EMMETSBURG COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Regular Meeting
Board of Education
July 15, 2020 Minutes
All motions are unanimous unless otherwise noted.
The Board of Education of Emmetsburg Community School District met in a regular session on July 15, 2020 at 5:35pm in the HS Library.
Present: Jane Hoyman (Zoom), Bill Huberty, Kathy Roethler, Aaron Dietrich
Scott Kibbie, Katy Thomsen, Val Morton (Zoom)
Absent: None
Also Present: Darren Hanna, Lisa Chapman, Kelly Josephson, Darca Saxton, Joe Schany
Kari Schany (exit 6:26pm)
Jane Hoyman, President, called the session to order at 5:35pm, acknowledged the fact of a quorum.
Approval of Agenda: Roethler moved to approve the agenda. Seconded by Thomsen. Motion carried.
REGULAR MEETING
TEACHING & LEARNING
Reopening Plan Update: Superintendent Hanna presented the possibilities for reopening. The Iowa Department of Education put guidance out to schools in early July. Staff has been meeting regularly to discuss reopening. Topics discussed were social distancing and face coverings and the hurdles it all entails. The actual requirements are not clear. If social distancing is implemented, not all students will be able to attend at the same time. If in person school attendance is implemented with all students here, there is not enough space to accommodate the six feet apart guidance. An online parent survey was distributed. Two questions were asked. Do you believe your children should return to school full time and that social distancing would be very limited? Do you believe the district should focus on social distancing and that my student may be home half of the week? All work will be required and graded. The district will not be able schedule family members at the same time. At this time, 68% believe students should return to school while 31.2% believe we should focus on social distancing. Limits to social distancing would accommodate approximately 13 students to a classroom. This does not include hallway time, recess, lunch, sports/activities or busing. With social distancing we would need to reduce the number of students in the building by half. The district would need to implement an alternate schedule. Kids would be home approximately half of the year. Supervision at home is an issue. As of today, Superintendent Hanna would have students return to school while giving parents the choice between remote or in person for the beginning of the school year. We would utilize the hybrid model to accommodate both. Social distancing would be implemented as much as feasible and sustainable. Late this afternoon, the state talked of a possibility of students staying home resulting in no funding and students would be considered home schooled. If this would be a requirement, it would alter the recommendation. The hybrid model highlights include revised scope and sequence, establishing a Learning Management System (LMS) such as Google Classroom or Canvas for grades 3-12 and Seesaw for PK-2 and the ability to Capture Focus Lesson as the teacher is delivering lessons to the in person class and post to Google Classroom, Canvas or Seesaw. There are many policies to be reviewed. Hanna hopes to have a recommendation by late July or early August.
Approval of Consent Items
Huberty moved to approve the consent items. Seconded by Dietrich. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS
Board Policies: Updated Policies 500-501.3E1 were presented for approval. Roethler moved to approve the policies and was seconded by Kibbie. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Personnel: Thomsen moved to approve the resignation of Rachel Stockwell as a Elementary Para-educator. Seconded by Huberty . Motion carried. Morton moved to approve the following contracts and/or assignments: Julie Bird-Girls & Boys Basketball Cheerleading Sponsor, JaDee Gloede-Football & Wrestling Cheerleading Sponsor (change from prior contract of all sports cheer sponsor), April Buss-Middle School Para-educator, Madison Olson-Middle School Para-educator, Heather Trembly-Elementary Para-educator, Ali Weir-Elementary Para-educator and Holly Keenan-Student Council Sponsor. Seconded by Hoyman. Motion carried.
Board Policies (First Reading): The board held a first reading of board policies 404-405.9 dealing with Licensed Employees and 409.2E1-409.3R2, 414, 501.9 with updates regarding these policies and COVID-19. The board will review the policies again in August. There is an extensive list of policies to be reviewed dealing with COVID-19. The district will try to follow the lead of the Iowa Association of School Board.
Legislative Priorities: Priorities for the 2020-2021 year were discussed and selected. The board submitted the following priorities: 1) School Funding Policy 2) Mental Health 3) Teacher Leadership & Development 4) Special Levy Funds 5) Supplemental State Aid. Hoyman moved to approve and Kibbie seconded. Motion carried.
PACH Nurse Contract: Hoyman moved to approve the contract with the Palo Alto County Public Health for the 2020-2021 school year. Seconded by Dietrich. Motion carried.
Secretary/Treasurer: Superintendent Hanna recommended to approve the appointment of Lisa Chapman to Board Secretary/Treasurer. Roethler moved to approve the appointment. Seconded by Thomsen. Motion carried.
Milk Bids: Milk bids were received from Anderson Erickson (AE), DFA Dairy Brands and Hiland Dairy. The board reviewed the submitted bids. Nutrition Director Diana Ayers noted that she would like to stay with Anderson Erickson (AE). She felt that AE was very easy to work with. There had been issues with Dean Foods (now DFA) in the past with both billing and broken coolers. The prices through Hiland Dairy were the highest with DFA being the lowest. The AE prices for the most used items of ½ pint cartons were 2 cents more per carton. Though AE did not have the lowest price, they did use pricing from July while the others used June. There were significant pricing differences between June and July escalator pricing. Superintendent Hanna recommended staying with AE. Dietrich moved to approve the bid from Anderson Erickson. Morton seconded. Motion carried.
Bread Bids: Bread bids were received from Okoboji Bake Shop and Pan-O-Gold Bakery. The board reviewed the submitted bids. Nutrition Director Diana Ayers noted that she would like to stay with Okoboji Bake Shop as the product is high quality and fresh. If there were any issues a quick email would resolve it. Superintendent Hanna recommended staying with Okoboji Bake Shop. Roethler moved to approve the bid from Okoboji Bake Shop. Thomsen seconded. Motion carried.
ILCC Sharing Agreement: Superintendent Hanna recommended the approval of the Career Connect Programs/Courses with Iowa Lakes Community College. Morton moved to approve the agreement and Huberty seconded. Motion carried.
Business Procedure Manual: The Business Procedures Manual was updated with clerical corrections and auditor suggestions. Thomsen moved to approve the Business Procedure Manual. Roethler seconded. Motion carried.
CLOSED SESSION (6:53pm): Morton moved to enter into a closed session citing Section 21.5(1)(1) to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session. Seconded by Dietrich. Motion carried.
Exited closed session at 7:43pm.
Contract Amendment: Superintendent Hanna did not take a raise for 2020-2021. Board President Hoyman offered an additional five (5) days of vacation to be used in the 2020-2021 school year. Roethler moved to approve the amended contract to add an additional five (5) days of vacation for this school year. Kibbie seconded. Motion carried.
BOARD COMMENTS: Following the closed session Board President Hoyman summarized the board comments from the superintendent evaluation. Hoyman acknowledged the outstanding performance of Superintendent Hanna over the past year. Director Morton noted he appreciated Hanna’s presence at school activities both in and out of town. Director Roethler valued the communication with the board and the implementation of systems in the district. Director Kibbie felt that the leadership shown in tough situations was important as well as the development of strategic planning. Director Huberty noted that Superintendent Hanna’s adaptability and flexibility especially during the COVID-19 situation was valuable. Huberty also appreciated the help that he received on-boarding as a new board member. Director Thomsen felt that Superintendent Hanna’s research and knowledge was imperative as she learned the new position of a board member. She also mentioned that the acceptance of the new board members and how they were always updated was a high point in Superintendent Hanna’s performance. Director Dietrich also felt that the communication was an improved asset since his time on the board. Dietrich has also valued the 5-10 year long range plans that Superintendent Hanna has worked on. Finally, Board President Hoyman thanked Superintendent Hanna for taking on the extra responsibility of the Elementary Principal as he was hired as only a Superintendent. Hoyman agreed with the others, noting especially Hanna’s professionalism and leadership by example, his acceptance of responsibility, his placing student safety and education as the highest priorities, handling of legal issues, board guidance and Hanna’s outstanding communication with the board, staff, parents, students, and community, especially during the pandemic..
Kibbie moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:50pm. Seconded by Morton. Motion carried.
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Board President Board Secretary
