Kimball Cubs girls basketball team members Jenna Stenger and Jill Libbesmeier attended the school board meeting to discuss uniform replacement. The team informed the board that their uniforms don’t fit and are getting old. The team asked the board if they could raise money for new uniforms during at the Aug. 7 meeting. The team was scheduled to get new uniforms this year but were cut when the district minimized expenditures. Scott Thielman, superintendent, told the players that he had met with the school’s activities director, Dave Traurig. During the meeting, they located a white set of basketball uniforms. The superintendent asked if these could be used instead of purchasing replacements. Libbesmeier said these uniforms don’t fit well, are itchy and too small for most players. She also said that the uniforms are not meeting the needs of the team. She said the team is more than willing to raise money for replacements. Thielman said that this would throw off rotation for future basketball players, since uniforms are replaced every 5-7 years. “I know that this will screw the schedule up, but won’t it benefit the school,” asked school board member, Doug Stenger. Libbesmeier added, “The school is going to come out ahead any way you do this. It will save the school $1,500.” Jenna Stenger reiterated that they were not asking the school board to purchase the uniforms, they just needed an approval to raise the money. With that, Doug Stenger made a motion to let the team raise the money. School board member Dave VanVleet seconded the motion. The motion passed. Players indicated that the money would go to the school so high-quality uniforms would be purchased. The school board also: • Noted that school board elections would be Tuesday, Nov. 4. Filing for positions will open Tuesday, Aug. 26. • Set the canvassing meeting for new school board members on Thursday, Nov. 6. The board decided this meeting would replace its regular meeting scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 20. • Approved the Kimball Elementary School handbook. Principal Jon Clark noted that the only modification to the book was a section on behavior. • Authorized Penny Kramer to serve as the fall cheerleading coach. • Reviewed the district transportation policy. Thielman asked board members for their input on what should be done for open enrolled students. Currently, the district charges families different rates if they are open-enrolled. Board member Jerry Gillman said, “I would like to see a policy driven by getting more kids. If we are sending a bus to get one kid, it is a big cost. If we are sending a bus to pick up many kids, it makes more sense.” Business manager Joan Schmidt said that she would like to see consistency. “I would like to see us charge families or don’t. If we are going to charge families, we need to charge all or none.” Schmidt pointed out that Eden-Valley charges their students a flat rate. Board chair Dorothy Kersten said, “I think that we should try it for one year, it just makes sense … if we lose $10,000 in transportation, but gain $30,000 for having the students here, maybe we need to try it for a year.” Gillman added, “The only way to balance the transportation budget is to get more kids in the district.” The board agreed that if students are within two miles of the district line, they won’t be charged. If they are outside of the two mile line, families will be charged $20 unless students are picked up at a common location. If many children are picked up, there will be no cost. After wrapping up the discussion, Thielman told the board that the revision will be made for the next meeting. The board can approve the new section at that time. • Was briefed by secondary principal Karen Imholte on the high school. She said more teachers have been in the building and that she has sent out staff letters. Clark told the board that the elementary school will be interviewing for a physical education assistant next week. Clark also showed the board a draft of a brochure that the school wants to produce. “We would like to get this done in color and give it to relators and businesses so people coming into town can see what our school has to offer.” • Commented on the school calendar that was produced by the T.A.G. parent committee at the high school. Thielman said, “They did a wonderful job with this.” • Was briefed by Thielman. He told the board that there would be an open house at the community education office during the weekend of Kimball Days. He said that the elementary school sidewalks are scheduled to be completed within the week. • Adjourned the meeting at 7:40 p.m.
