CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
9 December 2021

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:07 a.m. The meeting was held in the gym. Present were Board Trustees Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Twila Brenneman, Barry Farrell and Nevada Hafer; as well as Julie Horton upon appointment and swearing in. Also in attendance were Tami Ward, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, and Jennifer Johnson, Teacher and CEA President.
II. Minutes of 11 November 2021. Twila Brenneman motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Appoint & Swear in Trustee to Vacant Position. (The order of this item was adjusted to after the Policy section.) Julie Horton was presented as a trustee nominee to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Matt Hartle – his term expires May 2022. Twila Brenneman moved to appoint Julie Horton to fill the vacant trustee position. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Jack Eggensperger, County Superintendent joined the meeting by phone at 7:26 and swore her in. Julie officially joined the meeting as a trustee with the Consideration of Action Items VII.A.
IV. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
V. Reports:
A. Clerk. The monthly budget expenditure report was provided through 30 November 2021. General Fund is 29% committed and the Total of all Funds is at 24% committed. Fund 115 Project Report was also provided. Accounts are reconciled to the County Treasurer through October 2021.
B. Principal. Current student enrollment is 107. During November our school community gathered 388 items for the Bigfork Food Bank. We are currently hosting a toy drive for the non-profit Merry Market organization. The first round of formal teacher evaluations have been completed. Monthly building inspections have been completed with no recommended repairs. We had eight positive Covid-19 cases in our learning environment during the month of November and fifteen cases this school year. Parents/guardians were given a third notice of the potential cancellation of transportation services and a second notice of potential cancellation of classroom instruction due to a lack of substitutes. Due to an extended absence with no available substitute, one classroom had to go into independent remote learning for five days and the before school care program was cancelled one day. School Facility Conditions Inventory Report was provided with no updates. Mrs. Ward attended Title IX training and will assume the role of Coordinator and Investigator and Jack Eggensperger, County Superintendent of Schools, will assume the role of Decision Maker.
C. Staff. Jen Johnson shared the staff report via a Google Slide presentation.
VI. Policies
A. Policy Updates 1420, 2140, 5140, 2312P – 2nd Read. Barry Farrell motioned to approve the changes to policies 1420, 2140, and 5140 and the deletion of policy 2312P. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. New Policy 2221P – 2nd Read. Nevada Hafer motioned to approve policy 2221P as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
VII. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Before School Care Substitute Contract- CC. Barry Farrell noted that a Thank You be extended to all staff/teachers that step up for these extra duty positions. Barry Farrell motioned to approve the extra duty contract for Cindi Conley as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. Safe Return to School and Continuity of Services Plan. Information only. No motion.
C. ARP ESSER Plan Review and Call for Stakeholder Input. The ARP ESSER plan for Creston School was submitted to OPI August 16, 2021. Each school district that receives ARP ESSER funds must develop, make publicly available on the website, request stakeholder input, and review/resubmit the plan every six months. All stakeholders (parents, community members, staff members, teachers, Creston Teacher’s Union, Board Members, and Creston Special Education Department) are invited to provide requested changes, feedback, and/or questions regarding our ARP ESSER plan. Mrs. Ward sent an email on 12/2/2021 to invite input and also noticed it in the January Principal Newsletter. The plan will also be reviewed at the January 13 and February 10 Board meetings. Mrs. Ward invited those present for input. The plan may be accessed at our website here: https://creston.k12.mt.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CrestonElementary_LE0316-ARP-ESSER-PLAN-8-24-2021.pdf. Our District is currently on schedule to complete the plan by 2024. Discussion and Information only. No motion.
D. Substitute List – nil.
E. Transportation Contracts – nil.
F. Before School Care Contracts – nil.
G. Out of District Requests. Twila Brenneman motioned to acknowledge receipt of the attendance agreements. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously
H. Gym & School Grounds Use Requests – nil.
VIII. Claims Approval. Twila Brenneman motioned to approve the claims lists for November 30th and December 9th as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
IX. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 13 January 2022, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
B. 10 February 2022, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
X. Board Work Session – Training and Discussion for Board Professional Development
A. Board Member Roles & Responsibilities. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen led a discussion covering this topic.
XI. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:00 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

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Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

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Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Board Chair