The Fairfax R-3 School Board met September 17, 2023. Jon Graves, board president, called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Board members in attendance were: Brett Johnson, Chance Clement, Miles Smith, Treyvor Umbarger, and Theresa Larson. Crystal Woodring was absent. Others present were: Nick Kemerling, superintendent; and Karen Burke, secretary.

Trent Kingery spoke to the board regarding transportation with the co-op sports, as most practices are at Tarkio. He is proposing that the students could have the opportunity to drive themselves to and from practices with liability papers that could be signed by parents and asked the board to consider this proposal.

The agenda was approved as presented.

Consent Agenda

Minutes of the August 17 meeting, tax rate hearing, and executive sessions were reviewed.

The financial report was reviewed, as well as monthly bills in the amount of $109,658.36.

Superintendent’s Report

Mr. Kemerling reported on several items in the facilities report:

• Mowing continues to be an issue, especially the banks. We have had volunteers assist with the banks and Craig McAdams was hired once again.

• Galen has repaired a water leak in the football field bathrooms and also replaced the baseboard around the gym bleachers that were damaged when the floor was refinished over the summer

• Volunteers helped with preparing the football facility for the game. Jeff Karston, Jack Bright, and Todd Fogg provided the new gravel around the bleachers at the stadium. Ms. Hagey and her junior high class marked the sidelines.

• Evergy visited the lot north of the gym in August and offered advice regarding reshaping the steep slope which contains two power poles. Mr. Kemerling has been contacted by individuals willing to help with the grade of the lot once it is ready to be graveled.

• There are two trees on the southwest corner of the lot that Mr. Kemerling hopes to use for a future outdoor classroom through grant funds.

• The AC unit in the preschool has been an issue the past month. Donnie Meek has been on campus a few times addressing various issues. He has said this will need to be replaced soon. The smaller unit is the original unit and is over 20 years old.

Food Service:

• Al’s Refrigeration has been here twice in the past month. The technician reported this unit was purchased in 1994-95 and the school should start looking at a replacement.

Transportation:

• The Ford van was repaired in August.

• The board asked Mr. Kemerling in July to look at replacing the minivan (almost 180,000 miles), but thinks they should look at the possibility of adding an additional 10 passenger van in the future to help with student transportation.

In the athletic/activity update it was noted that fall sports are underway, and the marching band placed third in Hamburg at the Popcorn Day celebration.

Principal’s Report

General information was shared about the FFA, Fairfax Marching Pride, three-week D and F reports, Elementary Student Council.

Consent Agenda Approval

The consent agenda was approved.

New Business

The 2023 -2024 conflict of interest ordinance was approved.

The yearly co-op HUDL subscription was discussed. This is the yearly subscription for two gym cameras and one football field camera which will be split between the two schools. Board members voted unanimously to approve the payment for the HUDL cameras in the amount of $11,000.

The Ford van has been repaired as it could not be out of commission until the next board meeting. Repairs in the amount of $1,944.00 were approved.

There was discussion on what the board would like to see for the next school year regarding lawn  service.

Board members voted unanimously to approve the contract of $15,766.51 for the yearly renewal to ACES.

The kindergarten items did not get ordered last spring, and a few additional items are needed due to students who have enrolled since items were purchased last spring. Board members voted to approve $1,214.70 for the purchase of Wonders Reading items.

The East Atchison co-op board met September 6 to discuss renewing the agreement for two more years. The current agreement expires at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Information shared by Tarkio was presented to the board. The Fairfax board is happy with the current agreement and offered no changes for the next two years.

Fairfax R-3 has applied for round two of the state’s School Safety Grant. Fairfax’s enrollment would allow $50,000 to spend if they are awarded the funds. Included in the proposal is replacement of the current bell/intercom/paging system, monitored front doors, internet access/paging and alarm system for football field, and window coverings to use in case of emergency for the ground floor elementary classroom interior and exterior windows

The booster club has asked permission to place a sign(s) on the walk bridge that would say, “Welcome to Fairfax, Home of 1980 Girls’ Basketball Champions and 1994 8-Man Football Champions. This would be cleared through MoDOT.Board members approved to allow the booster club to use the walk bridge for signage.

Board members voted to purchase a new science desktop computer for up to $1,300.

The meeting was then adjourned.