Home » Board Meetings, School News
Board Meeting Minutes icon

Board Meeting Minutes from July 10, 2017

Pioneer Elementary School

1937 Dover Road

Billings, MT   59105     Telephone (406)-373-5357

www.pioneerschool.us

Mission Statement:  Our mission is to serve the community and the school by creating a safe environment that fosters Respect, Trust, Accountability, and Responsibility while promoting life-long learning for all.

 

 

Regular Meeting Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July 10, 2017

Presented for Approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 14, 2017

 

DATE:                        July 10, 2017

 

TIME:             6:00 p.m.

 

PLACE:          Pioneer School, Main Building, Room 105

 

MEMBERS    Bill Bullard, Chairperson

PRESENT:      Kari Jones, Trustee

Sarah O’Brien, Trustee

 

MEMBERS

ABSENT:       None

 

CLERK:          Marilyn Michael

 

ADMIN:         Melissa Schnitzmeier

 

STAFF:

 

VISITORS:     Krystle Henry arrived at 6:00 pm

 

GUESTS:        None

 

 

  1. OPENING

 

  1. CALL TO ORDER:

Trustee, Bill Bullard called the meeting of the trustees of Pioneer Elementary School District #41 to order in Room 105 of the main building, Monday, July 10, 2017 at 6:00 pm.  Trustee, Bill Bullard welcomed all those attending.  Trustee, Bill Bullard read the Montana Law about public meetings.

 

  1. MINUTE APPROVAL: Sarah O’Brien made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of June 19, 2017.  Kari Jones seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.

 

  1. HEARING OF THE PUBLIC: Krystle Henry asked if the board had hired for the new teaching positions.  She was told that Dylan McDermott has been hired for the 2nd/3rd position & Jerica Schatz has been hired for the 4th – 6th grades position.

 

  1. ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:

For Your Review:

STARS Preschool Grant has been submitted – we should know by July 28th if we will receive a grant.

Reports:

n/a

Upcoming Events

Summer Professional Development

  • Technology Summit – 7/31 – 8/1 – Melissa sent an email to the teachers to register for this if they plan to attend.
  • NWEA – MAPS training – Melissa would like to attend in Helena to help be able to read and understand the MAPS testing better.

Items Needing Action:

  • Review & Update Policy Manual
  • Review/Adopt 2017-2018 Strategic Goals – Policy 2610 & Communications Plan – Policy 2158 & 4120
  • Review/Adopt 2017-2020 Education Plan for Technology
  • Approve Technology Expenditures for the 2017-18 school year.
  • Review/Approve 2017-2018 Schedule

 

  1. OLD BUSINESS
  1.  Departmentalization/Schedule – The departmentalization schedule was looked at again.  Bill asked if she had any complaints from teachers.  Melissa stated that she had not.  She feels the new teachers should be able to easily adapt to this.  Kari stated that we must keep in mind that the schedule may need to be tweaked if it is not working.  Sarah made a motion to adopt the departmentalization schedule.  Kari seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  2. Budget Review – No new information is available.  Marilyn explained that Han would be working with her on this and the Trustee Financial Summary for 2016-17.
  3. Policy Updates – The policies that need to be updated were read.  Bill made a motion to keep the school board as the ones that will determine if the school needs to be closed due to weather in policy 2221.  Kari seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.  Kari made a motion to adopt policies with changes to add administrator to these policies instead of lead teachers or school board 1700, 2000, 2105, 2110, 2120, 2158, 2160P, 2161P, 2311P, 2314, 2413, 3520, 6420, 7320, 7320, 8124 with the except of  2221 which will remain the board as decision makers for school closure.  Sarah seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  4. 2071-2018 Technology Approval – Melissa stated the technology committee would like to purchase Discovery Education for Science for a price of $1764 with $1000 of this coming money donated on behalf of Francis Russell which leaves $764.  They would also like to see 2 Mimio wall mounted Interactive Projectors for rooms 102 & 105.  These would total $3600.  This could come from the REAP fund.  At this time, we do not know exactly how much we will receive from REAP but it is normally approximately $9000.  Bill made a motion to approve these purchases contingent on available funds.  This motion died due to lack of a second.  Kari made a motion to purchase the Discovery Science Education using the money donated in Francis Russell’s name and the other $764 coming from REAP and table the purchase of the projectors until we know how much we will be receiving from REAP.  Sarah seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  5. 2017-2018 Strategic Plan & Communications Plan Viewing – Melissa presented the 2017-18 Strategic Plan and Communications Plan.  Bill made a motion to approve the 2017-18 Strategic Plan and Communications Plan for this year with the stipulation that at the end of the year other staff members will have a say in writing the one for the next year.  Sarah seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  6. Kyanne Wear – Counselor – Kari made a motion to continue services with Kyanne Wear for counseling.  Sarah seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  7. Bus Driver positions – Melissa has spoken to Cynthia Reed. She would like to be paid $90 per day.  Bill made a motion to offer $80 for the full day bus driver position with pay being $36 for the am routes and $44 for the pm route.  Kari seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.  Melissa will contact Cynthia.  Bill will contact Daniel to see if he is getting his license.
  8. Secretary/Clerk position – Marilyn told the board that the main obstacle she is having right now is the ability to write checks.  The county has to get her enrolled with Wells Fargo and it is a slow process.  She will contact Bill to come in and sign the checks as soon as she is able to print them.
  9. Bus Barn aprons – Bill stated that we still need to get the bus barn doors aprons built.  Brandon Fleury was given the bid for this.  Bill stated that as Brandon’s son has been injured, he was concerned that he may not be able to do the job.  Bill will contact Brandon to see if he will still do the job and when.
  10. Trainings – Melissa would like to attend a MAPS training on August 24th in Great Falls.  Eva was our testing coordinator but there is no one in the position at this time.  We are testing students, however, no one at the school is trained to read the results and we are not able to get the best information from the results.  Melissa was planning to attend a training on August 1st but is not able to attend that one now.  There will be travel to and from Great Falls for her to attend this conference.  Sarah made a motion to approve sending Melissa to Great Falls for the August 24th MAPS training.  Kari seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.

 

III.  NEW BUSINESS

  1. Board meeting forms – Marilyn presented forms from the MASBO conference that are recommended for board meetings.  These include a request to be on the agenda of a board meeting to be filled out by anyone wanting to be on the agenda.  The board chair will determine whether the item is on the agenda or not.  Also included were forms to be used during a closed session.  These are to be filled out and placed in a sealed envelope each time the board goes into executive session along with a statement the board chair can read before closing the meeting.  The other form was a sign in sheet for each meeting to document the people that have attended the meeting.  Kari made a motion to use these forms for future meetings.  Sarah seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  2. School Outreach (to discuss how to get parents/community more involved) – Bill would like this to be discussed however due to the lateness of the meeting Bill made a motion to table this item to the August meeting.  Sarah seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  3. Strategic Plan for Technology – Melissa presented a Strategic Plan for Technology and explained how it will help with the proper usage of technology that is available to staff and students at Pioneer School.  Sarah made a motion to approve the Strategic Plan for Technology.  Kari seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.

 

 

 

  1. JUNE FINANCIAL REPORT

The clerk presented claims warrants numbered 20854 through 20880 in the amount of $30011.28 and the payroll warrant numbered 8951 in the amount of $1190.30.  The ACH and Direct deposits were included in the amount. The clerk presented the trial balance sheets for each fund and a monthly report stating each line item YTD and budget balance remaining for the each fund.  After review of the report, Kari Jones moved to approve the financial reports. Sarah O’Brien seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.

 

 

  1. TRUSTEE CONCERNS

MAIL

  1. Report from Amatech.  Our water test from June 26th showed positive for coliform. Marilyn spoke to Bob at Amatech.  She was told to run water through the pipes and they would retest.  Retest took place on Monday, July 10th.  She will keep the board informed of the results.
  2. Bill and Kari’s signatures were needed on a Wells Fargo form to cancel Han’s credit card.  Marilyn will fax it to them tomorrow.  Bills that were paid with Han’s credit card are now going on to Marilyn’s credit card.
  3. Letter from Felt, Martin, Frazier & Weldon, PC describing the annual notices and policies that are required by federal law.  These are all in our policy book & student handbook as required.

OTHER CONCERNS

  1. None

 

 

 

VI .  ADJOURNMENT: 

A motion was made by Kari Jones to adjourn the meeting. Sarah O’Brien seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; motion carried.  The meeting ended at 7:50 pm.  The next scheduled regular meeting is Monday, August 14, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in Room 105 of the main building.

 

APPROVAL

 

Attest: __________________________     SIGNED: ____________________________

Bill Bullard, Board Chairperson

DATE: _________________________