the business office for consideration with a 0% increase.  Future deliberation on budget matters will take place after the first of the year.