Home » Board Meetings, School News
Pioneer Elementary Boar Meeting Minutes Banner

October 7th, 2019 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . October 7, 2019

Presented for Approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  November 11, 2019

 

DATE: October 7, 2019

 

TIME: 4:30 p.m. 

 

PLACE: Pioneer School, Main Building, Room 106

 

MEMBERS Kari Jones, Chairperson

PRESENT: Luke Rome, Trustee  

Colleen Shaw, Trustee

MEMBERS

ABSENT: None

 

CLERK: Marilyn Michael

 

ADMIN: Melissa Schnitzmeier

 

STAFF: None  

 

VISITORS: None

GUESTS:  None

 

  1. OPENING

 

  1. CALL TO ORDER:

Trustee, Kari Jones called the meeting of the trustees of Pioneer Elementary School District #41 to order in Room 102 of the main building, Monday, October 7, 2019 at 4:30 pm.  Trustee, Kari Jones welcomed all those attending. Trustee, Kari Jones read the Montana Law about public meetings.  

 

  1. MINUTE APPROVAL:  Luke Rome made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of September 16, 2019.  Colleen Shaw seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.

 

 

  • HEARING OF THE PUBLIC:  None

 

 

 

  • ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:  

 

  • District Happenings
    • Fall ANB count:  K – 6 = 62, 7 & 8 = 8 Total Fall ANB is 70
    • K – 8 Shepherd Volunteer Fire Station Field trip – 10/10
    • 4th/5th to NILE 10/14
    • K – 1 Pumpkin Patch Field trip – 10/24
    • First Trimester ends 11/1 – Parent Teacher Conferences 11/5
  • Reports & Grants
    • TEAMS – Accreditation Report – Submitted 10/3/19
    • Continuous School Improvement Plan – In Progress – Due November 1st
    • GT – Waiting for it to open
  • Upcoming Team PD
    • MEA – 10/17 & 10/18 – Leah & Jacob to Reading Conference
    • MSSA Reading & Writing Conference – MSSA 11/12 – Alisa & Leah attending
  • PTA Events
    • PTA Bingo Night at the High Horse – Tonight
    • PTA Meeting – 10/14 – 6:00 pm
    • PTA REEF Night 10/25
  • Adult Education
    • Chalk Couture Class – 10/21 at 6:00 pm
  • Building Maintenance
    • Boiler Circuit Board Replaced – Brick Building
    • Hail Damage/Siding Bid In
    • Fencing – Bid In
    • Playground Equipment – Installed & Rock 90% distributed
      • Luke asked that we send an invoice to Starks showing what was spent, Melissa will take care of doing this.

 

  1. OLD BUSINESS
  1. BUILDING MAINTENANCE – A circuit board on the boiler went out, but it has been fixed and is up and running now.
  2. SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS – Nothing at this time.
  3. ROOF AND WATER DAMAGE – We are still waiting for D’s insulation to clean up the window in room 106. Other than that, the job is complete.
  4. HAIL DAMAGE – (BIDS FOR SIDING) – Melissa has received a bid from Billings Carpet & Water for the hail damage. It included a bid from SafeTech for the removal of the siding as it has lead paint and must be abated.  The amount of this bid is $8600. It also has a bid from Shaw Construction to replace the siding with Smart Siding. The bid for this is $29,215. This came in cheaper than trying match the current siding as it would have to be milled specially to match. Billings Carpet and Water will receive $7750 for overhead and profit for the project. We will pay Northern Industrial $935 directly as Jeremy May with MSGIA has requested it be removed from the insurance portion of the bid. Jeremy has approved this bids. Colleen made a motion to accept the bids received from Billings Carpet and Water for tear off and replacement of the siding on the old building. Kari seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. Melissa will meet with Andy to sign the contracts for this project. Safetech would like to schedule the removal for Thanksgiving break. It was discussed that we need to find out what the time line is for replacement of the siding as we do not want to have the building sit through the winter if the siding cannot be replaced in a timely fashion. It was further discussed that we also need to find out what happens if the siding is removed and more construction materials are needed to install the new siding as it is not clear what is beneath the siding. Melissa will contact Andy and Jeremy to answer these questions.

 

III.  NEW BUSINESS

  1. DISTRICT 2 ATTENDANCE AGREEMENT – We have received a student attendance agreement from School District 2 for Camille Couture to attend a school in District 2. Kari signed the agreement.
  2. SUPERINTENDENT LEAVE REQUESTS – Melissa has submitted a request for leave for November 25, 26 & December 2 & 3 and also March 6 – 13. As these are over 4 days, they require board approval. Colleen made a motion to approve Melissa’s leave. Luke seconded the motion. At this time it was asked who substitutes for Melissa. Melissa stated that she does not have a substitute as they could not do the reports, etc. that Melissa works on. Alisa Rau is our MBI person and she will handle any behavior problems that arise. Marilyn stated that the only time it causes an issue is when she has to leave the office as no one is monitoring the doors. The board asked if it would work to get a sub in for ½ day to help with lunch times and assist as needed with students. The substitute could be given some prep work to do during the times when they were not needed in other areas. Melissa stated she would try to find a sub for these days from 10:00 – 2:00. After discussion the vote was unanimous; the motion carried.
  3. POLICY UPDATES – Melissa told the board that we are now required to have Policy 2150 R. This policy states that 2 hours of Suicide Prevention are now required to be completed by all employees and updated every 5 years. She explained that we already have everyone take the Suicide Prevention course offered through Safe Schools when they are hired. We will have everyone retake this course every five years. Luke made a motion to adopt Policy 2150 R. Colleen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, the motion carried.
  4. PERS GASB68 CHANGES – Marilyn explained that the state Public Employees Retirement System was audited and the other post-employment benefits (OPEB) were adjusted. These new numbers differ from what was reported on the 2018-2019 TFS. After checking with other clerks, Marilyn explained that the board could proclaim that the amounts will be corrected in the 2019-2020 TFS report or they could have Marilyn correct them now. Correcting them now would require un-submitting the report, making the corrections, gathering signatures again and resubmitting the report to OPI and the County Superintendent. Luke made a motion to proclaim that we will fix the GASB68 in our 2019-2020 TFS report. Colleen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried. 
  5. FALL ANB COUNT – Melissa reported the Fall enrollment count is complete and will be submitted tomorrow to OPI. Our count is 70 which is 10 higher than the Spring 2019 count.
  6. BUDGET AMENDMENT – Melissa explained that with our ANB being 10 higher than Spring 2019, we are eligible for a Budget Amendment. It cannot be done until the ANB is submitted to OPI. We then have until May 31st to submit the budget amendment. Melissa will contact Nica at OPI to determine the amount we will be able to receive. We can then complete the required documents. We can start this process at the November meeting.

 

  1. SEPTEMBER FINANCIAL REPORT

The clerk presented claims warrants numbered 21381 through 21401 in the amount of $16,331.58, and the payroll warrants numbered 9028 through 9031 in the amount of $45,215.29.  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, Colleen Shaw moved to approve the financial reports. Luke Rome seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous; the motion carried.

 

  1. TRUSTEE CONCERNS

 MAIL

  1. October Newsletter
  2. Weekly Agenda’s for September 23rd – October 11th
  3. MT DOT newsletter

OTHER CONCERNS

    1. Sarah O’Brien was in town & found her keys and returned them.
    2. Melissa requested a bid from Jares Fence to replace the perimeter fence with a 6’ tall fence, including 3 gates in the back, 2 in the front, plus the bus gate. Their bid for removal and replacement was $53,579.00

 

VI .  ADJOURNMENT:  

A motion was made by Colleen Shaw to adjourn the meeting. Kari Jones seconded the motion.  The vote was unanimous; motion carried. The meeting ended at 5:35 pm. The next scheduled regular meeting is Monday, November 11, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 102 of the main building. 

After adjournment, the board watched to board training videos from MTSBA’s website.

 

APPROVAL

 

Attest: __________________________     SIGNED: ____________________________

          Kari Jones, Board Chairperson

DATE: _________________________