EDUCATION OVERSIGHT BOARD MEETING MINUTES September 26, 2007 - 10:00 A.M. 655 Research Parkway - 2nd Floor State Regents' Library Conference Room Oklahoma City, OK 73104 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Gerald Dickerson, Patrick Gilmore, Susan Field, Ami Shaffer, Penny Williams, Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Pat Mayes, Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, and Rep. Tad Jones OTHER REGULAR ATTENDEES: Office of Accountability Staff: Robert Buswell, Jerry Hsieh, Dan Craig and Rick Cobb VISITORS: Jeff Packham - Journal Record, and Andy Young - State Department of Education Call to Order: Mr. Dickerson called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Introduction of board members and guests: Mr. Dickerson introduced the Education Oversight Board’s newest board member, Ami Shaffer. Roll Call: Mr. Dickerson called roll and declared a quorum to be present. Mr. Buswell took the opportunity to announce that Assistant Director Matt Hesser had accepted a position in Missouri and was no longer with the Office of Accountability. Approval of Minutes: Mrs. Field made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 16, 2007 meeting. Mr. Gilmore seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Status Report on the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program: Mr. Buswell stated that the Office has begun the process of requesting data, with the largest data request going to the State Department of Education. The Office has begun to receive data, with much more to come. Data requests will also be made to the Office of Juvenile Affairs, the State Regents, and Career Tech. So far, the data collection process is proceeding nicely. Mr. Buswell also mentioned that the School Report Cards have a new format in advance of added exams to the testing program. Mr. Hsieh stated that the school questionnaires will go out to principals in the next month and that the Office’s website has passed the two million mark in the number of downloads since 2003. The website is averaging about 110,000 downloads per month. Status Report on the Oklahoma School Performance Review Program (OSPR): Mr. Craig and Mr. Cobb distributed copies of the completed Broken Bow and Idabel school performance reviews. Mr. Craig stated that the Broken Bow report was presented to their school board June 26, and that the Idabel report was presented to their school board at their September 10 meeting. Mr. Craig continued in stating that the reviews for Frederick, Springer, and Wynnewood are nearing completion and should be presented at local school board meetings in October or November. Craig stated that the Felt review is in the process of being drafted by Mr. Craig and Mr. Cobb. Additionally, first drafts from the Justice, Sasakwa, Weleetka, and Wetumka reviews have been received and initial editing has begun on those. Finally, he informed the board that the on-site visits for the Okmulgee review have just begun and should be completed in the next few weeks. Mr. Craig stated that the Office is waiting on the release of the new API scores before contacting more schools about participating in a review. Mr. Buswell then explained to the board about how the Felt review represents a departure from the office’s usual operating procedures because getting a turn-key bid from a vendor would have been highly unlikely due to the remote nature of the district. Sen. Wilcoxson asked if Mr. Buswell had any recommendations for improvement to the legislation that created the OSPR. Mr. Buswell stated that the law in place is serving the Office well and pointed out that Okmulgee makes the 19th school performance review to date. Sen. Wilcoxson then asked about the Office’s follow through with districts implementing OSPR recommendations. Mr. Buswell explained the difficulty in tracking all changes due to turnover in boards and administrators in some districts but pointed out that Stillwater and Wewoka, among others, continue to use the review as a blueprint for strategic planning. Mr. Craig then told a story of an architect in Wewoka who recommended not occupying unsafe bleachers and pointed out that sometimes the value of the review cannot be measured in terms of cost savings alone. Review, Discussion and Approval of Evaluation Procedure and Instrument for OSPR Proposals: Mr. Buswell stated that the Office has been working to refine the process for selecting contractors to conduct school performance reviews. He stated that the Office is striving to get the greatest value, which is not always the low bidder. Mrs. Field asked about the distribution of work among various contractors to date. Mr. Craig named the most recent contractors and the consultants who comprised their teams. Mr. Dickerson requested a list of teams that have worked on the various reviews, and Mr. Buswell provided more detail on the background of some of the consultants. Mr. Gilmore asked that a packet of this information be put together for Mr. Mayes. Mrs. Field made a motion that the new evaluation guide be adopted, and Mrs. Shaffer seconded the motion. It passed without dissent. Expenditure Report for End-of-Year FY 2007: Mr. Buswell distributed a detailed spreadsheet to the Board that outlined the expenditures for the year, and he explained the carryover of funds. He explained that some costs, including travel and training for staff, would increase from FY 2007 to FY 2008. He also discussed that rent for office space is increasing. Review, Discussion and Approval of Revised FY-2008 Budget: Mr. Buswell stated that thus far the Office has been operating under a provisional budget for FY 2008. He mentioned that $400,000 had been allocated for the OSPR last year and that $382,000 had been spent. He made a correction to the spreadsheet in the operations budget and the projected carryover for the end of FY 2008. Mrs. Field made a motion to approve the FY 2008 budget, Mr. Gilmore seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Year-to-Date Expenditure Report for FY-2008: Mr. Buswell passed out information on year-to-date expenditures. Mrs. Field asked about the cost of past reviews and wants that information added to the packet Mr. Gilmore had earlier asked the Office to put together. Mr. Buswell explained the costs associated with some of the firms that bid and pointed out that the Oklahoma firms that bid are not necessarily less expensive than the out-of-state firms. Review, Discussion and Approval of FY-2009 Budget Request: Mr. Buswell distributed the proposed budget request for FY 2009 and explained the rationale behind it. The Office will ask for $900,000. Mrs. Field made a motion to approve the budget request, Mr. Mayes seconded it, and it passed without dissent. Legislative Update: Mr. Dickerson opened a discussion of “Time on Task.” Mr. Gilmore discussed the consumption of academic time in small schools due to activities. Sen. Wilcoxson mentioned a discussion she had with the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association (OSSAA) about these issues. Mr. Young discussed several elements that must be considered in a discussion of the emphasis of athletics and activities in schools. Among these were the 10 day absence rule for students participating in activities; space limitations for practices and performances; continuing activities such as tournaments and playoffs that do not count against the 10 day rule; and the practice of principals allowing students out of class to watch games in which they are not participants. Sen. Wilcoxson asked Mr. Buswell about adding a higher benchmark to the School Report Cards and mentioned research by the Education Trust on the use of instructional time. She also asked about the feasibility of the Office’s staff review classroom practices during performance reviews. Mr. Buswell pointed out that every performance review to date has indicated a need for additional work in curriculum development. He also stated that there has been discussion in the Office of establishing a higher benchmark in light of gains made by schools and how this would enhance understanding of a school’s performance. New Business: Mr. Buswell mentioned that at the next meeting a vote will be held on new officers. Discussion was also held on meeting dates, times, and places for the next year. Announcements: None Adjournment: At 11:40, Mrs. Field made a motion to adjourn, Mr. Gilmore seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. The minutes of the September 26, 2007 meeting of the Education Oversight Board were approved as submitted on November 14, 2007.