Faulkton Area School District 24-4 Board of Education
Monday, June 12, 2017
6:00 p.m.
The regular meeting of the Faulkton Area Schools 24-4 Board of Education was called to order by Chairman Kelly Aesoph at 6:01 p.m. in the Faulkton Community Center.
Roll call of members present were Kelly Aesoph, Todd Brand, Grady Heitmann, Scott McCloud and Jerry Weyand. Also present were Superintendent/Elementary Principal Derek Barrios, Secondary Principal/AD Craig Cassens, Business Official Lisa Raethz, Val Ramsdell (Faulk Co. Record), Tom Oster from Dakota Education Consulting, Kristi Wagner from Dakota Resources, Curt Hlavacek of Pipe Masters, Todd Randall of Elite Drain & Sewer, staff members: Alicia Hammond, Michele Latt, Vanessa Bowman, Janet Reed, and the following district patrons: Joan Bent, Gloria Bode, Heather Bode, Ron Bowar, Tim Bowar, Trevor Cramer, Sarah Davidson, Carrie Deiter, Roger Deiter, Bev & Jerry Fischer, Mike Grunewaldt, Travis Hanson, Bill Hoffman, BJ Kalkman, Cindy Kopecky, Mallory McCloud, Tammy McCloud, Ryan Nelson, John Pfeifer, Dawn Redden, Barb & Bill Schilder, April Sorensen, Dave Speck, Tom Strasburg, Duane Wagner, and Corrine Weyand. The pledge of allegiance was recited.
2016-17.127. Agenda Approval. Motion by Brand, second by Heitmann, to approve the proposed agenda. Unanimous.
Acknowledgements. Mr. Barrios acknowledged board members Brand and Heitmann for the number of years they have served on the Board of Education. Barrios also acknowledged both the golf and track teams on all their post season accomplishments. He said 4 girls and 2 boys made it to state golf and we qualified a relay team, hurdler, and long jump participant in state track.
Conflict of Interest Waivers. No waivers were presented.
Open Forum Time. Mike Grunewaldt asked Mr. Barrios and Aesoph if they remembered what Governor Daugaard said at the last legislative session and again a couple weeks ago. Grunewaldt told them he stated
if tax revenues continued like this the schools would have a big hit and they are worse than he first thought. Grunewaldt wondered how much less money will we get because of this. Raethz explained to Grunewaldt that our general fund levy is based off the state’s formula that is determined by our student to teacher ratio and how many students we have. The other levies maximum amounts are determined on tax valuation, not revenues. Grunewaldt asked the board to be proactive when deciding these.
2016-17.128. Consensus Agenda Approval. Motion by Weyand, second by McCloud, to approve the following consensus agenda: minutes of the May 8, 2017 meeting and the May 22 and 30, 2017 special meetings, May 2017 Financial Statement and May 2017 Trust and Agency Fund Report, the May 2017 Imprest Fund Report, and payment of the presented bills for June 12, 2017 with the addition to the May 8th minutes, under the “Roofing Project”, that board member McCloud stated that he visited with HKG Architects and they thought that a pitched roof on the elementary would be possible. Unanimous.
May 2017 Imprest Fund: Travel & Fuel Costs/Reimbursements: Derek Barrios $181.40, Mary Schlechter $75.00, Nicole Bruemmer $75.00, Melissa Hayes $75.00 Dacotah Bank $867.00. Golf & Track Meet Fees: Miller School $100.00, Redfield Kiwanis $100.00, Fisher Grove $55.00, Chad Spicer $50.00, Broadland Country Club $272.00, Herreid School $32.86, Highmore/Harold School $88.06. Other: Emily Volk $38.97 Supplies, SDSSA $150.00 Fee, Royce Royce $9.00 Services, FCCLA $350.00 Registration, Mary Vetch $50.86 Supplies, Aberdeen Awards 403.40 Supplies;
June 12, 2017 Bill Payment: American Legion $375.00 Rent, Arrowwood Resort $91.95 Travel, Bantz, Gosch, Cremer, Peterson $784.00 Legal Services, Bauer’s Super Valu $566.35 Supplies, BerMac $22.72 Maintenance, Cardmember Services $2,631.25 Services, Fees & Supplies, CBM $11,620.29 Food Service Contract, Century Business $543.27 Services, City of Faulkton $197.99 Utilities, Cole Papers $243.57 Supplies, Dakota Dust-Tex $174.15 Services, Dakota Education Consulting $1,971.96 Services, Delta Dental $2,950.52 Insurance, Faulk County Record $429.11 Publishing & Supplies, FAMC $1,423.75 Services, Faulkton Football $780.00 Board Wage Donation, Faulkton School $3,753.55 Reimb. Imprest Fund & Board Wage Donation, Faulkton Wrestling $780.00 Board Wage Donation, Faulkton Youth Football $780.00, Follett Education $41.10 Books, Gopher $170.08 Supplies, Grote Roofing $553.06 Repairs, Hase Plumbing $2,999.94, Repairs, Hillyard Floor Care $4,615.96 Supplies, Holiday Inn $173.98, Homan Ace Hardware $128.33 Supplies, Houghton Mifflin $23.55 Supplies, Johnson Controls $1,433.52 Repairs, K&D Busing $19,455.30 Busing Contract, KBA $72.90 Supplies, KC Lumber $254.20 Supplies, K-Log $427.04 Tables, Kohlman Bierschbach Anderson $3,220.00 Services, Michele Latt $117.32 Mileage Reimb., Marc $4,923.03 Services, Maximum Promotions $3,406.37 Banners, McCrossan Boys Ranch $5,854.12 Tuition/Residential Fees, Menards $1,117.35 Supplies, Miller School $2,881.04 Services, NCFE $279.08 Gas, North Star Energy $1,048.48 Propane, Northwestern Energy $2,603.13 Utilities, Prestwick House $473.21 Supplies, Reliastar Life Ins. $23.40 Insurance, Reuer Sanitation $585.00 Services, Riddell $2,392.85 Services & Equipment, School Specialty $435.94 Supplies, Schraeder Lawn Spraying $380.00 Services, SD Society for Technology in Education $30.00 Fees, SDACTE $537.00 Fees & Supplies, Joseph Stanley $325.15 Services, Supreme $116.94 Supplies, Technology & Innovation $1,950.00 Fees, Time Management Systems $37.77 Services, Toennies Plumbing & Heating $123.71 Repairs, Training Room $306.19 Supplies, Tri-C Publications $741.00 Supplies, Venture Communications $324.00 Phone/Fax/Internet, VoWac $138.00 Supplies, Wells Fargo $503.46 Copier Lease, Wellmark $28,189.00 Health Insurance, Ted Williams $3,828.00; June 2017 Payroll: General Fund: $172,887.80 w/ benefits, Special Ed. $22,822.36 w/ benefits, Food Service $2,400.97 w/ benefits, Pre-K $753.55 w/ benefits.
Strategic Planning Presentation. Tom Oster and Kristi Wagner were present to discuss the strategic planning process. Oster first explained the question of why schools do it. Oster stated a couple years ago the state changed the accreditation process for schools requiring every district to implement a “school improvement plan”. Oster went through the process stating that first surveys are sent out to staff, parents, the community, and students grade 9-11. The purpose of the survey would be to assess the strengths, weaknesses and concerns of the district. He said the students already took the surveys. They will also collect data in the following areas: achievement Information, enrollment, and financial data. The results are then compiled by Dakota Education and distributed to the public at an open forum. The people that wish to be involved will form focus groups to figure out what needs to be improved and what the district’s strengths are. Anyone that wants to be involved in a focus group can, no one will be turned down. Oster stated he believes there is a feeling out there that the strategic planning process was only a precursor to build a new school. He informed everyone that it is not. He said that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be opinions that come out of the surveys like that, but that isn’t the purpose of the process. He said he thought that if anything like that came out of it, the solution would be to gather more information. Oster also explained the other services their company provides. Oster said the next step in the process would be for the focus groups to compile a report to bring to the board as a recommendation. Oster answered the questions on timeframe and cost stating the price was $9,875 and most likely will take a little over a year to complete. The board has the final decision on what is implemented. He explained the reasoning behind hiring a 3rd party to help facilitate this process. Oster said having a neutral party manage and compile all the opinions and give recommendations is very effective. This eliminates any one group from looking like they are controlling the process and results. There was discussion about making paper copies of the survey available and also safeguards against people making double entries of a survey. Both things that will need to be discussed more. Kristi Wagner, with Dakota Resources, then informed everyone of what their company has to offer in the process. She explained their company has already been active in this community and has worked with several groups on a couple different goals. Their main job is to listen to the voices of the community and ask questions in order to give recommendations as to what this community wants and what it takes to keep people in the community.
2016-17.129. Policy Readings. Mr. Barrios read the teacher handbook changes and teacher evaluation policy for a first reading. Motion was made by Weyand, seconded by Heitmann, to have the second reading at the July meeting. Unanimous.
2016-17.130. Special Education Comprehensive Plan. Michele Latt was in attendance and explained the special education comprehensive plan and significance. Latt stated it is mandatory for the board to adopt it every year in order to apply for IDEA grants. No changes were made since last year’s plan was adopted. Motion by Brand, second by McCloud, to adopt the Special Education comprehensive plan. Unanimous.
Building and Grounds Report. Barrios stated the combined library has moved down to the 1st floor of high school building and the after school program will start to move into the previous elementary library. Barrios said the following projects are going on: painting the old gym, waxing floors and finishing of the new gym. Janet Reed stated once the painting is done in the old gym the LED lights will be installed. Pipe Masters Update. Curt Hlavacek (Pipe Masters) and Todd Randall (Elite Drain & Sewer) were in attendance and presented a summary of what they discovered in their descaling process. They stated after descaling, and voluntarily doing some minor repairs, the elementary sewer lines were now in pretty good shape and did not see a need to reline those lines. They highly recommended the high school and gym/locker rooms sewer lines be relined in order to get the integrity back. The high school line has a significant crack in it and the gym lines were tough and ugly. There is also a man hole that needs work done and a lot of plumbing repairs that should be done. Both companies gave very detailed reports on what they discovered. A report of suggested repairs and improvements will be compiled by these companies and submitted to the board for further examination and decision. Any improvement over $50,000 will have to be bid out.
2016-17.131. Dept. of Health. Motion by Brand, second by Weyand, to approve the agreement for services with the Department of Health. Unanimous.
2016-17.132. Busing Agreement. Motion by McCloud, second by Heitmann, to approve the 3-year agreement for contract busing with K&D Busing. Unanimous. There was a 1.5% increase.
2016-17.133. Surplus Declared. The following registered voters of the district were chosen to appraise the surplus property: Craig Cassens, Janet Reed, and Grady Heitmann. The appraisal value was $0.00. Motion by Brand, second by Weyand, to declare the following items as surplus property: Shelving unit (inventory #0800), File Cabinet (inventory #000842), Hot Plate (inventory #000968), Scale (inventory #000444), Refrigerator (inventory #000119), and Library Books. The board’s intent is to give away or dispose of said items. Unanimous.
Budget Discussion. Raethz explained she is still waiting for Title grant funds in order to finish the budget. She said the budget is still changing every day and is hoping to finalize some concrete numbers in the next couple weeks in order to publish the budget before the July 10th hearing. Currently, Raethz does not anticipate asking for any additional opt-out funds to complete the 2017-18 budget. The request last year will still give the district $137,000 in November. She stated the new law limiting the general fund balance to 30% (total yearly general fund expenditures/lowest general fund cash balance), will make budgeting more difficult for our district. The district needs enough funds to operate for the entire year but will also need to have at least one month under 30%. Raethz explained how one year’s request actually affects two school year’s because of the difference between the school’s fiscal year and the county’s. The first year the district requested $450,000 to only receive half of that, the second year requested $450,000 and this year $275,00. Raethz doesn’t plan on transferring funds from capital outlay or pension to the general fund for expenses in fiscal year 2017 in the hope of hitting under 30% in October or April. Mr. Barrios stated we need to be under 30% in order not to be penalized, dollar for dollar, by the state. Raethz reviewed the preliminary budget with the board and explained the transfers in and out of each fund. The public hearing will be at the July meeting. There was discussion about replacing, versus patching, the shingles on the shop roof, replacing the urinals in the elementary boy’s bathroom, and replacing the elementary windows. Mr. Barrios recommended the new buildings and grounds committee, along with himself and Janet Reed, look into these items and start getting quotes on them. Mr. Barrios also reminded everyone of the importance of discussing these items early on, and that the bulk of the budget work starts early in year. Barrios explained that this way the district is working off an accurate budget starting July 1st.
End of Fiscal Year Meeting and July Regular Meeting. It was decided to set an end of fiscal year board meeting on June 29th at 8 a.m. in the superintendent’s office and the regular meeting on July 10th at 6:00 p.m. in the community center. The budget hearing will be first, followed by the regular meeting.
Superintendent’s Report – Mr. Barrios informed the board that he has received individual student spring testing results back but is waiting for the final numbers to release as a district.
Secondary Principal/AD Report. Mr. Cassens stated report cards and schedules for grades 9-12 will be out this week as well as the honor-roll published on Wednesday. Cassens also stated our Perkins grant authority has changed from the Northcentral consortium, managed by Redfield school, to the Missouri River consortium, managed by Potter County school.
Open Forum. Carrie Deiter spoke up and stated she really appreciated the air conditioning in the community center. She then informed the board that the microphone system was not good and they had trouble hearing. Raethz stated they are still working on getting a system that works. April Sorensen then spoke and stated she has participated in the strategic planning process in a couple different places. Sorensen said she really valued the process and stated it was more productive and successful with having a 3rd party facilitate it. John Pfeifer then spoke and said he also agreed that strategic planning is important. He stated he would like to see younger students involved in the surveys and thought their opinions should be valued.
2016-17.134. Executive Session-Personnel/Negotiations. Motion by Heitmann, second by McCloud, to go into executive session at 8:05 p.m. for the purpose of preparing for contract negotiations or negotiating with employees or employee representatives, as set forth in SDCL 1-25-2(4), and for the purpose of discussing the qualifications, competence, performance, character or fitness of any public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee. The term "employee" does not include any independent contractor, as set forth in SDCL 1-25-2(1). Out of executive session at 9:19 p.m.
2016-17.135. Work Agreements. Motion by Brand, second by Weyand, to offer the following work agreements for the 2017-2018 school year as per the negotiated agreement: Trish Cotton for Junior High Volleyball Coach in the amount of $1,569.50, Brandon Spanier for Assistant Boys Basketball Coach in the amount of $2,518.50, Nathan Aesoph for Assistant Wrestling Coach in the amount of $2,518.50, Kayla Roseland for OCTE Aide to the Advisor in the amount of $1,569.50, Holly Demery for All School Play Advisor in the amount of $1,569.50, One Act Play Advisor in the amount of $m1,569.50, and Oral Interpretation Advisor in the amount of $1,569.50 (Total: $4,708.50), and Mary Vetch for 20% Web Master in the amount of $313.90. Unanimous.
2016-17.136. Work Agreements. Motion by Heitmann, second by McCloud, to offer the following work agreements for the 2017-2018 school year as per the negotiated agreement: Todd Brand for Head Girls Basketball Coach in the amount of $3,686.50.00 and Ryan Melius for Assistant Girls Basketball Coach in the amount of $2,518.50. All board members voted aye except Brand who abstained. Motion carried.
2016-17.137. Contract Amendment. Motion by Brand, second by McCloud, to amend Voni (Finck) Hubbell’s 2017-2018 contract to add FB Cheer Advisor in the amount of $876.00 (Total contract: $37,376 – Base $36,500; FB Cheer $876.00) as per the Master contract. Unanimous.
Athletic Director. The board directed Mr. Barrios to advertise in house for the athletic director position.
2016-17.138. Adjournment. Motion by Weyand, second by Heitmann, to adjourn at 9:23 p.m. All in favor, motion carried.
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Chairman, Kelly Aesoph Business Official, Lisa Raethz