CITY OF SHORELINE

SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL

SUMMARY MINUTES OF JOINT DINNER MEETING

Monday, June 26, 2000

6:00 p.m.

Shoreline Conference Center

Highlander Room

Shoreline City Council

PRESENT: Mayor Jepsen, Deputy Mayor Hansen, Councilmembers Grossman, Gustafson, Lee, Montgomery and Ransom

ABSENT: None

STAFF: Robert Deis, City Manager; Kristoff Bauer, Assistant to the City Manager; and Wendy Barry, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director

Shoreline School Board

PRESENT: President Parsons, Vice President Bryce, Board members Gibony, Grace and Robinson

ABSENT: None

STAFF: Gil Noble, Deputy Superintendent for Management/Technology; Paul Lesh, Director of Athletics, Clarence Kwock, Chief Financial Officer, and Diane Jenkins, Clerk of the Board

The meeting convened at 6:25 p.m.

Mayor Jepsen initiated the discussion by reflecting on the process followed in developing the draft Joint Use Agreement between the City and the School District; and President Parsons thanked staff for their efforts in bringing it to the point of adoption.

Mayor Jepsen asked Boardmembers if they had had an opportunity to discuss the City Council's comments on the draft agreement.

President Parsons responded that the Board has not discussed the specifics because the next step is to consult with the District's legal counsel. However, she offered to discuss these comments this evening.

Mayor Jepsen referred to the second sentence of Section 3 of the agreement ("For this scheduling, each entity will keep foremost in its thoughts and actions the needs of our youth"). He wished to clarify the intent of the basic objective of serving youth and adults as scheduling decisions are made. He said the Council questioned whether the emphasis on youth might be too focused.

Mr. Robinson explained the School District wanted to avoid having youth take a second place while accommodating utilization of school facilities by the broader community.

Responding to Mr. Grace's question about whether any problems have arisen, Wendy Barry, Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, explained that the only difficulties have been at the level of individual indoor facilities--basketball courts, for example.

On a second issue, Mayor Jepsen asked how site-based decision-making works and what authority a principal at an individual school would have.

President Parsons explained that principals need to be in control of their buildings and should be able to exclude activities that they find disruptive.

Mr. Grace added that perhaps the Board should establish guidelines for greater community use of the schools. He said that some site councils have suggested such use.

Mr. Robinson said that site councils include community representatives who are pushing for open schools while protecting classroom use. It is to the School District's benefit to have taxpayers in the schools.

President Parsons elaborated that an appropriate process needs to be developed to work with the principals in expanding community use of their facilities.

Councilmember Ransom again expressed concern over site-based decisions. He gave an example in which the principal at Meridian Park School arbitrarily refused to allow a legitimate activity there and repeatedly refused to meet or discuss the issue with the parties making the request. Deputy Superintendent Gil Noble assured Councilmember Ransom there was an appeal process for such denials in the future.

Councilmember Gustafson supported joint scheduling for fields and gyms, while allowing principals to retain responsibility for libraries, classrooms, etc. The principals could schedule first, but pressure from large user groups would be born by central staff. Then, over time, trust should allow for growing cooperation for community use of schools.

Councilmember Montgomery asked for clarification regarding the meaning of the phase "when school is in session" as referenced in the proposed agreement. There was general discussion concluding with consensus that this phrase has two possible meanings, i.e., the school day and the school year, depending on the context.

Councilmember Gustafson raised another issue about how to approach custodial work and other school activities that occur after the school day.

Responding to Mayor Jepsen's question about the process for finalization of the agreement, President Parsons said the School Board is comfortable with the draft as presented. She asked whether Council had any outstanding issues.

Mayor Jepsen pointed out that the Council has two concerns: the focus on youth in the scheduling section and the implications of shared decision-making.

Mr. Robinson said the Board is still developing a definition of "shared decision-making."

Vice President Bryce explained the District must still have its attorney review the language but the Board does not expect any significant issues to arise.

Gil Noble, Deputy Superintendent for Management/Technology, said that the attorney does have a few wording suggestions that are non-substantive. He added that there was one question specific to the depreciation schedule, but the Chief Financial Officer does not have a problem with the policy as written.

General discussion followed regarding the skate park and the City's plans for getting input for City youth.

Mr. Grace said he was very excited to see that the joint use agreement is moving forward.

Deputy Mayor Hansen commented that the City is not interested in holding up the process for either of the issues that have been raised by Council.

Another general discussion followed regarding scheduling of agreement approval.

Ms. Barry commented on the need to finalize the addenda, which she believed could be done fairly quickly. Mr. Gil concurred.

Councilmember Gustafson pointed out that a few facilities must be added to the addenda.

There was consensus that the Board would act on the joint use agreement and the addenda on August 7, 2000.

Turning to the School Resource Officer program, Robert Deis, City Manager, briefly described the history of the program and how it was impacted by Initiative 695. He explained that the problem to be addressed is the budget shortfall created by the passage of I-695. The City did get a grant, to be applied at the secondary level only, but needs a commitment from the School District to share the remainder of the costs of the program.

There was general discussion regarding the School District's budget process. The concern was that time for the Board to consider funding this program in the current budget process is short, although it is still possible.

Responding to Mr. Robinson, Mr. Deis clarified that the current program for elementary and middle schools is addressed by officers on overtime. The grant for the secondary program would allow for hiring a full-time regular position.

Mayor Jepsen suggested a joint staff presentation to assist the District in setting its priorities.

Mr. Deis clarified that Police Chief Pentony has shared financial information with the District finance staff and will follow-up.

The last topic for discussion was the youth council initiative sponsored and partially funded by King County Councilmember Maggi Fimia. The group commented on current activities and how such a council might interact with the District and the City.

In conclusion, both Mayor Jepsen and President Parsons recognized the value of the City and School District getting together and the potential for positive and immediate benefit arising from the proposed joint use agreement.

The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.

_______________________________
Kristoff Bauer, Assistant to the City Manager