April 12, 2017 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Discussion:  President Gould reminded the audience that the open meeting laws are displayed in the back of the room for their review.

Discussion: 

Ceresco Building

Update on Mold Abatement and Air Balancing

I've been coordinating with these two companies to schedule times for work completion.

Mold - Air tests have come back negative on all the classrooms.  Mold is contained in the Library.  This area has been closed off to staff and students. 

Air Balancing - The contractor will begin Monday, April 10 and will take about 4-5 days to complete the air balancing.  

Once they have completed their work, the Mold Removal crew will begin setup probably on Friday, April 14 or following Monday.  They will completely seal off the library and begin the tedious task of cleaning: books, shelves, equipment, walls, etc.  Some library books will be discarded due to excessive mold on them.  Some will need to be replaced where others are outdated and not necessary to replace.  The goal is to have everything completed by the end of April and be back to normal.

Gym Wall & Stage Padding

Most of the padding/brackets for the West Wall and Stage area for the main gym has arrived.  It looks really good.  Mr. Harrington is finishing making the replacement doors that go under and front of the stage.  Our plan is to have the padding and doors installed before graduation.  

Graduation

Reminder graduation is Saturday, May 13 at 2:00 pm.  All Board members are welcome to attend, sit on the stage, and assist with the handing out diplomas.  Let Mr. Haecker know if you are able to attend so he can reserve chairs on the stage for you.

Agenda Format

You may have noticed that a couple of agenda items have the phrase: "Consider, discuss, and take necessary action" added.  There has been some confusion over the years that only items in the Action section of the agenda can have Board action taken on them.  That is not necessarily correct.  Action can be taken on any agenda item, the statutes require that agenda items be clear on what is to take place.  The added phrase covers any agenda item where the possibility of Board action taking place.  There can be consideration to recognize that agenda item.  The Board can discuss the item in open forum or ask for input from those in attendance, and if the Board decides to make a motion for approval and take a vote on the item, the Board has the authority to do that even if the item is not under the Action section of the agenda.

Early Childhood Grant Update

See attached email from NDE

 

 

Discussion:  Dr. Gould gave a handout to the Board about the Raymond Central 50th year anniversary celebration details.

Discussion: 

The Valparaiso Area Ball Association is asking for a $3,500 donation from the Raymond Central School District to provide funding support for an Infield Dirt Grooming Machine.  The Board has had previous discussion concerning partial ownership or just providing funding support with no ownership of the equipment.  It has been recommended by our insurance carrier not to be a partial owner of such equipment.  An agreement between the School District and VABA will also be signed that the district is not liable for equipment maintenance, property damage, or personal injury when machine is in operation.

 

Agreement is attached for your review.

Discussion:  Mr. Haecker and I have discussed the need for an Assistant Principal at the Jr/Sr High School which will include adding 6th grade and a preschool.  All of our conference schools have either an Asst. HS Principal/AD or a Jr. High Principal.  With the number of students and staff to supervise, it's asking a great deal of one person.  On top of his Principal duties, Mr. Haecker also serves as the 7-12 Curriculum Director.  This is a separate position in some of our conference schools.

Discussion:  We recently interviewed a total of 4 candidates for the Preschool teaching position.  The two Elementary Principals - Mrs. Dostal & Mrs. Egr, Heather Bohac, Kindergarten Teacher at Ceresco, and myself were the interview team.  The candidates had to have an early childhood endorsement and we were also interested in candidates that either had a SPED endorsement or an Inclusive endorsement which is the same as a SPED. endorsement.  We have offered a contract to Jackie Cech.  She currently lives in Wahoo and teaches SPED to preschool students for Schuyler Community Schools.  She also had two years of kindergarten teaching for Bishop Neumann previous to her current position.  She'll officially be our preschool teacher after you approve her contract.

Discussion:  The school district receives Title I funds through the State Dept. of Education.  Each Service Unit is the Banker for these funds.  Schools must submit documentation to the Service Unit when they want to expend these funds throughout the year.  You can carry over a small percentage if you don't use up all of your funds on an annual basis.  We normally don't have much if anything left over due to using the funds to pay partial salaries of our two elementary Title teachers.

Discussion:  Each school district must designate an individual, usually an administrator to authorize the spending of Title I funds.  RC designates the Superintendent to authorize the expending of these funds. I also have to submit minutes from this meeting to NDE verifying the authorized individual from RC.

Discussion:  Motion to approve Out-of-State travel for: (1) Speech NIETOC, May 11-14, Carolyn Enevoldsen Sponsor and 3 students, (2) FFA Leadership Conference, Washington DC June 27-July2, Casey Carriker Advisor and 11 students, (3) FFA National Convention, Indianapolis, IN Oct. 24-29, Casey Carriker Advisor and 11 students, (4) FBLA, June 27-July 3, Anaheim, CA, Jim Marsh Sponsor and 2 students

Discussion: 

Attached are three propane bids for the 2017-18 school year.  

We use propane for the following areas:

High School bus barn heating -- Hot water for HS kitchen and heating for ovens -- Heat for paint booth

Valparaiso hot water for kitchen and heating for ovens

Ceresco hot water for kitchens and heating for ovens

 

* Also attached is a history of the propane bids for the past 6 years.

Discussion:  Annually the Board of Education approves all teacher contracts for the next contract year based on the recommendations of the administration.  We do this before April 15.  That date is the last day that a school can give notice of non-renewal to a certificated teacher.  The administration is not recommending a non-renewal status of any teacher.

Discussion:  Annually the Board of Education approves each Principal contract for the next contract year based on the recommendation of the Superintendent.  This is completed before April 15.  That date is the last day that a school can give notice of non-renewal to a certificated administrator.  I'm recommending contract renewal for each Principal.

Discussion: 

Classified employees include: Custodians, Paraeducators, Cooks, Secretaries, and Bus Drivers.

The classified salary schedule has 3 steps.

Discussion:  12-Month employees include: Head Maintenance Coordinator, Business Manager, and Superintendent Secretary.

Discussion: 

Principal Salaries include:

Kolin Haecker - High School Principal / 7-12 Curriculum Director

Shelly Dostal - Valparaiso Elementary Principal / K-6 Curriculum Director

Ann Egr - Ceresco Elementary Principal / PK-12 SPED Director

Discussion:  There were no surplus items.