EDUCATION OVERSIGHT BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 14, 2007 - 8:00 A.M. Room 412-B State Capitol Building Oklahoma City, OK 73105 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Gerald Dickerson, Patrick Gilmore, Susan Field, Pat Mayes, Penny Williams and Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre and Rep. Tad Jones OTHER REGULAR ATTENDEES: Office of Accountability Staff: Robert Buswell, Matt Hesser, Jerry Hsieh, and Dan Craig VISITORS: None Call to Order: Mr. Dickerson called the meeting to order at 8:10 a.m. Roll Call: Mr. Dickerson called roll and declared a quorum to be present. Approval of Minutes: Ms. Field made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 24, 2007 meeting. Mr. Mayes seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Status Report on the Oklahoma Educational Indicators Program: Mr. Hesser indicated that the Office had received all of the data required for the Indicators Program except for the state testing data, which was now quite late. The data delay caused by the Oklahoma State Department of Education would probably set the Office back at least a week on production of the Indicators Reports. Hesser said that the snow storms of January and February might turn out to be a blessing in disguise in that many Oklahoma schools would be in session an additional week to make up for missed days. Given the delays to the program and fact that the program was already on a very tight schedule to get the documents out to schools before summer adjournment, the additional week in this year’s school calendar may prove critical. Hesser remained optimistic that without further delays, the Office would be able to maintain a workable schedule for the Indicators Program. Status Report on the Oklahoma School Performance Review Program (OSPR): Mr. Craig reported on the progress of the Oklahoma School Performance Review program. Craig noted that the Little Axe, Wewoka, and Clinton reviews had been completed and were well received by the superintendents and boards of education. Craig also indicated that the Broken Bow, Idabel, Frederick, Wynnewood, Springer, and Felt reviews were nearing completion and would be presented to their boards in late spring or early summer. Finally, Craig announced that rough schedules had been developed for the Wetumka, Weleetka, Sasakwa, Justice, and Okmulgee reviews and that RFPs are about to be released to contractors. Okmulgee will be the 19th school performance review undertaken by the Office of Accountability since the programs inception. Year-to-Date Expenditure Report for FY 2007: Mr. Buswell distributed a detailed spreadsheet to the Board that outlined the expenditures for the year and remaining funds. Buswell reminded the Board that many of the Office’s expenses come near the end of the fiscal year and the Board should anticipate some large expenditures between now and June 30. Buswell also pointed out to the Board that significant funds had been budgeted to carryover and he requested that the Board re-designate a portion of those funds to the budget area of the Oklahoma School Performance Review. Ms. Williams made a motion to move $120,000.00 from budgeted carryover to the budget area of Oklahoma School Performance Review. Ms. Field seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Legislative Update: Senator Wilcoxson gave the Board an overview of a report by the U.S. Department of Commerce titled, “Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness,” which gave Oklahoma a failing grade in the categories of “Truth in Advertising About Student Proficiency” and “Academic Achievement.” The Senator also asked for additional time on a future agenda to delve deeper into issues raised in the report. Review and Discussion of Education Oversight Board/Office of Accountability Mission: The Board reviewed two draft mission statements, one supplied by Mr. Dickerson and the other by Office staff. It was the Board’s conclusion that both versions had merit, and the Office was given the assignment of melding the two versions into one. The Board requested that this combined version be brought to the next meeting for additional review. New Business: None Announcements: Mr. Hesser announced to the Board that he and Mr. Craig had made a presentation to the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence in an effort to gain an invitation to present at their Fall Forum. The Fall Forum is attended by representatives from local education foundations from around the state. Hesser and Craig felt that their presentation to the Foundation was well received and they were given indications that an offer to present at the Fall Forum would be forthcoming. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 a.m. The minutes of the March 14, 2007 meeting of the Education Oversight Board were approved as submitted on May 16, 2007.