EXCERPTS of USD #384 Regular Board of Education Meeting

A Regular Board of Education meeting for USD #384 Blue Valley was held on March 06, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room.  Members present were Mitch Innes, Jason Hartman, Reo Shultz, Stephen Corkill, and Melissa Geisler.  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 with the following changes: strike 6a. & move 7 up to 5; Stephen moved to accept the agenda with the changes; Mitch second; motion passed 5-0. 

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

WELCOME GUESTS: President, Jason Hartman welcomed our guests. 

RECOGNITION OF STUDENTS/STAFF: 

  1. Student of the Month:

    1. McCormick Elementary School – Wayne Lundberg 

    2. Blue Valley Middle School – Rawley Sump

    3. Blue Valley High School – Lily Corkill

  2. Staff of the Month:

    1. Blake Fronce

POSITIVE BOARD COMMENTS: 

  1. Mitch said congrats to the boys & girls basketball teams on their successful seasons.

  2. Reo thanked the patrons for all their support during the basketball season.

  3. Mitch said the ball field is coming along nicely & making good progress.

  4. Jason said the first day of parent/teacher conferences went well but weather caused problems with the second day, but teachers have done a great job of recouping the parents that were missed.

SPECIAL REPORTS: 

  1. Derek Bruna was contacted regarding the audit report & did not plan to be at the meeting tonight but was available by phone if needed. Alison sent him the revised audit report & he reported that everything was exactly where he expected it to be. Derek did notice a discrepancy in the Textbook Fund, but he corrected that on his end and submitted the report.

  2. Tami Howland presented, on behalf of Raymond & Maxine Anderson, a donation to the school of $44,000 in memory of Marie Anderson for a senior student scholarship fund. The scholarship is to be given yearly in the amount of $4,000 that can be awarded to multiple recipients if warranted. The stipulations to the scholarship will be an essay on how family & community support have got the student to where they are & how they will help get them to where they want to be. The essay’s will be judged by Tami, a teacher, a BOE member, & a community member. The candidate must have plans to further their education but is not required to be the traditional route. Upon the reward of the scholarship, the student will need to provide proof of enrollment & tuition to have the money disbursed.

  3. Dale Hoch requested that Megan Larson take FFA to Oklahoma for livestock judging. The group would leave March 30 after school, March 31st tour Oklahoma State University, April 1st participate in a contest, April 2nd travel to Hutchinson, April 2nd participate in a contest, & return on April 3.

  4. Trish Howell for Senior Sneak: students have chosen to go to Colorado Springs if funds allow. If not, then they have chosen Kansas City as a backup option. So far, 13 of the 17 students have committed to going & dates would be May 6-10.

  5. Anthony Meals presented information on the efforts of a newly formed District Visioning team. This is a group of staff from each building who have volunteered time to look at the future needs of the District and potential options to address those needs.

  6. Brittany Pfaff presented for the Social Studies curriculum. District has decided to go with Savas for 3rd-12th grade, & Teachers-Pay-Teachers for K-2nd grade. TPT is more geared towards the younger students, while Savas gives students a broader view of the world. 1 year licensure with Savas is $28,300.00, & 6-year licensure is $44,400.00; an additional KS Journey for 7th graders will be $3002 for 25 textbooks & licensure to round out their curriculum.

PRINCIPAL REPORTS: 

  1. MES – Dr. Seuss’ birthday week. Field trips have been booked for the spring. 4th grade is going to Hutchinson to the Cosmosphere; K-2nd grade is going to Topeka; & 3rd grade will be traveling to Milford.

  2. RMS – Swatting is on the rise, so please be aware. Red & Blue groups are getting ready for their trips. May 16th is 8th grade promotion.

  3. BVHS – Sub-state basketball was a success. It was great to have community support on Saturday & needs to continue for all sports. FFA Selection Advancements went very well. The HS Site Council has reviewed the District Calendar. Spring sports practices are starting up. Blue Valley Career Day is March 22nd.

SUPERINTENDENT REPORT: 

  • District Growth - still projected to have 5-10 student growth every year, so need to plan for expansion.

  • Ball Field Update – have spent about $43,900 of budget so far.

  • Add Track Coach on Agenda – 3 coaches for MS, & promote MS asst track coach to HS asst track coach.

  • Food Service Program – started the process to get RFP for possibly a new food service program.

  • Class Capacity – recommended to set capacity at 25 for 1st grade & kindergarten for 23-24 school year.

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

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

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

  2. Approved Receipts 

  3. Approved Resignations: Daniel Caudle – High School Business

  4. Approved Hirings: Ryan Haugaard – Head Middle School Track Coach; Devlyn Brill – Assistant Middle School Track Coach; Brooklyn Zoeller –Assistant Middle School Track Coach

Stephen moved to approve the consent agenda; Reo second; motion passed 5-0.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

  1. Audit – corrected & submitted.

  2. Scholarship Fund Acceptance – suggestion of putting a portion of the money into an endowment so that it lasts longer; Roepke Fund is the same idea. Need to look into if any ramifications to take the scholarship now. Reo moved to accept the scholarship as proposed; Mitch second; motion passed 5-0.

  3. Proposed District Calendar – Staff version & Patron version both proposed. Mitch moved to accept calendars; Melissa second; motion passed 5-0.

  4. Vesta Modular Quotes – the 2-room modular could be put behind the building, whereas the 4-room modular would need to be put partially on the ball field. Board had requested numbers for electrical & plumbing, but the only information that Vesta could provide was that each classroom will have a 200-amp panel box & each bathroom will have a toilet & sink stubbed beneath the floor to manifold & taken to the sewer.

  5. Canon Copier Contract – new contract means new machines district-wide & new machine in Ag building; Mr. Hoch would prefer larger machine. It was proposed to entertain a quote from another company – Rico was suggested & contact information was given.

  6. HVAC – same quote as before. Goal is to have money so that over the summer can order parts & get things in motion – plan to budget $50,000 for Capital Outlay every year for new units.

  7. Lighting – same quote as before; look at piecing it together over time.

  8. Epoxy flooring – same quote as before. Look at the starting point being the kitchen at BVHS & MES; RMS needs it, but not right now. Kitchens can be done over the summer. Mitch moved to approve BVHS & MES kitchen be replaced with epoxy flooring not to exceed $20,000; Stephen second; motion passed 5-0.

NEW BUSINESS:

  1. Approve Warrants/Transfers – Evergy billing; could building be put into description.

The Board took a break at 7:41 p.m. & reconvened at 7:47 p.m.

  1. Personnel - The Board held an executive session to discuss personnel with John Cox present. The purpose of the executive session is to protect the privacy interests of an identifiable individual.  

Meeting reconvened at 8:13 p.m. and it was noted that no action was taken during the executive session. 

  1. Reo moved to hire a K/1st grade teacher; Stephen second; motion passed 5-0.

  2. Mitch moved to approve the Social Studies curriculum; Stephen second; motion passed 5-0.

  3. There is no action to appeal the Riley County or Pott County Annual Valuations

  4. FFA trip will be funded by the alumni group – Mitch moved to allow FFA group travel to Oklahoma; Reo second; motion passed 5-0.

  5. Mitch moved to approve Senior Sneak trip; Reo second; motion passed 5-0.

  6. 8th grade promotion plan to have HS valedictorian & salutatorian come over for students.


Future Agenda Items: 

  1. Portion of scholarship money into endowment

  2. Lights

  3. Canon contract

  4. HVAC units

  5. DVT proposal

Adjournment: Reo moved to adjourn; Melissa second; meeting adjourned at 8:26 p.m. 

Alison Moore, Board Clerk