2007-09-10
Minutes of the Regular Meeting––September 10, 2007
The meeting was called to order by President John Knodel at 8:00 p.m. on the above date in the St. Francis High School library, with all members present except Bruce Feikert and Mary Beth Miller. St. Francis Herald reporter Karen Krien was also present to observe and take notes.
Bonnie Zweygardt moved to approve the agenda; the motion was seconded by Kelly Gienger and carried.
The Board reviewed and discussed the items on the consent calendar. A motion was then made by Bonnie Zweygardt, seconded by Sherry Weeks, and carried to approve the consent calendar, including the following items: 1) the minutes of the regular Board Meeting and Budget Hearing on August 9, 2007; 2) a list of bills being paid on checks numbering 7383-7403 on BankWest–St. Francis and numbering 4564-4658 on First National Bank–St. Francis for a total of $129,585.03; and 3) the Cash Summary Report (including two transfers: $231.90 from the Supplemental General Fund to the Vocational Fund, and $779.93 from the General Fund to the At-Risk Fund), and the Grade School and High School Activity Fund Reports––all as of August 31, 2007.
There were no audiences and no committee reports.
Under Old Business, Superintendent Schiltz reported that the new wireless clock system had been installed in the junior-senior high school building. Installation was completed by Fire Alarm Specialist, Wakeeney, for a total of $9,865. A few more large-size clocks have been ordered and will be installed once they arrive.
Mr. Schiltz also reported on other projects around the schools.
New Business began with consideration of two contract amendments for the Board to consider. Both amendments were proposed due to the large first grade class this year (30 students). By increasing the additional time to each of the two contracts, two sections of first grade could be provided for most of the day, thus essentially cutting the class size in half. Following discussion, Kelly Gienger moved to approve an amendment for Gloria Cassidy, adding 1.65 hours to her contract and an amendment for Sandy Smull, adding 1.57 hours to her contract. The motion was seconded by Pete Raile and carried.
New Business continued with consideration of four new contracts. Following brief discussion, a motion was made by Bonnie Zweygardt, seconded by Sherry Weeks, and carried to approve the following contracts: 1) Melvin Confer as bus driver; 2) Brad Matthies as woodworking and technology lab instructor; 3) Robin Petersen as technical drafting instructor; and 4) Carl Werner as weightlifting supervisor.
The Board received and read a letter from Noel and Tabetha Ketzner requesting that their children, Joslyn (first grade) and Jacquelyn (eighth grade), be permitted to attend school in St. Francis for the 2007-08 school year. A motion was made by Kelly Gienger to allow these students to attend in accordance with Board Policy 5111—“School Admission” and to waive tuition charges. The motion was seconded by Pete Raile and carried.
Superintendent Schiltz presented a proposal to increase salaries of all contracted employees, effective with the November 2007 payroll. Upon presenting the proposal to Board members, Mr. Schiltz indicated that it was for consideration and discussion only at this time and that official action would take place at the October Board meeting.
The Board was informed of the new monthly Blue Cross–Blue Shield (BC-BS) premium rates for the health-insurance group of school employees, effective with the new plan from November 1, 2007, through October 31, 2008, and discussed the possibility of the school paying an additional amount toward the premiums. (Initial information received from BC-BS indicated an average increase of 12.5% in premiums. As a result of the increase, all current members of the group submitted a Health Profile to BC-BS so a review could be conducted and possibly decrease the amount the premiums will go up.) The focus of discussion was whether or not the Board was interested in increasing what the school pays toward the premiums by about the same amounts as in the past in order to retain those employees already in the group and perhaps attract others to join the group. The administration will schedule this item for the Board to consider for final approval at the October Board meeting.
A summary of the preliminary 2007-2008 school enrollment compared with the official 2006-2007 school enrollment was reviewed. The total head count enrollment of 319 is down by 10 students at this time. The official 2007-2008 enrollment will be determined on September 20, 2007.
The planned agenda for the KASB Region 9 Fall Meeting at Hoxie High School on Wednesday, October 10, was briefly reviewed.
Due to Homecoming activities, Principal Scott Carmichael was not in attendance at the Board meeting but gave information about his investigation into a wrestling mat hoist system to Mr. Schiltz to present for the Board’s information. Administrators will continue to investigate this project.
At 9:52, Board member Sherry Weeks made a motion to go into executive session for 10 minutes to discuss a building-facility concern. The motion was seconded by Bonnie Zweygardt and carried. At 10:02, regular session reconvened with no official action taken.
A few other miscellaneous items were presented for information and discussion, but no action was taken.
No report on school-improvement process was scheduled for this meeting.
Under Review of Board Policy, Superintendent Schiltz reviewed with Board members the Leave Agreement for Certified Staff Members. He presented some suggested changes in the policy as a result of last year’s Meet-and-Confer Committee recommendations, and also changes that he felt would make the policy easier to understand. Following review of the proposed changes, Kelly Gienger moved to approve the Leave Agreement as amended. The motion was seconded by Pete Raile and carried.
Three thank-you notes (one from a teacher expressing appreciation for new classroom carpet, one from a scholarship recipient, and one from a local business in appreciation of the school’s business) had been received and were passed around for Board members to read.
At 10:25 p.m., Pete Raile moved that the meeting adjourn; the motion was seconded by Kelly Gienger and carried
