The Fairfax R-3 School Board held a regular meeting July 20, 2023. Jon Graves, board president, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Also in attendance were: Brett Johnson, Chance Clement, Miles Smith, Theresa Larson, Treyvor Umbarger, and Crystal Woodring, board members; Nick Kemerling, superintendent; and Karen Burke, secretary.

The agenda was approved as presented.

Consent Agenda

Board members reviewed minutes of regular and executive sessions on June 15, 2023; a special executive session on June 21, 2023; and a special executive session on June 27, 2023.

Financial information for the month ending June 2023 was reviewed. The fund balance report for 2022-2023 was $1,711,772 compared to $1,446,863 for 2021-2022.

Monthly bills in the amount of $27,287.71 were reviewed and approved for payment.

Superintendent’s Report

Mr. Kemerling reported that the summer mowing crew is doing their best to keep up, but frequent rains are making things difficult. Ms. Clark started work last week and Ms. Wheeler has been released to help with certain jobs. She will help Galen with remaining classrooms that need to be painted. The storage shed on the football field has been cleaned out along with grounds on the west side of the Ag/FACS building. Weeds on all sides of the building and football field bleacher area have been sprayed. Aimee’ Seymour asked permission to work in the flower bed on the south side of the playground.

Mr. Kemerling is waiting on a bid for surfacing the swing area. Tire grants will only allow the school to use the squares which are the most expensive. He was informed pea gravel could be used in the swing space. Chris King of Grounds Control in Tarkio said he can deliver 16.5-18 tons for a total of $728.55 per load. He is waiting for a bid from Andy Spiegel Trucking of Rock Port.

The gym floor was released for use, but bad spots were visible across the floor. Matt Tabor from Hillyard was contacted and decided the entire floor should be refinished. Hillyard refinished the floor on July 20 and the floor will be ready for use on or around August 1.

The Chevy van will go to MC Auto for window repair. The Dodge mini van is in rough shape and Mr. Kemerling advised they should start thinking about the purchase of a replacement.

The board has a counselor candidate for discussion and needs to approve the second AD in executive session.

Principal’s Report

General information included the following:

• Back to School registration will be August 9 from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Registration paperwork is available on the school’s website and in the north entrance of the school.

• Texts, consumables and supplies are being delivered.

• Teacher work days will be August 8 (TeacherEase SIS), August 15, 16, 17, and 22.

• Elementary Back to School night will be Tuesday, August 22.

• School starts August 23. There will be early dismissals on August 23, 24, and 25. Professional Development will be held those afternoons with the staff.

Athletic Information

All sports are concluding their camps and summer competitions.

High school practices start August 7 at Tarkio.

Junior high practices start August 14 at Tarkio.

Practice schedules for August will be posted on the school website and will be sent via Remind and Text Alert.

They are working on the logistics for practice transportation for the fall.

Band members will now be required to have a physical before marching.

The consent agenda was unanimously approved.

New Business

Mr. Kemerling reviewed changes of the 2023-2024 handbooks with the school board. The board requested the Early Graduation Plan be revised and to remove item F in the high school handbook. The 2023-2024 handbooks were approved as presented and discussed.

There was discussion on the Tax Rate Hearing. It is open to the public to discuss tax rates and offer input. Mr. Kemerling’s recommendation was to keep the tax rate the same.

Dr. Bruce Johnson stated the rate has been the same the past several years. Fairfax R-3 is able to increase this rate around $.11, but he recommends keeping the rate steady.The tax rate hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. on August 17, 2023, with the regular board meeting to follow.

The Odysseyware contract was approved as presented. This is used for online classes. A minimum of 21 seats must be purchased.

Bulbs for the current stage lights are becoming more difficult to acquire and the board may consider light replacement in the future. The payment to Ottmann Electric was approved.

Board members approved payment of $1,747.20 to Erate Program Consulting. The school has had Erate since 2015. This program finds funding for the school’s wireless devices and Fairfax R-3 pays them 10%.

Payment of $14,650 to Tarkio Technology Institute (Guaranteed Program) was approved. TTI will reimburse up to 25% of the initial payment, which will put Fairfax R-3 under the $14,500 budgeted amount. Future students who register for one of these two programs will also receive the discount (2023-24 school year).

Old Business

There was discussion on the following:

1) Concrete bid minus sidewalk repair/removal on west side of gym – any time.

2) Old gym window repair – One person looked at the project and declined to bid. Two other individuals expressed their interest to bid as soon as time allowed.

3) Old gym tuckpointing – Dennis Buckles from Forest City on Thursday/Friday

4) East gym foundation – A certified field inspector from Foundation Recovery Systems will be here on Monday. The inspector has previously inspected this issue, but stated he would like more time for a proper inspection of the area under the old stage where the two gym areas connect.

5) Interior gym upgrades – After discussion board members voted to table the facility plan until the August meeting.

The next regular board meeting will be August 17, 2023, following the tax rate hearing at 6:30 p.m. The meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m.