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2010-05-12

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD MEETING--MAY 12, 2010

President Mary Beth Miller called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m. in the St. Francis administration office on the above date with all members present except Bonnie Zweygardt. St. Francis Herald reporter Karen Krien was also present to observe and take notes.

Ed Marin moved to approve the agenda as proposed; the motion was seconded by John Knodel and carried.

The Board reviewed and discussed the items on the consent calendar. A motion was then made by John Knodel, seconded by Sherry Weeks, and carried to approve the consent calendar, including the following items: 1) The minutes of the regular meeting on April 8, 2010. 2) The list of bills being paid on direct deposit slips numbering 0419001-0419073 and on checks numbering 9389-9405 on BankWest and numbering 6773-6836 on First National Bank for a total of $303,395.21. 3) The Cash Summary Report (including three transfers: $3,301.88 from the Supplemental General Fund to the Vocational Education Fund; $7,442.99 from the General Fund to the At-Risk Fund; and $29,249 from the General Fund to the Special Education Fund), and the Grade School and High School Activity Fund Reports––all as of April 30, 2010; and 4) A gift-offer of $500 from Mike (former graduate) and Renee Walker to be used wherever needed in the schools.

There were no audiences.

The Scholarship Committee (Scott Carmichael, Rob Schiltz, Ed Marin, and Bonnie Zweygardt) reported that they had met and made the recommended selections for one 2010 Alice Gillispie Academic Scholarship in the amount of $1,000 (non-renewable) and for six 2010 Walter and Lucille Stephenson Memorial Scholarships--five in the amount of $500 each and one in the amount of $400 (all non-renewable). John Knodel moved, Derrick Tice seconded, and it carried to approve the list of seven recommended scholarship recipients; the names of the recipients will be kept confidential until they are announced at High School Commencement on May 23, 2010.

Under old business, Superintendent Schiltz reported on the status of various projects that have been discussed throughout the year. He also reported on projects that are currently in progress.

New Business began with discussion of school finance for 2010-2011. Mr. Schiltz estimated a loss of approximately $53,000 in the general fund budget for next year due to a decline in enrollment, but that additional cuts in state aid will NOT be likely due to the Legislature passing a statewide one-cent sales tax increase.

A letter had been received from Devin Dinkel, resigning his position as assistant high school boys’ basketball coach. A motion was made by John Knodel, seconded by Kelly Gienger, and carried to accept Mr. Dinkel’s resignation as assistant coach.

Senate Bill 362 has now been signed by Governor Parkinson; therefore, by law (KSA 72-5437 and KSA 72-5452), a school board must notify a teacher in writing on or before May 21 if said teacher’s contract will not be renewed; and a teacher must notify the school board in writing on or before June 4 if (s)he is resigning from his or her teaching contract.

A roster of elementary and secondary licensed personnel was once again reviewed. Due to the uncertainty of the current financial status at this time, Derrick Tice moved that USD 297 non-renew 2010-2011 contracts for Gloria Cassidy, Dennis Friedrichs, Jennifer Krien, Kaye O’Brien, and Sandy Smull at this time, and that their respective positions be eliminated; however, these five contracts/positions may be reconsidered at the end of the current fiscal year when a more definitive picture of the 2010-2011 budget is known. The motion continued to offer 2010-2011 contracts to all other current licensed personnel who have not resigned, and subject to the provision that the contracts paid partially or fully from federal funding are dependent on USD 297 receiving sufficient federal funds for those contracts. John Knodel seconded the motion and it carried.

The Board next considered non-licensed staffing for 2010-2011. Superintendent Schiltz requested a 20-minute executive session to discuss non-elected personnel. John Knodel moved to go into executive session at 9:10 p.m. The motion was seconded by Ed Marin and carried. Reporter Karen Krien left the room. At 9:30 p.m., regular session resumed and Karen Krien returned to the meeting. John Knodel moved to offer contracts for 2010-2011 to non-licensed personnel as listed on Exhibit A (attached below); the motion was seconded by Ed Marin and carried.

The school’s Title I program was briefly reviewed. Kelly Gienger then moved to approve the administration’s recommendation that the Title I program be continued in grades K-6 for the 2010-2011 school year with the employment of one licensed teacher and one part-time para. The motion was seconded by Ed Marin and carried.

Mr. Schiltz reviewed the summer programs that have been offered in the past. Following discussion, particularly of budget cuts, Ed Marin moved to eliminate summer school (a savings of approximately $8,500), and reduce the summer weightlifting program from two positions to 1.5 positions (a savings of approximately $1,170). The motion was seconded by John Knodel and carried.

Board members were given a list of current student fees and adult meal prices, and were asked to consider approving meal-price increases as proposed by Superintendent Schiltz in order to help offset expenditures for the schools. Following discussion, a motion was made by Kelly Gienger, seconded by Sherry Weeks, and carried to approve the following increases in meals:

Superintendent Rob Schiltz, who serves as the Testing Coördinator for the Kansas Assessments in St. Francis, reported on the preliminary results for this year’s assessments.

Thank-You letters from the 5th graders who attended the Estes Park field trip had been received, expressing their appreciation for the great learning experience. Also received was a thank-you card and poster from the high school journalism department, thanking the administration and Board for their continued support.

Administrators and Board members presented a few other miscellaneous items for information and discussion, but no action was taken.

No review of the School-Improvement Process and no review of Board Policy were scheduled for this meeting.

At 9:50 p.m., Sherry Weeks moved that the meeting adjourn; the motion was seconded by Kelly Gienger and carried.

"Exhibit A"  Board Meeting--May 12, 2010