School Board Meeting Minutes April 14, 2021

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR WAYNE SCHOOL DISTRICT ON WEDNESDAY APRIL 14th, 2021 AT 6:00 PM at WAYNE HIGH SCHOOL.

THOSE PRESENT:

Absent: Curtis Whipple – Member

Conducting: Shawn Davis

ADMINISTRATION

Shawn Davis called the meeting to order. 

Pledge of Allegiance.

Reverence is offered by Liz Torgerson.

Cory makes a motion to approve the minutes from 3/17/21 and 3/26/21. Liz seconds the motion. All in favor.

Loa Elementary Report

Students from Ashlee Jackson’s and Bailey Torgerson’s classes teach us about shapes and share what they would like to be when they grow up. 

Students from Wendy Potter’s and Colene Gardner’s classes introduce themselves and teach us about wolves and sloths from their book reports. 

Students from MarJean Davis’ and Stacie Ekker’s classes share about their reading goals, activities, and how many books have been read by the students.

Austin Moore explains that the students have been working on a wax museum where the students research a historical character and present as that character. Two students give presentations. 

A student from Trena Barlow’s class shares some of what his class has been learning, including the states and capitals, science experiments, and other projects. 

Cherie Blackburn thanks the students and teachers for their participation. She expresses that her staff is willing to dig in and do anything that is asked of them.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Tyler provides a review of the FY22 Legislative Estimates, which includes a 6% increase to the WPU and some other minor increases. He reviews the state of the General Budget, citing a slight increase in spending year-over-year. The School Lunch Fund has increased revenues of 16% with added expenses of 7% due to the free-lunch eligibility for all students this year. Transportation costs are down 6% due to a decrease in activity, but rising fuel costs will offset some of that gain between now and the end of the year. The original ESSER grant has largely been spent and ESSER II will begin to be utilized within the next couple months.

Shawn asks about a $500 payment to Sunglow Café. Tyler responds that it is a purchase of gift cards for birthdays for employees.

April makes a motion to pay the bills. Cory seconds. All in favor. 

CITIZEN COMMENTS

No citizen comments

INFORMATION ITEMS

Shawn Davis explains that the school board has to make some difficult decisions and expresses that they have tried to do what is best for kids. He says every member of the school board invests a lot of time and effort into this. He thanks those who have applied for jobs and explains that we have hired a number of individuals. 

Shawn, April, and Liz express appreciation for those who applied for positions and for the administrators. They are looking forward to a good upcoming year.

Superintendent’s Report

Summer school will be held M-W starting June 7 and going through the end of July. It will be held at the middle school. The week of the 4^th of July will be off. Lance has spent a lot of time preparing things and encouraging students to attend.

April asks if the kids need to sign up and be there every day. Randy responds that it would certainly be better if kids were there the whole time. He says we likely won’t turn kids away. Cherie says she would prefer for parents to commit so that teachers can be prepared. The purpose is for rigorous instruction, not for daycare. 

The classes will be from 9 am to 1 pm. Overall plans have been developed and some specific details are still being worked out.

Committee Reports

Superintendent Shelley says that we discussed getting community feedback for facilities development and planning. He suggests that we provide a survey to gather input. April recommends we use a mailer with the information that we have and when we will be discussing options. Liz proposes that we provide information on the condition of our buildings and what our priorities are. 

April would like to talk to architects and get some idea of what a traditional build would cost and be able to show what it would look like. She would like to hear pros and cons from combining schools, including the loss of NESS money. We need to plan for the future. There are many considerations in this decision.

Randy says it is hard to maintain the two secondary schools based on enrollment. 

Members of the board convey that they would like to gather public input and then provide something tangible to constituents. They discuss various questions that could be asked. 

Mike Petree said he would like to have more information before providing feedback. 

Board Training

Randy discusses various training opportunities and recommends that we do a book study for future training. 

Other Items

Shawn discusses the Trust Lands proposed budget for 2021/2022 for Wayne High School. April asks about the “Departments” line item. David Chappell explains that it is for supplies for various classes. He also explains the “Character Education” line item. Shawn explains that the students can take the ACT for free the first time using these funds. 

Fraud Risk Assessment

Tyler provides a review of the Fraud Risk Assessment required by the State Auditor’s office. He talks about the separation of duties and mitigating controls that have been implemented.

BUSINESS ITEMS

Policies

Shawn asks Liz to work on a few policies. Liz talks about the tuition reimbursement policy. She describes how it works at Sevier School District. Randy expresses that there is a great need for this money because there are many teachers on LEA-specific licenses. Cory says it is important that the application process happens early. Randy expresses that we can set aside other money outside of Title II funds if that is a priority. 

First Reading

April makes a motion to approve first readings of CEB-District Emergency Response Plan, CJ-Transportation, CJAA-Transportation Planning and Funding Funding, CJAB-Transportation Planning and Funding Evaluation, CJAC-Transportation Planning and Funding route Planning, CJAD-Transportation Planning and Funding School Site Selection, CJBA-Transportation Personnel Director of Transportation, CJBB-Transportation Personnel Operators and Mechanics, CJBC-Transportation Personnel Training, CJCA-Transportation Equipment Buses, CJCB-Transportation Equipment Inspection and Maintenance, CJDA-Transportation Operations Communication, CJDB-Transportation Operations Pupil Management, CJDC-Transportation Operations Lights and Railroad Crossings, CJDD-Transportation Operations Emergencies, CJDG-Transportation Operations Electronic and Telecommunications Devices. Cory seconds. All in favor. 

Second Reading

Liz makes a motion to table policy BL-Administrative Personnel. April seconds. All in favor.

Third Reading

Cory makes a motion to approve policies BM-Charter Schools Charter School Sponsorships, BU-District Annual Reports, CB-Procurement, CBA-General Procurement Policies. April seconds. All in favor.

New Hires

April makes a motion to approve the new hires. Liz seconds. All in favor.

Cory makes a motion to approve appointments. April seconds. All in favor.

April asks about transfers versus new hires. There is discussion regarding whether moving existing employees to new positions need to be approved by the board.  

Employee Separations

Cory makes a motion to approve employee separations. Liz seconds. All in favor.

CLOSED SESSION

April makes a motion to go into closed session per Utah Code Annotated Section 52-4-205(1)(a) at 7:27 pm.  Liz seconds. 

Open meeting resumes at 9:44 pm

Shawn adjourns the meeting at 9:44 pm.