CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
8 October 2020

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:01a.m. The meeting was conducted via a Zoom meeting platform. Present were Board Trustees Matt Hartle, Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Arnold Bjork, Barry Farrell and Nevada Hafer. Also, in attendance were Tami Ward, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk and Jennifer Johnson, 2nd Grade Teacher and CEA President, Janessa Williams, 6th grade teacher.
II. Minutes of 10 September 2020. Barry Farrell moved to approve the minutes as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
Note: Jessica Sandven-Sorensen joined the meeting at 7:05 a.m.
IV. Reports:
A. Clerk. Statement of Expenditures includes payroll and claims through 7 October 2020. General Fund is at 16% committed. Grand Total of all funds is at 19% committed. Fund 115 Project Report was also provided.
B. Principal. Student Enrollment is at 103. Mrs. Ward continues to be in contact with area administration and health officials. To be in alignment with our Reopening Plan during Phase 1 and 2, preparations are underway to hold virtual Parent/Teacher Conferences, Scholastic Book Fair and a recorded Christmas Program. Monthly Building inspections have been completed and the building is being prepared for winter; later this month the utility sink in the custodian closet is to be replaced as well as discolored toilet seats. There was a lab error regarding our bacterium water sample, the company that performs our testing is handling this; the lead and copper samples reveal no concern. We continue to be in desperate need of substitute teachers, custodians, bus and maintenance for the 2020/2021 school year. Teachers are scheduled for half day peer observations this month; also, the first round of formal observations for all certified staff are being done; also, round table discussion regarding what is and isn’t working with remote learning continue. Our school has been identified for Targeted support by the Federal government in compliance with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This identification was given due to the attendance data of a subset of students. We are tasked with raising attendance for this subset for 2020/2021 school year. Our beginning of the year assessment data for math shows our students are starting the school year close to where they were last year at this time despite a trimester of remote teaching and learning. A review of the Educational, Special Education and Crossroads Cooperatives and Programs was reported on. All staff completed safety training prior to the start of the school year. The safety committee has met and discussed concerns and needs which are being addressed, i.e. snow shovels, ice melt, leaf removal from gutters, emergency exit signage.
Note: Arnold Bjork joined the meeting at 7:11 a.m., during the Principal Report.
C. Staff. Jen Johnson shared the staff report via a Google Slides presentation. Sixth grade was the focus class this month and Janessa Williams also presented for her class.
V. Policies:
A. School District Policies 2000 Series – Informational Review. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen noted that many of these policies mention parent and community involvement and that although these are unique times with the current pandemic it’s important to the Board members to encourage involvement by alternative means; in our Reopening Plan we addressed the need to continue to involve parents and the community via virtual means when possible. These policies were presented as a review only. No motion needed.
VI. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Copy Machine Purchase. The current copy machine has been maintained very well and has lasted longer than expected. Barry Farrell moved to approve the purchase of a new copy machine as presented. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
B. MTSUIP Annual Meeting. This is our Unemployment Insurance Program. An RSVP to the meeting was presented. No action taken.
C. MSGIA Annual Meeting. This is our Worker’s Compensation Program. An RSVP to the meeting or the option to be represented by proxy to MSGIA’s Annual Meeting was presented. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved 1) to approve the update to MSGIA Bylaws; 2) to accept the nominees as presented and 3) to approve Creston School be represented by proxy. Arnold Bjork seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
D. Stipend for additional days worked outside of contract due to COVID-19 for the Principal. Compensation for two weeks of additional time worked due to COVID-19. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the stipend as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
E. Stipend for additional days worked outside of contract due to COVID-19 for the Clerk. Compensation for two weeks of additional time worked due to COVID-19. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the stipend as presented. Arnold Bjork seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
F. Substitute List – nil.
G. Transportation Contract(s). Twenty-four (24) contracts were presented (rider eligibility: 5 – eligible, 14 – ineligible, 4 – out-of-district, 1 – out-of-district/occasional use). Barry Farrell moved to approve the transportation contracts as presented. Arnold Bjork seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
H. Before School Care Contract(s). Ten (10) contracts were included in the request. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the contracts as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
I. Out of District Request(s). Three separate items were presented: 1) Twelve (12) students residing in our district and parent(s)/guardian(s) choosing to have the students attend another district. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to acknowledge receipt of these attendance agreements. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously; 2) Student resides in Creston School District, attending another District, this is a District placement. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve this attendance agreement. Arnold Bjork seconded. Motion passed unanimously; 3) Thirty-two (32) students living in another district and parent(s)/guardian(s) requesting Creston School as their school of choice/placement. Arnold Bjork moved to approve these attendance agreements as presented. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
J. Gym & School Grounds Use request(s) – nil.
K. Principal Goals – Executive Session. This Item was moved to the end of the meeting. At 8:08 a.m. Matt Hartle closed the meeting in order to conduct a personnel evaluation. At 8:16 a.m. the meeting reconvened in open session. Arnold Bjork moved to approve the Principal evaluation and to approve the executive session minutes. Barry Farrell seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
VII. Claims – September & October 2020. Nevada Hafer moved to approve all claims as presented. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
VIII. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 12 November 2020, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
IX. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:17 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

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Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

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Matt Hartle, Board Chair