The Fairfax R-3 School Board held a regular board meeting September 15, 2016. Present were: Deanna Beck, Doug Miller, Chris Smith, Josh Oswald, Jon Graves, Matt Heits, and Mike Lewis, board members; Michael Garrett, superintendent; Dustin Barnes, principal; Karen Burke, secretary; and Libby Lotter and Aimee’ Seymour, CTA representatives.
AGENDA–
Board members voted to approve the agenda as presented.
MINUTES & FINANCIAL REPORT/MONTHLY RECONCILIATION–
The board reviewed the minutes from the August 18 regular and executive meetings, August 18 tax rate hearing and August 4 special meeting. The board reviewed the financial report and the monthly reconciliation report indicating a liquid balance of $568,547.59 as of August 31, 2016. Dr. Garrett reviewed the fund balance with the board, indicating a total balance of all institutions at $783,234.19 as of September 15, 2016.
PAYMENT OF BILLS–
The August monthly bills in the amount of $123,140.06 were reviewed and approved for payment.
K-12 PRINCIPAL’S
REPORT–
Mr. Barnes reviewed the following:
• 275 Conference Professional Development Day, Monday, September 19.
• The band has a full slate of events coming up.
• Three week progress reports have gone out and mid-terms are just around the corner.
• Teachers are busy getting their growth plans set for the year. Teachers are exploring new and innovative ways to increase student engagement with technology.
• Grades 3 – 8 MAP results are in. Scores were very good and comparable to last year. Mr. Barnes will have a breakdown of Fairfax grades vs. the state averages.
• Fall sports are underway. A lot of kids participating in several sports offerings. A co-op board meeting was held. Scheduling of events for next year is under way. There has been discussion about combining the Fairfax and Tarkio volleyball tournaments. There has also been discussion on fundraising and team camps as well.
SUPERINTENDENT’S
REPORT–
Dr. Garrett reminded those board members who have not yet taken the MUSIC training they need to do so as soon as possible.
The school is waiting on bills in order to make an insurance claim for the rest of the payments of approximately $70,000. The $1,000 deductible was paid.
The school is meeting all requirements for their special education program which gives them a rating of 4.
Fairfax utilizes the Head Start program but has not yet signed the agreement due to a couple of sentences in the agreement. Communication has been made to resolve any issues.
The shortage of teachers and how the cost of education has gone up was discussed at the 275 Conference Superintendents meeting. They will be talking to legislative representatives and universities about this concern.
Kids are busy most every night of the week with meets and practices. Coordinating for buses and practices has been a concern. Fairfax will be sharing a lot of resources with Tarkio in the future. Dr. Garrett is meeting with the Tarkio transportation director to help resolve the issue.
Fairfax food service staff and Community Hospital-Fairfax will do cross training with each other, working together with the food programs and sharing information. They hope to come up with some new ideas and be a little more creative with their programs.
The school’s annual submission to FER for special education funding has been completed and approved.
CONSENT AGENDA–
Doug Miller made a motion to approve the consent agenda.
NEW BUSINESS–
Dr. Garrett reviewed regulations and policy with the school board.
Board members voted to approve the following policies and regulations: P0324, P2180, P2526, P2550, P2655, P2755, P2785, P4121, P6271, P7131, P7132, P7210, R0342. R2785, R4221. R7131 and R7132.
The policy “Non-Certified Holiday Pay P4330, P0510” has been questioned and the wording is somewhat vague. Discussion was held as to whether or not non-certified staff should or should not be paid for the holidays that are adopted by the school district. After discussion, it was tabled until next regular board meeting in order for the attorney to draw up the wording for this policy. The consensus and planned end result is to pay non-certified personnel for the holidays listed in the policy at the rate at which they would work on an average day.
The school’s attorneys have recommended that the school no longer have a sick leave pool as it is in violation of several laws. Board members voted to dissolve the pool and donate back to current employees only their sick leave time donated.
The co-op committee met and discussed options for volleyball tournaments, and the board reviewed those options. It was the consensus of the board for the co-op to move forward with their planning of consolidation.
There has been an ongoing increase in concussion awareness. The schools need to determine a procedure for the East Atchison program. The co-op committee will discuss this further.
Board members voted to sell the CFK building. Sealed bids will be accepted through the November 17, 2016, board meeting. The board reserves the right to refuse any and all bids.
The common practices and interview processes were reviewed with the board. The board recommended having a meet and greet day with all faculty and staff in order for the board to have an opportunity to meet the new staff members.
ANNOUNCEMENTS/
MISCELLANEOUS–
The next regular board meeting will be Thursday, October 20, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. in the library.
Board members voted to go into executive session as allowed by the Revised Statutes of Missouri 610.021.3 and 610.021.6.