October 14, 2024 at 5:30 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

Mission Statement:

Gothenburg Public Schools is the cornerstone of a proud, passionate, and progressive community where students and staff thrive in a positive and innovative environment.  We ensure the growth of all individuals by inspiring them to own and maximize their potential.

A copy of the open meetings law is posted on the wall of the Board Room and is available to the public.

Rationale: 

The Board reserves the right to rearrange the order of items as needed.

Rationale:  Mr. Ryker & Mrs. Baker will share about expanded opportunities for students through Gothenburg Health.

Rationale: 

Board Policy 2009 - Opportunity for Public Expression.  
(A copy of the policy is linked here.)

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO SPEAK: This is the portion of the meeting when members of the public may speak to the board about matters of public concern.  

• Getting Started:  When you have been recognized, please stand and state your name.   

• Time Limit:  The board will generally allow a total of 30 minutes for the presentation of all public comments.  Individuals may speak only one time, and must limit comments to around 5 minutes.  If there are more than 6 individuals who wish to address the board, the 30 minutes will be divided equally between the number of speakers.   These time limits may be changed by a majority vote of the board members in attendance to extend the time for a specific item or speaker. 

• Personnel or Student Topic:  If you are planning to speak about a personnel or a student matter involving an individual, please understand that the district has a complaint policy and/or procedures to resolve such complaints and concerns.  The Board requests that you follow the policy and procedures before addressing these matters with the Board.  Board members will generally not respond to any questions you ask or comments about individual staff members or students.  

• General Rules: This is a public meeting for the conduct of business.  Comments from the audience while others are speaking will not be tolerated.  Lewd, obscene, profane, slanderous, threatening and hostile conduct or statements and fighting words (words whose mere utterance entails a call to violence) will not be tolerated. 

• No Action by the Board:  The board will not act on any matter unless it is on the published agenda. 

Rationale: 

1. Approval of Previous Minutes

2. Approval of the Treasurer's Report

3. Approval of the Warrants / Bills

  a.  Petty Cash

  b.  Student Activity

  c.  Hot Lunch

  d.  Bank Statement

  e.  Summary of Accounts and Receipts

  f.  Monthly Expenditure Report

  g. Check Journal

4. Excuse Absent Board Members

 

Rationale: 

As an extension of the general education curriculum, extracurricular activities play a critical role in student development, fostering skills like teamwork, leadership, and time management that are essential for future success. Many students find their passion and motivation through these activities, making them a crucial part of their overall educational experience.

Understanding their value, our district has historically chosen to supplement extracurricular programs with general fund dollars to ensure that all students have access to these enriching opportunities, regardless of their financial background. This commitment reflects our belief that activities are integral to a well-rounded education and contribute to both academic and personal growth.

During the process of finalizing our fiscal year-end transactions for the activities fund, it became clear that an additional transfer is necessary to balance the account. As we ensured that all fundraising proceeds were accurately allocated to their designated accounts, it became evident that our original transfer would not fully cover the activities expenses from the 2023-2024 school year.

This situation arose due to a combination of factors, including lower-than-expected receipts from game admissions. While I initially believed the original transfer would suffice, the final reconciliation showed a need for additional funds to ensure all accounts within the activities fund are balanced.

As a board, you have two options.

1) Reduce Activities expenditures budget for 2024-2025 to reflect an expected reduction of $30,000 to balance by the end of the fiscal year. Revenues are not guaranteed. Therefore, this is a bit of a moving target.

2) Transfer $30,000 from the General Fund to zero out the remaining 23-24 balance.

How would the board like to proceed?

Rationale:  The following expenditures have been approved by Bond Council for use of QCPUF funds as they are addressing air quality and life safety issues within the building. 
 

Engineered Controls	$13,338.00	HVAC Controls
Snell Services	$38,023.06	HVAC and Lighting Phase 2
Engineered Controls	$11,580.50	Controls Activation
	$62,941.56

Board Action is utilized for QCPUF expenditures to ensure transparency regarding the use of funds.

Rationale: 

During the "Boil Water Notice: students in grades 9-12 were given the opportunity to experience open campus.  We were incredibly impressed with their ability to navigate this change.  As such, we have decided to extend this privilege for the foreseeable future with a few additional checks and balances to ensure we are meeting the needs of all students.

1. Parents are asked to complete a parent permission form.
   
   For those who are driving off campus, they must be cognizant of and observe any and all limitations of their driver’s license or permit.  Parents are asked to visit with their child about what they feel is appropriate conduct.

2. Students who are assigned in-school suspension will not be permitted to leave campus at lunch.  

3. Any student who is tardy after lunch will be assigned a one hour detention that must be served that afternoon or the following morning before school.  Detentions not served on time result in in-school suspension and/or activities ineligibility in accordance with our school handbook. 

Parents are also encouraged to maintain a balance in their school lunch account to ensure that, in the event of inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances, their child can still eat at school if traveling off campus for lunch becomes impractical or unsafe.

Students and parents must understand that driving off campus during lunch is a privilege and can be revoked at any time for violation of the above stated expectations or for reasons determined by school administration.

Rationale:  The personnel committee is proposing the use of the online NASB superintendent evaluation tool as we feel that this tool reflects the knowledge and skills that are a priority.  The Superintendent's contract requires one evaluation to be completed by the January board meeting. 

The proposed timeline includes:

1. Thur. Nov 7^th - Wed. Nov. 13^th: Superintendent completes the self-evaluation
2. Fri. Nov. 15^th: NASB sends board the self-evaluation results
3. Fri. Nov. 15^th - Sun. Nov. 24^th: Board members complete their evaluations
4. Final Report & Executive Summary will be emailed to the board president by Tue. Dec 3^rd 

Board members will receive an email from NASB asking them each to complete the evaluation individually and then the personnel committee will meet to review and establish goals.

Rationale: 

Committee Reports (Chair in bold)

1.  Personnel Committee (Mr. Fornoff, Mrs. Terrell, Mrs. Jobman)
2. Transportation and Facilities (Mr. Wyatt, Mr. Dalrymple, Mrs. Brass)
3. Finance (Mrs. Jobman, Mr. Wyatt, Mrs. Brass)
4. Committee on American Civics (Mrs. Terrell, Mr. Fornoff, Mr. Dalrymple)
5. Policy Review (Mrs. Terrell, Mr. Fornoff, Mrs. Brass)

 

Rationale: 

Rationale:  Monday, November 11th

Swede Activities:
none

Reminder: December meeting will be held on Monday, December 16th (the THIRD Monday of the month).