Parents seek cameras for monitoring
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POLSON — The Polson school board meeting on April 7 began with student board representative Sharidan Russell reporting on her trip to Washington, D.C. as a United States Senate Youth Program participant.
Among other things, Russell said Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia advised the group to “do everything perfectly” and Montana Senator Jon Tester told her “don’t shake hands with a meat grinder.”
Gil Mangels from the Miracle of America Museum spoke to the board, asking for more Polson classes to utilize the museum. He noted he could tailor a class visit to almost any subject.
In other business, Cherry Valley Principal Elaine Meeks and Special Education Teacher Bonnie Petersen presented information on the district’s early childhood program.
The school board received a letter and a petition signed by more than 100 parents and community members asking that video cameras be installed in special education classrooms “to internally monitor everyone’s safety.”
Neither the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act nor the Individuals with Disabilities Act “require or encourage the district to utilize cameras in special education classrooms,” Superintendent Linda Reksten said in a letter to the trustees. Reksten’s letter also said parents of students in those classrooms would need to consent, “freely, voluntarily and knowingly to their child being filmed and freely, voluntarily and knowingly consent to the disclosure of that footage to any parent or entity requesting access.”
For these and other reasons, Reksten recommended that video cameras not be installed in each special education classroom.
Spring is also the time teachers and administrators sign their contracts.
Donna Olson, Dan O’Brien and Riscilla Grimshaw are educators who have taught many Polson students and who are retiring this year.
Also long-time Cherry Valley Principal Meeks elected to retire after this school year and signed a retirement agreement on March 21. The trustees voted to pay Meeks $20,000, and the money will go to the Nationwide Retirement Solutions Post Employment Health Plan.
The Polson schools are sponsoring a presentation on common core standards on May 28. Reksten and County Superintendent of Schools Michelle Wood will work together and invite people from across the county since State Superintendent of Schools Denise Juneau and Deputy Superintendent Dennis Parman are also invited.
The next regularly scheduled school board meeting is May 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the administration building conference room.
