CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
9 FEBRUARY 2023

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:02 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, Cindi Conley, Special Education Teacher, and Jen Johnson, 2nd Grade Teacher and CEA President
II. Minutes of 12 January 2023 & 19 January 2023. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the minutes as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
IV. Reports:
A. Clerk. The monthly budget expenditure report was provided through 31 January 2023. General Fund is 42% committed and the Total of all Funds is 45% committed. Accounts are reconciled to the County Treasurer through December 2022. A link was provided to the MSSA Rural Survey which provides participating school districts with comparison information about budgets (including a salary section), levies, and enrollment. The data for the Traffic/Speed Study on Highway 35 has been collected and analyzed; when the written report is finished it will be presented to the County Commissioners, followed by a public comment period then to the Montana Transportation Commission for consideration of a final decision. Spring Student Count was February 6th and was 116 (Fall count was 121); the ANB that will be used for the 2023-2024 Budget Limits is 124 and it is based on current year ANB.
B. Principal. Student Enrollment is 115. The teachers participated in an embedded professional development English/Language Arts session on January 23; the focus in the primary grades was integrating phonics instruction and in the intermediate grades was spelling, specifically in content areas. Mrs. Stevens completed the MTSBA Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities training on January 24; she began the MTSBA Human Resource Symposium training on February 7. Monthly building maintenance inspections were completed with no recommendations for repairs. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services received a grant through the federal American Rescue Plan and through their Air Purifiers in Schools Program we have received air purifiers for each classroom, the library and office, along with three years of filters at no cost to our school. Mrs. Stevens wrote a grant to the Montana Small School Alliance (MSSA) requesting funds for the Montana Native Songs Program with Rob Quist and Halladay Blake; the grant was funded, and the program will be shared at an assembly with our students in March. Preliminary information has been shared with MontanaSky regarding the initial set up of the phone (VoIP) system so that they can begin programming; parts have been ordered and the plan is to upgrade the network first, and then the phone system and speakers. Mid-Year Student Benchmark Assessment Data for Reading and Math was provided.
C. Staff. Jen Johnson, CEA President and 2nd Grade Teacher and Cindi Conley, Special Education Teacher were present to share the staff report via a Google Slide presentation.
V. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Election Resolution. A Trustee Resolution calling for an election is required by February 21, 2023. Two options were presented 1) by Mail Ballot and 2) by Poll Election. Summary: A regular school election for the purpose of electing two trustees to three-year terms and one trustee to a two-year term will be conducted on Tuesday the 2nd day of May 2023. Approval of additional levies to operate and maintain Creston School for FY2024 will also be requested. If it is later determined that any portion of the election is not required, the election administrator is authorized to cancel that portion of the election. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the Election Resolution by Mail Ballot. Megan Derrington seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. 2022/2023 School Calendar Revision. Due to extreme weather conditions school was cancelled on December 21, 2022. The calendar has been revised to recognize the change; and with one less day we still have an excess of over 14 hours above the required 1080 hours for grades 4 thru 12. Barry Farrell moved to approve the revised 2022/2023 School Calendar as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
C. Advertise a 1.0 FTE Teacher Position for the 2023/2024 School Year. Twila Brenneman moved to approve posting an open 1.0 FTE Teacher Position for the 2023/2024 school year. Megan Derrington seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
D. Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations with Creston Education Association. We are waiting on budget information from OPI before addressing this topic further – this also involves waiting on the Legislature to adopt funding and budget bills. No action.
E. District Clerk & Business/Office Manager Job Opening. The job opening has been advertised on various job posting sites and there are a few applications to review. Mrs. Stevens will be scheduling a meeting with the Hiring Committee. No action.
F. Safe Return to School and Continuity of Services Plan. No changes or updates. Next scheduled review is March 9th. No Action.
G. Substitute List 2022/2023 – nil.
H. Transportation Contracts – nil.
I. Before School Care Contracts – nil.
J. Out-of-District Requests – nil.
K. Gym & School Grounds Use Requests. One request by Katy Miller and David Schurz to use the gym on Wednesdays from 4:00 – 5:00 pm, 2/15/2023 – 5/31/2023 for their families to practice martial arts practice. Nevada Hafer moved to approve the gym use request. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
VI. Claims Approval. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the claims list as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded.
VII. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 9 February 2023, 7:00 am
B. 1 March 2023, 7:00 am – Special Meeting
C. 9 March 2023, 7:00 am
VIII. Board Work Session – Training and Discussion for Board Professional Development. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen led a discussion covering the listed topics.
1. Principal Evaluation Tools and Use
2. Procedures and Policies Guiding Trustee Communications
3. Requirements for Teacher Tenure (20-4-203 MCA)
IX. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:36 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

/s/ Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

/s/ Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Board Chair