Board of Education Minutes, May 7, 2007
by Jan Tremblay
USD #224 Board of Education
May 7, 2007
8:00 p.m.
CCHS Library
Members Present
Branfort, Brown, Brownell, Kieffer, Koch. Rogers and Seifert
Others Present
Superintendent Roberts, Principal Odgers, and Clerk Tremblay David Merica, Gary Bouley, Cindy Francis
Patrons: Nicole Francis
Call to Order
President Brown called the meeting to order at 8:08 p.m.
Approve the Consent Agenda
9e-KASB Resolution on the Reauthorization of NCLB was added to the agenda.
Motion made by Seifert, seconded by Brownell to approve the consent agenda as amended. Motion carried 7-0.
Approve Bills for Payment
Motion made by Rogers, seconded by Kieffer to approve the bills for payment. Motion carried 7-0.
Review Correspondence
Thank you cards were received by Donice James for teaching supplies and Lacie Rudolph for the plant.
Receive Patron’s Comments
None
Hear Reports of Board Members
KASB Regional Meetings: None
ServiceCenter: Brownell reported that at the last meeting, Ross Knitter was recognized for ten years of service and health insurance for retirees was discussed.
Hear BuildingReports
Ms. Odgers reported from the high school:
• May 5th was State Forensic
• Students are finishing up the MAP testing
• May 8th is the Senior Awards Night
• May 9th is Baccalaurate
• TVL track meet is the 10th
• Graduation is on Sunday, May 13th
Mr. Roberts reported from the middle and grade schools:
• The grade school students planted flowers at theschool for
Earth Day
• Staff Appreciation Dinner is the 21st at the Clifton American
Legion
• Middle school promotion is the 22nd
• Last day of school is the 24th
• Teacher workday is the 25th
• Students are doing MAP testing
Unfinished Business
Superintendent and Principal Evaluation Forms/Policy Changes: The superintendent evaluation form is not included in the board policybook so can be changed without affecting policy. The district previously did not have a K-8 principal form separate from the high school principal evaluation form. Motion made by Brownell, seconded by Koch to approve the superintendent evaluation form and the K-8 principal evaluation as presented. Motion carried 7-0.
KJUMP Contract: Motion made by Koch, seconded by Branfort to approve the contract for natural gas with KJUMP (Kansas Joint Utilities Management Program). Motion carried 7-0.
Concrete (N side) MS: Gary Bouley reported that he has not been able to obtain any other bids for the concrete work at the middle school. It was the consensus of the board to see if the interested contractor will do approximately one third of the project that is most needed for a third of bid price. If not, then the project will be totally re-bid at a later date.
School Lunches: Anticipating an increase in school lunch prices, the board invited Cindy Francis to the meeting to discuss the school lunch program. She presented a lot of information on numbers of meals served throughout the district, cost per entrée serving, daily production records and portion values. Over the last several years, federal regulations have put many restrictions on portion sizes and content. She also discussed homemade versus pre-prepared items as the kitchens do both. Homemade is more cost-effective but labor intensive and pre-prepared is the opposite.
The kitchens also provide many other services to the district, including:
Grandparents Day
Meals for In-services
Cookies for PTC, Book Fair and Open House
Snacks for testing days
Hospitality room for school events
And many more
Negotiations: Scheduling has prevented any meetings between the teachers and board.
Spring Parent Conferences: Attendance levels for the spring parent-teacher conferences is very low at the high school. Grades K-8 have better attendance in the spring but not as high as the fall conferences. Mr. Roberts will get input from the teaching staff before any decisions are made about eliminating the spring conference.
New & Misc. Business
Technology Needs (summer purchases): The district technology committee met on April 18th and with Mr. Roberts and Dave Merica developed a technology plan for 2007-08. It includes 28 laptops, 20 desktops, two new servers, three projectors, software site licenses, and various other equipment and supplies. At this time, almost all technology supplies plus the tech salary is funded through the Supplemental General fund. As enrollment and funding decreases, this may have to start coming out of Capital Outlay. Motion made by Rogers, seconded by Brownell to approve the proposed technology purchases as presented for 2007-08. Motion carried 7-0.
Supplemental Contracts: Motion made by Branfort, seconded by Seifert to enter into executive session for a period of ten minutes to discuss non-elected personnel in order to protect the privacy interests of the individuals to be discussed. Motion carried 7-0.
The board entered into the session at 10:15 p.m. and reconvened into open session at 10:25 p.m. Mr. Roberts and Ms. Odgers were invited into the session. Motion made by Koch, seconded by Brownell to extend the executive session for a period of five minutes. Motion carried 7-0.The board entered into the session at 10:26 p.m. and reconvened into open session at 10:31 p.m. Motion made by Koch, seconded by Brownell to approve the supplemental contracts with the exception of high school instrumental music, middle school athletic director, middle school head basketball and middle school head track. Motion failed 3-4. Brown, Seifert, Kieffer and Rogers cast the nay votes. Motion made by Rogers, seconded by Seifert to approve the supplemental contracts as presented. Motion carried 4-3. Koch, Branfort and Brownell cast the nay votes.
Koch stated that it was his intention that if his motion passed, to come back and have the board vote separately on each individual contract which had been excluded from the blanket approval.
Handbook Changes (for June adoption): The board discussed the proposed changes for the handbooks for approval at the June meeting. Graduation/Promotion Dates: High school graduation is May 13th at 2:00 p.m. and middle school promotion is May 22nd at 7:00 p.m.
KASB Resolution on the Reauthorization of NCLB: KASB has proposed a resolution for school boards to pass and sign. It addresses House Bill 648 or the Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. After discussion, the board requested more information before passing the resolution.
Superintendent Remarks
Mr. Roberts has received notice of the allocation of federal funds for 2007-08. Title I allocation will be down $4,000 from this year.There has been no contact with the architect on the capital improvement projects proposed by the board at the March 21st work session
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 p.m.
*This is the unofficial record of the May 7, 2007 meeting of the Board of Education pending board approval at the regular June meeting.
