West Franklin USD 287

Regular Board Meeting

Monday, September 11, 2006

The regular meeting of the West Franklin USD #287 Board of Education was held Monday, September 11, 2006, at Appanoose School.   The following board members were present:

Neal Baker, Sheila Anderson (arrived at 7:55), Janie Dillon, Randy Hermreck, Keith Milliken, and Nancy Reed.

Administrators and staff present were:   Superintendent Susan Myers, Deputy Board Clerk Melissa Horne, Curriculum Director Andy Azwell, Principal Mike Dorst, Principal Susan Wildeman, Principal Rick Smith, Principal Eric Koppes, Principal Robert Allen, Transportation Director Richard Adler, and Maintenance Supervisor Jerry Engel.   Others present:   Lori Thompson, Virginia Cook, Patty Nelson, Cheryl Thomas, Judy Simpson, Kelsey Devin, Merritta Combs, Jaime Simms.

The meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm by President, Neal Baker.

Principal Rick Smith escorted those present on a tour of the Appanoose facilities.

The Board reconvened at 7:26 pm following the tour.

 No amendments were made to the agenda.

Minutes from previous meetings and bills were presented

The minutes from the August 30, 2006 Special Meeting were amended to change Plan IV and VIII bullet question to “What would happen to the football field and track at Williamsburg & Appanoose?”

Nancy Reed made a motion to approve the agenda as presented, amend the minutes of the previous meetings and to pay the bills as presented.   Janie Dillon seconded the motion.   Motion passed 6-0.

Reports:

Principal Rick Smith: Had nothing further to add after the information he provided during the facility tour.

Principal Mike Dorst:   Reported on strategies the faculty is using to improve test scores.   Mr. Dorst also reported that enrollment at Pomona High School was at 205, and he expected that to change to 204.   Fall sports are off to a good start.   The Pomona High School website has added links for powergrade and daily announcements.  

Principal Eric Koppes: Reported that he was very pleased with the schools AYP results.   He discussed how collaborative planning is being utilized.   The Back to School Bar-B-Q was a success, with 300 people attending. 

Principal Susan Wildeman:   Reported the school’s bonfire and homecoming activities will take place this week.  Author, Peggy Sundberg will be visiting the school September 27 th, and activities for the students have been planned for this event. 

Principal Robert Allen: Reported that VPL is going well.   Current enrollment for the Learning Center was 21 students.   They are working on the second set of assessments for the year.

Curriculum Director Andy Azwell:   Reported that he and Tim Larkin are looking into the use of Open Source Technology for the district. Testing at all locations is going well, as are grade level curriculum meetings.  

Superintendent:   Dr. Myers reported that enrollment is better than predicted, however it is still down 34 students from last year.   Dr. Myers congratulated Mike Dorst on receiving the Andy Tompkins Leadership Award.

Appanoose Site Council: Rick Smith reported that the site council will have its first meeting on September 12 th, and provided copies of the agenda for that meeting to the Board.   Four new members have joined this year.

Appanoose Successful Practice: Rick Smith presented testing results to the Board and shared with them how this information is being used to continue to grow and improve all students. 

FCCLA: Students Kelsey Devin and Jaime Simms from the PHS FBLA shared with the board about their recent summer trip to Nashville, TN.

The Board took a 10 minute break at 8:30pm

Action Items:

The following Site Council Applications were presented:

Keith Milliken made a motion to accept these applications.   Nancy Reed seconded. Motion passed 6-0.

Appoint KASB Governmental Relations Representative/Convention Delegate Rep:
Randy Hermreck agreed to be the district governmental representative and will represent the district at the 2006 KASB Convention December 1-3, 2006. Neal Baker agreed to be the delegate representative at the delegate assembly on December 2, 2006.   Sheila Anderson made a motion to accept these representatives.   Nancy Reed seconded.   Motion passed 6-0.

Travel Request:
Angelle Higbie and FFA requested to travel to Kansas City for the National FFA Convention.   They will be gone October 21-October 22.   Cheryl Thomas requested to travel to the FBLA Leadership Conference in Denver, CO on November 3 – November 5.   Nancy Reed made a motion to accept both travel requests. Sheila Anderson seconded the motion.   Motion passed 5-1

Approve Recommended Revised/New BOE Policies:
The Board reviewed the recommendations for new and revised BOE polices created by the board policy committee. The following policies were amended or added:   DJFA, GAAA, GBO, IDCE, IHF, II, IIBGB, and Testing integrity.   Sheila Anderson made a motion to approve the recommended revision and new policies.   Nancy Reed seconded.   Motion passed 6-0.

Member District Boundary Change Resolution:
Per HB 2585 school board member districts must be within 5% equity of population.   The three member districts in USD 287 are not meeting the new requirement.   The north district falls within the limits but the middle district and the south district are not within the 5% equity requirements.   A proposed boundary change was brought to the board by Dr. Susan Myers.   Keith Milliken made a motion to adopt a resolution of the proposed boundary change. Randy Hermreck seconded.   Motion passed 6-0.

Athletic Trainer Agreement:
Susan Myers shared with the Board that for the past several years the district has partnered with Ransom Memorial Hospital and an athletic trainer was provided to our high schools on a part time basis.   A $600 fee is charged for this service.   The fee was built into the 2006-07 budget; however board action is required to continue with the trainer.  The board discussed whether the trainer would be continued in 2007-2008.   Janie Dillon made a motion to continue the trainer for 2006-2007.   Sheila Anderson seconded.   Motion passed 4-2.

Discussion:

Board Negotiators 2006-07:

Current board negotiator, Neal Baker, discussed the future makeup of the board’s team.   Sheila Anderson and Keith Milliken agreed to serve as the board’s negotiation’s team.  

KASB School Finance Position:
Susan Myers shared with the Board that KASB is in the process of re-evaluating their position regarding school finance.   They have asked boards to review KASB current positions and give them feedback.   Nancy Reed agreed to attend a discussion on this subject October 5.   Randy Hermreck tentatively agreed to attend also.

Personnel:  

Executive Session:

It was determined that executive session was not necessary.

Employment Recommendations:
Sheila Anderson made a motion to accept the following employment & supplemental recommendations and adjourn the meeting:

Janie Dillon seconded the motion.   Motion passed 6-0.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:05.  

___________________________
Neal Baker, Board President 

___________________________
Melissa Horne, Deputy Clerk          

Minutes are not official until approved by the board.