2009-12-10
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING––DECEMBER 10, 2009
The meeting was called to order by Vice-President Kelly Gienger at
7:30 p.m. in the St. Francis administration office on the above
date with all members present except Ed Marin, Mary Beth Miller,
and Bonnie Zweygardt. St. Francis Herald reporter Karen Krien was
also present to observe and take notes.
John Knodel moved to approve the agenda as proposed; the motion was seconded by Derrick Tice and carried.
The Board reviewed and discussed the items on the consent calendar. A motion was then made by Sherry Weeks, seconded by John Knodel, and carried to approve the consent calendar, including the following items: 1) The minutes of the regular meeting on November 12, 2009. 2) The list of bills being paid on direct deposit slips numbering 1119001-1119081 and on checks numbering 9303-9318 on BankWest and numbering 6485-6537 on First National Bank for a total of $297,949.96. 3) The Cash Summary Report (including two transfers––$3,207.18 from the Supplemental General Fund to the Vocational Education Fund and $7,295.36 from the General Fund to the At-Risk Fund), and the Grade School and High School Activity Fund Reports––all as of November 30, 2009. 4) In accordance with Board Policy 1313 “Gifts,” acceptance of a gift-offer of $593.47 from the Knights of Columbus tootsie roll drive (to purchase needed materials and/or equipment for special education students).
There were no audiences.
The Board considered appointments of members to two committees––the Meet-and-Confer Committee and the Scholarship Committee. Following brief discussion, a motion was made by John Knodel, seconded by Sherry Weeks, and carried to approve the following appointments: John Knodel and Derrick Tice to serve on the Meet-and-Confer Committee; and Ed Marin and Bonnie Zweygardt to serve on the Scholarship Committee.
There was no old business.
Under new business, the Board received for their first review a copy of a proposed school calendar for 2010-2011. Following some discussion, the consensus of the Board was to submit this proposed calendar to the Teacher Meet-and-Confer Committee before it is brought back to the Board for further discussion and official action.
Superintendent Schiltz discussed school finance for fiscal year 2010-2011 with the Board. Governor Parkinson has announced the cuts necessary to balance the State’s current year budget, including a decrease in the budget-base-per-pupil amount from $4,218 to $4,012 (a cut of approximately $106,000 from USD 297’s current fiscal year, 2009-2010).
The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) has requested that all schools in the State sign a Memorandum of Understanding for participation in the federal “Race to the Top” grant program. KSDE officials believe Kansas is a prime candidate to receive a portion of the grant money. If Kansas is a recipient of the grant, only schools who have signed the Memorandum of Understanding will be eligible to receive grant money. A motion was made by Derrick Tice, seconded by Sherry Weeks, and carried to approve the Memorandum of Understanding.
New Business continued with discussion of future building improvement projects.
Board members and administration presented a few other miscellaneous items for information and discussion, but no action was taken. Board member Sherry Weeks reported that she had received a number of positive comments regarding the mass-communication system; it was especially helpful during the inclement weather and school-related announcements.
The Board received and read a thank-you card from a teacher
expressing his appreciation for support to attend a national
convention held in Denver last month.
No report on the school improvement process and no review of board
policy were scheduled for this meeting.
At 9:25 p.m., John Knodel moved that the meeting adjourn. The motion was seconded by Derrick Tice and carried.
