School Board

President: Jason Bandy
Vice President: Jack Horner
Secretary: Sharon Newsom
Treasurer: Russell Lengel
Director: Bart O'Dwyer


Unofficial School Board Minutes:
November 2008    October 2008    September 2008


Unofficial November 2008 Board Minutes:

MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION - RE-4J

KIND OF MEETING MEETING PLACE TIME MONTH DAY YEAR
Regular High School Library 7:00 p.m. November 17 2008

 

 

Roll Call:                              The regular board meeting was called to order by President Jason Bandy at 7:00 p.m.  Roll call reflected that all Board Members were present.    

 

Mission Statement:            Russell Lengel read the district mission statement.

 

Agenda:                                Bart O’Dwyer moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to approve the agenda for November 17, 2008 as presented.  Motion passed unanimously. 

 

School Officials:                Scott Vratil, Joel Albers, and Chris Selle

 

Audience:                             Craig Bailey, Kim Trujillo, Kay. Christie, Les Layton, Janet Bailey, Mary Andersen, Kelly Johnson, Casey Phythian, Diana Elliott, and Matt Brown

 

Minutes:                                Sharon Newsom moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the Regular Board Meeting Minutes of October 22, 2008.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

Audience Participation:   None

 

Financial Reports:             Russell Lengel moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the General Fund and Insurance Reserve for October, 2008 in the amount of $383,399.75.  Russell read the breakdown.   Scott stated that this month we had to make our BOCES payment.  The motion passed unanimously. 

 

Consent Agenda                  Revision Board Policies   NOTE-Items will be voted on as a group.  If a Board Member requests, any item can be removed and voted on individually.

                                                EFEA     Nutritious Food Choices

                                                IMDB    Flag Displays

                                                JB           Equal Education Opportunities

                                                JF            Admission and Denial of Admission

                                                JFABD   Homeless Students

                                                JFBA      Intra-District Choice/Open Enrollment

                                                JFBB      Inter-District Choice/Open Enrollment

                                                JH           Student Absences and Excuses

                                                JICDA    Code of Conduct

                                                JKG        Expulsion Prevention

                                                JS            Student Use of the Internet and Electronic Communications

                                                KDE       Crisis Management

                                                AC          Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity

                                                AC-R      Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity

 

Education Reports:            A.    Elementary Principal Report (stated report was in the packet)

                                                Mr. Albers highlighted items from his report in the packet.  Enrollment is at 196 after losing two kids last week.  Attendance remains higher than our goal.  He was happy with the turn out for Parent Teacher Conferences.  He thanked Matt Gallegos and Jason Arnold for coming in on Veterans Day to serve lunch to some of the students.  The Scholastic Book Fair will be from December 1st to the 4th.  Erin Younger is the Chairperson.  The 5th graders went to Boettcher Hall to watch a performance by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra last week.  The Elementary has a reading dragon named Scalene.  The dragon grows every time a student reads a book and turns in a scale.

                                                B.     Secondary Principal Report

                                                Mr. Selle highlighted items from his report in the packet.  Currently there are 272 students in the secondary.  Attendance is lower than what he would like it to be.  He asked the Board if they had any suggestions on how to improve attendance.  About 100 parents attended Parent Teacher Conferences.  They have hired two new paraprofessionals in the middle school, Elizabeth Hope and Sabine Stickels.  He is looking at weighted GPA for college courses.  Right now some students aren’t taking advantage of the college courses because they don’t want to ruin their GPA.  They have 15,000 Blue Gill currently for Aquaculture.  Casey Phythian spoke to the Board about the Seniors’ plans for their class trip.  They are looking at staying in downtown Denver for 2 nights and 3 days.  They would like to go the night after the L Club banquet.  They are thinking of taking trips to the Zoo, Museum, and maybe a Rockies Game.  Scott asked if they could come up with an itinerary.  Casey said yes they will have more plans and a budget closer to May.  Sharon asked if they had sponsors to go with them yet.  Casey said they are still working on that.

C.    Accountability Report

Mr. Albers stated that they did not have a meeting.  The next meeting will be December 3rd.

D.      Staff Report (none given)

E.       STUCO Report

Matt Brown reported that they are still working on raising money for a Reader Board.  They have $3,000 now but need about $9,000.  They are sponsoring a Fall Ball Dance.  Also, they will have a Hats On Day to raise money for kids with cancer.

F.       Athletic Department Report (stated report was in the packet)

Mr. Bailey was not present at the meeting to go over his report.

G.      Custodial Report

Les Layton reported that they continued with their normal duties.  They have fixed the issue in the elementary with the heating and cooling.  They rebuilt a trophy case and have laid down the last row of block on the retaining wall.  Bart asked about the heating in the Elementary.  Les stated that they had to change the port on the computer and reconfigure it and now all seems to be working.  Jason asked about the bathroom partitions in the secondary.  Les stated they are old but they should be able to find bolts to fit.

H.       FFA Report

Casey Phythian went over what each of the Ag classes is doing in class.  They had a great time at the National Convention in Indianapolis.  They were able to cheer for Morgan Parker.  She thanked Mr. Vratil, Mrs. Bandy and Mr. Scherrer for coming to the convention.  They will be having a member auction this Thursday along with an oyster fry.  They are entering a float in the Parade of Lights.

MCC Annual Report:        Mary Anderson went over a power point presentation.  There should be four seniors graduating with

at least one associates degree from MCC this spring.  There are currently 37 Limon Juniors and Seniors taking MCC college classes.  She went over the cost of classes along with the reimbursement pay for the teachers.  They have a new President Dr. Kerry Hart.  Spring registration will begin on December 10th at the Limon Center.

Board Reports:                   Bart discussed the CASB meeting he attended.  Friday was spent on discussions of the Standards Based Education they would like to implement in all Colorado schools.  The pilot program is a Charter School and Bart can see how this would be tougher for Public Schools.  There will be a lot of testing and everyone in the district would have to be on board. 

                                                Jason reminded the Board that they will have a workshop on Thursday night, December 4th.  He also read thank you notes from Agate School and MCC.

Superintendent’s Report:  Mr. Vratil highlighted items from his board report.  Diana Elliott stated how impressed she was with the McDonald’s staff that helped on the McTeachers night.  She was also amazed by the turn out.  Scott commended Shirelle for being on the ball with the Annual Report to Public.  She is ahead of most districts.  He recommended that the Board allow the School to cover the health insurance increase.  He delivered dictionaries to the 3rd graders from the Limon Rotary Club.  He and Shirelle went to the Chamber of Commerce meeting to ask how they can promote job opportunities in our community.   Next year’s calendar will probably have a later start than in the past so that graduation doesn’t come on the same weekend as State Baseball and State Track.  Joe Brewer called on behalf of the Economic Development Committee to ask for support from the school.  Kay. Christie stated that Pat Vice is the contact person for the town and has a lot of business contacts to try to draw businesses to our town.  Scott recommends that the school donate $200 and the Board agreed.  He is sending out bid letters with specs for a 14 passenger bus.

Audience Participation:   None

Action Items:                       Consent Agenda

Russell Lengel moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the 3rd and final reading of the Consent Agenda.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Revised Senior Class Trip Policy

Sharon Newsom moved and Russell Lengel seconded the motion to approve the 2nd reading of the revised senior class trip policy.  Chris Selle stated that all the changes were in red.  Sharon asked if he could add Spring Break as an option of when they can go.  Chris stated that he will add this.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Policy DKC

Jack Horner moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the 2nd reading of Policy DKC, Expense Authorization/Reimbursement.   The motion passed unanimously.

 

Health Insurance

Russell Lengel moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to accept the health insurance plan from Cherry Creek Benefits.  This would be a 3.89% increase.  Jason asked if we only picked up a portion of the increase last year.  Scott stated that we did only pick up a portion but the increase was bigger last year.  If the Board agrees to pick up the whole increase it will cost the district about the same as last year’s portion.  Jack asked if they budgeted for the increase.  Kim stated that they budgeted for a 10% increase.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Resignation

Bart O’Dwyer moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to accept the resignation of Brenda Liggett as Head Volleyball Coach.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Coaching Position

Jack Horner moved and Russell Lengel seconded the motion to approve Robert Horton as Junior High Assistant Girls’ Basketball Coach.  Bart stated that he has a grandson going to school here and is a retired teacher that has coached before.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Mill Levy

Sharon Newsom moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the mill levy of 21.929 mills for the General Fund and mill levy of 5.508 mills for the Bond Redemption Fund on total assessed evaluation of $38,943,001.  This will generate $849,892.27 for the General Fund and $214,498.10 for the Bond Fund.  Also to authorize the administration to modify these amounts to meet State requirements if the assessed valuation changes after November 17, 2008.  Bart asked how much longer we have on the Bond Fund.  Kim thought 32 years but will check on that.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Executive Session

None Needed

 

Future Business:                 CASB Conference December 4-7

Next School Board Meeting – Monday, December 15, 2008 the meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Library. 

                                                                               

Adjournment:                      At 8:18pm Jack Horner moved and Russell Lengel seconded the motion to approve the Board of Education to adjourn the meeting.  The motion passed unanimously.

 


Unofficial October 2008 Board Minutes:

MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION - RE-4J

KIND OF MEETING MEETING PLACE TIME MONTH DAY YEAR
Regular High School Library 7:00 p.m. October 22 2008

 

 

Roll Call:                              The regular board meeting was called to order by President Jason Bandy at 7:00 p.m.  Roll call reflected that all Board Members were present.    

 

Mission Statement:            Jack Horner read the district mission statement.

 

Agenda:                                Russell Lengel moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the agenda for October 22, 2008 as presented.  Motion passed unanimously. 

 

School Officials:                Scott Vratil, Joel Albers, Chris Selle, and Don Bailey

 

Audience:                             Craig Bailey, Kim Trujillo, Kay. Christie, Les Layton, Terrance Trujillo, Cheryl Clanin, Joe Kollath, and Janet Bailey

 

Minutes:                                Jack Horner moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to approve the Regular Board Meeting Minutes of September 15, 2008.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

Audience Participation:   None

Financial Reports:             Sharon Newsom moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the General Fund and Insurance Reserve for September, 2008 in the amount of $289,100.60.  Sharon read the breakdown.   Sharon Newsom moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the Capital Reserve expenditures for September of 2008 in the amount of $16,189.00.   Sharon read the breakdown.  The motion passed unanimously. 

Consent Agenda                  Revision Board Policies   NOTE-Items will be voted on as a group.  If a Board Member requests, any item can be removed and voted on individually.

                                                EFEA     Nutritious Food Choices

                                                IMDB    Flag Displays

                                                JB           Equal Education Opportunities

                                                JF            Admission and Denial of Admission

                                                JFABD   Homeless Students

                                                JFBA      Intra-District Choice/Open Enrollment

                                                JFBB      Inter-District Choice/Open Enrollment

                                                JH           Student Absences and Excuses

                                                JICDA    Code of Conduct

                                                JKG        Expulsion Prevention

                                                JS            Student Use of the Internet and Electronic Communications

                                                KDE       Crisis Management

                                                AC          Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity

                                                AC-R      Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity

 

Education Reports:            A.    Elementary Principal Report (stated report was in the packet)

                                                Mr. Albers highlighted items from his report in the packet.  The attendance rate for the elementary is probably not accurate since the kindergarten class showed 100% attendance which is not correct.  It is probably more at 95%.  We’ve had five new foster kids in the elementary since October 1st.  Parent Teacher conferences start tomorrow and finish up on Friday morning.  He has hired two high school students to act as translators for the Spanish speaking parents.  They are Karen Barraza and Ana Marron.  The kindergartners took a trip to the Hiltner’s pumpkin patch.  Halloween parties will be Thursday the 30th.

                                                B.     Secondary Principal Report

                                                Mr. Selle highlighted items from his report in the packet.  Currently there are 272 students in the secondary.  Since October 1st he’s asking new enrollees for a current transcript, current IEP if applicable, and a district home address.  They have ordered an online subscription to Reading Counts for those students that can’t find a book at their reading level.  They’ve also ordered an assessment software, Study Island, for the math, writing, reading, and English labs.  They’ve hired a new paraprofessional for the middle school.  They will need to hire another para for a middle school student transferring in after Thanksgiving.  They recently transferred a student to ECEC.  We have four slots out there but only two are currently filled.  The new Junior/Senior Play Sponsors are Kristi Daum and Kim Taussig.  The high school teachers have asked to hold their parent teacher conferences in the cafeteria.  He read a thank you letter from Mary Anderson at MCC to Stephanie Sayles government class.  They held a debate during the Lunch and Learn program.  Each student represented one of the candidates.

C.    Accountability Report

Mr. Albers stated that they were looking at the growth model from CDE.  Tony Wernsman is President, Dale Cochran is Vice President and Diane Kimble is the secretary for Accountability.

D.      Staff Report (none given)

E.       STUCO Report (none given)

F.       Athletic Department Report (stated report was in the packet)

Mr. Bailey reported that the golf season is over along with the junior high volleyball.  Junior High boys basketball started practices.  There were 22 or 23 boys out.  Softball won against Gunnison but lost a tough game to Erie.  Kelsey Dutton has been picked for many awards.  She was featured as athlete of the week in the Denver Post and nominated for the IBM Hero award.  The girls cross country team are regional champs.  The volleyball team won an exciting game against Hanover.  If the football team wins against Burlington they should be rated 3rd.  Jason asked for an update on the track.  Don stated that he talked to the guy a few weeks ago and he was in Idaho.  They were having problems finishing a job there but he promised he would fix the track.  Don is concerned because he doesn’t have that in writing.  Scott and Don both agree that is would be better to fix the track over the summer.  Don believes that they can get one more year out of it like it is.  They think the problem is with the glue and they plan on scraping the current track and resurfacing it.

G.      Custodial Report

Les Layton reported that they continued with their normal duties.  They’ve poured steps and put in rails.  They have been working on finishing the ticket booth.  They put the full blocks up on the retaining wall and just have to put on the caps.  They have been in the elementary checking the heat and air conditioning.  A new software program was installed which should give them more control over each rooms heat and cooling.  They believe that some of the thermostats are bad.  Joel stated that he appreciates all the work Les and his crew have been doing trying to get the heat and cooling figured out.

H.       FFA Report

Terrance Trujillo reported that they had 4 or 5 students attend the FFA conference in Colorado Springs.  This was the same time as homecoming.  On September 27th they held their paint ball tournament at Ace Hardware.  They had some teams from out of town including Denver.  Some FFA members helped at Farm Safety Day.

Board Reports:                   Jason asked for a discussion about buses.  Scott stated that they needed input for what we need for transportation.  Jason said that they have talked to Lamar about a grant that helped them purchase two buses.  Scott stated that we missed the cycle this year but can apply next year.  He asked if we need a 50 passenger bus or smaller.  Don stated that the A Bus is usually needed by more than one team or organization for the same day.  Also, both of the suburbans are really old.  Cheryl Clanin stated that we need another A bus, a new D Bus for activities, and a new route bus.  She said that bus #3 has 160,000 miles on it and is a good bus.  It’s the smallest of the three activity buses.  She thinks that bus #3 should be put on the route and retire bus #1.  They can’t get replacement parts for bus #1 because it’s so old.  Scott stated that he and Joe will start looking at prices for another A bus and try to get grant money for a new activity and route bus.  Scott will research diesel over gas and the price for a white bus without lights over the yellow one we have now.  Joe Kollath stated that they use to change the buses every year but have not purchased a new bus in awhile.  He would like the emphasis to be on purchasing a new bus each year.  We could use five new buses now.

                                                Russell and Sharon attended the exit audit.  There is an opening on the CHSAA Board of Control for Region 2 if anyone wants to be on it.  Jason stated that he may be interested.  The Board would like to get the issue of term limits on the ballot for next year.  They would like to do away with term limits.  Bart went over some of the issues that will be presented at the delegate assembly and asked the Board how they want him to vote.  Bart asked Don’s opinion on the issue of the 32 team bracket for basketball.  Don stated that most coaches like the idea but don’t like the way they do the bracket.  You still have to play out your district to get in there.  The boys and girls could still go off in different directions.  This is just a resolution and it won’t change anything this year.  There would still be 8 at State.  For Regionals, there would be 6 games instead of 2.  Some of the other resolutions were Funding for Transportation, yes, Gaming Impact Funds, yes, State Assessment program, yes,  CSAP Results in a Timely manner, yes, Issue more Power to Principals which  lets them suspend students longer before expelling them.

                                                Mrs. Newsom received an award at the Regional Meeting. 

                                                Jason would like Scott to start on a salary schedule.  Scott stated that he has a group that would like to be on the committee.

Superintendent’s Report:  Mr. Vratil highlighted items from his board report.  He handed out papers showing the increase for our current health insurance.  He told the Board that they needed to pick which option they would like the district to do at the next School Board meeting.  Option 1 has the district paying the same as now and adding the cost of the increase to the employee.  Option 2 has the district covering 100% of the employees and the same percentage on employees plus spouse and/or children.  He recommends that the Board choose option 2.  He and Sharon attended the Colorado Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel.  They were told that if the current roads and bridges weren’t repaired soon, they would have to have detours around them.  He went over our October 1 count.   On the back of his report was picture of what will be on the banner at the CASB convention.

Audience Participation:   None

Action Items:                       Consent Agenda

Bart O’Dwyer moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to approve the 2nd reading of the

Consent Agenda.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

1st Reading of Revised Senior Class Trip Policy

Russell Lengel moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the 2nd reading of the revised senior class trip policy.  Chris Selle stated that all the changes were in red.  Sharon asked if the statement that they could only stay in the 50 states includes no cruises.  Chris said that he could add something saying that they could not go on cruises.  Sharon also asked if he could add Spring Break as an option of when they could go.  She thinks that more staff would be interested if they could go during Spring Bread.  Chris stated that he added a new section asking for a deposit to cover any damages that may occur.  There was discussion on whether this may be a hardship on some parents and if we could hold a check and return it if no damages were done.  They decided to discuss this further at the next meeting.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Policy DKC

Jack Horner moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the 1st reading of Policy DKC, Expense Authorization/Reimbursement.  Scott stated that this is the policy for the increase for mileage that they already voted on.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

School Closure

Sharon Newsom moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the September 23rd school closure in respect for Tom Hilferty’s funeral held at the school.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Executive Session

Russell Lengel moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the Board of Education to go into an Executive Session in accordance with CRS24-6-402(4)(e) for negotiations at 8:45pm.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Out of Executive Session

Russell Lengel moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the Board of Education to come out of Executive Session at 10:03pm.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Future Business:                 Next School Board Meeting – Monday, November 17, 2008 the meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Library. 

                                                                               

Adjournment:                      At 10:04pm Russell Lengel moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the Board of Education to adjourn the meeting.  The motion passed unanimously.

 


Unofficial September 2008 Board Minutes:

MINUTES OF BOARD OF EDUCATION - RE-4J

KIND OF MEETING MEETING PLACE TIME MONTH DAY YEAR
Regular High School Library 7:00 p.m. September 15 2008

 

Roll Call:                              The regular board meeting was called to order by President Jason Bandy at 7:00 p.m.  Roll call reflected that all Board Members were present.    

 

Mission Statement:            Russell Lengel read the district mission statement.

 

Agenda:                                Sharon Newsom moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the agenda for September 15, 2008 with correction to the Consent Agenda.  Policy JD should be JB, JEBB should be JFBB, and JJ should be JS.  Motion passed unanimously. 

 

School Officials:                Scott Vratil, Joel Albers, Chris Selle, and Don Bailey

 

Audience:                             Craig Bailey, Kim Trujillo, Kay. Christie, Les Layton, Cindy Stone, Peggy Hutton, Lynette Stone, Mike Kelly, Denise Kelly, Lynn Kaufman, Josette Gallegos, Samantha Jolly, Casey Phythian, Wendy Martinez, Cindy McCallum, Janet Bailey, Matt Brown

 

Minutes:                                Bart O’Dwyer moved and Russell Lengel seconded the motion to approve the Regular Board Meeting Minutes of August 11, 2008.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

Audience Participation:  Jason Bandy opened discussion up for the Senior Class Trip to the audience.  He explained that the Board was open to extending the radius or to getting rid of the class trip.  Senior Class President, Casey Phythian, stated that the class wants a trip.  They would like to extend the radius to possibly go to Southern California.  Mike Kelly asked how did the Board get to this point of changing the current policy.  Jason stated that there seems to be more trouble from the kids when they are closer.  Bart O’Dwyer stated that no one wants to go on the trips.  Sharon Newsom stated that the restrictions were added before any of the current Board members were on the Board.  Chris Selle added that only a third of the current senior class wanted to go when surveyed last year.  Mike Kelly stated that they needed to back off on the fund raisers if they aren’t going to let any of them go on a class trip.  Lynn Kaufman stated that he is for keeping the trip and letting the seniors decide where to go.  Then they will know how much money they need to raise.  He would like to see the radius extended.  Sharon stated that this is why we are opening the discussion up to the public.  There is not enough staff that want to go.  Cindy McCallum said that it’s a great tradition but if all the school groups, ie. Sports teams, choir, are working to make money they could run the concessions.  Community work is needed for most college scholarships so the classes could work to raise money for a good cause.  She does not like the liability involved and from talks with her son, all the drinking and drugs going on during the trip.  If you can’t trust them 400 miles away, you sure can’t trust them in California.  She would like to see the money they raise go towards their cap and gowns.  She asked if it is our duty as a community to send the seniors somewhere.  Lynette Stone stated that her son would like to go on a senior trip.  She thought that after their sophomore or at least by the end of their junior year they should decide where they are going.  They should decide where they are going by how much money they have.  Can the juniors save money by having prom in town?  She would hate to see the Senior Class trip let go.  Denise Kelly agreed that the radius should be removed but not let the kids go to Mexico.  She stated that it’s a wonderful tradition.  Maybe it could be moved to Spring Break and go during the week to get discounted airline tickets.  Those kids that work their hours and pay their dues should be able to go.   Peggy Hutton stated that she went on the senior class trips that went to California and they all went well.  In her opinion the farther you go the more well behaved the kids are.  They kept the kids busy from sun up to sun down.  Due to the current high costs, she believes that the 400 mile radius should stay.  They were already discussing downsizing before the cruise.  She checked on prom kits to keep it in town and the average cost would be $1,200.  They spent $1,500 for buses last year so there isn’t a big difference.  The commitment for big trips from the sponsors is too much.  They have fought with the kids to get them to work.  She checked on airline tickets to Southern California and they cost $393 apiece.  Lynn Kaufman stated that the kids should decide and should be able to go if they have the money.  Scott stated that they should have restrictions on where they can go.  He would like to keep it in the United States.  Jason stated that as a parent he would be more upset if he had to pay for his child to be sent home from California then from 400 miles away.  This may be an incentive for the kids to behave.  Cindy Stone stated that on the cruise trip only 3 or 4 kids got in trouble and the procedure to send them home wasn’t followed.  Also, some kids were in trouble before the class trip and were still allowed to go.  Chris stated that there is a section in the senior class trip policy about behaviors and not be able to go on the trip.  It’s up to him to enforce this.  Denise stated that seniors could raise money by working at the concessions at Rocky and Bronco games.  Jason thought this was a good idea and that they could bus the kids up to Denver for this.  Cindy McCallum asked what happens to the extra money if a student works more than others.  Chris stated that the same as if a student moved away.  It all goes in the pot.  It was explained that the students don’t work for money but hours.  Janet Bailey stated that very few students work extra hours and if they do they will make deals with others that can’t work their hours.  Chris said that the students are assigned shifts not days so athletes should be able to work.  Matt Brown stated that as an athlete he was able to work all his hours.  If someone couldn’t they had to pay for their hours when they checked out.   It was suggested that if there was any money after the class trip it could go toward the seniors cap and gowns.  Cindy McCallum said that they should choose an affordable place to go but she thinks there is more beneficial was to spend the money.  Lynette had concerns about having the trip during spring break with athletes.  Jason said that games during spring break are not mandatory.  Sharon included that she thought spring break was a good choice because teachers would not need a sub and the kids would have more reason to behave.  The issue seems to be getting sponsors to go.  They need to find someone who is willing to help.  They need a lot of parents from each class to help out.  Jason stated that the policy says that a staff member has to go.  Peggy Hutton said that as a sponsor the problem with going in May because of finals did not bother her, she didn’t want to deal with the liability.  Samantha Jolly stated that her family usually goes on a family vacation during spring break.  Wendy Martinez was worried that if they went on spring break they would run into all the college kids. Don Bailey stated that if we knew that seniors won’t be here during spring break that they would probably not schedule games during this time.  Chris stated that the current senior class has $10,000 which would only pay for airline tickets.  Casey Phythian stated that as a senior she would be willing to go where they can afford to go but she would like the policy to change for future classes.  Sharon asked Don if the Board did away with the senior class trip what would they do to concessions.  Don thought that they would have to go into the community to find people to work it.  Chris stated that the current juniors were surveyed and well over 80% want to go on a senior class trip.  Also, the current seniors thought they could only go 400 miles away so they did not want to go.  Sharon asked the crowd for a show of hands on how many would like to keep the trip.  16 people out of 21 raised their hands.  Scott said that the current seniors need a decision so they can start planning their trip.  Sharon thought that it should be opened up to what they can afford and parent need to be more involved.  Also, the policy must be followed.  The Board agreed to open the mileage but no new local fund raisers including businesses.  They will have to have three readings of the new policy but they told Casey to start researching and present to the Board their ideas.  Jason stated that it will be kept in May for now because of the short notice.

Financial Reports:             Jack Horner moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to approve the General Fund and Insurance Reserve for August, 2008 in the amount of $281,136.80 and the Capital Reserve expenditures for August of 2008 in the amount of $4,128.00.   Jack read the breakdown.  The motion passed unanimously. 

Education Reports:            A.    Elementary Principal Report (stated report was in the packet)

                                                Mr. Albers highlighted items from his report in the packet.  There’s an error on his report.  We only 192 students currently enrolled.  Attendance rate is at 96% all but 2nd and 3rd grade were above 95%.  Teachers and the SWAT team have finished with DIBELS.  He has included all the data on the data wall in the elementary teacher’s lounge.  Grandparents’ Day was a success.  We had around 84 guests attend.  Peggy Schmidt said that they served 498 lunches that day.  Shirelle is again doing the second step program with the 2nd grade class.  She is also starting a Big Brother Big Sister program with her high school mentors.

B.    Jr. High/High School Principal Report (stated report was in the packet)

Mr. Selle highlighted items from his report in the packet.  They currently have 267 students enrolled.  This is down from last year.  They have concerns about the school data base we are currently using.  They are having problems pulling reports.  Mrs. Vernie is checking prices on other programs.  204 students are exempt from one or more final this year as a reward for doing well on the CSAP or ACT.  They have decided to include MCC classes.  Mary said that it was up to us and the teachers.  He’s had some parents express concerns about the price of fines for not showing up to work the concessions when they have signed up.  Limon was picked to work on the I-on-Health project.  This will be a project for the seniors and 4th graders.

C.    Accountability Report

Mr. Albers stated that they had their first meeting on September 8th.  They had two items on their agenda.  They looked at the accreditation report and voted to approve it.  They also looked at the current CSAP data.  About 10 members were in attendance.

D.      Staff Report (none given)

E.       STUCO Report

Matt Brown stated that their main project this year is the message board.  It costs $9,500 and they currently have $3,500.  They will be doing fund raisers during Homecoming.  They will being having a hats on day for cancer and also have recycling bins.

F.       Athletic Department Report (stated report was in the packet)

Mr. Bailey reported that the golf season is winding down.  He needs volunteers for the September 27th cross country meet.  Kelsey Dutton was chosen as Pool B MVP at the Burlington Softball Tournament.  Donny Schmidt will be building two more trophy cases to put in the hallway near the athletic office.  Today he took 6 students to the CHSAA sponsored Sportsmanship Symposium in Denver.  He thought it was the best one he’s been to.  Free hot dogs will be given away this Friday at the football game here against Akron.  Ticket takers and concession workers need to be there early to work.

G.      Custodial Report

Les Layton reported that they continued with their normal duties.  They worked on the retaining wall and the concrete ramp.  They set up for the 6th grade and elementary orientations and also the gifted and talented seminar.  The bleacher inspector will be here tomorrow.  This is an annual inspection that is state mandated.  Jason asked when the ticket booths would be done.  Les stated that he would like to have them framed by homecoming.

Board Reports:                   Jason read a thank you from the superintendent of Karval for lending chairs for the funeral of John Thornton.  He also read to thank yous from the family of John Thornton and from Beth Craig.  The Board will all be attending the Advocacy in Action meeting.  Bart will be attending the CasB delegate meeting.  Scott stated that on December 4th through the 7th the Board will attend the CasB assembly.

                                                Casey Phythian gave the FFA/Agriculture report.  There has been a minor setback with filters for the aquiculture class so they don’t have fish yet.  The paintball tournament will be September 27th.  They have a workshop on September 22nd, and four members are planning on attending the leadership conference on October 4th.   They will be helping out with Farm Safety Day in Hugo on October 8th.

Superintendent’s Report:  Mr. Vratil highlighted items from his board report.  He went over the new accreditation system.  The school purchased an Impala for $13,950 from Anderson Motors and it is certified to transport students.  He received a bid for asphalt for the south arc of the football field.  Scott also gave a rough figure on how much it would cost to put cement down instead.  He asked the Board which they would like.  The Board agreed that cement would be easier to put down and take care of.  The exit audit  will be September 24th.  Sharon, Bart, and Russell will attend this.  Kay. Christie agreed to add a side bar in this week’s paper stating this since there will be three Board members there.  Kim wasn’t sure what time it was at so she will email those Board members the time.  Scott asked the Board if the October meeting can be moved because he won’t be able to attend.  It was agreed to move it to Wednesday, October 22nd.

Audience Participation:   None

Action Items:                       Approve Resolution

Sharon Newsom moved and Jack Horner seconded the motion to approve the resolution to oppose the railroad relocation.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

CHSAA Resolution

Russell Lengel moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to approve the CHSAA resolution to accept Craig Bailey as Speech Festival Committee Member, Mark Brown as Basketball Committee Member, and Don Bailey as Union Pacific League Representative and South Central Football Conference Representative.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Approve Coaching Positions

Jack Horner moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the following coaching positions:  Cassandra Vernie as Volunteer Assistant Dance Team Coach, Ted Bandy Jr. as Junior High Head Boys’ Track Coach, and Fritz Gilbert as Volunteer Junior High Football Assistant Coach.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Approve 1st Reading of Consent Agenda

Bart O’Dwyer moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to approve the Consent Agenda.  Scott went through each policy on the agenda stating that most changes were to make them compliant with non-discrimination laws.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Accreditation Contract

Russell Lengel moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the Accreditation Contract as presented.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Accept Funds

Jack Horner moved and Sharon Newsom seconded the motion to accept funds for the Darene Martin Pease Memorial Scholarship.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Executive Session

Sharon Newsom moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the Board of Education to go into an Executive Session in accordance with CRS24-6-402(4)(f) for personnel issues at 9:04pm.  Mr. Bailey was asked to join them.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Out of Executive Session

Russell Lengel moved and Bart O’Dwyer seconded the motion to approve the Board of Education to come out of Executive Session at 10:16pm.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

Future Business:                 Next School Board Meeting – Wednesday, October 22, 2008 the meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the High School Library.  This is a change from the original Board Calendar.

                                                                               

Adjournment:                      At 10:17pm Jack Horner moved and Russell Lengel seconded the motion to approve the Board of Education to adjourn the meeting.  The motion passed unanimously.