CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
12 OCTOBER 2023

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:03 a.m. The meeting was held in the gym. Present were Board Trustees Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Twila Brenneman, Megan Derrington, Barry Farrell and Nevada Hafer. Also in attendance were Rachel Stevens, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, and Cindi Conley, Special Education Teacher.
II. Minutes of 14 September 2023. Nevada Hafer moved to approve the minutes as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
IV. Information
A. MTSBA Notice of Delegate Assembly. Information regarding the meeting was provided.
V. Reports:
A. Clerk. The monthly budget expenditure report was provided through 30 September 2023. General Fund is 20% committed and the Total of all Funds is 16%. Accounts are reconciled to the County Treasurer through August 2023. Miscellaneous Funds and Eastside Interlocal accounts were also reported. As per new legislation in HB811 trustee contact information has been entered into the OPI online repository. Auditor is working on documents delivered prior to on-site visit – the date of the on-site visit is pending.
B. Principal. Student Enrollment is 106. Teachers will participate in an IEFA professional development session led by Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Davidson on October 24. Benchmark assessments for the 2023/2024 school year are completed for math and reading; the data was analyzed and students needing Title I services, additional teacher/staff assistance and/or classroom interventions were identified and are receiving those services/interventions. The first meeting of the safety committee is scheduled for October 16; three safety drills have been held to date including one in conjunction with the Creston Fire Department. On September 28 Mrs. Stevens attended an OPI training session regarding the Integrated Strategic Action Plan (ISAP), the rubric scoring system, Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA), and stakeholder engagement requirements for school accreditation. Monthly building maintenance inspection has been completed with no recommendations and the School Facilities Conditions Inventory report was provided with no updates. Teacher formal evaluations using the Teacher EPAS are scheduled and have begun; tenured teacher evaluations will be completed by December and non-tenured teacher evaluations by February.
C. Staff. Mrs. Conley, Special Education Teacher was present to share the staff report via a Google Slide presentation.
VI. Policies – Consideration of Action:
A. Second Reading of Policy Updates: 1650 (New), 1006FE, 1110, 1400, 2132, 2140, 2332, 2450, 3120, 3141, 3226, 3233, 3235, 3310, 3413, 3510, 3550, 8301. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the updates to the policy manual as presented. Megan Derrington seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. First Reading of Policy Updates: 1009FE. Policy reviewed. No action.
VII. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Update to Free & Reduced Form. Change to the School Use Only portion. Replace parent/guardian signature line with school official notes communicating determination status to parent/guardian. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the revision as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Megan Derrington left the meeting at this point – 7:22 a.m.
B. Extra-Duty Custodian Contracts. A list of current employees agreeing to fill in as custodian as needed was provided. Barry Farrell moved to approve the extra-duty custodian contracts as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
C. Safe Return to School and Continuity of Services Plan. No updates. No action.
D. MTSUIP Annual Meeting. Information regarding the meeting was provided. No action.
E. Strategic Planning Process and Formation of Stakeholder Committee. Mrs. Stevens explained the purpose and process of strategic planning and how it ties in with the Integrated Strategic Action Plan (ISAP) which is required to be submitted to OPI in March of 2024 and updated annually after that. The first step requires the formation of a stakeholder committee including board members. Nevada Hafer and Jessica Sandven-Sorensen volunteered to be on the committee. Nevada Hafer moved to approve the formation of the stakeholder committee and appoint the trustee volunteers to the committee. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
F. Substitute List. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the new hire substitute teacher/aide list as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
G. Transportation Contracts – nil.
H. Before School Care Contracts – nil.
I. Out-of-District Requests. Attendance agreements for nineteen 7th and 8th grade students that reside in our district and are attending Kalispell Middle School under a District-to-District placement. Barry Farrell moved to approve these attendance agreements. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Attendance agreements for seven students that reside in our district, attending another district. Nevada Hafer moved to acknowledge receipt of these attendance agreements. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
J. Gym & School Grounds Use Requests – nil.
VIII. Claims Approval – Consideration of Action. Nevada Hafer moved to approve the claims list as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
IX. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 9 November 2023, 7:00 am, Regular Meeting
B. 14 December 2023, 7:00 am, Regular Meeting
X. Board Work Session – Training and Discussion for Board Professional Development
A. Schedule for Trustee School Walk-Throughs. Trustees scheduled walk-through times with Mrs. Stevens.
XI. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:47 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

/s/Tammy Bartos, District Clerk
/s/Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Board Chair