Board Minutes

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9

REGULAR BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

3 OCTOBER 2017

MINUTES

Chairman Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees Meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. in the Creston School Library with the following members present: Austin Hughes, Nancy Keeton and Julie Tikka. Also in attendance were: Tami Ward – Principal, Tammy Bartos – District Clerk, Jack Eggensperger – County Superintendent, JoAnna Massie – trustee designate to be, Jen Johnson – 2^nd grade Teacher and Melissa Potts – 1^st grade teacher.

Minutes: Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the minutes of the 7 September 2017 meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

Public Participation/Correspondence: nil.

Reports:

Clerk – Tammy Bartos presented report. Statement of Expenditure for October was presented. A letter from MTPEC to Superintendent Arntzen was referenced regarding possible further budget cuts. Jack Eggensperger stated he does not anticipate any further cuts to school districts. All board members have been signed up for MTSBA MTSUIP 2017 Back-to-School Legal Primer video workshop available for viewing 6 October – 10 October.

Principal – Tami Ward presented report. Student Enrollment is currently 87. We are being audited for our Title I and II programs and funds. Options for improving our Internet connection are being explored. Building Maintenance: trees have been trimmed and lots of odds and ends fixed around the school. Northwest Educational Cooperative: This year we will do a science curriculum review. Crossroads: The K-2 program is up and running. Special Education Cooperative: next meeting is set for October 26^th. Safety/Playground: new slide has been installed; benches to be replaced; estimates for a new keypad entry system for the 2^nd and 3^rd grade building are being done; teachers and staff met to practice lockdown drills; we are working with the Sheriff’s Department to set up intruder training for the staff. Smarter Balanced Scores: our school placed fourth in the State for ELA and math. Mindset for Learning: focus this month is persistence.

Staff – Jen Johnson, 2^nd grade teacher reported. Teachers are planning upcoming field trips to enhance learning including Skype Virtual Field trips. Combined art classes are starting off successful.

Safety – Tami Ward reported in her Principal report.

Information Items:

• Asbestos Inspection Report form was distributed and reviewed. No significant changes since our last inspection.
• Alarm System Call List Update: An update to our alarm response call list was passed around.
• 2015-2016 Audit Report: Tammy Bartos reported that she and auditor are working on finalizing reports and adjustments. The official report will be available at the next board meeting.

Policies: In order to include the soon to be new trustee in all action items, Board Chair Matt Hartle moved the policy item to after the appointment of a new trustee.

Consideration of Action Items:

• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka seconded to declare a vacant trustee position due to Jeff Sullivan moving out of the district and to fill the vacancy by appointment. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the appointment of JoAnna Massie as trustee. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve policy 3431 STUDENTS – Emergency Treatment as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Pasture Lease Agreement – discussion only, tabled until next month.
• Austin Hughes moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the Make-up Days as presented – June 8^th will be a full day, June 11^th will be added to the school calendar as a full day and June 12^th will be added to the calendar as an early out at 1:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the resolution to not reschedule one pupil-instruction day because of an unforeseen emergency (per MCA 20-9-806). Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve hiring substitutes from the County Superintendent of Schools list for school year 2017-2018. Motion passed unanimously.
• Austin Hughes moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to waive the fee for occasional bus riders – occasional defined as no more than once a month. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and JoAnna Massie seconded to approve the transportation contract as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and JoAnna Massie seconded to acknowledge receipt of the attendance agreements for students living in the Creston School District and attending elsewhere. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the attendance agreement of a student choosing Creston School District as district of placement. Motion passed unanimously.
• Gym & School Grounds use request(s) – nil.

Payroll/Substitutes/Claims: The Board approved all claims for August & October 2017.

Next Meeting(s) Date:

• 7 November 2017 at 7:30 am. (Austin Hughes will not be in attendance – work.)

Meeting adjourned at 8:34 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tammy Bartos                                             Matt Hartle

District Clerk                                                 Chairman

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9

REGULAR BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

7 SEPTEMBER 2017

MINUTES

Chairman Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees Meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. in the Creston School Library with the following members present: Nancy Keeton and Julie Tikka. (Austin Hughes & Jeff Sullivan both had other obligations.) Also in attendance were: Tami Ward – Principal and Tammy Bartos – District Clerk, Jen Johnson – Teacher.

Minutes: Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the minutes of the 15 August 2017 meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

Public Participation/Correspondence: nil.

Reports:

Clerk – Tammy Bartos presented report. Statement of Expenditure for September was presented. MTSBA MTSUIP 2017 Back-to-School Legal Primer information was given.

Principal – Tami Ward presented report. Student Enrollment is currently 92. Science CRT results: 80% of 4^th graders were at or above benchmark. Principal Goals were presented. Health & Safety Committee will meet twice a month. Building Maintenance: sidewalks are being repaired, stained and sealed. Mindset for Learning: focus this month is empathy. Northwest Montana Administrator Association: ESSA and budget concerns were discussed. Special Education Cooperative: we have a new Occupational Therapist this year.

Staff – Jen Johnson, 2^nd grade teacher reported. Teachers attended literacy and math conferences prior to school beginning. All teachers are using the Responsive Classroom model and it has been a success; it is meaningful and uses common language for all teachers and students.

Playground – Tami Ward reported. Inspection was completed 8/8/17 and any issues are being taken care of.

Consideration of Action Items:

• Julie Tikka explored a bike/walk path from the school to Many Lakes Entrance, it appears it would require someone or an organized group to pursue this as funding from the county, state or other government is unlikely. Discussion only, no motion made.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the Student Privacy Statement and Staff/Volunteer Confidentiality Agreement as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka Keeton seconded to approve the Disposition of abandoned, obsolete and undesirable property resolution as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Records Disposal – Tammy Bartos will work on this at a later date, no motion needed.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the AED Policies, Procedures and Forms as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the Safety Manual and Policies as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the Substitute Teacher List as present. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to accept the Transportation Contracts as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the out of district attendance agreements with Creston as the district of choice as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the gym use agreements by the Stan Uskoski Family and Flathead Valley Football-4^th graders as presented. Motion passed unanimously.

Payroll/Substitutes/Claims: The Board approved all claims for September 2017.

Next Meeting(s) Date:

• 3 October 2017 at 7:30 am.

Meeting adjourned at 8:18 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tammy Bartos                                                 Matt Hartle

District Clerk                                                                Chairman

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9

REGULAR BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

15 AUGUST 2017

MINUTES

Chairman Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees Meeting to order at 7:33 a.m. in the Creston School Library with the following members present: Austin Hughes, Nancy Keeton and Julie Tikka. (Jeff Sullivan was at work.) Also in attendance were: Jack Eggensperger – County Superintendent, Tami Ward – Principal and Tammy Bartos – District Clerk.

Minutes: Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the minutes of the 6 June 2017 meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

Public Participation/Correspondence: nil.

Reports:

Clerk – Tammy Bartos presented report. BMS accounts were reconciled with the County Treasurer for June. The summer months have been busy with end of year transactions, TFS and Budget preparations. Infinite Campus/AIM has been set up to take attendance – this will allow for easier reporting to OPI. Board Meeting Agenda Format Updates per MTSBA recommendations were explained. Due to auditor scheduling conflicts the FY16 audit has not yet been completed – estimated completion is August 31^st.

Principal – Tami Ward presented report. Student Enrollment is currently 94. Smarter Balanced Test Results: 83% of students tested were at/above benchmark in English Language Arts (compared to 87% last year); and in math, 75% of students tested were at/above benchmark (compared to 86% last year). Discipline Program: we will be using the Responsive Classroom philosophy as our whole school discipline. Safety Training: working to ensure all areas of our building are safe and would pass an inspection by the Department of Labor and Industry. AED training: have received the AED and will have staff training on August 28^th. Building maintenance: insulation installed in the basement yesterday; sidewalk repairs and HVAC maintenance is scheduled to be completed before school starts. Back-to-School Night: August 28^th at 5:30 the PTO is providing a free taco bar just prior to our Open House from 6:00 – 7:00. First day of school is August 30^th. Bus route: reviewed adopted route.

Staff – nil.

Playground – Tami Ward reported. Inspection was completed 8/8/17 and any issues are being taken care of.

Policy: nil.

Information Items:

• Tami Ward briefly went over the Safety Policy Statement, Emergency Action Plan and Accident Reporting. These will be brought to the Board for approval at a later meeting.

Consideration of Action Items:

• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the 2016-17 Trustees Financial Summary & 2017-18 Budget. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the Interlocal Agreements for Transportation between Creston School and Cayuse Prairie School. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the employment agreement for Rachel Leighty as a teacher’s aide for the 2017-2018 school year. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the stipend adjustment for Deborah Christiansen from $2000 to $1000. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the Classified and Hourly Staff Pay Period change to the 25^th of the month through the 24^th of the following month. Motion passed unanimously.
• Austin Hughes moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the Transportation Contracts as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to acknowledge receipt of an attendance agreement with Creston as the district of residence. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the out of district attendance agreements with Creston as the district of choice. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the gym use agreement by Creston Fitness for 2017-2018. Motion passed unanimously.

Payroll/Substitutes/Claims: The Board approved all claims for June 27, 2017 and July 28, 2017.

• Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to give authority to Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, to process claims for August without convening a board meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

Next Meeting(s) Date:

• 7 September 2017 at 7:30 am.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tammy Bartos                                                 Matt Hartle

District Clerk                                                                Chairman

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9

REGULAR BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

6 JUNE 2017

MINUTES

Chairman Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees Meeting to order at 7:32 a.m. in the Creston School Library with the following members present: Austin Hughes, Nancy Keeton, Julie Tikka and Jeff Sullivan. Also in attendance were: Tami Ward – Principal and Tammy Bartos – District Clerk.

Minutes: Jeff Sullivan moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the minutes of the 2 May reorganization and regular meetings. Motion passed unanimously.

Public Participation/Correspondence: The Flathead County Planning and Zoning Department sent a letter regarding a preliminary plat approval of a Subdivision on Riverside Road – a proposal to create 3 lots for residential use.

Reports:

Clerk – Tammy Bartos presented report. Statement of Expenditure shows General Fund at 100% committed through the beginning of June, we will be receiving the budget amendment monies, which will offset end of year expenses not yet paid for; Fund 115 Title monies have been fully used for the year; Post-Session Preliminary Budget Data Sheets are out and our numbers remained stable with a slight increase of $500.00 to our BASE Budget.

Principal – Tami Ward presented report. Math EasyCBM testing results at year end show 84% of all students at/above benchmark, 11% nearing benchmark, and 5% needing intervention; the teachers and Mrs. Ward will be reviewing and selecting a whole school discipline program this summer to implement next school year; Classroom assignments for next school year are: Kindergarten: Mrs. Milne, First: Ms. Potts, Second: Mrs. Johnson, Third: Mrs. Davidson, Fourth: Mrs. Shanks, Fifth/Sixth: Ms. Hess, Title Reading: Mrs. Christiansen; Flathead Crossroads – all vacant positions have been filled, they will have a three-week summer program this year.

Staff – nil.

Special Education Coop – nil.

Educational Coop – Tami Ward reported. The Co-op hired Karla Miller to be the new director; teacher professional development this summer will be Math in the Mountains and Northwest Montana Reading Conference.

Playground – Tami Ward reported. The slide will be replaced this summer and woodchips will be ordered in August before school starts.

Policy: nil.

Information Items:

• The Bus Driver/Maintenance position has been offered and accepted by Jeff Hagen, he’s ready to start immediately.
• OPI sent a letter acknowledging receipt of the General Fund Budget Amendment Resolution and stating we are eligible to receive an additional $26,680 in direct state aid which will be paid in the June 2017 DSA payment.

Action Items:

• Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the Interlocal Agreement for Communication Disorders with the Flathead Special Education Cooperative. Motion passed unanimously.
• Austin Hughes moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the property and liability insurance proposal by Payne West (Montana Schools Property & Liability Insurance Plan). Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the renewal of the Principal Teacher employment contract for 2017-2018 as presented for Tami Ward. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Jeff Sullivan seconded to approve the Title 1 2017 summer tutoring employment agreement as presented for Melissa Potts. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the Custodian employment agreement for 2017-2018 as presented for Susan Peters. Motion passed unanimously.
• Jeff Sullivan moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the mentor/coaching stipend for 2017-2018 as presented for Deborah Christiansen. Motion passed unanimously.
• Austin Hughes moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the Bus Driver/Maintenance 2017-2018 employment agreement as presented for Jeff Hagen. Motion passed unanimously.
• Nancy Keeton moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the new Teacher 2017-2018 employment contract as presented for James Christiansen. (He will be .5 counselor, .2 PE, and .3 Title 1.) Motion passed unanimously.
• Austin Hughes moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to give authority to Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, to process claims the remainder of June through the beginning of August without convening a board meeting. Motion passed unanimously.
• Jeff Sullivan moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the 2017-2018 bus route as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
• Transportation Contract(s) – nil.
• Out of District request(s): – Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to acknowledge the two out of district requests from Evergreen, as the district of choice, and with Creston as the district of residence.
• Gym & School Grounds Use request – nil.

Board Comments: Matt Hartle brought up the subject of the crosswalk on Highway 35 and safety issues; he would like to pursue signage, and the like, further.

Payroll/Substitutes/Claims: The Board approved all claims for June 6, 2017.

Miscellaneous Items of Business: An update on the AED situation was asked for. The refund has been requested and the company (AEDGrant.com a division of Express Companies, Inc.) says it will issue the refund by check in 30 days. The 30 days is up later this week. If we do not receive it we may need to pursue it further through the State Auditors office.

Next Meeting(s) Date:

• Final Budget and Regular Meeting: 10 August 2017 at 7:30 am.

Meeting adjourned at 8:23 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tammy Bartos                                                 Matt Hartle

District Clerk                                                    Chairman

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9

REGULAR BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

2 MAY 2017

MINUTES

Chairman Matt Hartle called the Board of Trustees Meeting to order at 7:38 a.m. in the Creston School Library with the following members present: Austin Hughes, Nancy Keeton, Julie Tikka and Jeff Sullivan. Also in attendance were: Tami Ward – Principal, Tammy Bartos – District Clerk and Jack Eggensperger – County Superintendent.

Minutes: Jeff Sullivan moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the minutes of the 13 April 2017 regular meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

Public Participation/Correspondence: nil.

Reports:

Clerk – Tammy Bartos presented report. Statement of Expenditure shows General Fund at 78% committed. Reconciliations to the County Treasurer are completed through March. Fund 115 Projects are in good shape.

Principal – Tami Ward presented report. Social Skill Theme this month is Respect. The full-time teacher position for .5 counseling, .2 PE and .3 Title 1 has been posted, applications have been received and she is looking for volunteers to review applications on May 4^th. Smarter Balanced, Math EasyCBM and Fountas and Pinnell Reading Assessments have started and will continue through the month of May. Also, reported on Kindergarten Roundup, End-of-Year Activities, status of AED and IEFA Day.

Staff – nil.

Special Education Coop – Tami Ward reported that they hired another school psychologist and have offered a job to a speech therapist. Also, unfortunately, the cooperative decided not to move forward with a special education preschool building at this time. Crossroads is still on track to open the K-2 program next fall.

Educational Coop – Tami Ward reported that the cooperative has offered the director job to a teacher leader and hope to have an answer this week. Also, the science curriculum committee met and teachers will be coming together to share teacher created resources.

Playground – Tami Ward reported – the slide is in need of repair and depending on the cost of the replacement parts we may possibly replace the entire slide. After raking woodchips around the footings Tami has decided to wait until the fall to bring in more woodchips.

Policy:

• Julie Tikka moved and Jeff Sullivan seconded to accept Policy #2105 Grade Organization. Motion passed unanimously.
• Jeff Sullivan moved and Austin Hughes seconded to accept Policy #5222 Evaluation of Non-Administrative Staff. Motion passed unanimously.

Information Items:

• Liability Insurance Proposals – Two proposals have been received – one from our existing insurer MSPLIP and another from MSGIA. A representative from MSGIA will be visiting with us (Tami Ward and Tammy Bartos) later today. The proposals are in the office and anyone interested in reviewing them is welcome to do so. We will bring our recommendation to the next board meeting.
• The Bus Driver/Maintenance position has been offered to an applicant and we hope to get a response later this week.

 1^st Grade Presentation: at 8:00 a.m. Ms. Potts along with some of her 1^st grade students gave book report presentations from the Mary Pope Ausborne Magic Tree House series they have read this year, to demonstrate their social studies, science and writing learning.

 Action Items:

• Jeff Sullivan moved and Julie Tikka seconded to accept the resignation of the paraprofessional. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the Budget Amendment Resolution due to an unanticipated enrollment increase. Motion passed unanimously.
• Austin Hughes moved and Jeff Sullivan seconded to approve the renewal of certified teacher employment contracts for 2017-2018 as presented for Jamie Shanks, Melissa Potts, Paula Rich, Deb Christensen, Ariann Hess, Shanta Bisch Milne, Jennifer Johnson, Cindi Siler and Pauline Davidson. Motion passed unanimously.
• Jeff Sullivan moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the District Clerk Employment Contract for Tammy Bartos for 2017-2018. Motion passed unanimously.
• Jeff Sullivan moved and Nancy Keeton seconded to approve the Pasture Lease Agreement. Motion passed unanimously.
• Jeff Sullivan moved and Julie Tikka seconded to approve the Northwest Montana Educational Cooperative Agreement. Motion passed unanimously.
• Julie Tikka moved and Austin Hughes seconded to approve the Montana Small School Alliance Agreement. Motion passed unanimously.
• Transportation Contract(s) – nil.
• Out of District request(s): – Nancy Keeton moved and Jeff Sullivan seconded to acknowledge the out of district request from Evergreen, as the district of choice and, with Creston as the district of residence.
• Gym & School Grounds Use request – nil.

 Board Comments: nil.

Payroll/Substitutes/Claims: The Board approved all claims for May 2017.

 Miscellaneous Items of Business: Tami Ward extended a welcome to Nancy Keeton as a new trustee and a thank you to Jeff Sullivan for his Board Chair service last year; also a thank you to Jack Eggensperger for his attendance today.

 Next Meeting(s) Date:

• Regular Meeting 6 June 2017 at 7:30 am.

Meeting adjourned at 8:15 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tammy Bartos                                                 Matt Hartle

District Clerk                                                                Chairman

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9

REORGANIZATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING

2 May 2017

MINUTES

Chairman Jeff Sullivan called the Board of Trustees Meeting to order at 7:32 a.m. in the Creston School Library with the following members present: Matt Hartle, Austin Hughes, Nancy Keeton and Julie Tikka. Also in attendance were:, Tami Ward – Principal,; Jack Eggensperger – County Superintendent of Schools and Tammy Bartos – District Clerk.

 Public Participation/Correspondence: nil

• Nancy Keeton and Julie Tikka were elected by acclamation.

• Nancy Keeton and Julie Tikka were sworn in as Trustees by Jack Eggensperger.

• Jeff Sullivan moved and Julie Tikka seconded to nominate Matt Hartle as Board Chair. Motion passed unanimously, none opposed.

• Matt Hartle moved and Jeff Sullivan seconded to nominate Julie Tikka as Vice-chair. Motion passed unanimously, none opposed.

• Jeff Sullivan moved and Austin Hughes seconded to appoint Tammy Bartos as District Clerk. Motion passed unanimously, none opposed.

Meeting adjourned at 7:37 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Tammy Bartos                                     Matt Hartle

District Clerk                                        Chairman