Board Minutes

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REORGANIZATION & REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
12 May 2022

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, Barry Farrell, Nevada Hafer, Julie Horton and Walter Graves. Also in attendance were Tami Ward, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, and Jennifer Johnson, Teacher and CEA President.
II. Minutes of 14 April 2022. Twila Brenneman motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Results of Trustee Election. The trustee election was cancelled by acclamation. We had two trustee openings and two candidate filings. Elected by Acclamation for 3-year terms: Barry Farrell and Walter Graves. Nevada Hafer motioned to approve the trustee election results as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
IV. Oath of Office for Newly Elected Trustees. Jack Eggensperger, Flathead County Superintendent of Schools administered the oath of office to Barry Farrell and Walter Graves.
V. Recognition to Outgoing Trustees. Thanks was given to Julie Horton for her service since her appointment on December 9, 2021.
VI. Adjourn Meeting. This portion of the meeting was adjourned at 7:09 a.m. and Julie Horton left the meeting.
VII. Call to Order. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:09 a.m. with newly seated trustee Walter Graves joining the Board.
VIII. Reorganization of the Board of Trustees
A. Nomination and Election of Board Chair. Barry Farrell nominated and motioned to elect Jessica Sandven-Sorensen as Board Chair. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. Nomination and Election of Vice-Chair. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen nominated and motioned to elect Twila Brenneman as Vice-Chair. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
C. Appointment and Oath of Office of District Clerk. Twila Brenneman motioned to appoint Tammy Bartos as District Clerk. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Jack Eggensperger administered the oath of office.
D. Discussion of procedures and expectations for the coming year. Items discussed were the meeting schedule, board packets and trustee resources. Discussion only.
IX. Public Participation / Correspondence – nil.
X. Information
A. ESSA School Report Card 2020-21. A copy of the report was provided.
B. MTSBA Annual Meeting. A copy of a notice was provided. Nevada Hafer and Walter Graves intend to attend remotely/virtually.
C. Hiring Committee. There was an interview meeting held on May 4th. The committee agreed to field more applicants for the position of a 1.0 FTE Teacher.
XI. Reports:
A. Clerk. The monthly budget expenditure report was provided through 30 April 2022. General Fund is 75% committed and the Total of all Funds is 59% committed. Fund 115 Project Report was also provided. Accounts are reconciled to the County Treasurer through March 2022.
B. Principal. Current Student Enrollment is 111. Monthly building inspections have been completed. Our community focus this month is picking up trash on Creston and Riverside Road. Creston School 3rd – 6th graders participated in Smarter Balanced Assessments April 25 – May 13th. Kindergarten Roundup was May 11th, and we are predicting our enrollment for the incoming class to be between 15-18 students. The Creston Learning Fair will be held May 19th, in an open house format, where kindergarten thru sixth grade student art, writing projects and music will be featured. On May 13th we will have an Indian Education For All (IEFA) Collaboration day for our students; they will participate in interactive learning activities taught by the staff. School Spirit Days will be held June 6 – 10 with a daily theme. A drawing for three Kindle Fires, donated by Kalispell Masonic Lodge #42, will be held at the student ice cream social for our I Love to Read contest. On April 28th a meeting was held with teachers and incoming principal Rachel Stevens to plan for the upcoming school year. There were zero confirmed positive coronavirus cases in our learning environment during the month of April and twenty total cases this school year.
C. Staff. Jen Johnson shared the staff report via a Google Slide presentation.
XII. Policies – Consideration of Action:
A. MTSBA Policy Updates per 3/18/22 Notice – 2nd Read: 3612, 3612F, 3612P. Barry Farrell motioned to approve the updates to policies 3612, 3612F and new procedure 3612P as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. MTSBA Policy Updates per 3/18/22 Notice – 1st Read: 5223, 5314, 5450, 5450F, 5450P, 8300. This was the first read of these policy updates; no action taken.
XIII. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Preschool Program Interlocal Agreement with Flathead Special Education Cooperative. A renewal agreement, the FSEC Preschool Program is a center-based program that provides preschool services to children ages 3 through 5 who are residents of the participating school districts and meet eligibility criteria. Nevada Hafer moved to approve the FSEC Preschool Program Interlocal Agreement for fiscal year 2022-2023 as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
B. STAR Communication Program Interlocal Agreement with Flathead Special Education Cooperative. A renewal agreement, the FSEC STAR Communication Disorders Program is a collaborative effort by the member school districts to provide and implement a program to meet the needs of students who have Autism or related characteristics and behaviors that impede their ability to communicate and be successful within their neighborhood school. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the FSEC STAR Communication Program Interlocal Agreement for fiscal year 2022-2023 as presented with a correction in paragraph three to reflect 2022-2023 school year. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously
C. Global Archives Quote / Records Management and Storage. Information only provided regarding this company which provides records management and storage options.
D. Resolution Requesting County to Run Election 2023. A formal request, in accordance with 20-20-417 MCA, that the 2023 annual school election be conducted by the Flathead County Election Administration instead of Creston School conducting its own election. The full resolution was provided. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the resolution as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
E. Safe Return to School and Continuity of Services Plan. Information only.
F. Montana Small Schools Alliance (MSSA) Programs Agreement. This is a standard agreement between school districts and the MSSA. MSSA provides a teacher certified and appropriately endorsed professional to help our district meet the Library and Guidance Chapter 55 requirement. The fee for this is $600 for the year. Also, included in the request is the Curriculum Consortium Agreement to meet our Title II federal requirements. The fee is $1,649 for the school year. Barry Farrell moved to approve the Letter of Agreement for the MSSA Programs 2022-23 as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
G. Gym & School Grounds Use Requests – nil.
XIV. Claims Approval – Nevada Hafer moved to approve the claims list as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
XV. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 9 June 2022, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
B. August 2022, 7:00 am Regular Meeting. Correction: 11 August 2022. Also, the Budget Meeting will be held in August.
XVI. Board Work Session – Training and Discussion for Board Professional Development
A. MTSBA’s Upcoming Trainings. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen led a discussion covering this topic.
XVII. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:05 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

/s/Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

/s/Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Board Chair

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

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
10 March 2022

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, Barry Farrell, Nevada Hafer, and Julie Horton. Also in attendance were Tami Ward, Principal, Tammy Bartos, District Clerk, Jennifer Johnson, Teacher and CEA President, Pauline Davidson, Teacher, Shanta Milne, Teacher, Cindi Conley, Teacher, and community members: Gloria Graves and Walter Graves.
II. Minutes of 10 February 2022, 1 March 2022, 8 March 2022. Nevada Hafer motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Public Participation / Correspondence. Gloria Graves of Friends of Creston Fire provided information regarding the upcoming Creston Fire Auction April 1st thru the 3rd.
IV. Information
A. Speed Sign Project. The Rotary Foundation of Bigfork has pursued installing “what’s your speed” signs on Highway 35 for our school. They applied and were awarded a grant from the Flathead Electric Roundup for Safety program. The Rotary Foundation is taking care of all the logistics. There is an additional $400 in costs that won’t be covered by the grant, so the school may be asked to assist in covering a portion of this cost. Additionally, there has been cooperation with Creston Fire, Creston Teacher’s Union, and Creston Boosters regarding additional funds that may be required to complete the project.
B. Lifting of mask mandate on buses or vans. The Centers for Disease Control announced that, effective February 25, 2022, it is exercising its enforcement discretion to not require people wear masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems. This decision means that the January 29, 2021, order requiring masks be worn on public transportation no longer applies to school buses.
V. Reports:
A. Clerk. The monthly budget expenditure report was provided through 28 February 2022. General Fund is 53% committed and the Total of all Funds is 43% committed. Fund 115 Project Report was provided. Accounts are reconciled to the County Treasurer through January 2022. Quotes for Property & Liability Insurance for fiscal year 2023 have been requested.
B. Principal. Current Student Enrollment is 111. Monthly building inspections have been completed. Professional Development was held March 7 – 9 with Kelly Boswell; the focus of instruction was on teaching writing. Jen Johnson has volunteered to coordinate and supervise the 5th & 6th grade student volunteers to serve as Creston Auction runners. Creston students will also assist in setting up chairs and tables for a community meeting being held March 26th in our gymnasium. We had three confirmed positive coronavirus cases in our learning environment during the month of February and twenty total cases this school year.
C. Staff. Jen Johnson shared a positive review of the professional development with Kelly Boswell and then the staff report via a Google Slide presentation.
VI. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Principal Search & Hiring Process – with Kaleva Law. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen shared that the applicants were screened on March 8th and that on Tuesday, March 15th an interview will be held. The schedule includes a staff meet & greet, community meet & greet, and the interview.
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 2022-2023. This is a required notice estimating changes in non-voted levies and the expected use of the Building Reserve State Major Maintenance levies. All funds were listed in the resolution to give a more complete overview of next year’s estimated levies. A preliminary General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 and the OPI Pre-Session Budget Data Sheet were provided along with the Resolution itself. Julie Horton moved to approve the Resolution as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
C. Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations with Creston Education Association. Jennifer Johnson, CEA President, presented the proposed CBA negotiation items. Items to consider included a date change for notice if advancing on the salary schedule from April 1 to February 1; remove section 4.2 as it does not reflect current law regarding non-association teachers and dues; add nieces/nephews to the list of immediate family members for sick leave; and a 3% increase to the base salary schedule. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the negotiation items as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
D. Extra-Duty Teaching Contract for 2022 Summer Program. Barry Farrell moved to approve the extra-duty contract for D. Christiansen to teach for the 2022 summer program as presented. Julie Horton seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
E. Advertise a 1.0 FTE Teacher Position for the 2022/2023 School Year. This was presented in anticipation of possible teacher openings. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the request to advertise for K-6 elementary curriculum teacher for the 2022/2023 school year as presented. Julie Horton seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
F. Property Disposal Resolution. Julie Horton moved to approve the property disposal resolution as presented and approve the sale of a laptop to T. Ward following the required two-week notice. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
G. 2022 – 2023 School Calendar. Two options were presented, both were developed from the Kalispell Public Schools calendar. Option 1 has an April no school day the same as KPS; Option 2 has no days off in April and instead has the last day of school one day earlier than KPS. Twila Brenneman moved to approve Option 1 as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
H. Student Handbook 2022/2023. Board Policy 3310 was recently revised and this created a change to the section regarding the Student Discipline Policy; all references to principal will need to be updated when we have a signed contract from the new principal; other minor clean up language. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the 2022/2023 Student Handbook as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
I. Safe Return to School and Continuity of Services Plan Review. Input from stakeholders was requested ahead of time. The plan in its entirety was reviewed with no revisions submitted. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the plan as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
J. Substitute List. Julie Horton moved to approve the addition to the substitute teacher list as presented for the 2021/2022 school year. Twila Brenneman seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
K. Transportation Contracts – nil.
L. Before School Care Contracts – nil.
M. Out of District Requests. Twila Brenneman moved to approve the attendance agreements as presented. Nevada Hafer seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
N. Gym & School Grounds Use Requests – nil.
O. District Clerk Personnel Evaluation – Executive Session. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen determined that the demands of individual privacy clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure and at 8:08 a.m. closed the meeting for an executive session to conduct the personnel evaluation of Tammy Bartos. The meeting was reconvened in open session at 8:52 a.m. and Nevada Hafer motioned to approve the personnel evaluation of Tammy Bartos and to approve the executive session minutes. Julie Horton seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
VII. Claims Approval. Julie Horton moved to approve the claims list as presented. Barry Farrell seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
VIII. Next Meeting Dates:
A. 14 April 2022, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
B. 12 May 2022, 7:00 am Regular Meeting
IX. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:53 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

_________________________________
Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

_________________________________
Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Board Chair

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
8 March 2022

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:01 a.m. Present were Board Trustees Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Twila Brenneman, Barry Farrell, and Nevada Hafer (via Zoom). Also in attendance were, Elizabeth Kaleva, Kaleva Law (via Zoom), and Tammy Bartos, District Clerk.
II. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Safe Return to School and Continuity of Services Plan. Information only. No action taken.
B. Principal Applicant Screening – Executive Session. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen determined that the demands of individual privacy clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure and at 7:03 a.m. closed the meeting for an Executive Session to conduct the applicant screening. The meeting was reconvened in open session at 8:09 a.m. and Twila Brenneman motioned to approve the executive session minutes. Barry Farrell seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Elizabeth Kaleva will be in touch with the selected applicants and an interview session will be arranged.
III. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:13 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

/s/Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

/s/Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Board Chair

CRESTON SCHOOL DISTRICT #9
SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
1 March 2022

MINUTES

I. Call to order. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen called the Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:16 a.m. The meeting was held remotely via a Zoom platform. 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.
II. Consideration of Action Items:
A. Safe Return to School and Continuity of Services Plan. Information only. No action taken.
B. Principal Summative Evaluation – Executive Session. Jessica Sandven-Sorensen determined that the demands of individual privacy clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure and at 7:17 a.m. closed the meeting for an Executive Session to conduct the personnel evaluation of Tami Ward. The meeting was reconvened in open session at 7:48 a.m. and Twila Brenneman motioned to approve the personnel evaluation of Tami Ward and to approve the executive session minutes. Julie Horton seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 7:48 a.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

/s/Tammy Bartos, District Clerk

/s/Jessica Sandven-Sorensen, Board Chair