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August 14, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes

Regular Meeting Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 14, 2023

Presented for Approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  September 11, 2023

 

DATE: August 14, 2023

 

TIME: 4:30 p.m. 

 

PLACE: Pioneer School, Main Building, Room 106

 

MEMBERS Joshua Cantrell, Chairperson

PRESENT: Colleen Unruh, Trustee  

Wynn Powell, Trustee

MEMBERS

ABSENT: Joshua Cantrell, Chairperson

 

CLERK: Marilyn Michael

 

ADMIN: Melissa Schnitzmeier

 

STAFF: Jami Burns arrived at 4:30 pm, Taylor Eissinger & Alisa Rau arrived at 4:30 via Zoom

 

VISITORS: None

GUESTS:  None

 

  1. OPENING

 

  1. 1.  CALL TO ORDER:

Trustee, Colleen Unruh called the meeting of the trustees of Pioneer Elementary School District #41 to order in Room 105 of the main building and via Zoom, Monday, August 14, 2023 at 4:30 pm.  Trustee, Joshua Cantrell welcomed all those attending.  Trustee, Joshua Cantrell read the Montana Law about public meetings.  

 

  1. INDIVIDUALS, DELEGATIONS, CORRESPONDENCE

 

  1. Public Comment – None
  2. CORRESPONDENCE
    1. Letters to Non-Resident Families notifying of acceptance

 

  1.  DISTRICT REPORTS (ADMIN)
  1. Superintendent Report for August

Estimated Fall Enrollment: 

K – 14-20

1 – 10

2 – 15

3 – 10

⅘ – 19

6-8 – 10

Standards/Curriculum/Instruction/Assessment

Carolyn Sevier and I are continuing to discuss/develop the scope of the district’s outdoor curriculum. Taylor Eissinger and I have taken the Project Learning Tree’s PD course which will offer us certification in outdoor learning. As we move into year two of our outdoor learning program strategic planning, we’ll be focusing on building a knowledge base on content and theory associated with outdoor learning practices and taking learning outside will be a regular part of the academic school day at Pioneer. 

Staffing & Climate

We are fully staffed for the 23-24 school year, welcoming one new certified teacher, Lindsey Martin. Lindsey will be teaching our third graders this year. Raelynn Melber will be teaching kindergarten, McKayla Montgomery will be teaching first grade, Kyla Deutch will be teaching second grade, Alisa Rau will teach our fourth/fifth grade combination class and Taylor Eissinger will teach our sixth through eighth grades. We welcome back our three instructional aides, Kellie Owens, Stacy Hazen, and Meggie Colvin. 

Orientation packets have been distributed to the new Panther team members. The team SMORE page is live and accessible by all staff. We will meet for our first PIR days on 8/16 and 8/17 and our first day of school is Monday, August 21st. 

Grants/Reporting

Title 1 – $45,157 – Open/In Progress

IDEA Consolidated – Waiting to Open

ESSER/ARP Amendment for the 23-24 Year – In Progress

REAP – $5754 – Awarded

GT Grant – (Bi-Annual) – $5800 – Accepted 

Building/Grounds Maintenance

Kevin purchased a new lawn mower for the District in July to ensure grounds were ready for our return. There is a leak in the piping downstairs. Kevin and I are working to get a bid on repair. I will also look into possible grant opportunities we might be able to secure for the fix. 

 

  1. CONSENT AGENDA

 

  1. MINUTE APPROVAL – Regular minutes of June 12, 2023
  2. June Warrants #22210 – #22252 Claims total $116,689.45; Warrants #9176 – #9178 Payroll including ACH & Direct Deposit total $22,864.62 and July No Claims Warrants; Warrants #9180 – #9181 Payroll including ACH & Direct Deposit total $11,413.98
  3. Expenditure Reports – June and July 2023
  4. Approval of bills for August 2023

 

Wynn Powell made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Colleen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried

 

  1. BOARD ACTION ITEMS
  1. Building Maintenance – 
    1. Reddi Electric bid for metal detector and bathroom heaters – Melissa received a bid of $1600 from Reddi Electric to wire in the new metal detector for the old building and install new heaters in the bathrooms and disable the current heaters. After discussion, Colleen made a motion to approve the bid from Reddi Electric. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
    2. Brick resealing bids – none 
    3. Melissa informed the board that the old lawn mower does not work anymore. Kevin purchased a new lawn mower at Ace Hardware for $3449. Colleen made a motion to approve the emergency purchase of the lawn mower. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
    4. Melissa updated the board on the lunchroom flooring. The contractor hired to do the work, did a very poor job. Rather than trust that they will fix the floor, she thought it best to hire someone else to correct the poor job. Decorative Coatings submitted a bid of $2114 to correct the poor quality of work and put on two coatings of epoxy. Melissa gave him tentative approval so he could get started tomorrow. He will be finished this week and we will be able to move the furniture down on Saturday with MT Muscle Movers planning to come to do the move. Colleen made a motion to formally approve the bid from Decorative Coatings of $2114. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
    5. Melissa reported that Kevin attempted to adjust the bus barn gate, however he found one of the hinges broken. He recommended calling Jares Fencing. Melissa contacted them and received a bid of $435 to replace both hinges and adjust the gate so it opens & closes properly. Wynn made a motion to approve the bid of $435 to repair the bus barn gate. Colleen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  2. Safety Enhancements – Nothing at this time.
  3. Non-Resident Student Applications/Renewals – Melissa reported that we have several applications for non-resident students, however, many of the classes are too full to accept some of the students. In Kindergarten she recommends accepting Asher Kossian and denying Elijah Harris and Oliver Fulkerson. In second grade she recommends accepting Avalyn Smith and Britain Funderhide. We were informed that Britain would not be coming as we could not accept his brother. In the 4th/5th grade she recommends denying Bennett Funderhide, and Hattigan Biggs. In the 6th – 8th grade class, she recommends accepting Colter Smith, Emerson Biggs and Aubrey Kopman. Colleen made a motion to accept Melissa’s recommendation to accept Asher Kossian, Avalyn Smith, Colter Smith, Emerson Biggs, Aubrey Kopman & Britain Funderhide and deny Elijah Harris, Oliver Fulkerson, Bennett Funderhide and Hattigan Biggs due to class sizes. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  4. Policy Updates – MTSBA has many new policies. The policies were discussed. Colleen made a motion to approve Option 8 on Policy 3141 and deny Options 9 & 11. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. Colleen made a motion to approve Option 1 on Policy #3235. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. After discussing the other policies, Colleen made a motion to adopt Policies 1005FE, 1006FE, 1007FE, 1009FE, 1110, 1400, 1700, 2050, 2132, 2140, 2158, 2167, 2168, 2170 & 2170P, 2332, 2450, 3100, 3110, 3120, 3121 & 3121P, 3141, 3150, 3226, 3233 3235, 3310, 3413, 3510, 3550, 4410, and 8301 and to not adopt 1010FE and 2600 as they are not needed.  Colleen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. Melissa will update these with MTSBA.
  5. Stonerock Business Solutions Invoice – Nothing at this time
  6. 23-24 Bus Routes updates and Individual Contracts – Marilyn presented the updated 23-24 Bus Routes. There are no mileage changes. There are no individual contracts at this time. After discussion, Colleen made a motion to approve the updated 23-24 bus routes. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  7. Approval of Students Crossing roads on bus routes – Marilyn presented a list of students that will have to cross the road to board the bus or when exiting the bus. She explained that these must be approved by the board. After discussion, Colleen made a motion to approve the list of students that will have to cross the road on our bus routes. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  8. Pioneer Student attendance agreements to other schools – Marilyn presented OPI student attendance forms for non-resident students that we have accepted to attend Pioneer School After approval, Marilyn will send these to the students’ home districts for approval. After discussion, Colleen made a motion to approve the FP-14 forms for Billings, Independent and Shepherd School Districts. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. 
  9. Election Polling Place relocation – Colleen made a motion to approve the letter being sent to the Election Office and the Yellowstone County Commissioners in regards to Pioneer School no longer being a polling place for elections.  Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. 
  10. FY21 & FY22 Audit Report/Advertisement – Marilyn presented the audit report from Summers, McNea. She explained that the only finding on the report was concerning checks and balances. It states that as we are a small school, the board can decide whether to ask the risk of not having other people employed to eliminate the risk which for a small school can be unfeasible. Mairlyn then explained that after the board approves the audit, we must advertise the audit and that copies of the audit are available in the office. After discussion, Colleen made a motion to accept the audit report and advertise this in the Yellowstone County News.  Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  11. Staff Handbook – Melissa explained the updates to the staff handbook. Most of the changes are times and dates. After reviewing the staff handbook, Colleen moved to approve the staff handbook. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  12. Student Handbook – Melissa presented the student handbook and explained the updates. Most of the updates are times and dates. After reviewing the updates, Colleen made a motion to approve the student handbook. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. 
  13. Substitute Pay – Melissa explained that our substitute pay has not been updated in a few years. She felt with the longer days, it should be raised and recommended $120 per day/$60 per half day. After discussion, Colleen made a motion to raise the substitute pay to $120 per day/$60 per half day. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. 
  14. Felt, Martin annual agreement – Marilyn explained that we received a letter from Felt, Martin. They are a local law firm that does a lot of work for schools. Pioneer School has used them in the past. The letter is an annual notice engagement letter in the event that we do need their services. We receive these each year and it does not obligate us to use their firm. Colleen made a motion to approve the Felt, Martin engagement letter for FY24. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. Melissa will sign the letter and we will return it. 
  15. Trustees Financial Summary Report 2022-2023 – Marilyn presented the Trustee’s Financial Summary to the board.  This is a report for OPI to recap of the expenditures and revenues for the 2022 -23 school year.  After it is approved by the board, it will be submitted to the County Superintendent and OPI.  Colleen made a motion to approve the 2021-22 Trustee Financial Summary report.  Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  16. Final Budget Report 2023-2024 – Marilyn presented the final budget report for 2023-2024.  This was completed with Melissa’s inputs.  Our total mills went down slightly 119.63 to 119.45. Colleen made a motion to accept the 2023-2024 Final Budget Report.  Wynn seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.  After the two reports are submitted to OPI, Marilyn will gather the signatures needed on them and submit them to the County Superintendent of Schools. 

 

VI .  ADJOURNMENT:  

A motion was made by Wynn Powell to adjourn the meeting. Colleen Unruh seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; motion carried.  The meeting ended at 6:10 pm.  The next scheduled regular meeting is Monday, September 11, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 106 of the main building and via Zoom. 

 

APPROVAL

 

Attest: __________________________     SIGNED: ____________________________

          Joshua Cantrell, Board Chairperson

DATE: _________________________