September 9, 2019 at 6:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  Recognize Skyview Art teacher/class for decorating the boards.  Autumn Wood

Rationale:  SEPTEMBER:
9/17 - Legal Team Workshop - OSSBA Conference Center, 10:00 am-Noon
9/24 - OSSBA Region 10 Meeting - Redlands Community College, El Reno 5:30-8:30 pm
9/30 - NO SCHOOL - Professional Development
OCTOBER:
10/7 - Board Meeting - 6:00 pm
10/8 - Legislative Breakfast - 100 S Ranchwood, 7am
10/9 - Fall School Law Institute - OSSBA 9:00-3:30 pm
10/15 - Legal Team Workshop - OSSBA Conference Center, 10:00 am-Noon
 

Rationale:  A Procedural Agreement was created and added this year with 100% of the negotiation team voting yes.  98.8% of the negotiation team voted yes to the changes made in the negotiated agreement.

Rationale:       Our student that we share with Western Heights is unique from our other students with hearing impairments that we serve in that not only did he have a significant hearing impairment, but also had little to no communication. His articulation skills were very delayed.  He was producing mostly jargon with only some intelligible words. 
The program that he currently attends at Western Heights is able to provide him with instruction in sign language which provides him barrier free access to his education. This is a level of educational service that we are unable to provide without hiring two additional specialized staff members, if we could find them.
During the 2018-19 school year, we spent $7,456.58 on our agreement with Western Heights. This cost was incurred for half days at that time in the three-year-old program and just during April and May.  
For the 2019-20 school year, we are contracting for $50,284.72.  This year he is in pre-k and attends school full day necessitating the increased cost for services. We anticipate this cost for the next three years.

Rationale:  Cost analysis:  will not exceed $6,000 for the school year at a cost of $25 per hour billed  monthly.

In 1999, Calm Waters added School-based Grief Support Groups to its repertoire of free services offered to the community. Since then, more than 150 public schools in over 20 public school systems have been served. Calm Waters School-based Grief Groups touch the lives of more than 1,400 students, Pre-K through 12th grade, annually.

Yukon Public Schools has been participating in receiving free School-Based Grief Support groups over the past several years in our elementary sites which has included grades pk-6.  The services have been in a small group format of 5-7 students for a six-week period on our school campuses.  Our school counselors have assisted in coordinating the formation of the groups with teachers and parental permission.

In May of 2019, we were notified by the Calm Waters facilitator that Yukon Public Schools along with other surrounding metro school districts were not going to be eligible for free school based support groups for the 2019-2020 school year due to a reduction in their program funding, as well as, a revised strategic plan within the Calm Waters organization that is targeting other school districts in Oklahoma.

Rationale:  Cost analysis:  not to exceed $25,000 for the school year, $2777.77 to be billed monthly.

Group Counseling Comparison for SY19-20:

Yukon Public Schools is recommending to partner with a new counseling service for work with our YMS and YHS students for the 19-20 school year.  For the 18-19 school year, YPS contracted with Choices Counseling Center for group and crisis assessment services 6th-12th grade with the possibility of individual counseling.  The contract was approved to not exceed $16,000.  

A critical component of that contract was the on-site and same day crisis assessment for students expressing self-harm or homicidal ideations.  These assessments are of the utmost importance for the safety of our students. After working with Choices throughout the year, they were continually unable to secure counselors for same day assessments, which left our site counselors with limited resources for our students and parents. The concern was expressed to Choices Counseling Center Executive Director Kristen Cole, but the service did not improve. 

In addition to the same day crisis assessments, groups were the other large component.  There were some inconsistencies reported mainly at the high school level in terms of services provided. Overall, services should have been invoiced for a total somewhere between $9600 and $16,000, but they only completed services for $4095. Therefore, it was recommended to not continue to contract with Choice Counseling Center and put out a request for bids from other local agencies. 

We received bids from Youth and Family Services, Southern Nazarene Counseling Center and Core Counseling Mental Health Services.  Youth and Family Services largely wanted to use master level students as the point of service, which posed a problem for same day assessments.  Southern Nazarene Counseling Center could not provide same day assessments, only five hours of groups per week. Core Counseling could provide all needed services and is a local company serving our families and community.  

One point of change in the Item of Consideration with Core Counseling Mental Health Services, is that $11,000 of the $25,000 contract will now be paid for out of Title IV funds with the other $14,000 coming from general funds.