Legal Notice
REGULAR MEETING
Unofficial Minutes
Board of Education
September 19, 2018
Ind. School District 739
Kimball, MN
Chair Schreiner opened the meeting at 6 p.m. with all members present. The Pledge of Allegiance was said by all. Motion by Becker, seconded by Waldorf to approve the agenda as presented. MC
Janel Bitzen, along with Kimball Alumni Dustin Opatz, with BerganKDV presented the annual audit. Janel indicated there was one material finding this year in relation to the expensing of the multipurpose room addition. This occurred primarily because a portion of the project was donated, and this is not an ordinary event. The District had a net loss of just 16 students due to open enrollment. This is an improvement from a loss of 35 students in the prior year. There was an increase of about 22 students from 16-17. The District takes a conservative approach when budgeting revenues. Actual revenues came in about $336,000 more than budgeted while expenditures were just $8,316 over budget. The ending unassigned fund balance for the General Fund ended with a positive balance of $137,563. While the district is making progress, they still have work to do to achieve the 8 %-
25 % fund balance goal as prescribed by board policy. The Food Service Fund also saw improvement over FY17 with an ending fund balance of $26,178. While the General Community Service Fund made improvement, it still has a negative balance. However, the total Community Service Fund carries a positive balance of $89,423. The Student Activity Account had no findings for FY18. BerganKDV commends the District for the keeping good watch over these accounts and making sure funds are handled properly.
Celebrations and success of students and staff included congratulations to the football team with a pair of wins early in the season. The 17-18 FFA Food Chemistry team is competing at the National FFA Convention in October. Congratulations to Erik and Nancy joining the table in their new roles. Ms. Waldorf noted that she has attended football games at other schools, but she enjoys the music and the commentary by Mr. Widvey at our home events.
Motion by Davis, seconded by Waldorf, to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion Carried. The Consent Agenda included:
• Approve minutes from the August 15, 2018 Regular meeting
• Approve minutes from the August 31, 2018 Special meeting
• Approval of Bills
• Treasurer’s Report
• Approve administrative contract with Joan Nystrom, Business Manager, for 2018-2020
• Approve administrative contract with Tracy Theis, Business Accountant, for 2018-2020
• Approve administrative contract with Jayne Lochen, District Secretary, for 2018-2020
• Approve hiring Alicia Fenske, Lunch/Recess/Enrichment Paraprofessional at Category II, Step 3 of the Non-Licensed Agreement, starting September 4, 2018
• Approve request for Leave of Absence for Angela Watkins, effective August 22, 2018
• Approve reinvestment of $100,000 CD at American National Bank of Minnesota, Baxter, MN, at 2.62% for 365 days, maturing 9/12/2019
• Approve Long-Term Substitute contract with Samantha Guttu, beginning January 14, 2019, and ending May 24, 2019
• Approve hiring Devon Kelley, high school paraprofessional, Category II, Step 1, beginning September 10, 2018
• Approve hiring Tara Buerman, high school paraprofessional, Category II, Step 2, beginning October 1, 2018
• Accept donation of $598.98 received from Kimball Elementary PIE, towards the purchase of a sports equipment cage
Ms. Johnson reported on a great start to the school year. Thank you to Mr. Zipoy for being at Open House helping where he could. Open House was very well attended. The Walk-A-Thon raised just over $4,000; it was a gorgeous day for the event. The fall conferences are coming up quickly on October 10th and 15th. Current enrollment at the elementary is 322. Kindergarten has grown to 47 kiddos. Given the class size, a para has been placed in those classrooms to help out in the afternoons. The Preschool Big Truck event was held on the 15th with sixty-four preschoolers attending. A huge thank you to the community businesses that provided their large equipment for the kids to explore. Preschool has 47 students enrolled this year compared to last year’s 39. This program is growing. There are currently 15 three-year-olds, 30 four-year-olds, and two five-year-olds. Thirty-six kiddos are resident students, and 11 are non-residents coming in. The elementary staff have a scavenger hunt planned, with sundaes served after.
Ms. Bonnifield thanked the board for allowing her to be in the interim principal role. She is learning a lot, and learning more about special education than she knew was possible. There are currently 429 student’s grades 6-12 at the high school. Open House attendance was very good. This was the fifth year that teachers and Education Minnesota provided a meal for families in attendance. Earlier in August there was CPR training for staff. All district staff were trained during workshop on human trafficking. This was presented by Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall. Ms. Bonnifield is trying to schedule additional trainings for parents to be held at conferences in October, and again in late November for students 7-8-9 and 10-11-12. The drug dogs have been in the high school building. There was nothing found by them. Bus Safety training has been completed. Homecoming activities are scheduled for next week.
Mr. Widvey reported on the details of the Aid Anticipation borrowing with funds being received on the 20th. A history of the amounts borrowed over the years was shared with the board as well as a list of other districts in the state that borrow for cash flow purposes. A thank you to both Keri and Nancy for their help the first week welcoming students back. The start of the school year has been great. Cubs Club before and after school childcare has 82 students registered. Fortunately they are not all there at the same time. This is a very large number for that program. The purchase orders for the wood shop renovation have been sent out; we are waiting for scheduling to be able to get started. The mini-bus that picks up out-of-district and makes a stop at St. Mary’s church/school in St. Augusta has 19 students currently. We are about to the point of needing to replace this with a full route which would mean a larger bus. The bus contractor is on board with this change when the time comes. The district is in need of an additional van. An agreement has been made with A M Maus & Son to purchase a 7-passenger van, provided the board approves the purchase. Emma Hohulin and Zach Boser have been nominated by their peers for the Leadership in Education Excellence award sponsored by Resource Training & Solutions. Congratulations to both of them. Mr. Widvey attended the MSBA Advocacy Tour on Tuesday evening. Lastly, a certificate was received from MDE commending Kimball Schools and Benton-Stearns Education District for excellence in Due Process for special education monitoring. No errors were found in the paperwork for special education students in our district.
Other reports included Benton-Stearns Education District – Waldorf, Health, Safety & Wellness Committee – Mr. Widvey.
Following review of the proposed levy, motion by Zipoy, seconded by Becker to Certify the 2018 Payable 2019 Levy for the maximum. MC
Motion by Davis, seconded by Becker to adopt the following Resolution.
Designation of Identified Official with Authority
for the MDE External User Access Recertification System
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) requires that school districts annually designate an Identified Official with Authority to comply with State Access Control Security Standard 1.0 which states that all user access rights to Minnesota state systems must be reviewed and recertified at least annually. The Identified Official with Authority will assign job duties and authorize external user’s access to MDE secure systems for their local education agency (LEA). The Director recommends the Board authorize Erik Widvey to act as the Identified Official with Authority (IOwA) and Joan Nystrom to act as the IOwA to add and remove for the Kimball Public School District 0739-01.
Upon roll call vote, members Meyer, Davis, Waldorf, Becker, Schreiner, and Zipoy voted in favor, none voted against. Motion carried.
Motion by Davis, seconded by Meyer to approve long-term substitute contract with John Benson, secondary EBD, effective September 19, 2018 until May 24 2019, or until a licensed replacement is hired. MC
Motion by Zipoy, seconded by Davis to approve the purchase of a new 2018 Dodge Caravan using Third Party/MA revenue. MC
The next Regular School Board meeting is at 6 p.m. on October 10, and the next Benton-Stearns Education District meeting is on October 17 at 3:30.
Motion by Waldorf, seconded by Davis to adjourn at 7:09 p.m.
Brian Becker, Clerk
Published in the Tri-County News Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.
