September’s School Board Meeting

The USD 214 School Board met on Monday, September 12, 2022, with all members in attendance.

The agenda and the consent agenda were moved and approved by all seven members.

For correspondence, four thank you cards were read. Mary Queen of Peace Perish thanked Superintendent Corey Burton for allowing them to use the school buildings during the Prayer and Action mission. The USD 214 Cheerleading team thanked the Board of Education for purchasing new outfits and equipment for this school year. Jane Vanek and Family thanked the USD 214 Board of Education, Administration, and Staff for donating a book to the Grant County Library in memory of Cynthia Wittman. Darrin and Stacy Figgins thanked the Board, Administration, and Staff for the flower arrangement and library book donation in memory of Jay Figgins.

Reports, Marsha Raines, Principal at Hickok Elementary School, told the Board the plan to prevent truancy at USD 214. Raines said this seven-step protocol to tackle attendance issues could vary from a positive letter home, to potential transportation to bring kids to school, and a possible Department of Children and Families referral if there is educational neglect. Raines referred to a website, Attendance Matters, which recommends students should not miss more than nine school days in a school year in order to be academically successful. Burton commented, stating these attendance habits are established at a young age. Stacey Gee, Principal at Kepley Middle School, stated 18% of the students at the Middle School were considered truant in 2019, and 35% in 2021; mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic might have increased the rate of absences.

Gee introduced Jen Hittle, STEM Teacher at Kepley Middle School, who gave a presentation to the Board about a recent CSI camp, which showed Middle School students how to identify fingerprints, dust for fingerprints, art forgery detecting, hair identifying, handwriting analysis, and fake blood analysis. Middle School Teachers Elizabeth Self, Matt Green, and High School Student Aria Gaddis helped volunteer for the CSI camp.

Hittle showed some examples of the xTool D1 Pro Laser Engraver, donated by Pioneer Communications. Hittle said this engraver can be used on metal, wood, glass, acrylic, etc. Hittle gave each member of the Board a custom made slate coaster. Hittle said the goal is to create a club for students to learn this tool to create items.

Kevin Warner, Director of Student Learning, talked about the Ed Camp that teachers went through before the school year started. Warner said teachers had the options to attend three different sessions, and he had received positive feedback from the teachers. Warner also said letters are being sent out to parents to opt in/out of Social/Emotional learning this year.

Superintendent Corey Burton said he is starting the process to apply for ESSER funds. Burton said 20% of the $2.3 Million ESSER III fund this year must be spent on learning loss methods to help gain back knowledge they may have lost through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burton told the Board he is working on regularly updating the USD 214 phone app.

Burton also discussed the school lunch program. Burton said eligible parents have been encouraged to apply for the free and reduced lunch program, and parents that are not eligible are encouraged to prepay for their students’ lunch balance. Burton said once a student hits a $30 debt, they are introducing an alternative lunch. Discussing student debts and fees, Burton said there are currently 923 students out of 1,400 that owe fees, with a total amount of about $57,000. Burton told the Board letters will start getting sent out on how they can pay for it.

For New Business, the Board looked at the LOB Resolution. Burton said the district has been running off of a 31% LOB, but there is an option to increase it to 33% if enrollment declines.

The motion was moved and passed to approve the 31% LOB Resolution.

The Board moved on to discuss the 2022/2023 budget. Burton said the budget might have to be republished if the state audit changes. This years proposal is 39.8 Mills, a decrease from last years 44.5 Mills.

The motion was moved and passed to approve the 2022/2023 budget as published.

The Board moved on to discuss the 2022/2023 Teacher Employment Agreement. Burton showed the base pay for teachers has been increased to $45,000, an increase from $44,275 the previous year.

The motion was moved and passed to approve the 2022/2023 Teacher Employment Agreement.

Burton introduced a few new instruments to use for the Superintendent Evaluation. Burton said this evaluation should be done by October. Burton said this evaluation should be based on District goals, and Superintendent expectations.

The Board moved on to the USD 214 Bond Discussion. Clay Scott mentioned a bond had been discussed previously, but had stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Burton said a committee should be established to discuss the needs of a bond. Burton spoke about his previous experiences with bonds in Ellis, mentioning a survey to see what the community would support. Burton also said it would be smart to work with a firm through the process to help with funding and promotion. Scott said they already have a credit with the Docking Institute, but he would want to discuss further if they would want to do a bond project.

Burton told the board one member would be needed to vote at the KASB Assembly. The motion was moved and passed to approve Mike Meyer to vote at the KASB Assembly.

Justin Coffey, Principal at Ulysses High School, came to the Board to add a change to the UHS Handbook. Coffey introduced the idea of tying attendance to prom with attendance to school. Coffey said this had been done in the past, but the rule was removed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coffey said students must have attended at least 85% of school days to attend prom. Coffey said the handbook currently says students who are persistently absent could be declared ineligible for school activities. Students who do not reach 85% of the school year would have to miss about 23 days of school. Coffey said there has been a lot of discussion defining an absence, asking if COVID quarantine is considered an absence, as well as staying home for five days with the flu. Coffey said this rule is not meant to be a punishment, but a reward for attendance.

The motion was moved and passed to approve this change to the UHS Handbook starting on September 13, 2022. 

In donations, Pioneer Electric donated $3,000 towards new curtains at Hickok Elementary School, a $10,000 donation from Pioneer Communications and COBANK towards new curtains at Hickok Elementary School, a $200 Beef Council donation and a $134 donation from the Kansas Soy Bean Commission for Family and Consumer Science department.

The motion was moved and passed to approve these donations.

After an executive session, the Board accepted the resignation of Tony Rodriguez - USD 214 Maintenance.

The board accepted the contracts of Edeka Hauser - UHS Assistant Girls Tennis Coach, Whitey Summers - UHS Assistant Girls Golf Coach, Berenice Garcia - Hickok ESL Para, Joshua Hickok - UHS ISS Para, Osbaldo Hernandez - UHS ELS Para, Mia Degollado - KMS ESL Para, Mai Degollado - KMS Title I Para, Diana Hernandez (Monzivaiz) - Sullivan ESL Para, and Yudelkys Rojas - Sullivan ESL Para.

No other action was taken.

The next board meeting will take place October 10, 2022 at Joyce school at 7:00PM.