Karen Burke, right, administered the oath of office to Courtney Grossman, left, and Shelby Hurst, middle.
The Fairfax R-3 School District Board of Education held a reorganizational meeting April 15, 2024. Jon Graves, board president, called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. Also present were: Brett Johnson, Chance Clement, Crystal Woodring, Miles Smith, and Treyvor Umbarger, board members; Jeremy Burright, principal; Nick Kemerling, superintendent; Karen Burke, secretary; Courtney Grossman, Shelby Hurst, Lexi Heck, Kailey Miller, and representatives of the fourth grade class. Theresa Larson was absent.
The election results were read. Those elected for three year terms were Shelby Hurst and Courtney Grossman. Jon Graves read the election results from the Atchison County Clerk’s office. No election was required with two seats open and two people filed.
Karen Burke, secretary read the oath of office to Courtney Grossman and Shelby Hurst.
Officers elected were: Miles Smith, board president; Crystal Woodring, vice-president; and Karen Burke, secretary/treasurer.
Miles Smith, Karen Burke, Crystal Woodring, and Treyvor Umbarger were appointed as check signers for the Fairfax R-3 School District.
The reorganization meeting adjourned at 6:41 p.m.
Miles Smith, board president, called the regular meeting to order at 6:41 p.m. Also in attendance were: Brett Johnson, Chance Clement, Crystal Woodring, Treyvor Umbarger, Courtney Grossman, and Shelby Hurst, board members; Nick Kemerling, superintendent; Jeremy Burright, principal; and Karen Burke, secretary.
Consent Agenda
Board members reviewed the minutes of the March 16, 2023, regular and executive sessions and March 31, 2023, special open and executive sessions. The financial report was also reviewed. The monthly bills in the amount of $92,131.27 were reviewed and approved for payment.
Superintendent’s Report
The applicant for the science position has decided not to pursue the opportunity at this time.
The three-year AHERA inspection (Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act) was recently completed. The report showed there has been no change since the last report.
The school received the retest results for lead testing in all of the water outlets. During the retest the only outlets that failed were the sinks in the science room, one sink in the FACS room, and the sink in the ag shop restroom. The school was given options to remediate the failed outlets which included faucet replacement, adding filtration systems, and hanging signs. It was decided to hang “hand washing only” signs on all outlets except in the FACS room, where a filtration system will be added. Almost $5,000 has been spent on the multiple tests, all of which will be refunded at the completion of their testing.
Midwest Data Center will start working on the door project at the end of next week. They worked today on having internet accessible at the football field and installing speakers for emergency notifications.
The first bid was received on tuckpointing in the old gym. Dennis Buckles submitted a bid of $5,500 to replace/repair interior spots in the gym, but did say the window bays should be fixed prior to any work on the brick inside – look at facility report for new.
Wyatt Noel from Oregon has mowed all of the banks for a second time this year while the school has mowed the football field and around the other buildings.
Galen Vernon has sprayed weeds around the buildings and will work on the fence and ditch areas on the football field.
Jeremy Lewis treated the football field in March as part of his schedule.
Chris Kiddio from St. Joseph looked at the wood flooring in the high school hallways and classrooms. He will be submitting a bid to strip all the flooring down to the original wood. The school will then determine if it would be more cost effective to have his company do the stripping while school workers do the finishing. Mr. Kiddio stated these types of floors should have the finish sanded off every 15 years at the most and the issues with bubbling could be solved by doing this. He also looked at the gym floor and thought the hump in the middle could be remedied when it is decided to sand down to the wood.
Mr. Kemerling gave an update on spring sports teams.
Coaches are working on the summer schedules.
Superintendent’s Spotlight
The fourth grade students of Mrs. Lexi Heck and Mrs. Kailey Miller gave a presentation on Project Lead the Way.
Principal’s Report
Dr. Kemerling reported on general information. Preschool and kindergarten screenings were held. Four kindergarten students and nine preschool students were screened (including current students).
The last day of school and awards assemblies will be held on Wednesday, May 15.
Graduation will take place Sunday, May 19, at 1:00 p.m.
Cowen O’Riley and Amelia Larson received Second Team All-Conference honors for Scholar Bowl.
Everyone received a “2” (outstanding/silver) rating with the exception of Lexi Brown who received a “1” (exemplary/gold) rating.
New Business
The following payments were approved: First Student, $1,847.78, March Vo-Tech; Falls City Mercantile, $6,184.93, food service supplies; School Insight, $6,976.54, renewal for the Teacher Ease SIS system for the 2024-25 school year; MFA Oil, $1,152.03, March fuel bill; and Mound City School District, $6,490, for the second half of Fairfax R-3’s 2023-24 contract to use Mound City’s SLP Services.
Chance Clement volunteered to fill the vacated spot on the co-op board. He and Miles Smith will represent Fairfax.
The school is working on part of a payment to Connections Counseling and Wellness being reimbursed by grant funds solicited by Northwest Health Services. Payment of $2,376.40 to Connections Counseling and Wellness was approved.
The senior class currently has $7,579 in their account and the trip should cost around $4,700. Board members unanimously approved the itinerary and budget that was presented to the board.
The bid upgrade from Midwest Data Center was discussed. This will be reimbursed by Safety Grant funds. Fairfax R-3 has paid almost $28,000 to Midwest Data Center for equipment and labor deposits, and the project will total around $40,000. Board members voted to approve the extra $2,685 to install devices that will connect the north and south doors on a buzz in system that can be accessed in both the high school and elementary offices.
