School Board Minutes 12-16-2013

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
SCHOOL BOARD
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 777
Benson, Minnesota
December 16, 2013
Chairperson C. Payne called the regular meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. in the High School Media Center.  The following board members were present:  A. Abner, C. Payne, J. DeJong-Hughes, B. McGeary, M. Molden, A. Pagel, G. Williams, Supt. Laumeyer
Members absent:  None.  Also present:  D. Benson, M. Knutson, P. Anderson, S. Claussen, J. Reardon and S. Ricard.
Additions to the Agenda:  None.
Citizens Comments:  
Presentation of Service Plaque:  Supt. Laumeyer presented a plaque to Stan Claussen and thanked him for 20 years of service to the District #777 School Board.
Routine Actions:
Approval of Minutes:  
Motion by B. McGeary, seconded by A. Pagel to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2013 regular meeting and the December 10, 2013 Truth in Taxation Hearing and Work Session.  Motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Bills:  
Motion by A. Pagel, seconded by G. Williams to approve payment of bills and hand checks in the amount of $246,382.79 as presented.  Discussion was held on a few items.  Motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Payroll:
Motion by B. McGeary, seconded by A. Pagel to approve the November 20, 2013 payroll in the amount of $652,048.24.  Motion carried unanimously.
Progress Reports:
K-4:  Brad Johnson was in attendance at the Ties Conference. Dennis reviewed his report.  Enrollment increased by a couple students.  He thanked parents and the community for their support of the SchoolMall fundraiser which generated $1,373.53 and $750 in gift cards so far.  Congratulations to the top AR students and Nathan Pederson for a wonderful K-2 Christmas program on December 12th and 13th. The 4th grade ski trip will be Friday, December 20th. The second round of AIMSweb will take place right after the winter break. A committee will meet with Brad to decide how to use the Target and State Farm money for Northside.  Congratulations to Kellie Enderson, Cassie Fugleberg, Olivia Vergin and Madison Ziegler for placing 5th at the Section 6 Knowledge Bowl Subregion Meet.  They advance to Regions on January 7th.
5-12:  Mike Knutson reported positive feedback from the grades 9-11 student survey.  He and Jason Strand are working on schedules for next year.  There have been 98 bullying incidents reported this year and students are starting to identify and stand up to stop it now.  A committee has discussed the survey results from staff and students on spending ideas for the Target and State Farm money received.  Benson staff will be attending the MRVED MELT professional development day January 20th.  A meeting was held with Rob Lee and Brandon Raymo on technology quotes for several items.
Financial Report:  Dave Benson has looked at enrollment numbers and preschool census for budget planning and although the numbers are up for ages 3, 4 and kindergarten, we are still down 11 students from our projections.
Superintendent:  Dennis Laumeyer reported that student enrollment has been followed up closely and our numbers should be more accurate for budget planning, but with families more transient than in the past the numbers fluctuate more.  We received a $580 grant from MSHSL to be used for helping families that can’t afford to pay activity fees, etc. Online pay is being considered and currently Montevideo, BOLD and Morris use it.  Morris paid $2,000 up front for set up and pay approximately $200/month in fees.  Dennis will continue the research.   Board members were reminded to complete the committee sign-up sheet.  The Noncertified Committee will meet with the noncertified staff tomorrow afternoon and the Administration Committee will meet with a couple administrators on Thursday.  Dennis reviewed a paperless option for board meetings which would save time putting together board packets and distributing them and provides different options to publish, archive, etc.
Old Business:
Strategic Plan:  The Technology Committee met and will have a couple options to present to the board.  Dennis has met with a committee regarding Educators Evaluations and they have worked hard for six weeks at several meetings.  A plan will be put together to present to the staff soon, which will help teachers grow.
District Policy Manual Updates - 2nd Reading:  The second reading of the policy manual updates based on legislation for Grad Testing with no significant changes was reviewed.
Motion by A. Abner, seconded by G. Williams to approve the District Policy Manual Updates as presented.  Motion carried unanimously.
Benson High School Clay Target League Team Proposal - 2nd Reading:  Dennis gave an overview of other school programs and different options were discussed.
Motion by B. McGeary, seconded by A. Pagel to approve a Benson High School Clay Target League Team as a category 1 sport with the same student activity participation fees and MSHSL rules and regulations.  Motion carried unanimously.
School Board Work Session, District Facilities Tour:  Dennis asked the board to set a date and time to tour the facilities during the day for future facilities planning.  Thursday, January 9th at 12:00 noon was set.
School Board Social:  Chair Chad Payne suggested a casual board get-together and January 13th following the school board meeting was set.  
New Business:
Certification of Final Levy:  Dennis explained the levy is a 27.6% increase compared to last year.
Motion by G. Williams, seconded by A. Abner to approve the Levy Limitation and Certification 2013 Payable 2014 in the amount of $1,638,994.33.  Motion carried unanimously.
Future Meetings:
Special Work Session, Thursday, January 9, 12:00 Noon, District Office
Noncertified Committee Meeting, Tuesday, December 17, 1:30 p.m., District Office
Administration Committee Meeting, Thursday, December 19, 12:00 Noon, District Office
Adjournment:
Motion by A. Abner to adjourn the meeting at 7:34 p.m.        Andy Abner, Clerk
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