August 23, 2025 Summer Board Retreat Minutes

 MINUTES OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF DISTRICT NO. 40,
YAMHILL COUNTY, McMINNVILLE, OREGON

The Summer Board Retreat was held August 23, 2025 both in person and via Zoom at the
McMinnville School District Office, 800 NE Lafayette Ave., McMinnville, OR 97128 

The link was https://msd40.zoom.us/j/97721628814

Provisional Minutes-Not Board Approved

At 9:05 a.m., the Board of Directors of McMinnville School District opened the Summer Board Retreat meeting.  The meeting was called to order by Chair Larry Vollmer.  Roll call indicated the following:

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Chair Larry Vollmer
Vice-Chair Gerardo Partida
Director Lu Ann Anderson
Director Christine Bader
Director Jason Bizon
Director Doris Towery
Director Abbie Warmbier

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
None
Directors Present
Director Amerasinghe
Interim Director Lauren Berg
Director Crain
Director Hall
Director Simonyi
Director Turner

ADMINISTRATION
Kourtney Ferrua , Interim Superintendent
Cherice Bowden, Board Secretary
Mike Scott, Consultant

AUDIENCE
None

Welcome:

Interim Superintendent Ferrua opened the meeting by acknowledging the busy summer and encouraging everyone to take a moment to reflect on the processes that support strong collaboration. She expressed appreciation for the cabinet team, highlighting how impressed she has been with their work over the past six weeks. She also welcomed new team members, noting it was Brian Turner’s birthday.  She concluded by expressing excitement for the day ahead and invited Chair Vollmer to add any remarks.

Chair Vollmer acknowledged that the work ahead is challenging but important. He emphasized the need to give proper time and attention to everyone who wants to share input on various topics. He encouraged patience, noting that there would likely be a lot of discussion throughout the day. He expressed his appreciation to everyone for being there and participating.

Interim Superintendent Ferrua described an image she has been using with the admin and cabinet team to center their work; one that represents wrapping their arms around schools, district staff, and the community. The image reflects a commitment to care, support, and deeply rooted collaboration across all levels of the district.

• Proposed Norms were reviewed:  No edits were recommended.
  

  1. Balance your participation between speaking and listening
  2. Share your perspective
  3. Ask questions for clarification to avoid making assumptions.
  4. Don’t interrupt and be respectful of other people’s opinions
  5. Stay curious – suspend your certainty 
  6. Expect and accept non closure on some items
  7. Use of first names is welcomed
  8. Take care of yourself – restrooms, stand, food

  Everyone was asked to submit a picture, as their picture was shown, each person gave their name, tenure, position, why they chose their position and why the picture is important to them.

  National Trends were reviewed:  
  Districts & Boards Across the Nation are Navigating a Difficult Road

  • Heightened community tension
  • Competing eternal pressures
  • Personal attacks
  • Projecting of adult issues instead of remaining focused on the needs of the students.
  • Getting caught up with distractions that are not necessary.

  High Stakes were reviewed:
  The Stakes are High for Board / Superintendent Teams

  • Confidence in the organization
  • Attainment of goals
    • Bonds, local options
    • Businesses
  • Positive impact on student achievement
  • Impact on staff morale
  • Superintendent longevity

  The Power of the Teams were reviewed: 

  1. Allows for personal growth and innovation
  2. Better decisions through utilization of diverse perspectives
  3. Increases productivity
  4. Builds morale through a sense of belonging

  Reflect:

  What was the best team that you have ever been a part of?
  Everyone jotted down the following:  

  • What was their purpose?
  • What made them great?
  • What habits did the team possess?
  • What was the team mindset?
  • What were their characteristics?
  • What outcomes did they achieve?

  They were given a few minutes to reflect and discuss.

  What actions can be taken to make certain the Board/Superintendent team functions as effectively as the high-performing team you described? 

  Each person shared their ideas on how to make that happen.

  Roles & Responsibilities:
  Roles & responsibilities for the Board, Superintendent and staff were overviewed and discussed.

  Shared statement: Board members are elected to provide direction through vision and goals (not to manage the district). 

  Board Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Governance
  • Core values and beliefs
  • Mission, vision and goals
  • Policies
  • Action: Vote

  Superintendent/District Staff Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Management
  • Objectives
  • Action plans Procedures
  • Action: Recommend and Implement

  Shared statement: A good way to check your thinking…If there is somebody in the district hired to do it, then it is not my job.

  Scenarios:
  Four teams, each divided into groups of three, were given four different scenarios to discuss and decide how they would respond. One person from each group shared their decisions.

  Team Dynamics:
  Mike Scott gave an overview on team dynamics and reviewed the four stages:

  1. Forming – The team is new.  People are polite, getting to know each other and  unsure of roles.  They look to the leader for direction.
  2. Storming – Differences emerge.  There may be conflict, power struggles, or frustration as people push boundaries and test ideas. 
  3. Norming – The team starts finding its rhythm.  Roles are clearer, trust builds and collaboration improves.
  4. Performing – The team works smoothly toward goals with high trust, open communication and strong results.

  Working Commitments: 

  1. Provides clarity regarding the manner which the team will work together
  2. Builds/maintains respectful relationships
  3. Manages / clarifies expectations
  4. Build trust
  5. Improves communication
  6. Helps to navigate change and conflict

  Common Topics Found in Working Commitments:

  1. Meeting conduct and decorum
  2. Communication protocols
  3. Media responses
  4. Individual member authority
  5. Conflict resolution procedures
  6. Responding to emails
  7. No surprises
  8. Professional development
  9. Response to working commitment issue
  10. Roles and responsibilities
  11. How to place items on the board agenda
  12. How to place items on the board agenda

  Each person was asked to jot down using their current functioning of the board/superintendent team to answer the following questions: 

  1. What would you include in working commitments that would help your board/superintendent team function more effectively?
  2. Where could the team benefit from greater clarity around how the team interacts with each other?
  3. Are there procedures that would be helpful to include in a working agreement?

  Each Board member shared their top 1.

  The Board reviewed and discussed three different working agreements.  Four teams, each divided into groups of three, were asked to write on chart paper the concepts they would like to include in their working agreement and to put some goals on some of them.  They were given 15 minutes to complete the activity.  One person from each group shared their discussions.

  Mike Scott suggested that the next steps would be to take the ones that were agreed they  want to work on, and then the Board/Superintendent will put together a draft and bring it back for another conversation and editing.  

  School visitation was discussed to have consistency, clarity and a process to visit schools.

  Board agenda planning, subcommittee meetings, and upcoming field trips to be presented to the Board for approval in the fall were discussed. Subcommittee meeting discussion is scheduled for the next work session.

  During the break Mike Scott had everyone write down:

  1. Your Name
  2. First (or worst) job
  3. Biggest pet peeve
  4. Bucket List item
  5. Fad or trend that you participated in during your middle/high school years
  6. Favorite school lunch as a kid

  Lunch Break 12:37

  At 1:05 Chair Vollmer reopened the meeting.

  Mike Scott read each person’s answers to the six questions they wrote down and everyone would guess who wrote it.

  Aligning Goals to Our Vision:
  Interim Superintendent Ferrua discussed the importance of goal alignment across the district, acknowledging that while progress has been made, full alignment has not yet been achieved. She used a visual previously shared with the administrative team to illustrate the current state of many fast-moving parts heading in different directions and emphasized the need to bring those efforts into focus and alignment.

  She outlined what success would look like: clear measures, regular feedback, defined roles and responsibilities, and overall clarity within the system to ensure everyone is moving in the same direction.

  Integrated Plan:
  Interim Superintendent Ferrua highlighted the importance of aligning district goals with the Integrated Plan and fulfilling the district’s state reporting responsibilities. The Integrated Plan, which originally included six focus areas and has now expanded to nine, aims to streamline various state requirements into a single, cohesive framework.

  Historically, different reporting areas had separate timelines and demands, creating a heavy workload.  The Integrated Plan seeks to unify these efforts under shared goals and aligned outcomes.  She emphasized that successful implementation of district goals should also meet the requirements of the Integrated Plan, which she previously presented in March. The outcomes outlined in the plan serve as both a roadmap for district improvement and a tool for compliance.

  An update from the state: The long-term performance growth targets will remain the same this year, rather than changing as previously anticipated. This provides stability as the state prepares to adjust its accountability measures in the future.

  Types of Goals:
  Mike Scott introduced the concept of shared goal setting between the Board and the Superintendent, moving away from the traditional model where each sets separate goals that often don’t align. He encouraged the group to consider agreeing on a small number of shared goals, and then identifying distinct but coordinated action steps for both the Board and the Superintendent. The idea is that achieving these goals requires collaborative effort, with each side taking responsibility for specific actions to ensure success. This approach brings clarity, keeps the focus on agreed priorities, and makes it easier to communicate progress with the community.

  He emphasized that this shared model aligns well with the themes from community engagement and the requirements of the state’s Integrated Plan. He asked the group to reflect on four draft goals, drawn from both community input and state guidance, consider if they resonate and if anything is missing. He noted that while these goals may sound broad, they involve detailed, actionable steps backed by data. As the discussion continues, the Board will be asked to define its own supporting actions while the Superintendent does the same, creating a unified and aligned path forward.

  Target: Continuous School Improvement:
  Interim Superintendent Ferrua emphasized that while each school building is already doing meaningful work, there is a lack of communication and alignment across schools and with the district. The goal is to create a consistent, system-wide approach to continuous improvement, so all efforts are connected. She used the example of third-grade reading as a common metric; if goals only focus on that, teachers in other grades may not see how their work contributes, even though it does. The same applies at the secondary level, where goals tied to subjects like math or language arts may unintentionally exclude others like social studies or science. To be effective, everyone from the Board to classroom teachers needs to understand their role in meeting shared goals.

  Interim Superintendent Ferrua pointed to using Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as a strategy for alignment. PLCs help educators stay connected to student progress and improve instruction. The Superintendent’s role would be to support PLC implementation by providing resources, professional development, and leadership support. Meanwhile, the Board would contribute by reviewing data regularly and keeping instructional improvement topics like PLCs on their agenda, ensuring everyone is focused on the same priorities

  She explained the plan to review student data monthly using the district’s SOAR assessment tool, which tracks student performance across grade levels. For example, by the end of the first quarter, data will show how many kindergartners are meeting, exceeding, or falling below expectations. This kind of reporting can be shared with the Board by grade level and overall population during regular or work sessions.  She also emphasized the importance of being thoughtful in how data is shared, as schools may show different results. The focus should be on monitoring and celebrating growth, not just achievement, to ensure the information supports continuous improvement rather than comparisons.

  She plans to have a school improvement plan template finalized and ready for the administrative team by the beginning of September. The template is being developed using a mix of current practices from school buildings and nationally recognized models. It will include broad goal categories, with more specific grade-level targets and action steps for elementary schools. She  emphasized that the focus should be on the process, how schools track progress and make adjustments, rather than just filling out a form.  Once administrators begin using the template, they will draft their plans, then come together as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) in ADCO to review and learn from each other’s approaches. This collaborative review process will align with the district’s professional goal-setting timeline, where by October 15, each administrator will meet with their supervisor to formally set their professional goals for the year.

  A review of the draft MSD Superintendent & Board Goals 2025-2026were reviewed and discussed.

  1. Continuous School Improvement
  2. Fiscal Responsibility & Development
  3. Positive Climate, Culture & Opportunities
  4. Family & Community Partnerships

  Target for Goal setting:

  • Clarity of Purpose
  • Stronger Governance & Leadership
  • Improved Outcomes
  • Stronger Communication with Stakeholders
  • Efficient Monitoring & Continuous Improvement

  They will work to develop Board action steps that could be put in place.   Each Cabinet member was asked to join the Board members and they were given 6-7 minutes to rotate around to brainstorm action steps the Board can take to support the goals.  Each goal was reviewed and discussed.

  A review on evaluating the Superintendent, the importance of having an effective evaluation system, and key components that contribute to a strong evaluation process.

  Effective Superintendent evaluations are designed to:

  Strengthen the relationship between the Board and the Superintendent
  Assess performance based on agreed-upon criteria
  Communicate expectations and future goals
  Identify opportunities for the Superintendent’s professional development
  
  Key contributors to a strong evaluation process include:

  1. Ongoing feedback

  2. Evidence of the work is provided

  3. Provides accountability

  4. Stay focused on our priorities 9 and tie evaluation to these priorities)

  5. Understand and accept the mutual responsibility and accountability for meeting goals

  Mike Scott introduced a customized superintendent evaluation process designed specifically for this transitional year. The goal is to align the evaluation criteria directly with the goals and action steps currently being developed for Interim Superintendent Ferrua. Though the goals aren’t finalized yet, the framework allows for continuous improvement and adjustment throughout the year. Each superintendent action step will be tied to a corresponding evaluation metric, so the evaluation reflects actual progress on agreed-upon priorities. An additional area of focus, communication was added, recognizing the importance of how the superintendent communicates with both the board and the broader community.

  Given the short timeline (with evaluations due in April), he recommended that the Board evaluate based on progress toward goals, rather than completion. A proposed scoring scale ranges from “not making adequate progress” to “meeting expectations.” This allows flexibility, recognizing that not all action steps may be complete by the time of evaluation. Progress updates will begin in the fall and help ensure everyone stays informed on the superintendent’s work and impact.

  The evaluation timeline includes: goal-setting now, monthly progress updates from the superintendent, and a mid-year self-assessment submitted in late November or early December. This would include a written update on actions taken, which the Board can review alongside their own observations. The final evaluation would include input from the Board, feedback from direct reports, and be discussed in executive session, where the Board Chair facilitates a conversation. A draft evaluation letter would then be created, reviewed, and finalized with the superintendent to complete the process.

  The Board discussed conducting a self-evaluation that would include feedback from others as part of the process.

  Final Thoughts:
  Each person shared a takeaway or insight from today, and in one word, described how they were feeling about their work for the upcoming year. 

  The Session adjourned at 3:17 p.m.