May 16 2023

Regular Meeting Agenda: 6:00 pm Regular Meeting

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Fremont County School District Number One

Board of Trustees

863 Sweetwater Street

Board Meeting -Disclaimer- Notes from the board meeting are intended to highlight the major events/decisions/tone of the meeting as determined by the Lander Education Association representative attending. 

They are NOT meant to be an exact transcript of the entire meeting.

**These notes include aspects of notes taken by other community members**

For items with documents, those are available on the website of the governing board at the Lander Schools Website.

1. General Business

A. Call to Order at 6:00 pm

B. Pledge of Allegiance

C. Additional Agenda Items

D. Adoption of the Agenda

Approve agenda as presented but move stipulated agreements under Actions Items.

Motion by Taylor Jacobs, second by Scott Jensen.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yes: Aileen Brew, Karen Harms, Kathy Hitt, Taylor Jacobs, Scott Jensen, Jared Kail, Mike McConnell

E. Approve Minutes - April 18

Approve April 18 minutes as submitted.

Motion by Mike McConnell, second by Scott Jensen.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yes: Aileen Brew, Karen Harms, Kathy Hitt, Taylor Jacobs, Scott Jensen, Jared Kail, Mike McConnell

F. Approve Minutes - May 2

Approve May 2 minutes as submitted.

Motion by Kathy Hitt, second by Scott Jensen.

G. Recognitions

Baldwin Creek Elementary - Bobcat News

H. Public Comment

A community member shared her opinions about the recent County 10 opinion piece written by Scott Jensen, Taylor Jacobs, and Mike McConnell. 

https://county10.com/talk-in-the-10-banned-book-controversy-or-yellow-journalism/

2. Programs-Reports-Presentations

A. Board Member Reports

Taylor Jacobs reported a personal complaint about a book in one of the school libraries called “Let’s Talk About It”, a graphic novel, written by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan.

B. Linewize software - Chris Brown

Mr. Brown shared details about the shift over to Linewize software for being aware of what students are accessing online. There are a few benefits of Linewize over the old software. One is the ability to whitelist a student’s access. This means that a student can only access what is on the whitelist, as opposed to attempting to block problematic websites. If you have more questions about this please contact the tech department.

C. Superintendent's Report

3. *Consent Agenda

A. Personnel Actions

B. Approve Expenditures and Pre-Approve Utilities and Financial Report

C. Approval of Surplus/Disposable Property

Motion by Kathy Hitt, second by Mike McConnell.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yes: Aileen Brew, Karen Harms, Kathy Hitt, Taylor Jacobs, Jared Kail, Mike McConnell

Abstain: Scott Jensen

4. Action Items

A. Policy Review (2nd reading)

New

EBBA-R - (this and the accompanying form (EBBA-E) outline the Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Plan mentioned in policy EBBA)

JEDA-R (Outlines procedures for chronic health conditions - form JEDA-E is also new)

Changes recommended

IJLA - PUBLIC COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE CURRICULUM OR INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

EBCA - Suicide Prevention (added “school personnel will provide”)

EBCD - Emergency Closings (removed board ratifying; added school personnel consultation)

ECA - Security (renamed positions, removed principal responsibility for providing keys)

EDBA - Maintenance and Control of Instructional Materials (rewrote to reflect administration oversight of fines rather than teacher)

No changes recommended 

EBCB - Fire Drills

ECAB - Vandalism

ECB - Buildings and Grounds Maintenance

EDC - Authorized Use of School-Owned Materials

IJLA (2nd Reading)

Aileen Brew brought forth an amendment. Scott Jensen stated that this is more of a new proposal than an amendment. There were some issues with the ability to pull up Aileen’s document on Google Docs. 

Aileen’s proposed amendment: IJLA Policy Amendment - Aileen Brew’s proposal. 

Her points included: Continuing to protect 1st Amendment Right for Students to Free Speech; Supporting students & parents who wanted access to materials for education; The board needing to balance the demands of access & those of objections to materials; Restoring the professional/student/community committee to review challenges.

Scott Jensen requested a vote be taken on the 2nd read changes. 6 votes no and 1 aye. Per Robert’s Rules, the vote failed, and the original policy stands unless a new proposal is brought forth.

Scott and Aileen will bring forth their new policies at the June meeting. Mr. Jensen spoke extensively about the following:

The need for more transparency as to complaints made, how they are processed, and align with community standards; Removal of material while it was reviewed (Ms. Brew disagreed, stating materials should not be removed until a conclusion is reached); Parents should be allowed to decide what their children can access; Should be easier for parents to know the process; he wants the challenge to start with the superintendent receiving the complaint rather than a “secret” committee; he also noted that there have not been very many complaints from the public. 

Community Member comments to the board:

The community member does not find our community standards to be at all transparent as they are variable over time in the treatment of LGBTQAI+ students or adults.

She reminded the board she is a lesbian who can demonstrate she is just as much a part of this community as others who want to change the policy.

Inclusion of the professionally trained educators on the committee needed to be maintained and that if there have not been many complaints then current policy is not broken

Another community member made a comment to Ms. Jacobs regarding the process to register complaints about library books. This community member stated that Ms. Jacobs did not follow that process as she brought the book directly to the board rather than first filing a complaint with the LVHS library as per current policy. 

Approve Policy EBBA-R - Blood-borne plan as submitted.

Motion by Scott Jensen, second by Kathy Hitt.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yes: Aileen Brew, Karen Harms, Kathy Hitt, Taylor Jacobs, Scott Jensen, Jared Kail, Mike McConnell

B. Approve Safe Return to School Plan

A six-month review of this plan is a requirement for receiving ESSER funds. There are no changes from the previous version.

Approve Safe Return to School Plan as submitted.

Motion by Taylor Jacobs, second by Scott Jensen.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yes: Aileen Brew, Karen Harms, Kathy Hitt, Taylor Jacobs, Scott Jensen, Jared Kail, Mike McConnell

C. Approve Fremont County BOCHES FY24 Budget

Approve the Fremont County BOCHES FY24 budget as submitted.

Motion by Kathy Hitt, second by Taylor Jacobs.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yes: Aileen Brew, Karen Harms, Kathy Hitt, Taylor Jacobs, Scott Jensen, Jared Kail, Mike McConnell

D. Stipulated Expulsion Agreements

Motion by Kathy Hitt, second by Mike McConnell.

Final Resolution: Motion Carries

Yes: Aileen Brew, Karen Harms, Kathy Hitt, Taylor Jacobs, Jared Kail, Mike McConnell

Abstain: Scott Jensen

5. Discussion Items

A. Proposed 23-24 handbook changes (1st Reading)

B. District Cell phone policy

C. Possible Drug Testing Policy

D. Superintendent Evaluation

6. Administrative Details/Reminders/Future Plans

A. May 19, PHS graduation @ Pathfinder High School, 6:00 pm

B. May 21, LVHS graduation @ Bob Carey Memorial Fieldhouse, 1:00 pm

C. May 26, Last Day of School (1/2 day for students)

D. June 20, Board meeting @ 6:00 pm

7. Adjournment

A. *Consent Items Disclaimer