The meeting was called to order by chair Kersten at 6:35 p.m., with the elementary and high school principals and all board members except Gillman and VanVleet present. The superintendent and members Gillman and VanVleet arrived at 6:40 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was said by all in attendance. Motion by Kuechle, seconded by Stenger, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion Carried (MC). Motion by Kuechle, seconded by Laabs to approve payment of the listed bills in the amount of $113,293.09, of which $4,144.61 was construction related costs. Unanimously carried (UC). Motion by Kuechle, seconded by Gillman, to approve the consent agenda. UC. The consent agenda included: a. Approve minutes of Aug. 7, 2003, board meeting. b. Approve Kathy Albers, part-time daycare assistant, at Category II, Step 0 of the non-licensed salary schedule. c. Approve additional fall coaching assignments – 7th-grade football, Josh Fischer; assistant volleyball, Carol Krippner. d. Approve hiring of Leah Arnold, FACS Instructor, .9 position at BA, Step 0 of the salary schedule. The treasurer’s reports for June (after the auditors) and July were reviewed and discussed. Motion by Gillman, seconded by VanVleet, to remove items 3 and 4 from Reports/Communications portion of the agenda, which were the closing of the meeting for negotiations and re-opening the meeting. UC. Motion by Laabs, seconded by Gillman, to approve hiring of Jody Pope, Elementary Phy-Ed Assistant at Category II, Step 2 of the non-licensed salary schedule. UC. Motion by Gillman, seconded by Kuechle, to approve a .65 contract with Pat Tekavec for the teaching of Chemistry and Physics, at the BA Lane, Step 1 of the salary schedule. UC. Motion by VanVleet, seconded by Stenger, to approve a Memorandum of Understanding for a Leave of Absence for Larry Jensen. UC. Motion by Gillman, seconded by Laabs to approve hiring of Nathan Hylla, full-time social studies instructor at BA, Step 0 of the salary schedule. UC Motion by Gillman, seconded by Laabs, to authorize designation of Cubby Land Daycare on the financial statements so as to keep these dollars separate in the Community Education fund. UC. Motion by Gillman, seconded by Laabs, to approve the revised District 739 Transportation Policy Part 3 and the fee structures for open enrolled students and preschool students for the 2003-2004 school year. UC. After review of modifications to the high school staff handbook by Principal Imholte, motion by Kuechle, seconded by Gillman, to approve the High School Staff Handbook. UC. Motion by VanVleet, seconded by Stenger, to authorize membership in Schools for Equity in Education (SEE) for the 2003-2004 school year. UC. Troy Miller, DLR Group, was present to review the status of the construction project. Contractors have been notified to perform their one-year warranty walk-through so that the project can be closed out. Only a couple of contractors have outstanding payments. Motion by Gillman, seconded by Laabs, to approve construction payments in the amount of $79,806.53, and to release retainage to Gohman Construction with the exception of $5,000. UC. Celebration of success of students and staff included the FFA for its raising of over $9,000 with the Spaghetti Dinner Benefit Aug. 10; the FFA, Student Government and Jazz Band each had floats in the Kimball Days Parade; to Tri-County News for the production of the Kimball Community Guide; Ted Zipoy in the Pedal Pull; Little Miss Kimball participants and royalty; and the football and volleyball teams starting their early-morning practices. Clark reported on teachers starting to come in to put in their floating days, the status of the parking lot repairs in front of the elementary building, class lists not sent to students this year, the School Report Card on the Department of Education Web site – Kimball received three stars in reading and five stars in math, and the open house scheduled for Aug. 27. Imholte reported holding interviews and hiring new staff; high school staff also was coming in to complete their floating day; three exchange students expected at the high school this year; 16 additional students will come to the high school for 2003-04 with 10 leaving; the high school site team met today; student government has met; the high school open house and new student orientation scheduled for Aug. 27. Superintendent Thielman reported information received from the Initiative Foundation regarding a grant opportunity, the MASA and MSBA conferences and the school report card put out by the Department of Education. Committee reports included Benton-Stearns Education District – Gillman, and Negotiations – Gillman and VanVleet. Kersten told the group of her experience at the MSBA conference held last week. Motion by Laabs, seconded by VanVleet, to adjourn the meeting at 8:32 p.m. UC. Marguerite Laabs, Clerk Published in the Tri-County News on Aug. 28, 2003.
