Minutes of the Regular Board Meeting and Budget Hearing – August 13, 2020
The meeting was called to order by President Cale Rieger in the administration office on the above date at 7:00 p.m. with everyone present.
Superintendent Penka made one addition to the agenda; under new business add f) out of district students. Troy Hilt made a motion to approve the agenda with the one addition; the motion was seconded by Chris Hingst and carried.
Items on the Consent Calendar were next considered. Following review of these items, Troy Hilt moved, Chris Hingst seconded, and it carried to approve the consent calendar, including the following items: 1) The minutes of the regular Board meeting on July 9, 2020, and special board meeting on July 28, 2020. 2) The list of bills being paid on direct deposit slips numbering 0717041-0717049, and on checks numbering 11629-11646 on BANKWEST in the amount of $32,416.30 and checks numbering 14537-14664 on First National Bank totaling $152,693.81 for a grand total of $185,110.11. 3) The Cash Summary Report , the Grade School Activity Fund Report, and the High School Activity Fund Report--all as of July 31, 2020. 4) The following gift offer was approved: $5,500.00 from the St. Francis Educational Foundation Fund for scholarships.
Audiences: Dr. Heather Licke was present to answer any questions regarding COVID-19 that came up.
There were no committee reports.
Old Business: Superintendent Penka discussed with the Board COVID-19 updates and Navigating Change for reopening the schools. After discussion, Shawna Blanka made a motion to 1) approve the Remote Learning 2020-21 – Assurances; 2) approve the 2020-2021 USD #297 COVID Plan; and 3) recommend that masks be worn by staff and students, but not make it mandatory. This motion is contingent upon a favorable outcome at the Cheyenne County Commissioner meeting on August 14 and was made possible by the recent opinion of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt published in the media. The motion was seconded by Danielle McAtee. The vote was 5 – 2 in favor of the motion, motion carried.
Next under new business, the budget hearing was held. There were no patrons present for the budget hearing. Troy Hilt moved that the budget be adopted as published in the July 29, 2020, edition of the St. Francis Herald; the motion was seconded by Dustin Andrist and carried.
Superintendent Penka reviewed the proposed bus routes with the Board. Currently, there will be five routes, the same as last year. All of these proposed routes are still subject to change as more information becomes available.
Next, Superintendent Penka presented recommended changes by KASB for the KASB Policy manual. Troy Hilt made a motion to approve the changes; seconded by Shawna Blanka and carried.
The Board next considered approval of a contract amendment for Nick Fawcett, he is resigning as the assistant junior high basketball coach and taking on the duties of Athletic Director. The salary for this position is in accordance with the supplemental salary schedule. Danielle McAtee made a motion to approve the contract amendment. The motion was seconded by Chris Hingst and carried.
Superintendent Penka received a request for students to attend school from out of district. Shawna Blanka made a motion to accept the request, seconded by Troy Hilt, and carried.
Next under New Business, Superintendent Penka reviewed the recommendations for facility updates on our five-year plan. At this time the Board went on a tour of the facility to look at and discuss priority of these items.
Under miscellaneous items, Superintendent Penka reviewed the current enrollment numbers. The official student count will be on September 21, 2020.
The next Board of Education meeting will be held on Thursday, September 10, 2020, at 7:00 A.M.
At 9:30 p.m., J.W. Milliken moved that the meeting adjourn; the motion was seconded by Troy Hilt and carried.
