EDUCATION OVERSIGHT BOARD MEETING MINUTES November 14, 2007 - 09:00 A.M. Room 512-A State Capitol Building Oklahoma City, OK 73105 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Field, Patrick Gilmore, Sherry Labyer, Pat Mayes, and Ami Shaffer BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Penny Williams, Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, and Rep. Tad Jones OTHER REGULAR ATTENDEES: Office of Accountability Staff: Robert Buswell, Jerry Hsieh, Dan Craig and Rick Cobb VISITORS: None Call to Order: Mrs. Field called the meeting to order at 9:11 a.m. Introduction of board members and guests: Mrs. Field introduced the Education Oversight Board’s newest board member, Sherry Labyer. Roll Call: Mrs. Field called roll and declared a quorum to be present. Approval of Minutes: Mr. Gilmore made a motion to approve the minutes of the September 26, 2007 meeting. Mrs. Shaffer seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Status Report on the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program: Mr. Buswell stated that the Office is in the process of gathering data. Mr. Hsieh stated that building principals have received our surveys and that surveys are being returned (most by fax) at a good rate so far. Status Report on the Oklahoma School Performance Review Program (OSPR): Mr. Cobb stated that the Office has recently made final presentations to the school boards at Frederick Public Schools and Springer Public Schools. He also distributed copies of those final reports to all EOB members present. Cobb stated that the Office is ready to present the final reports to Felt Public Schools and Wynnewood Public Schools. Regarding reviews that are underway, Cobb stated that the Office was in the process of sending revisions for Weleetka, Wetumka, Sasakwa, and Justice back to the consultants for further editing. He stated that the consultants and Office staff had also recently completed the on-site visit for the Okmulgee review, and that the consultant had already provided the Office with the preliminary issues in advance of the first draft. Cobb also mentioned that after Mr. Buswell, Mr. Craig, and he had presented at the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence’s Fall Forum in Norman last month, the superintendent from Mounds Public Schools called the Office to ask about receiving a performance review. Cobb and Craig visited with him and his assistant superintendent, and they agreed a review would help their district. Cobb stated that the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Mounds review had gone out the previous day. He also mentioned that the Office is in talks with other superintendents about undertaking additional reviews. In response to Mr. Gilmore’s request for information about the vendors and prices of previous reviews, the Office prepared a spreadsheet showing this information, along with the dates each contract was awarded. Mrs. Labyer asked about the Office’s procedures regarding multiple-district reviews. Mr. Cobb explained that the Office’s practice of contracting for “bundled reviews” seemed to produce some cost savings, but not much. Consultants still had to spend the same amount of time on site in the districts and in writing each of the reviews as if they had been conducted separately. If anything, it saved money on overhead, such as travel, but even those savings diminished as more districts were added to the bundle. Mrs. Field asked about the reviews in which the districts had to pay 25 percent of the cost, and Mr. Buswell responded that since those two districts were above the threshold for full funding, and they had requested a review, that they had to generate those funds on their own. Review, Discussion and Approval of Evaluation Procedure and Instrument for OSPR Proposals: Mr. Buswell explained that the purchasing office of the State Regents requires a minimum of 30 percent of the evaluation of a proposal to be tied to the cost of the proposal. The new Director of Purchasing has requested that the Office of Accountability / Education Oversight Board to rescind the previously adopted methodology for evaluating a proposal. Also, the new director will allow more of the Office’s staff to participate in the evaluation of proposals. Mr. Gilmore moved to rescind approval of evaluation procedures for OSPR proposals. Mrs. Schaffer seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Status Report on the Hiring of an Assistant Director: Mr. Buswell distributed copies of the job listing for the assistant director position open in the Office and discussed the qualifications being sought from applicants. Year-to-Date Expenditure Report for FY-2008: Mr. Buswell passed out information on year-to-date expenditures. He emphasized that the Office is early in the yearly financial cycle and that much of the encumbered money has not yet been spent. He pointed out that the contract for the Okmulgee review was posted in July and is already encumbered. Buswell discussed various categorical expenditures within the budget. Mrs. Shaffer moved to approve the report. Mr. Gilmore seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. Election of New Officers: Mr. Mayes nominated Mrs. Field as chairman. Mr. Gilmore seconded the nomination. Mrs. Field was selected unanimously as chairman. Mrs. Field nominated Mr. Gilmore as vice-chairman and Mrs. Shaffer seconded the nomination. Mr. Gilmore was also elected unanimously. Legislative Update: Mr. Buswell discussed a series of recent articles in the media that discussed graduation and dropout rates. He pointed out that one used the Office’s data in an erroneous manner and emphasized that “Profiles” reports senior graduation rate and four-year dropout rate. Mr. Buswell explained each of these rates to the Board. New Business: None Announcements: None Adjournment: At 10:16, Mr. Mayes made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Gilmore seconded the motion, and it passed without dissent. The minutes of the November 14, 2007 meeting of the Education Oversight Board were approved as submitted on December 19, 2007.