EXCERPTS of USD #384 Regular Board of Education Meeting

A Regular Board of Education meeting for USD #384 Blue Valley was held on April 18, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room.  Members present were Mitch Innes, Jason Hartman, Reo Shultz, Stephen Corkill, Amy Cassel, and Melissa Geisler; and Tim Innes via GoogleMeets.  Administration present was John Cox, Superintendent, and Alison Moore, Board Clerk.

CALL TO ORDER:  President, Jason Hartman called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

APPROVE THE AGENDA: The Board approved the agenda as written. Stephen moved to accept; Amy second; motion passed 7-0.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Board and guests recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 

WELCOME GUESTS: President, Jason Hartman welcomed our guests. 

POSITIVE BOARD COMMENTS: 

  1. Mitch said baseball had a good turnout and he is hoping to see the high turnout at all the home games.

  2. Stephen said prom, promenade, and after prom were very well put together and the kids had a good time.

  3. Amy said they have started trap practice with great success and have added 3 new members to the team this season.

  4. Reo said PTO and Boots & Bling had another successful night and raised about $6,200.

Tim Innes exited meeting at 6:11p.m.

SPECIAL REPORTS: 

  1. FCCLA went to state and has 3 events going onto Nationals. Norah, Kelbi, and Olissa are going for projects; Lydia is on the Peer Ed Team; and Brenna will be a judge. Nationals are in Denver July 2-6. Parents may go but will have to pay their way, and students will raise their money.

  2. Farren presented a new intercom system, starting with the high school. Mr. Meals is concerned with prior lockdown drills and not all areas of the school were aware. Two companies were consulted: 

    1. Valcom – consists of IP speaker with text and flashing lights; horns for the gym; quoted at $33,426.09.

    2. Voice Connex – IP speaker with no text option; $13,398 for HS and $5,500 for AG building and fitness center

    3. Both options run on VOIP system; management would be web-browser based; Farren not concerned with possibly having to piece together; wiring. 

    4. Summertime install so as not to disrupt the district.

RECOGNITION OF STUDENTS/STAFF: 

  1. Student of the Month:

    1. McCormick Elementary School – Brecken Shultz

    2. Blue Valley Middle School – Turner Closson

    3. Blue Valley High School – Philip Desbien

  2. Staff of the Month:

    1. Dale Hoch

PRINCIPAL REPORTS: 

  1. MES – Kindergarten Round-Up was April 17th and they have 24 students for 2023-2024; the Dalla horse, Jalle, has been placed out front of the building, field trips have been scheduled for the end of April and the kids are all excited; April 24th is the MES Spring concert at BVHS.

  2. RMS – 8th grade promotion is right around the corner; with the end of the year coming up, please make sure any outstanding fees are paid to the district office; Royal Blue and Crimson Red trips were a huge success.

  3. BVHS – Baseball opener was May 17th and had a great experience; BV career day had 24 vendors that were either college or career; Wakefield and Flint Hills Christian attended; RealityU struck students seriously; one suggestion was that students were unsure of questions to ask vendors so possibly look at prepping them next year; Royal Blue took 40 students to Omaha and students had a great time; Crimson Red went bowling at the Union and had a good time.

SUPERINTENDENT REPORT: 

  • Scholarship Fund – best option would possibly be Edward Jones; possibly lower the amount so money lasts longer; possibly BV Endowment Foundation?

  • Fuel Tank – look at purchasing a large supply since now we have microbuses; how to secure them? Possibly key with vehicle keys for tank? Camera access to monitor tank?

  • Ricoh vs Canon – how long has the small printer been in the Ag shop? To anyone’s knowledge, it’s been there since bond, so about 5 years is anybody’s guess.

  • Food contract – with new bids possibly coming in, a committee will be formed to review the options; it is suggested to be a BOE member, a parent, a staff member from each building, a student from the HS, and an administrator.

OPEN FORUM: Bill Heinen addressed the Board regarding health insurance. Bill was told by the prior superintendent that at age 65 he would be removed from the school insurance. He has since found out that another employee, who is older than 65, is still utilizing the school insurance. He states that because of his being removed, the district is saving $8,124 per year in premiums. Bill requested that the BOE reimburse him for the lost benefit via 403B, cash, or pay for his Medicare supplement. He also mentioned that another employee was offered a health policy as inducement to take a position, and that bus drivers are offered the benefit also.

CONSENT AGENDA: The Board approved the Consent Agenda as follows: 

  1. Approved Minutes: March 6, 2023 Regular Board of Education Meeting 

  2. Approved Receipts 

  3. Approved Hirings: Farren Constable – Robotics Sponsor; Marion Mazouch – ½ Middle School Math and Driver’s Education; Jonathan Meals – ½ High School Business; April Brenner – Head Middle School Volleyball Coach; Brittany Pfaff – Assistant Middle School Volleyball Coach; Brooke Moser – Head High School Volleyball Coach

  4. Approved Resignations: Leslie Jessip – High School ELA; Colleen Hampton – High School Science; Amy Young – TLEC; Andrea Correll – 5th Grade; Emily Cassel – Middle School Head Volleyball Coach; Caley Brenner – Middle School Assistant Volleyball Coach

  5. Jessica Davis applied and received the Riley County 21st Judicial District Joint Correction Advisory Board Grant for $900.

  6. Out of District – none.

Stephen moved to approve the consent agenda; Mitch second; motion passed 6-0.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

  1. FCCLA Out-of-state trip – Stephen moved to approve trip; Reo second; motion passed 6-0.

  2. Canon Copier Contract – continue contract and order new toner for Ag shop printer since it seems that $1500 toner lasted for roughly 5 years.

  3. Ricoh Copier Bid – no action

  4. Thermal Comfort HVAC Quote – remove.

  5. HS HVAC Quote – can be done this summer; Would it benefit to do one unit at HS and one unit at MS?

Mitch moved to proceed with the HVAC replacement at $18,336 pending answers; Jason amended to after July 1st with BOE and new administration for the situation to be looked at; Mitch second the amendment; amendment failed with no vote.

  1. Thermal Comfort Preventative Maintenance Contract – Reo moved to accept new contract; Mitch second; motion passed 6-0.

Board adjourned for a 5-minute break at 7:30 p.m. and reconvened at 7:35 p.m.

  1. District Visioning Proposal – keep looking for a Kindergarten teacher (already posted); start a facility study for long-term needs; develop long-term facility improvement plans.

Stephen motioned to accept hiring the 2nd para; Mitch second; motion passed 6-0.

NEW BUSINESS:

  1. Personnel - The Board held an executive session at 8:55 p.m. for 5min to discuss personnel with John Cox present. The purpose of the executive session is to protect the privacy interests of an identifiable individual.  

At 9:00 p.m. the board asked for 2 more minutes. At 9:02 p.m. the board asked for 2 more minutes. Meeting reconvened at 9:04 p.m. and it was noted that no action was taken during the executive session. 

  1. The money from the Endowment will be left in the bank while other options are investigated to see if any returns would be more beneficial.

Future Agenda Items: 

  1. Endowment

  2. DVT

  3. Negotiations

Adjournment: Jason moved to adjourn; Stephen second; meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. 

Alison Moore, Board Clerk