September 8, 2011

The September regular meeting of the Elementary and High School District No. 1 Board of Trustees was held on September 8, 2011 in the Choteau High School Library. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Mark Henderson.

Members Present: Mark Henderson, Mark Salmond, Brodie Gollehon, Kirk Moore, Ron Daley, Jerry Stott, and Jonathan Stoltz.

Members Absent: None.

Supt. St. John, Elementary Principal Gameon, High School Principal Achenbach, and Clerk Davis were present throughout the meeting.

A motion was made by Kirk Moore, seconded by Mark Salmond and unanimously carried to approve the elementary minutes for the August 4, 2011 regular and final budget meeting as written.

A motion was made by Jonathan Stoltz, seconded by Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to approve the high school minutes for the August 4, 2011 regular and final budget meeting as written.

Visitors: Choteau Acantha Editor Melody Martinsen; Teachers Lorran Depner and Alicia Robinson; and District Patrons Myrna Paulus, Cliff Heuscher, and Jenny Lee.

Chairman Mark Henderson gave the visitors this opportunity to address the Board regarding matters not on the agenda. District Patron Cliff Heuscher addressed the Board, stating that he had attended the home football game last Friday and everyone commented on how great the new permanent football field bleachers are. Mr. Heuscher did ask if the District could look into a way of providing porta-potties near these bleachers, as the restrooms available in the gym are quite a distance away. The administration noted that this issue has been brought up before and they will look further into it and try to have a porta-pottie set up.

A motion was made by Kirk Moore, seconded by Mark Salmond and unanimously carried to approve the elementary claims clearing warrants #17616-#17710 and payroll clearing warrants #22750-#22792 for payment. A vendor list for claims is attached to the minutes of this meeting.

A motion was made by Mark Salmond, seconded by Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to approve the high school claims clearing warrants #17616-#17710 and payroll clearing warrants #22750-#22792 for payment. A vendor list for claims is attached to the minutes of this meeting. The Board did question the claims that related to painting the recently purchased Bluebird activity bus and Supt. St. John noted that he would address this matter during his report.

Correspondence:

A) The Board received a communication from Choteau Education Association President Lorran Depner stating their intent to negotiate for the 2012-2013 year. The CEA submitted this letter early so that they did not miss the January 1st deadline as they have for the past several years. The Board acknowledged receipt of this communication and will reply in kind, noting that the negotiation committee will not be appointed until the January Board Meeting.

PRINCIPALS’ REPORTS Elementary Principal Chuck Gameon reported to the Board on the following matters:

A) Elementary Principal Gameon took this opportunity to introduce Alicia Robinson, the 3rd grade teacher newly hired for one year only. Elementary Principal Gameon noted that this one year only position was a good fit for Ms. Robinson as she is from Rhode Island and wants to return to the East coast to be near family after this year. Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that veteran teacher Dave Hartman is mentoring Ms. Robinson this school year.

B) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that the initial K-6 enrollment is at 168 compared to 189 last year, which is a larger drop than anticipated as the District lost several families just before school started that came as a surprise. Elementary Principal Gameon did note that there are 28 in the kindergarten class, compared to only 19 last year.

C) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that the Elementary Back to School Night was held this Tuesday, September 6th and they had the lowest turnout ever at 65% and the Kindergarten didn’t even have 50% participation. Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that he and the staff are discussing how to address this and improve attendance next year.

D) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that RTI is back up and going and the first AIMSWEB probes will be conducted in the near future.

E) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that he wanted them to know that teacher evaluations are not just a once a year process reported to the Board at the March meeting. Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that he is currently meeting with his staff to discuss their goals for the school year so that they can be put in a measurable format. He will then observe in the classroom, evaluate, and talk with each teacher about these goals numerous times throughout the year.

F) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that only 8 students participated in summer school this year but these 8 students had 100% attendance for what was planned for each of them, possibly because of the attendance incentive of an end of summer school trip to the Mitchell Water Park and Wave Pool. Elementary Principal Gameon is hopeful that the first AIMSWEB probes show that these summer school participants do not drop below their peers that did not participate in summer school.

G) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that the District received a letter and a certificate of excellence from the Office of Public Instruction commending the work done on the IEFA Best Practices History Grant coordinated by retired teacher Kathy Ketcham last year.

High School Principal Nate Achenbach reported to the Board on the following matters:

A) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that since his new teacher Cali Salmond is an alumnus of Choteau High School he didn’t think about introducing her to the Board at this meeting, but would have her come to the next meeting so the Board can welcome her as a new staff member. High School Principal Achenbach noted that veteran teacher Joel Christiaens is mentoring Mrs. Salmond this year and will continue to mentor Miss Fort as new teachers.

B) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that the initial 7-8 enrollment is 68 compared to 64 last year and the initial 9-12 enrollment is 161 compared to 155 last year, noting that the junior and high school has seen more new students enroll than families that have left.

C) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that grades 7-12 will host an Open House Back to School Night on Tuesday, September 13th from 6-9 p.m. High School Principal Achenbach noted that this will be the first time for this event and he plans to meet with all parents in the auditorium to begin with and give them a brief orientation and then the class schedule will be followed with 15 minute periods so that parents can follow their child’s daily schedule. At the end of the class schedule there will be a Parent Appreciation Ice Cream Social.

D) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that High School Student Council has already been at work selecting cartoons as the homecoming theme, agreeing to a change in the locker bank assignments for a better student flow, and setting up a student meeting area with benches by the atrium in the student locker area. High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that Susan Heuscher is the Student Council President, Nicole Munoz is the Vice-President, and Kara Fuhringer is the Secretary-Treasurer.

E) High School Principal Achenbach reminded the Board that the District implemented the Impact Concussion Testing last year and will once again participate in this program, with grades 7, 9 and 11 being targeted for testing this year. High School Principal Achenbach noted that the volleyball and football participants were tested soon after practice got underway and all other students will be tested on Friday, September 23rd which is an early out in-service day. High School Principal Achenbach noted that Title I Tutor Della Yeager will help him administer these Impact tests and Teton Medical Center is once again reimbursing the District the $500 cost to participate in this program.

F) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that the football field is in very good shape and looks good, the new crow’s nest and the new permanent bleachers are working out well, and that astroturf has been installed around the old cement pad to address the safety issue it presented.

G) Trustee Jonathan Stoltz questioned both the Elementary and High School Principals about the issue of teaching keyboarding. The Board has questioned why a keyboarding class must be taught at the Junior High level and learned that proper keyboarding is not taught at the elementary level so students are entering Junior High with improper techniques and bad habits that need to be broken.

Chairman Mark Henderson informed Elementary Principal Gameon and High School Principal Achenbach they could be excused from the meeting at this time as the agenda is brief. High School Principal Achenbach left at this time but Elementary Principal Gameon stayed to be a part of the food service facility renovation discussion.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT A copy of the Superintendent’s Report provided to the Board by Supt. St. John is attached to the minutes of this meeting.

A) Supt. St. John reviewed his written report with the Board at this time.

B) Supt. St. John informed the Board that the District has not received any further correspondence from MUST regarding actions to be implemented to collect the payment of the assessment they feel the District owes after not renewing our health insurance coverage through them in June 2010; but he has just learned that MUST is suing Saco, a small C school, for non-payment of their assessment. Supt. St. John noted that MTSBA Director Lance Melton and MREA Director Dave Puyear are both upset with this course of action and are urging MUST not to proceed with litigation in this matter.

C) Supt. St. John informed the Board that there have been Accreditation Standards Committee meetings across the state to look at and review Chapter 55 to address needed revisions to the accreditation standards. Supt. St. John noted that he has not participated in these meetings as he feels the District has strong advocates in MREA and MTSBA, but has heard these meetings have been contentious because there have been discussions to intertwine funding and standards and the drawbacks to result oriented funding have been documented through NCLB. Chairman Mark Henderson questioned what initiated this review of the accreditation standards and Supt. St. John stated he did not know but he would look into it and report back to the Board.

D) Supt. St. John informed the Board that the District’s 1962 Baldwin Grand Piano located in the auditorium was purchased through donations given as memorials to the Crawford family that was killed in a tragic local airplane crash. Family survivor and district patron Clay Crawford had asked the District to look into the cost of refinishing this piano as it was beginning to show wear and tear. Mr. Crawford stated he would provide $8,000 toward financing this project. A specialist out of Belgrade examined the piano and determined that it would cost over $17,000 to restring and musically refurbish the piano as well as refinishing the exterior. This same specialist provided the District with a quote of just over $22,000 to purchase a new Kiawa Baby Grand piano with a bench, cover, dolly and moving included. Supt. St. John informed the Board that the Conrad Schools would like to purchase the old piano for $6,500 and with Mr. Crawford’s $8,000 donation, the District would be responsible for about $7,500 of the cost for a brand new piano. Clerk Davis informed the Board that this $7,500 is available in the Elementary Trust Fund that was established in 2003 when an anonymous alumnus pledged to donate $25,000 a year for 10 years in response to a news article that outlined the District would be cutting the elementary music program due to funding and budget cuts. Clerk Davis noted that this $25,000 donation was only received during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years and has a balance of just over $20,000 since the legislature came through with additional funding and the .5 FTE Elementary Music Teacher was once again budgeted for in the general fund.

Supt. St. John informed the Board that Music Teachers Lorran Depner and Jeanette McCormick are going to Belgrade this coming Monday to observe their music classrooms and will take the time to look at this piano to ensure that it is a quality piano and what they want. Music Teacher Lorran Depner and local pianist Myrna Paulus stated that it is very exciting to be able to get a brand new piano for less than $3,000 more than the original $5,000 that purchased the used Baldwin piano, noting that the new piano has a 10 year warranty on parts and labor and is essentially a 50 year investment. Supt. St. John informed the Board that Industrial Arts Teacher Mark McCormick is building a box or room to store and protect the new piano in with a $300 donation given to the music program last year.

E) Supt. St. John informed the Board that when the 2001 Bluebird activity bus arrived in Choteau and was inspected, it was noted that the new white paint over the old navy blue was cracking and showing the old paint. Supt. St. John informed the Board that he discussed the matter with Bouma Truck Sales and the bus company in Washington that the bus was purchased through. The Washington company would not pay to have the paint job repaired and the cracks touched up here; but agreed to provide a round trip plane ticket for a bus driver to drive the bus back to Washington, so the bus could be repainted at their cost and the District would only be responsible for the fuel and driver costs. Supt. St. John informed the Board that once the bus was returned to Washington the bus company could not get the company that repainted the bus to stand behind the job as they determined that the problem was the old navy blue paint is coming off and causing the white paint to crack and they would not warranty the new paint job, so they would not entirely repaint the bus but only repair and fix the cracks in the current paint job. Supt. St. John requested that they reimburse the District for our costs of over $2,000 but they probably won’t and the District really has no recourse to recoup these costs; so the District ended up paying fuel and driver costs, as well as a new windshield that was cracked during the trip, for a patch job that could have been done here probably for less. Supt. St. John noted that the new Bluebird activity bus needs a few more upgrades but hopefully will not end up being as costly to maintain as the Setra coach bus has and continues to be. The Board questioned if the Bluebird bus would be kept off of gravel roads like the coach bus, noting that if it isn’t it would be costly to maintain since the Bluebird activity bus has a rear diesel engine that would require all new filters each time it is driven down a gravel road. The administration stated they would look into this matter, noting that it would hinge on Teton Bus Services agreeing and accepting all off road trips.

APPROVE ATTENDANCE AGREEMENTS A motion was made by Kirk Moore, seconded by Jonathan Stoltz and unanimously carried to approve the following attendance agreements as designated for the 2011-2012 school year.

Attendance Agreements: ELEMENTARY – Debra Blixt (sending district – tuition waived), Tracey Stone, Brandee Fladstol, and Ashley Tobar (receiving district – tuition waived); HIGH SCHOOL – Jill Brubaker (sending district – tuition waived), Tracey Stone and Brandee Fladstol (receiving district – tuition waived).

ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF AND APPROVE DEPOSIT OF CHECKS A motion was made by Jonathan Stoltz, seconded by Kirk Moore and unanimously carried to acknowledge receipt of and approve depositing the following checks in the appropriate funds.

1) Sun River Electric check #070746 in the amount of $31.80 for a capital credit refund, to be deposited in the Elementary General Fund.

2) Cascade County check #0208451 in the amount of $572.20 for state fair computer rental fees, to be deposited in the High School Building Fund.

3) Dan Stott cash in the amount of $519.00 for the insurance payment of computer and kindle loss due to flooding, to be deposited in the High School Building Fund.

FOOD SERVICE FACILITY RENOVATION UPDATE Supt. St. John provided the Board with copies of CTA’s project meeting minutes and summaries regarding the cafeteria expansion and remodel project to review. The Board and administration discussed the proposed project at this time. The project will remodel and expand the serving area as well as the food preparation area of the cafeteria. A new cooler and freezer are a part of the project, which will have a cement floor that our custodians will tile to save project costs. It is still being determined whether there is enough asbestos that needs to be removed by a registered company, which will increase the project costs and is not budgeted for. Supt. St. John noted that the delivery ramp proposal is not what the administration thought it would be and really does not address the safety issue of having to back large delivery and garbage trucks onto the playground area near the cafeteria. This matter was discussed at length with several ideas on how best to address a new delivery ramp. Trustee Kirk Moore came up with the best suggestion of developing a loading zone off of 7th Ave. to the East and parallel with the building by moving the sidewalk in and having a paved loading area strictly for delivery trucks, which would not allow parking in that area and would alleviate traffic congestion in that area when deliveries are being made.

ADJUSTED BUS ROUTE STUDENT TRANSPORTATION MILEAGE RATE The Board was informed that as per the new addendum to the transportation contract with Teton Bus Services, Inc. the mileage rate was adjusted on September 1st. The cost for fuel was $4.04 per gallon compared to $4.20 per gallon at the time of the last adjustment, which is a decrease of $ .16. This $ .16 decrease translates into a $ .03 mileage rate decrease as per the contract ($ .16 X .0017 = $ .03), so the per mile rate will be adjusted to $2.77, down $.03 from the current $2.80 per mile rate, from the beginning of the school year to December 1st when the next mileage rate adjustment will take place.

CLERK/BUSINESS MANAGER’S REPORT Clerk Davis reported to the Board on the following matters:

A) Clerk Davis informed the Board that there were no investments made for August by the Teton County Treasurer on behalf of the Teton County Investment Committee due to a lack of cash flow.

B) Clerk Davis provided the Board with the 2010-2011 expenditures compared to budget and statement of changes in fund balances, as well as the final 2011-2012 budget summary reports that were generated through MAEFAIRS to review.

SCHEDULE NEXT REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING The next regular Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in the Choteau High School Library.

There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.

ATTEST: _______________________ CLERK _________________________ CHAIRMAN