Notes from School Board Meeting on August 26th
Meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM. All members were present with Kathryn Whitaker interacting through virtual.
Superintendent Update:
A. Transportation Update: Kenny Mitchell, Director of Transportation and School Safety, explained to the Board that there had been a loss of 4 bus drivers in the last month and that scheduling of the routes was proving to be difficult. On Monday there were 527 students scheduled and drivers have been in running the different routes trying to plan the flow and efficiency. (Tuesday’s uploading of data brought that number to 645 students to route. Monday brought another 30-35 students to schedule into the process. At this time, no other students will be scheduled for bussing until September 5th ; they are being placed on a list that will be dealt with after things have been up and running for a while.) The time in-between the ending of the AM session and getting those students home and picking up the PM session and getting them to school was found to not be adequate. Some routes run out to Stillwater or others to Hazen, and there is not enough time in the current afternoon break. He added that traffic could also pose another problem. Having more parents at schools dropping off students could affect the efficiency of the bussing. He thanked the staff that had come in and made calls to families trying to help get accurate counts on those planning to bus. Currently buses are set for 28 students on the smaller bus and 30 on the bigger bus. Mr. Mitchell said they had gotten out the tape measure and could possibly get 2 students to a seat on one side and 1 student in the opposite seat, depending on the size of the students. This would add more time to routes, longer times on the bus, and closer contact.
Trustee Buckmaster asked about the reasons for the loss of the drivers. Mr. Mitchell explained that one left for better pay and that the stress of the current situation probably caused the other resignations.
Dr. Stephens added that she has authorized Mr. Mitchell to have 2 of the current mechanics help with the driving right now. There are also a few teachers on staff that have the licensing needed to help out, and possibly Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Dalluge might end up driving some also. There may be ways to utilize the District’s vans to free up a bus.
Trustee Hyde asked about the reality of opening on Monday. Mr. Mitchell responded that he had a deadline of 5 PM on Thursday to come up with a plan that would work because logistically what is currently set will not work.
Trustee Schank asked about making less stop spots and have the parents get students to one main spot instead of the numerous small stops that has been the practice.
Trustee Buckmaster asked about the District’s liability regarding the distance to and time at bus stops. Sharla Hales, the District’s attorney, informed the Board that the District had no responsibility at the gathering spots. It is the parents’ responsibility at unsupervised stops. “Generally, the school does not incur liability until it has custody of the student.”
B. Update of District related items: Dr. Stephens explained the events that lead the District to postpone the start date. The issues with transportation, the late notification on the number of students that were positive for COVID-19, quarantines necessary due to testing or exposures, the effects of that on the ability of various staff to be at school, the number of trained substitutes, and the increase in the number of students going fully remote all played a part in that decision. Currently there are 3,124 K-12 students in the county, 1,082 in the AM sessions, 1,269 in the PM sessions, and 773 online.
On Friday, students will still be able to choose the option of online, but those students will not be starting classes on Monday. Dr. Stephens stated that the District was confident that 100% of the students in the district would have internet access. Parents and anyone working with students are encouraged to go to the individual school sites and look at the ‘Teacher Page’ of the teacher for that student to see what is happening in each classroom, materials being used, and information that will help all students stay on the same page regardless where the learning is taking place. Trustee Stradin praised the quality of work on the ‘Teacher’s Page’ that she had looked at and expressed that they reflected good things about the professional development training days.
Dr. Stephens thanked the many community members and organizations that have helped students receive necessary supplies to start school with, the number of masks that have been donated to the District, and the donations for materials in the classroom.
Business Services Update:
A. Budget to Actual: For the dates of 7-1-2020 through 7-31-2020 the budget numbers were: Instruction-$14, 168,225.00, Student Support-$1,048,194.00, Support Services Instructional Staff-$609,434.00, General Administration-$754,508.00, School Administration-$2,198,432.00, Central Services-$2,316,805.00, Maintenance-$3,912,298.00, Student Transportation-$1,722,417.00, Community Services Operations-$15,650.00, and Contingency $645,000.00. The grand total for the July budget was $27,390,963.00.
B. Update other business items: Christi Fielding informed the Board that the audit was coming up in a couple weeks. There is a training for the CARES Act funding that she will be attending to get more clarity on how those funds may be spent.
Consent Agenda: Approved. Voucher for 8-12 to 8-24 of 2020 totaled $1,227,183.58.
Old Business:
A. Update regarding the FY21 budget: Dr. Stephens commented that they were still waiting on more clarity as to how to some of the funds were to be spent.
Meeting was adjourned at 6:48 PM
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