The Fieldcrest Board of Education discussed the possible ramifications of the recently passed law regarding the use of transgender restrooms at their semi-annual Planning Meeting Wednesday night. Superintendent Dr. Dan Oakley said the new law allows a student to declare if they are transgender and of what gender which means the student can choose which restroom they wish to use and the school has to accept their decision. To make it more complicated, a person can choose to change their gender identity at any time.
Dr. Oakley said there have been cases tried throughout the country in regards to the use of transgender restrooms and currently the issue is a muddled mess. The Supreme Court will be passing down a decision in the near future that will set the law for the country. Dr. Oakley said the school will have to wait until the Supreme Court makes it decision on the extent of the use of transgender restrooms before it can decide upon a policy.
Dr. Oakley said currently the high school has a unisex restroom that genders of each sex can use and which could be used as a transgender restroom. The real issue is how to accommodate a transgender person in a locker room or a restroom that can be used by either sex. It may be necessary to have individual private dressing areas in a locker room to ensure privacy with a public area for washing hands. In addition, private stalls may be needed for restrooms in which each stall can be labeled as a urinal or a toilet and would be enclosed. Dr. Oakley said this issue needs to be addressed when the Supreme Court passes down its decision. He said the accommodation to transgender restrooms can best be addressed in new building construction compared to modify existing restrooms.
Many of the board members expressed dismay that a law that aids less than 1% of the population can create an inconvenience for the other 99%.
Attendance Centers
Dr. Oakley said the proposed attendance centers will require 4 new buses, bus drivers and monitors for the K-2 transportation of students. He said the configuration will result in 2 less certified staff in K-8 next year even with the reinsertion of a computer teacher and a gifted/enrichment teacher.
Dr. Oakley recommended a MAP assessment package for tracking student progress be installed at a cost of $12,000 a year. He said the assessments will be made each fall, winter and spring.
Gifted/Enrichment and Bilingual Programs
The board discussed how to identify and track gifted students and how to assign them to classes. Dr. Oakley said gifted students or those with exceptional ability usually are not identified until the 6th or 7th grade.
Dr. Oakley said the school is not required to have a special language teacher for students who do not have a grasp of English. He said the current method for schools with relatively few non-speaking English students is to provide them with a book in their native language that is similar to the English version. He said it would cost $50,000 to implement a new language program in the school. The board agreed to take no action on bilingual students until a need is determined.
Curriculum Mapping Program
Dr. Oakley said a curriculum mapping program must be in place for attendance centers so all teachers are on common footing. A curriculum mapping program will be ready for board approval at the March 2017 meeting.
Building Project
Dr. Oakley said the proposed school building project is to replace all high school buildings in Minonk except for the gymnasium and possibly one or two other rooms with a new building. In addition, a new building would be built at Fieldcrest East in Wenona. The Farnsworth Group engineering firm will be meeting with the community group this coming Monday in which the group will help refine the project. The building design and cost will be presented in either October or November, the board will approve the design in November or December and the ballot wording will be approved by the board in December.
The board thought that some of the newer furniture could be kept for the new buildings while replacing the obsolete furniture. It was recommended that tables be used in place of old fashioned desks because they are more functional for computer usage.
Legal Update
Dr. Oakley said a new law was passed that said speech rights of student journalists is protected under the Journalist Act which means they have the same protection as newspaper journalist and editors. This gives student journalists more liberal lee-way in what they say in things like a yearbook or a student newspaper.