August 14, 2017 at 7:00 PM - Regular August 2017 Meeting

In accordance with the Open Meetings Act Law, the Open Meetings Law must be posted in the meeting hall.  I would direct your attention to the Open Meetings Act Law Poster located in the entryway of the Media Center.

1.  Review monthly bills using the EMeetings Software.

2.  Review all credit card transactions for the month.

3.  Finance Committee Members Sign-off on review of monthly bills, credit card transactions, and district fund balances.

4.  Approve superintendent's expenses (credit card transactions, mileage, cell phone reimbursement)

5.  Explanation of Contractor Payment for HVAC Work-

The original bid from contractors was requested to be "net" of any rebates from the utility companies for installation of the new equipment, assuming rebates would be paid back to the contractor: $ 53,800 (Low Bid-Rutt's)

Change Order #1 adjusted the price to increase by $2,950 which was the combination of the following: 

Add for NPPD electrical rebate check to go directly to school district instead of the contractor: $3,000

Add for Black Hills gas rebate check to go directly to school district instead of the contractor: $750

Credit to reuse electrical conductors/conduits to the equipment: -$800

New total contract to contractor is now: $ 56,750.00

The $ 3750 in rebate checks will now come to the district so the net paid out to Rutt's is now $ 53,000.  The original bid amount of $53,800 was reduced by $800 for using the old conductors.

6.  Cancellation of Surety Bond-ALICAP will now be providing a surety bond as part of coverage in the amount of $1,000,000.  So we can cancel our surety bond for $10,000.  Doing so will allow us to receive a pro-rated refund for the bond payment.  The payment cost was $500.  We should see about 75% of that money issued as a refund.  (Cancellation Email Attached)

7.  Lunch Program Financial Review-The ending balance for the month of July is $227.34.  A transfer to the lunch fund from the general fund in the amount of $2695 will be required to meet operating costs.

8.  Lunch Program Transition Update

Some items that were cleaned out of the office area were made available to teachers during pre-service (decorations, file folders, stenciled letters, old bank binders, etc.).  There were no takers on these items so they were bound for the dumpster.  A patron associated with the library and asked if the school would be willing to declare the items surplus and donate them.  If the items are not donated, they will be thrown away.

Members of the Public, 

This is the portion of the board meeting when we invite anyone in attendance to address the board of education. If you would like to speak to the board regarding any of the items on tonight's agenda or a public concern, now is your opportunity to do so.  Please review the orange sheet (found on the visitors' chairs) of paper that contains the guidelines for public participation.  If you wish to speak to the board at this time, please let me know.  "Would anyone like to address the board at this time?"

AFTER THE PERSON(S) INDICATE(S) THEY WISH TO SPEAK

1.  Please stand and state your name?

2.  What topic will you be speaking on?

3.  Are there others in the room who wish to speak to the same topic? (If so, ask that they be recognized so that 30 minutes of time for public comment can be apportioned as per the policy-5 minutes per person).

4.  Optional-"Please understand that public comment is your opportunity to speak to the board and present your concerns, thoughts, feelings, ideas, and observations.  Members of the board are happy to hear from members of the public, but the board will not engage in conversation or dialogue with you during public comment."

4.  "You'll have approximately 5 minutes to address the board, as we allow 5 minutes per person and a total of 30 minutes for public comment.  You may begin when you are ready?"

The board must hold a public hearing on its parental involvement policy. After the hearing, the board must either alter and adopt the revised policy or reaffirm it as written. 

The district must have a policy on the involvement of parents in its Title I program. The board must “conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served....” 

The board must review the amount of money collected from students and review the waivers of student fees provided to students under its student fee policy. It must then hold a public hearing on a proposed student fee policy for the following school year. 

The board must review its bullying policy. No public hearing is required. 

The hanging heaters in the bus barn and welding shop are need to be replaced, as they are starting to rust out.  

Bid Tabulation:

Rutt's-$4950

Axmann-$6299

A1-$6850

 In preparation for the return of staff and students:

• Pre-service days had a strong focus on Marzano’s Art and Science of Teaching.    Brad and I lead the staff through a review of chapters 6-9 which we worked on last year.  In addition ESU 10 staff presented Chapter 1, "What will I do to establish & communicate learning goals, track student progress, and celebrate success?" Another focus this year is the upcoming Solar Eclipse and the staff is preparing to present information to the students about the eclipse and how to view it safely.  We also had some training on the new student information system, Infinite Campus. This will be a change but Shari will see us through and I am confident it will be a smooth transition.

• New Teacher Orientation 
  
  • Brad and I met with new teachers last Wednesday.  We covered a variety of items including, Marzano, APL, evaluation process and Rule 27, SEL curriculum, and STOIC behavior model.

• We had both Kindergarten and Preschool open house tonight.
   

• The building and grounds have been cleaned, painted, and repaired.  Four elementary classrooms got a "makeover" with new tile and paint.  Several classrooms got the new HVAC units installed.  As always the building looks GREAT!- THANK YOU Dan, Todd and Crew!

As the summer comes to an end we are excited to begin another school year.

Secondary Principal’s Report August 2017   

Here are a few highlights of what we have been working on this month:  

MTSS, Marzano, and Formal Evaluation

Just as last year we will re-introduce students and staff to our MTSS behavior and academic support model including our 5 district wide expectations:

• Arrive to class prepared and on time
• Use work time appropriately
• Complete assigned tasks on time with proficiency
• Demonstrate respect for people and property
• Respond appropriately to staff member directives

Today marked the end of our pre-service staff work and professional development days.  Last year much of our professional development was spent on  the study of "The Art and Science of Teaching", Chapters 6-9, which focused on classroom management, establishing classroom rules and procedures, building relationships, and having high expectations for all students.  This year much of our professional development will focus on Marzano’s Chapters 1-5, which focus more on instruction in the classroom.

The end goal of the two years of this professional development will be to tie all of our training:  MTSS and Marzano into a new formal evaluation instrument that will align with AQUESTT and the N.D.E. model for teacher evaluation.   

Student Orientation Nights

A special thank you to Shari Spaulding, Hilary Bolling, Karalee Fiddelke, Dave Huryrta, Angie Drahota, Dom Reicks, and our student helpers  for all the organization and planning that went into orientation.  It was, once again, a successful night and look forward to adding to it.  It might be an excellent time to have a booster club representative at a table as well.

New Staff Orientation

We held a new staff orientation on Wednesday and was well received.  We provided staff with a lot of information on the professional development that was implemented last year.  Along with getting them up to speed on district policies and procedures.

Safe Schools Alert

Introduced a new alert system that will allow students to report bullying, harassment, weapons, drugs, etc. via email, text, website, or voicemail message.  If an alert/report is made the system sends an email to the administrative team.  

1.  Second August Board Meeting Date
2. Warranty Follow Up: Warranty work follow work is being pursued on the track & windows.  A warranty follow up inspection was also done on the roof (most recent installed section of TPO).
3. NCLB is Dead. ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Timeline
   1. 2016-17 was a "transition year"
   2. Spring of 2017-Feds repealed the regulations
   3. August 4th-NDE Commission Submits Plan in absence of regulations.
   4. September 18th-ESSA plan is submitted to the feds for review and approval.
   5. January 18th (or thereabouts)-Secretary of Education must approve the plan.
   6. Then, we'll know what accountability measures the school district will have to comply with.
   7. Be clear, we can't blame the feds anymore, as this will be the state's plan for academic accountability and use of ESSA Funds.
4. Accounting System Change for 2018-19
5. Cost savings on computer and network re-fresh through grant utilization-Mr. Huryta heard that the grant for the new network equipment was approved on July 27th.  He purchased the discounted network access points utilizing the grant he had presented to the board earlier this year.  Utilization of the grant provided considerable savings to the school district, as detailed below:
   

   Original		Price	Qty	Cost
   7-12 Laptops	Dell 3480	$811.96	155	$125,853.80
   4-6 Chromebooks	Lenovo N23 Yoga	$309.35	94	$29,078.90
   Network	Meraki Equipment	$37,565.20	1	$37,565.20
   		TOTAL		$192,497.90
   Purchased
   7-12 Laptops	Dell 3480	$763.53	155	$118,347.15
   4-6 Chromebooks	Lenovo N23 Yoga	$305.27	94	$28,695.38
   Network	Meraki Equipment	$11,269.56	1	$11,269.56
   		TOTAL		$158,312.09
   	Savings of	$34,185

6. Summer Projects (Updated Capital Improvement Schedule is Attached)
7. Budget Hearing Date: September 11 @ 7:50?
8. Property Tax Request Hearing: September 11th @ 7:55?
9. Bleacher Boards-The Ravenna Trap Team would like some of the boards for a deck project at the trap range (approximately 12 of the 7" wide and approximately 17' long ones.)