EXCERPTS of USD #384 Special Board of Education Meeting

A Special Board of Education meeting for USD #384 Blue Valley was held on December 11, 2023 at 5:30p.m. in the Board Room.  Members present were Mitch Innes, Reo Shultz, Stephen Corkill, Tim Innes, Amy Cassel, and Melissa Geisler.  Administration present was Rex Boley, Superintendent, and Alison Moore, Board Clerk.

CALL TO ORDER:  Vice President, Mitch Innes called the meeting to order at 5:30p.m.

OPEN FORUM: No one addressed the Board during open forum.

DISCUSSION: The Board discussed that when HB2567 goes into effect that out of district students that apply will be put into a lottery for entry. Once students are accepted, they are accepted for the extent of their school career. If students have siblings, those siblings are grandfathered in and foster kids are automatically grandfathered in.

ADJOURNMENT: Tim moved to adjourn; Reo second; meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.


EXCERPTS of USD #384 Regular Board of Education Meeting

A Regular Board of Education meeting for USD #384 Blue Valley was held on December 11, 2023 at 6:00p.m. in the Board Room.  Members present were Mitch Innes, Reo Shultz, Stephen Corkill, Tim Innes, Amy Cassel, and Melissa Geisler.  Administration present was Rex Boley, Superintendent, and Alison Moore, Board Clerk.
CALL TO ORDER:  Vice President, Mitch Innes called the meeting to order at 6:00p.m.

APPROVE THE AGENDA: The Board approved the agenda as presented. 

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

WELCOME GUESTS: Vice President, Mitch Innes welcomed our guests. 

POSITIVE BOARD COMMENTS: 

  1. Melissa said there was another good write up in the Riley Countian this month for Blue Valley.

  2. Reo commented that the Math Club did well at Washburn; they placed 3rd among a lot of bigger schools.

SPECIAL REPORTS: 

  1. Traci presented for OPAA. Meals served are down from last year but attributes that to the cost of the meals, however, she is trying to push ideas for meals so that kids will be more apt to try them. She has been trying out homemade pizzas with success, even though some kids still prefer the old-fashioned square pizza, most kids are coming around to the new pizzas. Traci also presented the flyer for the community Christmas meal on December 14th. This is the second year she’s done the Christmas meal and has success with it last year so she’s going to continue with it.

RECOGNITION OF STUDENTS/STAFF: 

  1. Student of the Month:

    1. McCormick Elementary School – Julep Haugaard 

    2. Blue Valley Middle School – Myla Schlegel

    3. Blue Valley High School – Norah Cassel

PRINCIPAL REPORTS: 

  1. MES – Fastbridge Winter assessments started and staff will begin looking at improvements amongst students. The past week MES received the program 95% Group for reading interventions and will begin working on learning the program so teachers can implement it starting in January. Mrs. Shultz has begun bringing mentor groups of HS students over every week to help with students and staff for an hour. Christmas program will be on December 19th at 6:30p.m. so that students and staff can get home a little earlier and prepare for the last day of school before the holiday break.

  2. RMS – Fall Sports Banquet was a success with attendance and recognition. MS Music Concert performed holiday classics. Winter sports are underway competing away and at home. Mrs. Ellis’ students have made some science models that are on display at the middle school; while some of her students and Mr. Buchanan’s middle school students are starting on the transportation shed.

  3. BVHS – Fall Sports Banquet was well attended and the meal was a hit with pot roast and ribs. A big thank you to those who attended and the coaches for taking the time to recognize the student/athletes. Ms. Palmgren led the Sharing Thanks and Gratitude project for HS and MS, where notes were written between students and staff to lift the spirits of both peers and staff. FFA hosted North Central District Ag Sales and Food Science Contests where 16 schools from around the North Central FFA District, which included almost 250 FFA members. HS basketball is off to an excellent start this season – picking up wins against Wakefield. Softball equipment has been ordered and there are 3 applicants for coaching positions so far, so interviews will begin in January and hopefully have a recommendation for the January board meeting.

SUPERINTENDENT REPORT: 

  • District House – master bathroom remodel is almost complete

  • BVHS – heating units at the high school have been repaired and are working

  • BVHS – circulation pump for the hot water will be installed over winter break as the water needs to be shut off for the building to do the work.

  • Transportation – route buses are scheduled for maintenance over winter break. Mitch Innes and Jonathan Meals have passed the testing to receive their CDL’s and just have a few additional hours to ride and drive routes with students before they can drive on their own.

  • Staff Meal – North County is hosting the District Christmas dinner on December 13th at 5:30p.m. Thank you to Mrs. Shultz for organizing and planning the meal.

  • KSDE Audit – rough audit has come back with no surprises or issues.

  • Bruna Audit – Derek requested to be put on the agenda for January and will have a report for the board then.

OPEN FORUM: No one addressed the Board during open forum. 

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

  1. Approved Minutes: November 13, 2023 Regular Board of Education Meeting 

  2. Approved Receipts 

  3. Approved Hirings: Emma Roy – substitute teacher; Mitch Innes – substitute/activity bus driver (effective January 2024)

  4. Reassigned: Mr. Mazouch from route driver to substitute/activity driver 12/21/23

  5. Resignations: None

Reo moved to accept the consent agenda; Tim second; motion passed 5-0, with Mitch abstaining.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

  1. Roepke Foundation – received check from the foundation for $2,000 which will be spent on a new treadmill for the fitness center.

  2. MATC Agreement – agreement has finally been met with a drop from 75% compensation to 50% compensation. Of course, the compensation is based on state funding, as it always has been. Tim moved to accept the new MATC agreement; Melissa second; motion passed 6-0.

NEW BUSINESS:

  1. KESA/School Improvement/MTSS – Sue Jenkins met with KESA team for monthly team meeting. Data is continuously being collected for district goals, and initial work and progress was shared with staff during that meeting. The team is still awaiting notification from KSDE regarding KESA Executive Visit but the Peer Review Committee visit is scheduled for April 5th. The next KESA meeting is scheduled for January 29th.

  2. USD 384 Branding – A volunteer committee was formed to discuss ideas on how to make USD 384 stand out. During recent meetings, discussions have been on the Ram logo and looking at developing a logo that’s more readable and economical to produce. The committee has also looked into ways to present a video to tell “The Blue Valley Story”. The committee is hoping to give an in-person update at the February board meeting.

Jason joined the meeting at 7:30 p.m.

  1. Long Range Facilities and Maintenance Information – Pulled enrollment numbers from KSDE to project potential enrollment and state aid for the future. Looking at those numbers, a list was compiled of improvements for the district that need to be looked at, along with the cost. Piper Sandler prepared a history of Assessed Valuation and State Aid with Mill History Levy for the board to review of the district history.

  2. Royal Blue Trip for Middle/High School Trip – KC did not have any dates that would work in January as both dates had conflicts (one was TVL tourney and one was homecoming); Wichita Thunder has availability for January 12th – closer venue and in-state travel.

  3. Out of District Enrollment Policy – Stephen moved to accept the policy as written; Tim second; motion passed 7-0.

  4. Personnel - The Board held an executive session to discuss personnel. The purpose of the executive session is to protect the privacy interests of an identifiable individual.

    1. Board requested a 5min recess and then moved into executive session at 8:00p.m. for 30min with Rex Boley, Caitlin Combest, Anthony Meals, Autumn Cercone, and Drew Taylor.

    2. Caitlin Combest and Anthony Meals exited executive session at 8:15 p.m.

    3. At 8:30p.m., the board requested an additional 30min.

    4. Rex Boley exited executive session at 8:40 p.m.

Meeting reconvened at 9:00 p.m. and it was noted that no action was taken during the executive session. 

Mitch moved to terminate Kristie Anderson; Amy second; motion passed 7-0.

Tim moved to hire Melody Pfaff part-time; Melissa second; motion passed 7-0.

Reo moved to accept the moving expenses for Mr. Boley; Tim second; motion passed 7-0.

  1. KASB Policy Updates – first read for board members. Melissa asked if there were accommodations in every building regarding nursing rooms for mothers, and if not then that is something the district needs to look in to.

  2. Staff Meal – The North County on December 13th at 5:30 p.m. will be the staff meal. Again, thank you to Mrs. Shultz for organizing and planning the meal.

Future Agenda Items: 

  1. Early Childhood Survey Follow-Up

  2. Draft Building Schedules

  3. Fastbridge/MTSS – Update

  4. Long Range Plan

  5. Needs Assessment

  6. Food Service

  7. Second Read for KASB Policy Update

  8. Board Positions

Adjournment: Stephen moved the meeting adjourn; Amy second; meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. 

Alison Moore, Board Clerk