CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
14 April 2022

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:01 a.m. The meeting was held in the gym. Present were Board Trustees Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Twila Brenneman, Barry Farrell, Nevada Hafer, and Julie Horton. Also in attendance were Tami Ward, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, Deb Christiansen, Teacher, Jennifer Johnson, Teacher and CEA President, and community member: Walter Graves.
II. Minutes of 10 March 2022 and 15 March 2022. Nevada Hafer motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
IV. Information
A. Audit Engagement Letter. The letter from Nicole Noonan, CPA, was provided regarding the fiscal year 2021 audit.
B. Teacher Resignations. Ariann Hess-Headlee, part-time Kindergarten teacher and Emily Russell, 5th/6th grade teacher, have both submitted their resignation effective at the conclusion of the 2021/2022 school year. Mrs. Ward has accepted the resignations as per board policy 5251.
V. Reports:
A. Clerk. The monthly budget expenditure report was provided through 31 March 2022. General Fund is 60% committed and the Total of all Funds is 48% committed. Fund 115 Project Report was provided with one new project added to the list for State BASE Limit Increase as per HB630 (2021). Accounts are reconciled to the County Treasurer through February 2022.
B. Principal. Current Student Enrollment is 111. Monthly building inspections have been completed. A wall heater was installed in the Teacher’s Lounge in March. Professional Development – Jen Johnson attended a Montana IEFA conference and will serve as the IEFA Director during the 2022/2023 school year. Pauline Davidson will serve as our Concussion Awareness Advocate for the 2022/2023 school year. Jen Johnson assisted in coordinating and supervising the 5th & 6th grade student volunteers for the Creston Auction. There were zero confirmed positive coronavirus cases in our learning environment during the month of March and twenty total cases this school year. Special Education Cooperative update was given.
C. Staff. Jen Johnson shared the staff report via a Google Slide presentation
VI. Policies – Consideration of Action:
A. MTSBA Policy Updates per 3/18/22 Notice – Required: 1520, 2161P, 2168, 2170, 2312, 2510, 3121, 3310, 3413F1, 3413F2, 3416, 5228P, 5321. These were required updates to policies we already had in place; only one reading is needed. Twila Brenneman motioned to approve the updates as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. MTSBA Policy Updates per 3/18/22 Notice – Recommended: 3612, 3612F, 3612P. This was the first read of these recommended updates; no action taken.
VII. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Principal Search & Hiring Process. At the Interview on March 15, 2022, the trustees voted unanimously to offer the Principal with Superintendent duties position to Rachel Stevens. Elizabeth Kaleva presented the offer to Mrs. Stevens and negotiated an employment contract with her on behalf of the District.
1. Principal Contract 2022/2023. Barry Farrell motioned to approve the 2022/2023 Principal Contract with Rachel Stevens as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. Teacher Contract Renewals 2022/2023 including Renewal or Non-Renewal of Non-Tenured Teachers. Julie Horton moved to approve the contract renewals for the list of tenured teachers for the 2022/2023 school year. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Julie Horton moved to approve the contract renewals for the list of non-tenured teachers for the 2022/2023 school year. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
C. Levy & Trustee Election Cancellation. The Levy and Trustee Election was cancelled. The trustee election was cancelled by acclamation as there were two trustee openings and two candidate filings. Barry Farrell moved to approve the election cancellation as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
D. Safe Return to School and Continuity of Services Plan. Information only. No action taken.
E. Hiring committee formation. A committee is needed to hire a vacant certified teacher position for the 2022/2023 school year. Twila Brenneman moved to appoint Nevada Hafer and Jessica Sandven-Sorensen to the hiring committee. Julie Horton seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
F. Substitute List – nil.
G. Transportation Contracts – nil.
H. Before School Care Contracts – nil.
I. Out of District Requests – nil.
J. Gym & School Grounds Use Requests. The Many Lakes Homeowners Association wants to host a Living with Wildfires Community Event in our gym on April 16, 2022. Nevada Hafer moved to approve the gym use request as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
K. Executive Session Minutes – includes Executive Session for: 1) March 15, 2022, Executive Session Minutes of Principal Interview; and 2) April 14, 2022, Executive Session Minutes of today’s Executive Session. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen closed the meeting at 7:35 a.m. to protect the individual rights of Rachel Stevens regarding her background check. The meeting was reopened at 7:38 a.m. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the executive session minutes of March 15, 2022, and April 14, 2022. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
VIII. Claims Approval. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the claims list as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
IX. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 12 May 2022, 7:00 am Reorganization & Regular Meeting
B. 9 June 2022, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
X. Board Work Session – Training and Discussion for Board Professional Development
A. School Funding. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen led a discussion covering this topic.
XI. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:03 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

/s/Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

/s/Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Board Chair