The Rock Port R-II School Board of Education held a regular meeting November 12, 2020.

Vice-President Harold Lawrence called the regular meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Other members present were Joanna Burke, Regan Griffin, Afton Schomburg, and Rich Dewhirst. President Jeremy Davis and member Dan Lucas were absent. Others in attendance were Superintendent Ethan Sickels, High School Principal Donnie Parsons, Elementary Principal Steve Waigand, and Board Secretary Debbie Young.

The agenda was adopted and the minutes of the regular meeting of October 15, 2020, were approved. Mr. Sickels reviewed the financial information for the month ending October 2020. The transfer of funds, the October final check register, the November check register to date, and the activity account checks were approved. Mr. Sickels read correspondence from Dr. Aron Burke, Troy Cook, and from the family of Gary Bennington.

Mr. Waigand reported October attendance was 97.14% (178 students, +1 from last month). Elementary students participated in a mock 2020 Presidential election. Final results on the day were Donald Trump (136) and Joe Biden (37). If only the real-life results would be this timely as well. The students have thoroughly enjoyed watching the election and Electoral College map process unfold. November’s Energy Bus Principle is “Drive with Purpose.” The focus this month is on work ethic and taking action. The second virtual Energy Bus Rally was held November 2 and recognized students who were creating a positive vision. Students meeting their first quarter Accelerated Reader goals were also recognized on the video. The video is available on the school website, Twitter, and in the most recent parent newsletter. Parent-teacher conferences were held October 28 and 29. A special thank you to the teachers for the time and effort they put into making this an informative and meaningful time together. Also, a big thank you to parents for their support with the additional procedures in place for the conferences. There were 188 out of 198 conferences attended (95% participation rate) in preschool through sixth grade. Red Ribbon Week was celebrated October 26-30 with themed dress-up days to promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. Devon Sons presented the ALICE intruder training to grades K-6 in small groups throughout the day on October 28. Citizens Bank & Trust was thanked for the individually wrapped goodie bags for all the elementary students. Upcoming dates were reviewed as well as staff professional development.

Mr. Parsons reported high school attendance through November 6, 2020, was 94.02% (155 students). He stated they are holding steady on student enrollment and there are no changes on MO-CAP student numbers. The school is seeing the benefits of available technology as the list of quarantined students grows. With state cross country and district football behind us, fall sports are officially over and athletes are on to winter activities. Parent/Teacher Conferences were held in October and 21 of 155 students (14%) had parents conference and/or get grades. They are currently considering alternatives to current structure of conferences since PowerSchool has dramatically increased parents’ access to information, issues are addressed immediately, and a vast majority of parents who attend are in-district teachers. Fall sports awards were given as follows: Volleyball: 275 Conference Co-champs, and seven individual postseason award recipients; Cross Country: state qualifiers were Caleb (40th) and Aubrey (19th); Football: two individual postseason award recipients. Preliminary winter sports participation numbers were reviewed. All home athletic events and school performances will be broadcasted on YouTube https://www.you tube.com/channel/UC6Ezs WCbdr0hZLIk3a2Qdfw. All 275 Conference schools’ event regulations are public and may be viewed at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mw4-t3QHmBlD6ZwepbngV7S NEcVYhNbaOtjGnvhrr98/edit?usp=sharing. Review this information if you plan to attend any away games. At a minimum, all schools must provide six feet of separation between players and fans.

Mr. Sickels reviewed the monthly program evaluation report on the district safety plan. He updated the board on attendance and numbers of students and staff in quarantine, and reported all students in the district will move to virtual distance learning beginning Monday, November 16 through Tuesday, November 24. Lunch will be available for pickup on those days. Following Thanksgiving break, the school plans to return to in-person learning on Monday, November 30, with masks required for all students and staff in an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus as well as decrease the numbers of people quarantined due to exposure. Mr. Sickels reported the new copier lease begins the first of the year with the new copiers to be delivered over Christmas break. He stated the 2019-2020 audit should be ready to present to the board at the December regular meeting. Mr. Sickels discussed the Food and Nutrition reimbursements under the Seamless Summer Option and stated he is exploring whether it would be better financially for the district to switch to the Department of Health Summer Feeding Program. He will keep the board updated as he receives more details. Mr. Sickels reviewed the CSIP committees and noted which would need board member volunteers to serve.

Board member Reagan Griffin reported on the monthly TABS meeting.

The board proceeded to address several items of new business. Action was taken to establish board filing dates for the April 6, 2021, election, to approve the MSBA board policy maintenance agreement, to approve a contract with Ann Chambers, CTVI for visually impaired services; and to approve the 2020-2021 agreement for special education services with the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children who are Visually Impaired. Action was taken to approve amendments to the 2020-2021 budget as presented by Mr. Sickels. Consideration was given to bids for custodial equipment with approval given to purchase a floor scrubber, floor stripper, and carpet extractor from Hillyard. Consideration was given to maintenance projects with approval given to accept the bid from Gary Davis for a new sidewalk near the east parking lot, and approval was given to accept the bid from Pioneer Material, Inc. for new exterior doors at the east end of Blue Jay hall and the dome. Action was also taken to approve the addition of baseball and softball for the 2021-2022 school year. The board adjourned to executive session for student matters. Upon returning to open session, the board reported action was taken in closed session to approve the minutes of the executive session of October 15, 2020. Following a brief discussion of future business items the meeting was adjourned.