The Tarkio R-I Board Of Education met January 20, 2021, at Tarkio High School. The Board of Education meeting was called to order by President Garrett Wood at 7:00 p.m. Board members in attendance were: Jamie Barnett, Heather Olson, Josh Wright, and Sam Hannah. Ann Schlueter joined the meeting at 7:05 p.m. Chris Yates was absent. Others in attendance Superintendent Karma Coleman, board secretary Lanette Hogue, Tarkio Elementary Principal Kari Taylor, and Tarkio High School Principal Carrie Livengood.

The consent agenda and  district obligations were approved.

CTA reports were presented. The junior high/high school bands and choirs are preparing for MSHSAA’s Statewide Music Festivals. All students are preparing to perform in a small group with no director. In February, the high school band will be performing at the annual County Band Day. Fourth grade is working on author’s purpose of a text. In social studies, the fourth grade has been working on a unit on the 13 original colonies.

Rachel Meyer presented on the happenings at the TAC. They currently have 103 children enrolled in dance, gymnastics, and cheer.

Elementary Principal Taylor reported that the elementary had 93% attendance for December and 177 enrolled in PreK-5. They currently have two students in virtual learning. Five students are currently in quarantine and one staff member is positive for COVID. Kindergarten students are working hard in the classroom. First grade students are becoming more independent readers and most of them have taken the STAR assessment for the first time. Second grade students are developing grit. They have been doing a lot of work in Google Classroom and all students are proficient with utilizing technology in Classroom. Third through fifth graders are continuing curriculum work. This quarter, they are working on students having an active role in setting their own goals. Kindergarten through fifth grades are piloting My View to determine whether to purchase it as the ELA basal/resource.

High School Principal Livengood reported the high school currently has 172 children enrolled in 6-12th grades. The high school has many events going on with basketball and wrestling. One child is taking virtual classes this semester. The leadership team continues to work on CSIP. Surveys have been sent out to staff and parents. Junior High Scholar Bowl won the home meet on January 14. They have 14 students on the team. The EA Girls’ Basketball team won the Fairfax Tournament. EA will host a home wrestling meet on Thursday, January 21, 2021. The high school currently has 13 students out on quarantine. All students who are currently on quarantine were exposed outside of school. The high school scholar bowl team has 16 students. There are 16 students eligible for National Honor Society this spring. District basketball will look a little bit different this year with each higher seeded team hosting districts at their school for each round of games.

Superintendent Coleman gave a financial report. The pro-ration factor for the state payment continues to increase. Tarkio R-I was paid at $.93 for January. She reported that both Sam Hannah and Garrett Wood have filed for re-election for the board. There were only two open spots for the board and two filers, so the school will not have to pay for an election this year.

The MSBA put out a poll to ask how boards felt about moving the school board elections from April to November. Mrs. Coleman and some of the board members will be meeting with Martin Mechanical to go over some options to improve the heat system at the high school. Mrs. Coleman reported that food service totals that are currently in the red are down significantly from four years ago when Mrs. Swaby took over the food service department. They continue to work on the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan. Mrs. Coleman reminded board members to do their required training. Mrs. Coleman gave a legislative report and stated that there are some pieces of legislation being pushed through that are very harmful to public education. Watch SB 55. Bids will be accepted for grounds maintenance. A brief report was given on the interview process for the high school principal’s position.

Ann Schlueter moved and Sam Hannah seconded to approve the first reading of the calendar for 2021-2022. The motion carried 6-0. Ann Schlueter moved and Heather Olson seconded to approve the hiring of Tabitha Gibson to help with interventions in the elementary. The motion carried 6-0.

The meeting moved into closed session at 8:30 p.m. The meeting moved out of closed session and adjourned at 9:20 p.m.