CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
11 March 2021

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:06 a.m. The meeting was conducted via a Zoom meeting platform. Present were Board Trustees Matt Hartle, Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Twila Brenneman, Barry Farrell, and Nevada Hafer. Also in attendance were Tami Ward, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, Shanta Milne, Kindergarten Teacher, Melissa Potts, 1st Grade Teacher.
II. Minutes of 11 February 2021 and 25 February 2021. Nevada Hafer moved to approve the minutes as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
IV. Information
A. Candidates for Trustee may file a Declaration of Intent and Oath of Candidacy between Thursday, December 10, 2020 through Thursday, March 25, 2021.
B. Lead Testing Results. We mitigated the issues through replacing fixtures and filters; those sites in question were retested February 9th and all sites are now safe to drink from. Report provided.
C. School Based Health Center Information. Kalispell Regional Healthcare is expanding their School-Based Health Centers and recently shared information which was provided to the trustees. Due to the size of our school and limited space, our staff, students and families will be invited to utilize medical services at a nearby school when the program becomes available.
V. Reports:
A. Clerk. Statement of Expenditure includes payroll and claims through 9 March 2021. General Fund is at 50% committed and the Total of all Funds is at 51% committed. Accounts are reconciled to County Treasurer for January 2021. The 2019-2020 Audit is in process. We have been selected by OPI for a desk audit on our ESSER funds for fiscal year 2020.
B. Principal. Student Enrollment is at 107. Kindergarten Roundup is scheduled for April 8th and we currently have 15 students on our list for next year. Each year we offer two $250 scholarships to graduating seniors who are Creston School Alumni; Twila Brenneman volunteered to join the scholarship committee. There have been 8 Coronavirus cases in our learning environment this school year, with 5 of those cases this last month resulting in three classroom quarantines; our goal is to keep our school open for in-person learning throughout the remainder of the school year. Title IX information and policies are being added to our staff and student handbooks. Monthly building inspections have been completed with no recommendations; countertops are slated for installation in the 6th grade room over Spring Break; the Facility Conditions Inventory Report was provided with updates. Mrs. Ward met with teachers this month to make plans for next school year; second round of evaluations for non-tenured certified staff were performed; Mrs. Ward is beginning to plan professional development opportunities for the 2021/2022 school year.
C. Staff. Melissa Potts shared the staff report via a Google Slides presentation; the 1st grade was the focus class this month.
VI. Policies:
A. Policy 3612F – Students – Internet Access Conduct Agreement Form – Revision – 2nd Read. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the revision as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. Policy 5314 – Personnel – Substitutes – Revision – 2nd Read. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the revision as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
C. Policy 3600F1, 3600F2 & 3600P – Revision – 1st Read. These revisions were presented to include updates due to FERPA, missing children electronic directory photograph repository, a complete listing of directory information, and student records containing video footage. No motion at this time.
D. Title IX Policy Revisions due to Legislation – 1st Read (#3210, #3225, #3225F, #3225P, #3226, #5010, #5012, #5012F, #5012P, #5015). Policy updates due to recent federal regulations to address and establish detailed procedures for how educational institutions must respond to allegations of sexual harassment. No motion at this time.
E. Policy 3310 – Students – Student Discipline – Revision – 1st Read. This policy has undergone two significant changes with recent Title IX amendments at the federal level and also Montana Legislative changes due to LR-130 & I-190. No motion at this time.
VII. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Geffery Subdivision – Preliminary Plat Request. A notice from Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office regarding a request for preliminary plat of 6 residential lots in our school district. No motion.
B. Trustee Resolution – Notice of Intent to Increase/Decrease Non-Voted Levies – Estimating changes in revenues/mills from tuition, building reserve, transportation and bus depreciation levies for 2021-2022. This is a required notice estimating changes in non-voted levies. A preliminary General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 and the OPI Pre-Session Budget Data Sheet were provided along with the Resolution itself. Barry Farrell moved to approve the Resolution as presented. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
C. Professional Development Contract with Kelly Boswell for Literacy Instruction Training. The instructional focus for the 2021/2022 school year will be English Language Arts through content integration of the new Social Studies standards. Ongoing professional development presented in our school with model lessons in our classrooms will support teachers to implement the new standards effectively. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the contract as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
D. Classroom & Office Remodel – Contract for Construction. The contract is under legal review and once all details have been worked through, the contract will be forwarded to the Board for consideration of approval. No motion.
E. Substitute List. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the addition to the Substitute Teacher List as presented for the 2020-2021 school year. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
F. Transportation Contract(s). Twila Brenneman moved to approve the transportation contracts as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
G. Before School Care Contract(s) – nil.
H. Out of District Request(s). Two requests for students residing in our district, attending another district. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to acknowledge receipt of these attendance agreements. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
I. Gym & School Grounds Use request(s) – nil.
J. Clerk Personnel Evaluation – Executive Session. At 7:52 am, Board Chair Matt Hartle closed the meeting in order to protect the individual rights of Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, during a personnel evaluation. The meeting was reopened at 8:08 am. The personnel evaluation will continue at a future board meeting.
VIII. Claims – March 2021. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the claims approval list as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
IX. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 8 April 2021, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
X. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:08 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

__________________________
Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

__________________________
Matt Hartle, Board Chair

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
25 February 2021

MINUTES
I. Call to order. Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. The meeting was conducted via a Zoom meeting platform. Present were Board Trustees Matt Hartle, Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Twila Brenneman, Barry Farrell, and Nevada Hafer. Also in attendance were Tami Ward, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, Jen Johnson, 2nd Grade Teacher and CEA President, and various members of the staff and public.
II. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
III. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Revision of Policy 1905 – COVID-19 Emergency Measures – Student, Staff, and Community Health and Safety. Montana School Board Association (MTSBA) recommended that school districts update Policy 1905 to reflect Governor Gianforte’s Directive Implementing Executive Order 2-2021. Various supporting documents were presented including but not limited to an excerpt of the Governor’s Directive, a letter from the Flathead City County Health Department, survey results from teachers and staff, survey results from families of our students, and CEA survey results. Oral and written public comment was received. Barry Farrell moved to adopt revised Policy 1905 with Option 1 – Required Face Coverings, as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. Reopening Plan Revision. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve striking the heading of “Local Health Officers School Directive” and replace it with “Phases”. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
IV. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 11 March 2021, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
V. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 5:31 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

__________________________
Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

__________________________
Matt Hartle, Board Chair

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
11 February 2021

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:00 a.m. The meeting was conducted via a Zoom meeting platform. Present were Board Trustees Matt Hartle, Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Twila Brenneman, Barry Farrell, and Nevada Hafer. Also in attendance were Tami Ward, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, Jen Johnson, 2nd Grade Teacher and CEA President, Shanta Milne, Kindergarten Teacher.
II. Minutes of 14 January 2021. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the minutes as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
IV. Information
A. Candidates for Trustee may file a Declaration of Intent and Oath of Candidacy between Thursday, December 10, 2020 through Thursday, March 25, 2021
B. Lead Testing Results. Over Christmas break our water was tested for lead. Due to new legislation – Safe Water in Schools – the sample size and limit has been decreased from a level of 15 to 4. Under the new testing matrix, we had several faucets that tested above the limit of 4. We are in the process of mitigating the issues through replacing fixtures and filters. We will monitor the lead monthly. In the meantime, those fixtures have been labeled “not for drinking” and a bottle filling station has been disabled.
C. Creston Auction Cancellation. We were notified by Creston Fire that they have officially cancelled the Annual Creston Auction due to the complications of Covid-19. They plan to be back in 2022. They will have a Pork Shoulder fundraiser in May and a Soup for Supper event in October.
V. Reports:
A. Clerk. Statement of Expenditure includes payroll and claims through 9 February 2021. General Fund is at 43% committed and the Total of all Funds is at 45% committed. Accounts are reconciled to County Treasurer for December 2020. The 2019-2020 Audit is in process. The Spring Student Enrollment Count Report was submitted – reported enrollment for ANB (Average Number Belonging) was 107 – and the ANB that will be used for the 2021-2022 Budget Limits will be 112.
B. Principal. Student Enrollment is at 108. To date, three positive COVID cases have been verified in our learning environment since March with no community spread. Mrs. Ward continues to be in contact with area administration and health officials on a weekly basis. Monthly building maintenance inspections have been completed with no recommended repairs; new countertops in the 6th grade room are planned for installation over Spring Break. Teacher Professional Development – roundtable discussions around remote learning and teaching were the current topic. Mrs. Ward also met with teachers individually for career goal setting sessions. A virtual Student Assembly with talent and awards was hosted in January. Recruiting continues for substitute teachers, custodians, bus and maintenance positions. Safety committee held a meeting in January and discussed various topics including recess supervision, slippery sidewalk signs on entrance gates, and reminder to staff to apply ice melt if dangerous conditions are observed. Kalispell School District 5 has notified the Management Board that they will not continue membership and will not be the fiscal host for the Educational Cooperative, other schools are also removing membership – our membership will be an agenda topic at a future meeting. Special Education Cooperative and Crossroads updates were also given. A recent consultation took place regarding a possible remodel project to enlarge the classroom next to the office and relocate the office and Title room; we are awaiting estimates, and once available will be presented at a future meeting. Our Title 1 and classroom teachers continue to progress monitor students in math and reading, as well as screen for Dyslexia.
C. Staff. Jen Johnson shared the staff report via a Google Slides presentation; the 2nd grade was the focus class this month.
VI. Policies:
A. School District Policies 2nd Half of 5000 Series – Informational Review. These policies were presented as a review only. No motion needed.
B. Policy 3310 – Students – Student Discipline – Revision – 2nd Read. This policy is in need of Title IX updates – no motion at this time.
C. Policy 4315 – Community Relations – Visitors to Schools – Revision – 2nd Read. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the revision as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
D. Policy 5223 – Personnel – Personal Conduct- Revision – 2nd Read. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the revision as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
E. Policy 5226 – Personnel – Drug-Free Workplace – Revision – 2nd Read. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the revision as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
F. Policy 5314 – Personnel – Substitutes – Revision – 1st Read. Revision for the administrator to establish procedures to arrange for a substitute. No motion at this time.
G. Title IX Policy Revisions due to Legislation – 1st Read (#3210, #3225, #3225P, #3225F, #3226, #3310, #5010, #5012, #5015, #5012P, #5012F). These policies were not available for review at this time; they will be introduced at the next meeting.
H. Policy 3612F – Students – Internet Access Conduct Agreement Form – Revision – 1st Read. Revision is to simplify the student acceptance portion of this form; suggested changes will be added for the next reading. No motion at this time.
VII. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Election Resolution. The Resolution in its entirety was presented to the Board. Summary: A regular school election for the purpose to elect two trustees – one, three-year term and one, two-year term will be conducted by Poll Election on Tuesday, the 4th day of May 2021. Approval of additional levies to operate and maintain Creston School for FY2022 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. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the Resolution as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. Certified Teacher Credit Recognition. Barry Farrell moved to approve credit recognition to Emily Russell, Teresa Mumm and Ariann Hess-Headlee as per the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement and advancement on the salary schedule when all requirements have been met. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
C. Student Handbook 2021-2022. Minor clean up language to the current handbook, two areas of significant change were to the Missing Child Electronic Photograph Repository (Section 32) – additional information included as per the OPI; and updates regarding Title IX legislation (Section 48) to identify the District Title IX Coordinator and required language regarding sexual harassment and discrimination. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the Student Handbook for 2021-2022 as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
D. Preliminary Budget. No information provided at this time, waiting on state legislation.
E. 2021 – 2022 School Calendar. Two options were presented. Option 1 was developed from the Kalispell Public School calendar and option 2 had a late start and end. Teachers and staff reviewed both options and overwhelmingly selected option 1. Barry Farrell moved to approve calendar option 1 as presented. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
F. Substitute List. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the addition to the Substitute Teacher List as presented for the 2020-2021 school year. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
G. Transportation Contract(s). nil.
H. Before School Care Contract(s). nil.
I. Out of District Request(s). Two requests for students residing in our district, attending another district. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to acknowledge receipt of these attendance agreements. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously. One request for a district-to-district placement, student resides in our district. Barry Farrell moved to approve this attendance agreement. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Two requests for students residing in another district, requesting placement in our district. Twila Brenneman moved to approve these attendance agreements. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
J. Gym & School Grounds Use request(s). nil.
K. Principal mid-year EPAS – Executive Session. Board Chair Matt Hartle closed the meeting in order to protect the individual rights of Tami Ward, Principal during a personnel evaluation. Upon re-opening the meeting, Twila Brenneman moved to approve the evaluation and the executive session minutes. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
VIII. Claims – February 2021. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen moved to approve the claims approval list as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
IX. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 11 March 2021, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
X. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:59 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

__________________________
Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

__________________________
Matt Hartle, Board Chair