• Mrs. Jill Lewis-Kingery shared comments via email regarding her appreciation of the board's fiscal stewardship.
• Outgoing Board Members Mr. Mike Lewis and Mr. Josh Oswald were recognized for their years of service. We are thankful for their help in the stewardship of our district. If you see them please thank them. 

• Feb YTD Exp 2021:$1,277,718
• Feb YTD Exp 2022:$1,413,733
• Feb YTD Rev 2021:$1,886,958
• Feb YTD Rev 2022:$1,985,303
• Feb Fund Balance 2021:$1,828,209
• Feb Fund Balance 2022:$2,021,137
• Fund Balance Difference:$192,928+

• Feb YTD 2021:$32,380
• Feb YTD 2022:$38,820.04
• Budget Remaining:$11,179.96

• Mrs. Melanie Lucas presented information on our elementary RTI reading program, how students are identified, and examples of scores that track growth. Thank you Mrs. Lucas!

• Repairs to classroom heating leaks have been made just in time for the weather to get warm!
• The water heater has been repaired.

• We will begin submitting samples for our IEP CAPs on Monday 3/21/22. Our deadline for submission is 4/1/22.

• We have a new (used) 10 passenger van!
• Please thank Mrs. Wheeler when you can. She does a wonderful job as our primary bus driver.

• This month's Principal's Report contains spring athletic participation numbers.

• Board Function: Mr. Mike Lewis spoke briefly about the purpose,  proper conduct of the board, and his hopes for the board and district for the future. 
• Classroom Thermometers: The board decided the district needs to purchase a mobile thermometer that can be used in classrooms to gauge the temperature when there are concerns with the temperature of the building.
• Policy Revision R4320: The policy changes were adopted along with the changes to the staff handbook regarding personnel leave. The policy is updated on the school website and the handbook updates are attached.
• Lease Purchase: The board approved the payoff of our lease purchase debt using general funds and reserves. This saves the district interest and annual principal payments of over $60,000 annually. 
• Salary Schedule: the board approved the updated salary schedule that has been shared with staff and a $35,000 base.
• Hourly Employee Pay Rate: The board approved a minimum $13.00 per hour pay rate for hourly employees.
• Full-Time Maintenance: The board approved the creation posting for a full-time maintenance position. This will allow us to make repairs within the building faster, free up custodians to work in their specific areas, and cover when support staff must be gone. The job description is attached.
• Other personnel position changes: The board approved tentative changes to personnel positions based on available applicants. Two of which are the possibility of reducing FACS to part time and hiring a para to help with students enrolled in courses online. There will be many changes in the structure of our personnel in the 22-23 school year due to retirements and resignations. We will keep you posted as these changes are made. 
• Floor Bid: Froeschel Flooring was approved to install epoxy flooring for the areas in the elementary covered in our insurance claim. If you have question regarding who will get new floors, please see the highlighted areas in the attached Elementary Floor Plan-Floor Bid document. 
• HS Office Door Replacement: The board tabled this item until April pending a bid from a local business.
• Laptop Purchase: The board approved the purchase of 50 Chromebooks through ECF Grant money.
• Calendar Modification: Tabled pending information from DESE regarding AMI hours.
• Sale of Bus to Vander Haags: The board approved the sale of our buses to Vander Haag's for parts for $1000.
• Payment to Falls City Mercantile: Payment approved for $4020 for food service food supplies.
• Auditor Contract: Approved as presented.
• 6th Grade Athletic Participation: The board passed a motion not to allow 6th grade participation in school-sponsored middle school athletics. Discussion revolved around safety concerns and that our current COOP does not need additional participants to fill teams. 
• MDC Tech Services Contract: Approved. Available for review upon request.
• Senior Class Approvals: The senior trip and Senior Prophecies were approved. 
• Old Business (Covid Plan Feedback): No changes were made.

• Teacher contracts were approved.
• Resignation: The board received and approved the resignation of Mrs. Aleesha Lemar. 

Additional Documents:

• Our district fund balance is at $2,085,362 which is $188,336 more than last year at this time. 
• All bills were approved for payment. 
• Our year to date revenues are $1,854,920 and our year to date expenditures $1,219,125.
• A number of possible changes were discussed regarding the budget for 22-23. The most controversial possibility was the reduction in staff through not filling our FCSE position. This change is one of many significant changes that were discussed in order to increase teacher pay to a possible $35,500 base, hire a full time maintenance position, and hire a para to manage online learning. At this time, we are still in the discussion phase. We will continue to look at all potential ways of reallocating our current revenue to fulfill the need for a better employment package and facilities that are well-kept. Other potential sources come from an early pay-off of our lease purchase debt and reducing expenditure allocations in athletic travel and in SPED purchased services. 
• Overall, initial estimates indicate the proposal discussed with the board still allows the district to place over $500,000 in our reserves over the life of the 2018 levy. Originally we estimated only adding around $22,000 to our reserves by the time our levy expires in 2025.
• We will continue to discuss possibilities for our budget in the March 7th work session, which will be open to the public. Our board is committed to having a district that is financially strong, with facilities that are well cared for, and a staff that is highly qualified and committed to our district. We are committed to doing that with our current level of revenues so that we can demonstrate good fiscal stewardship to our community.

• Due to the high cost of our single facility improvement bid, the board decided not to accept the bid and to explore other avenues for the completion of the identified work. 
• The board discussed, and tabled, the proposal to place thermometers in the classrooms. 
• Our 3rd quarter cleanliness surveys indicate we need to improve our ability to repair the facility and to be able to keep areas clean that are often skipped because staff must be reassigned. While dusting was an issue in all areas, on the bright side there were areas that many feel were satisfactory. The full survey results are available upon request. 

• We have finally found a 10 passenger van and the board approved a budget item of $38,000 for this purchase. Due to the cost of the vehicle we have found, the board increased the original line item for this purchase from $30,000.

• Teachers felt aligning lessons to standards and curriculum and school climate were strengths.

• Teachers felt that our budget and collective work on strategic planning were areas where we have opportunities for improvement.

• Strengths: Communication regarding learning, School Climate, and School Safety.
• Opportunities: Budget, Classroom Discipline (fairness), Community Voice with planning and policy.

• The board rejected the Herner bid of $325,000 for facility improvements.
• The board identified repairing water drainage on the east side of the new gym, concrete work around the building, and playground safety as short-term facility priorities in that order. 
• The board tabled the lease purchase payoff, revised salary schedule, full-time maintenance position (22-23), and online learning para for the March 17th open session.
• The board approved the 22-23 District Calendar as presented. 
• The following other items were also approved:
• AVG antivirus purchase $1639
• Optimist Basketball Tournament Fee Waiver 
• Payment to Midwest Recreational for snow removal $1050
• Payment to Atchison County for election costs $1471
• Payment to Gallagher Bassett for liability insurance $1619
• Asbestos removal by Gerken Environmental for $13,200 which will be paid by insurance.
• Elementary floor replacement by FDC for $43,300. 

• Mr. Barnes' contract was renewed and extended one additional year.

• Mr. Barnes was approved as our EA Wolves Golf Coach.

• Our fund balance is currently $1,194,726. Approximately $170,000 more than last year at this time. 
• Our food expenses show an increase over last December. We are watching total costs because we have changed suppliers. 
• We discussed the current financial plan and clarified that there is a planned, spend-down of our reserves going into the sunset of our levy in 2025. If the district is going to maintain financial health, additional revenue will have to be sought. This revenue may come from an additional windmill development, which is scheduled for completion in 2024; it may come from increased property values; or it may come from a continued, increased levy. It has always been our plan to return to our voters for support and/or examine the removal of our temporary levy at its sunset. 

• a 2% increase to the teacher base salary.
• Increasing all hourly wages by $1.70. This will bring our minimum hourly wage to $13.00 per hour.
• Reduction in revenues due to loss of Covid relief funds in 22-23.
• Removal of summer custodial help.
• Reduction in budgeted expenditures for supplies.
• Unknown expenditures include a possible increase in health insurance rates, additional personnel determined by student need, and emergency repairs to facilities and property. 
• This budget reflects the model presented in the 2018 levy campaign. The 2022-2023 school year will most likely not add a significant amount of funds to our reserve. According to the model presented to the community in 2018, we will most likely begin deficit spending as we draw closer to our levy sunset in 2024-2025. This will be a planned spend-down and will be enabled by our increased reserve, which started at $777,722 in 2016-2017 and is now over $2,000,000. 

• After an overview of data and input from staff, the district will not be examining the possibility of moving to a school week that would only allow four days of student contact. 

• The district will not be examining the possibility of consolidation. This topic originated from a request outside of our district and we have no interest in pursuing this.

• Northwest Mechanical $1628.00

• The purchase of a second, ten-passenger van was approved. 
• The scope for our elementary floor replacement was approved. 
• Board Policy and Regulation 2860 was modified to allow for board discretion in following recommendations from health agencies and other entities. The policy and regulation are attached. 

• The Covid Safety Plan (SRCSP) was updated to reflect parent choice and the legislated power of the school board to determine safety measures for the district. The most significant change was to allow parent choice in student attendance in relation to quarantines. To review the full changes, please take a look at our updated plan which is attached. As of 12/17/21 masking and physical distancing are family choice. Added to this was the ability for a family to choose to send their student(s) to school while a student without symptoms is under quarantine from DHSS for close contact. 
• All individuals should stay home if sick and they should also stay home when they have tested positive.
• The updated Covid plan was approved after discussion of survey results and community feedback. 

• Our current fund balance is $1,289,945. This is an increase from last year's end of September balance which was $1,110,287.