Pipestone Area School Board Meeting Minutes – October 26, 2015




Minutes of Regular Board of Education Meeting

The Board of Trustees
Pipestone Area Schools

A Regular Board of Education Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Pipestone Area Schools was held Monday, October 26, 2015, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Conference Room 1148, MS/HS.

Members Present: Chairman Lance Oye; Directors Jeff Baatz, Tami Taubert, Wendy Schoolmeester, Kris Ploeger, Marcy Pals, Dennis Tinklenberg; Ex-Officio Jim Lentz; Business Manager Jacque Kennedy; Recording Secretary Deb Bierstedt.

Visitors Present: Jaime Danks, Mary Lapthorn, Scott Boomgaarden, Craig Boeddeker, Kyle Kuphal, Michelle Niehus, Jamie Fenicle, Leslie Lueck, Chasidy Lueck, Lisa Houg, John Pollman, Nancy Stiles, Mike Stiles, Sharon Wolff, Anna Agresto, Ed Gustafson.

Call Meeting to Order: Chairman Oye called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

Approval of Agenda
Additions:

Letter of Resignation from Carol Mahin, Van Rider (4.4):
Samantha Blake, Paraprofessional/Heartland Colony (6.2.2):

Laura Thode, Paraprofessional (6.2.3):
Tawnia Pater, Paraprofessional (6.2.4):

Approve Carol Nangle as a Volunteer at Hill School (6.9):
Jody Wacker, Speech Assistant (6.2.5):

Deletions: None.
A motion by Jeff Baatz and seconded by Dennis Tinklenberg approved the agenda as presented. Motion carried.

Consent Agenda
Approve Minutes from the Work Session Meeting of September 14, 2015: A motion by Dennis Tinklenberg and seconded by Marcy Pals approved the minutes as presented. Motion carried.

Approve Minutes from the Regular School Board Meeting of September 28, 2015: A motion by Jeff Baatz and seconded by Dennis Tinklenberg approved the minutes as presented. Motion carried.

Approve Payment of Regular Monthly Bills: The regular bills and two pay pal bills paid to October 22, 2015 totaled $459,717.91. A short discussion was held. A motion by Dennis Tinklenberg and seconded by Jeff Baatz approved payment of the bills. Motion carried.

Approve Treasurer’s Report for September: The treasurer’s report for month ended September 30, 2015 totaled $6,739,828.78. A motion by Marcy Pals and seconded by Tami Taubert approved the report as presented. Motion carried.

Review of Budget Year-to-Date: The budget year-to-date shows expenditures as of October 22, 2015 of $2,864,294.06 or 21%. The prior year percentage was 22%. This was a non-action item.

Approve Newly Added Subs to District: A motion by Jeff Baatz and seconded by Wendy Schoolmeester approved the sub list. Motion carried.
Other: None.

Correspondence
Letter of Resignation from Darla McCurdy, Paraprofessional: A motion by Tami Taubert and seconded by Marcy Pals approved the resignation. Motion carried.

Letter of Resignation from Cheryl Pederson, Paraprofessional: A motion by Marcy Pals and seconded by Dennis Tinklenberg approved the resignation. Motion carried.
Letter of Resignation from Susan Johnson, Paraprofessional: A motion by Tami Taubert and seconded by Jeff Baatz approved the resignation. Motion carried.

Letter of Resignation from Carol Mahin, Van Rider (ADDITION): A motion by Wendy Schoolmeester and seconded by Marcy Pals approved the resignation. Motion carried.
Other: None.

Visitors
Community Concerns (3 Minute Limit): Craig Boedekker who teaches at the Colony asked if there was someone from the school that could pay the Colony a personal visit to talk about the school levy.

New Business
Spring Choir Trip Proposal, John Pollmann: Pollman reported to the board that three middle school boys were selected to a state honor choir, which is the highest honor you can get as a singer in the state of Minnesota. The boys are JT Tinklenberg, Bradley Willey and Aaron Reynolds. This is Reynolds third year straight of being selected. Pollman is seeking approval for the high school choir to attend the World Heritage Festival in Chicago April 21 24. Pollman stated the choir has been doing fundraising and will be in a good place financially. He also stated he is not asking for any funds from the school. A motion by Wendy Schoolmeester and seconded by Dennis Tinklenberg approved Mr. Pollman to move forward with the trip to Chicago using the fundraised funds. Motion carried.

Approval of Contracts and/or Work Agreements:
Kristyn Taber, Community Library Aide: A motion by Dennis Tinklenberg and seconded by Tami Taubert approved the work agreement. Motion carried.

Samantha Blake, Paraprofessional/Heartland (ADDITION):
Laura Thode, Paraprofessional (ADDITION):

Tawnia Pater, Paraprofessional (ADDITION):
The above three work agreements were approved under one motion. A motion by Wendy Schoolmeester and seconded by Marcy Pals approved the above work agreements. Motion carried.

Jody Wacker, Speech Assistant (ADDITION): A motion by Marcy Pals and seconded by Tami Taubert approved the work agreement. Motion carried.
Approve Volunteer Coaches for Winter Activities:

Christopher Hoss, Cheerleading Assistant:
Jake Velde, Girls Basketball Assistant:

Jennings Wallace, Gymnastics Assistant:
Warren Bailey, Gymnastics Assistant:

Jon Gorter, Wrestling Assistant:
Tim Haubrich, Wrestling Assistant:

Dan Full, Wrestling Assistant:
Amy Konradi, Speech Assistant:

The above eight volunteers were approved under one motion. A motion by Dennis Tinklenberg and seconded by Jeff Baatz approved the volunteers. Motion carried.

Discuss Date to Canvass Special Election Results: Discussion was held regarding canvassing the election results. A motion by Tami Taubert and seconded by Jeff Baatz approved to set the canvassing meeting for November 9 at 6:30 p.m. Motion carried.

Approve Resolution of School Board Supporting Form A Application to Minnesota State High School League Foundation: A motion by Wendy Schoolmeester and seconded by Tami Taubert approved the resolution. Motion carried.

Approval of Gifts to the School:
Fishback Financial, Donation of $75 to Middle School Student of the Week/Month Program:

Class of 1953 and Roger Appeldorn, Donation of $100 for Student Lunch Accounts:
Class of 1952, Donation of $81.92 for Student Lunch Accounts:

Fundraised from T-Shirt Sales, Donation of $365.00 for Student Lunch Accounts:
The above four gifts were approved under one motion. A motion by Dennis Tinklenberg and seconded by Jeff Baatz approved the above gifts. Motion carried. Chairman Oye expressed thanks from the board for the gifts.

Approval to Declare Technology Items Surplus: A motion by Marcy Pals and seconded by Dennis Tinklenberg approved declaring the technology items surplus. Motion carried.

Monthly Enrollment: Jim Lentz reported the October enrollment was 1144. This was a non-action item.

Approve Carol Nangle as a Volunteer at Hill School (ADDITION): A motion by Wendy Schoolmeester and seconded by Tami Taubert approved Carol Nangle to volunteer. Motion carried.

Other: None.

Old Business
Discussion on Tennis Courts: As directed by the board, Jim Lentz provided the board with potential areas for the tennis courts to be built. Discussion was held about the south side of the school possibly being a wetland. Lisa Houg stated she spoke with Scott Leddy and he had stated it was man made when the school was built so it’s not a wetland. Oye asked Ed Gustafson how much money had been donated or raised before a commitment is made to move dirt in. Mary Lapthorn stated there was no money, and right now they are looking to see what the school’s vision is of where the courts could be built. This was their first step before they started asking for monies and fundraising. Tinklenberg felt they could be placed up front on the south side of the school. He stated it may take a little more fill, but parking is right across the street and he seemed this would be the logical spot to put them. The parent committee is seeking permission to test the soil once a spot is chosen. A motion by Tami Taubert and seconded by Dennis Tinklenberg approved allowing the parent group to move forward with fundraising and soil testing based on the tennis courts being built on the south side of the school with no cost to the school district. Motion carried.

Discussion on Coop with Edgerton for Gymnastics: Jim Lentz stated he asked Athletic Director Clay Anderson to have Edgerton Public Schools write a letter in regards to coop in gymnastics. Lentz said that we hadn’t been approached by the Edgerton School Board, but a mother and daughter and we wanted to know if Edgerton was interested. Discussion was held on past coop’s and the loyalty to the Pipestone athletes that live and attend school here. Kris Ploeger stated she spoke with the Stacie Wallace, head coach and she said the numbers could only help them. A motion by Kris Ploeger and seconded by Dennis Tinklenberg approved to accept the proposal to coop with Edgerton and Southwest Christian in gymnastics based upon mutual acceptance of equal distribution of the cost. Motion carried.

Approval of Updates to Policy 521, Student Disability Nondiscrimination: A motion by Jeff Baatz and seconded by Marcy Pals approved Policy 521. Motion carried.

Approval of Updates to Policy 709, Student Transportation Safety Policy: A motion by Wendy Schoolmeester and seconded by Dennis Tinklenberg approved Policy 709. Motion carried.

Library Board Discussion: Tami Taubert stated Sharon Wolff has volunteered to be the school representative for the library board. A motion by Wendy Schoolmeester and seconded by Marcy Pals approved Sharon Wolff. Motion carried.

Other: None.

Administrative Reports and Information
Administration: Don Plahn spoke about the new staff hired this year and he stated they are all super and he’s very pleased. He discussed school readiness and feeding some of these kid’s lunch. Toni Cunningham has been added as the parent educator to the early childhood program. Plahn stated with the needs of special ed at Brown elementary, there has to be a teacher there all day rather than time shared. He discussed NWEA results and the Continuous Improvement Plan coming up. Cory Strasser stated the quarter end is two weeks away and is preparing for that. A fan bus is going to the state playoff game. He discussed PLC’s and two goals they set. The first goal is literacy and reading skills and how to teach better. The next goal deals with student assignment completion and academic progress. ICU is used to complete a lot of assignments. Over 1000 assignments have been completed with 312 incomplete. On November 3rd the middle school students will be attending WE Day at the Xcel Energy Center. There’s no school that day due to the election. It’s a big concert that all about serving others, moving from “me to we.” Jackie Hess along with two other staff volunteers will be chaperoning the students.

School Board Members: Jeff Baatz stated he was approached by an auctioneer about ground south of town that still has the school district’s name. They are looking to update the deed and asking for a quick claim deed. Marcy Pals asked about the mailings that were sent out pertaining to the levy. Deb Bierstedt stated that per MN statute all land owners in district 2689 are to receive a letter of the notice of the special election. The labels are printed from the Pipestone County Treasurer’s office where property taxes are paid. “If a person owns several parcels of land, I’m only required to send one letter.” Bierstedt then stated “When I go through the labels, I know that letters are going to be returned because some of the landowner’s names on the labels are deceased, but legally I’m still required by law to send a letter.” Kris Ploeger gave an update on the school board committee meeting coming up on Thursday. Sunday students will be going door to door to campaign and will have an information flyer to hand out and plan to hit as much of the town as they can. Ads will be in the Free Star on November 1st and a committee will be calling people to remind them to vote.

Superintendent: Lentz stated he talked about the levy with Jeff Jones and it will be broadcast on cable access. A fan bus will be going to the game and it was sponsored by First Bank and Trust. School will be dismissed at 2:20 that day. Lentz stated ELL is desperately short staffed and may turn to technology for help. He’s looking at a piece of software called Imagination which has a 30 day trial period. He feels we should know in that amount of time if the kids are responding to it. Strasser stated we have to try something to service the students. Lentz stated “Finding one ELL teacher was hard enough, I don’t think we can find another one.” Lentz talked about ALICE training. He said the cost can be up to as much as $10,000. It’s more of an active training. He named several schools and colleges that have done the training. Lentz interviewed for a Food Service Director last week and stated he may have had one that was qualified, but she took her name out, so we are sitting here with nobody in that role. He asked the school board for direction on what they would like him to do. Schoolmeester stated this as a failed search and to start at rock bottom again. The position has been advertised in several different newspapers as well as the website. Lentz stated he is meeting with food service personnel in the next couple of days to discuss taking over some of the roles to get the job done until someone is hired.

Adjournment
There being no further business to discuss, Chairman Oye adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m.

/s/Lance Oye
Lance Oye, Chairman

/s/Wendy Schoolmeester
Wendy Schoolmeester, Clerk

Approved and dated by the board November 23, 2015.

Submitted, Deb Bierstedt.