March 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM - Work Session and Regular Meeting

Rationale:  The Board will meet at 6:00 pm for the purposes of discussing items related to the strategic plan, classified compensation, wrestling mats, board self-assessment, and skidsteer machines.  

The Board will move directly into the regular March meeting at approximately 7:00 p.m.

Rationale:  This allows the Board to approve the agenda as published according to policy 204.07.

Rationale:  Kristina and John Davis wish to option their son, Bentley, to Ainsworth for the 2026-27 school year.  Bentley will be in KG and is currently one of our preschool students we serve.

Rationale:  The Board discussed Classified compensation during the work session priori to the March 9th Board meeting. In addition, AR-413.01 was discussed and reviewed.

The certified staff increase was 3.29%.  A 3.29% raise in the hourly rates for the classified staff would cost approximately $24,413. This can vary a bit due to the amount of overtime, bus drivers, and para needs.  It is also good to keep in mind that all of our paras are special education paras, and we receive sped reimbursement for those wages.

The Board can set the percent increase where it deems appropriate. The above is an example comparison since related to the certified staff.

Rationale:  NASB provides a service allowing Boards to conduct a "self-assessment".  This is a beneficial process for a Board to go through that aligns vision and efforts throughout the system, starting with the Board.

Please see the attached document from NASB about the process.  This normally costs $350, but would cost us $300 since our Board uses the NASB Superintendent Evaluation service.

Rationale:  For several years, the district has leased a Bobcat skidsteer on an annual basis.  The cost of the lease has increased a fair amount over the last few years.  

The attached information on leasing vs buying will help to make a decision on how to proceed, as our current lease is going to expire in early April. There are more options than listed here and we can discuss those if needed.

Rationale:  Due to retirement, Todd Pollock has provided a letter of resignation in preparation to retire at the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year.

 

Rationale:  The school year calendar was "tabled" at the February 9th regular meeting. Attached is an updated draft that:

1) Adds 1 day of in-service to the April (April 19th).

2) Moves Graduation back to the Sunday preceding the state track meet.  Graduation will mostly fall on this Sunday, but as the calendar progresses, we will have years where the Sunday before state track and Mother's day are the same day. I believe we are back on the same page with the placement of graduation. 

Making these adjustments takes into account input received from staff, students, and stakeholders.

Rationale:  The Board is committed to the ongoing review and maintenance of Board Policy.  Policies will be provided to the Policy Committee in advance and then to the entire Board for review/approval on a regular basis.  

*All Board Policies are available to the public through the Sparq Public Meetings Access site:  

https://meeting.sparqdata.com/Public/Organization/415

*The link to all policies is provided through the school district website.

https://www.ainsworthschools.org/page/schoolboard

The policies in this month's review are 14 policies (901.00 - 903.09) in the 900s buildings and sites section. A simple review should be sufficient for these policies.  The Board has the option to pull any policy for further review and/or revision if needed.

Rationale:  The next regular meeting of the Board is scheduled for April 13, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the District Office. Current agenda(s) will be available for public inspection in the office of the superintendent.