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November 13th, 2023 Board Meeting Minutes

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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . November 13, 2023

Presented for Approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  January 8, 2024

 

DATE: November 13, 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: None

 

CLERK: Marilyn Michael

 

ADMIN: Melissa Schnitzmeier via Zoom

 

STAFF: Raelynn Melber and Alisa Rau arrived at 4:30

 

VISITORS: None

GUESTS:  Carolyn Sevier, YRPA arrived at 4:30. Amanda Stonerock, Stonerock Business Solutions arrived at 4:30 via Zoom, left at 4:53 pm

 

  1. OPENING

 

  1. 1.  CALL TO ORDER:

Trustee, Joshua Cantrell called the meeting of the trustees of Pioneer Elementary School District #41 to order in Room 106 of the main building and via Zoom, Monday, November 13, 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. Weekly Agendas
    2. Newsletter for 
  1.  DISTRICT REPORTS (ADMIN)

Superintendent Report for November

 

Enrollment: 83

 

Standards/Curriculum/Instruction/Assessment

T1 ended today, November 13th. Report cards will be distributed this Friday at Parent Teacher Conferences. Our team will meet on Friday December 1st to review assessment data and track student progress.

Through our partnerships with YRPA and PAR Montana, we are planning the many ways that we can collaborate through our outdoor education initiative. Ideas include PAR staff joining in service projects, career-exposure classroom visits (STEM), and expertise and equipment for field projects. A fun note from Carolyn Sevier – once the bridge opens, the Refinery entrance will be about three miles from the bridge entrance to Dover Park and just under five miles from Pioneer School. 

Staffing & Climate

As we approach the holiday season, our house groups spend time learning and discussing what gratitude and generosity mean, and look for different ways that we can show both. This year, our campus is hosting its first coin drive with all proceeds going to Flakesgiving. Flakesgiving is a local organization that takes in donations in an effort to provide Thanksgiving meals to those in need. 

The Panther students and staff are gearing up for our annual Stone Soup luncheon on Tuesday, November 21st. Each year we gather with our families to read the story of Stone Soup while dining on scrumptious soup and bread. Each class is responsible for some part of the luncheon whether it be decorating place mats, making centerpieces, rolling silverware or preparing the soup!  It’s a community favorite and we’re very excited to host this again this year. 

The Panther Admin Team is gearing up to launch our annual Reindeer Games that will begin Monday, December 4th! During the month of December our staff race to take on weekly challenges including taking the goofiest “elfie”, a daily elf scavenger hunt, and door decorating and ugly sweater contests. Prizes are awarded to the winner making this a favorite of our team traditions! 

With the uptick in illness on campus, I’ve asked the staff to really hit the sanitization efforts hard in their classrooms. This includes sanitizing commonly touched surfaces such as desks, devices, and door knobs daily. In addition, I will be misting classrooms weekly as we work to keep our staff and students healthy and in school. 

Grants/Reporting

TEAMS Accreditation Report – In Progress – I have begun creating our Strategic Planning Continuous Improvement Summary which will house our Comprehensive Needs Assessment and Integrated Strategic Action Plan. This manual will include all information required through the new accreditation process. Once complete, I will bring this to the Board for their review. 

I will be attending the MASBO Facilities and Bonds workshop November 28th & 29th. I hope to grow my knowledge in this area as we work to find funding opportunities for our desired new build. 

 

  1. CONSENT AGENDA   

 

  1. MINUTE APPROVAL – Regular minutes of October 16, 2023
  2. October Warrants #22294 – #22313 Claims total $14,765.34; Warrants #9188 – #9190 Payroll including ACH & Direct Deposit total $66,057.42
  3. Expenditure Reports – October 2023
  4. Approval of bills for November 2023

 

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

 

  1. BOARD ACTION ITEMS

 

  1. Building Maintenance – nothing at this time
  2. Safety Enhancements – nothing at this time
  3. Website technician update & bids – Melissa presented information on a different website company. She explained that District 2 is using this one. She has been using it as a parent and likes it. They gave Melissa a bid of $4800 annually and a $3500 onboarding fee to get everything up and running. Melissa explained that this program has 2-way texting which the Apptegy does not have. We would be able to drop our texting program which would be a savings of $3600 per year. After discussion, Colleen made a motion to move forward with Parent Square. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. Melissa will contact Parent Square to get this started.
  4. Stonerock Business Solutions update – Amanda Stonerock was in attendance to give the board an update on grants. She mentioned a USDA Rural Development grant. There are other grants that require matching components, they have several businesses ready to help with “in-kind” donations that would qualify for the matching components. She also talked about how our Congressmen could earmark dollars for our project and felt we should look into this. There is also a SASI program for school infrastructure. At this time, she recommended that we get started on the USDA Rural Development funding and check into our Congressmen to see if they would help with earmarking funds.
  5. Huntley District #24 Student Attendance Agreements – Marilyn presented Student attendance agreements from Huntley Project. We have 3 students attending living in Pioneer District and attending Huntley. Colleen made a motion to approve the student attendance agreements from Huntley Project. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  6. Shepherd District #37 Student Attendance Agreements – Marilyn presented Student attendance agreements from Shepherd. We have numerous students living in Pioneer District attending Shepherd. The board noted that these attendance agreements are not signed by the parents. They would like to have copies of the agreements with parent signatures. After discussion, Colleen made a motion to approve the Shepherd Student Attendance agreements. Wynn seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. Marilyn will ask the Shepherd clerk to send us copies once they have gathered parents’ signatures. 
  7. Charter School discussions – Melissa explained that she has completed some of the Charter School application however she did not feel she should continue until she knows the board’s intentions. There is a lot of work to the application. Colleen said she read the bill on forming charter schools and has some concerns. These include the number of board members required and also the number of students enrolled that are children of board members and staff. She has highlighted several other questions. Melissa asked that Colleen give her the highlighted document and she will check into the concerns with MTSBA. 

 

VI .  ADJOURNMENT:  

A motion was made by Joshua Cantrell to adjourn the meeting. Colleen Unruh seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; motion carried.  The meeting ended at 5:23 pm.  The next scheduled regular meeting is Monday, January 8, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 106 of the main building and via Zoom. 

 

APPROVAL

 

Attest: __________________________     SIGNED: ____________________________

          Joshua Cantrell, Board Chairperson

DATE: _________________________