EXCERPTS of USD #384 Regular Board of Education Meeting
A Regular Board of Education meeting for USD #384 Blue Valley was held on May 8, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room. Members present were Mitch Innes, Jason Hartman, Reo Shultz, Melissa Geisler, and Tim Innes. 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. Mitch moved to accept; Tim second; motion passed 5-0.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Board and guests recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
WELCOME GUESTS: President, Jason Hartman welcomed our guests.
POSITIVE BOARD COMMENTS:
1. Mitch congratulated HS boys track and baseball seasons.
2. Reo said the Olsburg trips and events have been successful and are making great memories for the students.
3. Melissa said the music programs went well.
SPECIAL REPORTS:
1. Samantha Jones read her resignation letter. She does not feel with the changes being made with the growth in the district, that she can focus on growing the music aspect in the students like she would like to, so she regretfully resigns her position.
2. Kerry Mazouch requests a 1-year leave of absence. Her youngest daughter just had a baby, which arrived early, and Kerry would like to stay home with the baby for one year until daycares in Kansas City are more readily available to accept the baby. Kerry said that she has done this before when she took time off to take care of her mother so she’s hoping the BOE will understand how much she loves being the librarian and that she does not want to retire, and she does want to return the following school year.
RECOGNITION OF STUDENTS/STAFF:
1) Student of the Month:
a) McCormick Elementary School – Elliott Dunstan
b) Blue Valley Middle School – Ben Klocke
c) Blue Valley High School – Skyler Zoeller
PRINCIPAL REPORTS:
1) MES – Students have done a lot of traveling these past two weeks to the Cosmosphere, Topeka Discovery Center, Topeka Zoo, Milford Lake, and Lazy Heart D Ranch. May 12th is the Annual MES Talent Show and Field Day – students will participate in long jump, softball throw, obstacle course, hurdles, tug of war, sack races, and enjoy a popsicle! Friday May 19th is the last day of school!
2) RMS – 5th and 6th grade field trip is still in the works; 7th and 8th grade will attend Day at the K on May 11th. As the school year comes to an end, please be sure to pay your outstanding balances to the District Office so that it doesn’t hold up your student’s enrollment for the 23-24 school year.
3) BVHS – Varsity baseball had a big win over Wilson Dragons and Jackson Heights Cobras. Then HS Boys Track placed 2nd at Jefferson County North Track Invitational. Earth Day Service Event had 72 students and 14 adults log almost 344 hours on April 21st. Senior Sneak has been giving daily updates on happenings. MS/HS Student Handbook Review Committee will meet May 16th, May 22nd, and May 30th.
SUPERINTENDENT REPORT:
· Food Service – contacted by 1 bidder and they said district is too small. Mitch is BOE member on review committee; meeting set for May 17th at 3:30pm; and then start negotiations.
· Fuel Tank – still negotiating prices with Wanklyn.
· Preschool Playground – Jessica needs to decide on shed and concrete walkway around the outside edge first.
OPEN FORUM:
1. Anthony presented that classified staff raises are “not fair” – percentage on teacher’s wages aren’t equal to hourly wage. Other districts have step scales for classified staff. The classified staff don’t get a lot of advocacy for them and all the hard work they do.
2. Beth said that the public was not made aware of the special meeting on Monday.
3. Kylie thanked the board for holding the meeting on Monday for the items that needed action and being proactive for the district.
CONSENT AGENDA: The Board approved the Consent Agenda as follows:
1. Approved Minutes: April 18, 2023 Regular Board of Education Meeting and May 1, 2023 Special Board of Education Meeting
2. Approved Receipts
3. Approved Hirings: Quinton Cravens – High School Head Football Coach; Amanda Wetter – K-1 Paraeducator 23-24; Cassie Llewellyn – K-1 Paraeducator 23-24; Kim Ross – K-1 Teacher; Mackenzie O’Brien – K-1 Teacher; Madison Cravens – 5th Grade Teacher; Michele Palmgren - HS Science
4. Approved Resignations: Emily Cassel – Nurse; Samantha Jones – K-12 Music Teacher
5. Out of District – none.
Tim moved to approve consent agenda; Reo second; motion passed 5-0. After motion passed, Mitch questioned how many FB coach candidates there were. Anthony informed the board that there were 7 candidates and 2 made it to the interview process.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
1) McCormick Elementary Expansion – K-1 rooms will cost approximately $18,178 for supplies and furniture; and 5th grade will be roughly $10,000.
Mitch moved to approve the purchase of supplies and furniture for K-1 and 5th grade rooms for no more than $28,000; Tim second; motion passed 5-0.
2) Endowment – Melissa has found that the fund amounts are so low, that transferring them won’t make any difference, so plan to leave them where they are.
3) Negotiations update – Wednesday at 4:30pm.
4) BSN Sports Agreement – when purchase through BSN, get rebates to use within the company. Can leave the company at any time as it’s not a contract; district did not sign with Game One as it was only piloted to see how they did and point of contact was unreliable and shipping took too long, etc.
Mitch moved to go with BSN Sports Agreement; Melissa second; motion passed 5-0.
Board adjourned for 5-minute break at 6:57p.m. and reconvened at 7:02p.m.
NEW BUSINESS:
1) Personnel - The Board held an executive session at 7:02 p.m. for 20min to discuss personnel with John Cox present. The purpose of the executive session is to protect the privacy interests of an identifiable individual.
At 7:20 p.m. the board asked for 10 more minutes. At 7:30 p.m. the board asked for 5 more minutes. Meeting reconvened at 7:35 p.m. and it was noted that no action was taken during the executive session.
2) Mitch moved to approve Kerry Mazouch’s 1year unpaid leave of absence; Melissa second’ motion passed 5-0.
3) Board member for Student Handbook Review – Mitch moved that Tim will be first; Amy will be alternate; Tim second; motion passed 5-0.
4) Preschool Schedule – new schedule utilizes days better – Fridays will allow for prep for the following week and will help more now that they will have 3-year-old at-risk in school. Jessica proposes a 4-day workweek now that she has investigated it and counted hours that haven’t been counted in the past. Mitch asked if shortened schedule would affect salary for preschool and John said that it will not.
Mitch moved to approve the 23-24 SY Preschool Schedule as long as parents are okay with the new schedule – he’s not sure if it was brought up during Pre-K round-up, and John said that Jessica discussed the situation with the parents and they were fine with the changes; Tim second; motion passed 5-0.
Future Agenda Items:
a.) Negotiations
b.) Intercoms
Adjournment: Tim moved to adjourn; Mitch second; meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Alison Moore, Board Clerk