The next regular board meeting will be April 17, 2023. This date was chosen in order to place the meeting date in compliance with requirements governing the ratification of the April 4 election results.

Just a note:

Something to keep in mind is that in the last six years, our assembled board has consistently rendered decisions which have advocated for our facilities, our families, our students, and our staff. Their collected governance has allowed us to do the following:

Increase our base salary rate for teachers from $29,250 to $35,700 ($38,000 actually)
Increased pay rates for hourly staff
Approved a calendar that grants vacation days aligned with teacher input
Approved modifications to leave that allowed for more freedom to take care of personal and family needs
Approve the hiring recommendations of administration
Enable over $1.5 million in repairs and upgrades to our buildings
Avoid a four day school week-based on teacher input
Refrain from excessive and extended closures during Covid
Continued participation in our sports COOP
Continued contributions to our reserves

While not all of the discussion during a board meeting indicates everyone always agrees, the end results of the collected decision making of the board has remained consistently pro-district and pro-teacher. Last night, the collected board continued to display this behavior.

Your board has the responsibility of making essential and difficult decisions for the district. I have had many conversations with board members over the years regarding the emotional impact of choices the board has had to make on individual board members. They do not take their responsibilities lightly and I continue to believe they consistently make collective decisions they feel are best for the district and, specifically or by default, its people.

Finances:

All bills were approved for payment.
The current budget shows that our fund balance is $2,245,147. This is $224,010 above our fund balance this time last year.
The board requested that Dr. Burright present budget forecasts as the district draws closer to the end of the fiscal year. These would be presented in the financial report and presented during regular session meetings in April and May.

Superintendent's Report

Facility:
- In a grant, Governor Parsons has set aside $20 million dollars for school safety infrastructure. We will be exploring this grant, its possible uses, and submitting an application to participate prior to the submission deadline. This money could be used to help upgrade our bell and intercom system as well as add an entry system to our high school entry.
- Mr. Vernon has been steadily working through the facility to-do list since he has come on staff. He is currently working in the Ag. Shop, upgrading the bathroom and sink areas. Additionally, he has recently painted the fire extinguisher covers in the elementary making them easier to find.
- Stucco has asked to update the Fairfax F on our south lawn.
- Hillyards has been scheduled to do a site review which will allow us to continue the refining of our process for keep the facility clean. The Hillyards review will measure square footage, count the number of items that need cleaned, and make recommendations for FTE's. This information will be added to our facility plan.
Food service/PEBT:
- The district completed our PEBT benefits submission on Monday 3/13/23. This submission allows families on free and reduced lunch status to receive additional benefits from federal money for time students were absent from school during covid. It also allows for additional benefits for the summer of 21-22.
Personnel:
- Dr. Burright and Mr. Kemerling will begin work to identify ways to improve climate and staff morale. Dr. Burright asked the board for feedback on what topics they would like to see in the collected data and the board has agreed to submit ideas to Dr. Burright by 3/22/23.
- We will be finishing our work in soliciting bids from health insurance companies in the next week. After bids are compiled and a comparison system is determined, Dr. Burright will meet with staff to solicit their input on which plan they would like to use. After this meeting, the board will need to meet again to give final approval of the selected plan. Dr. Burright explained the benefits and impact of a more-affordable health care plan for the staff and to the district budget. While a cheaper premium rate will most likely cause more employees to join our district healthcare, this will drive up the overall cost for the district. However, more affordable care is goal connected to the retention of staff and it is a good problem to have.
Board Self-Evaluation
- In compliance with MSIP6, the board took its first steps in the development and implementation of a self-evaluation tool. Dr. Burright presented two separate examples of documents from MARE and MSBA. The board was asked to review these documents independently and provide Dr. Burright feedback by 3/22/23. Dr. Burright stated that areas where the board falls short in its self-evaluation can be used to become focus areas for professional development. Mr. Graves asked that the two tools be somehow combined and built so that the board could measure its growth over time.

Superintendent's Spotlight

Ashley Grossman presented information on the activities related to FCCLA. Mrs. Grossman has had a positive impact on the students in her club, classes, and on the school in general. If you see her please thank her.

Principal's Report

Mr. Barnes presented his regular principal's report which is attached.

Special Report: APR Results

Mr. Barnes presented the annual APR report, discussed how the scoring works and how the district scored. In this first year of the scoring cycle for MSIP6 Fairfax R-III scored a 92.3%. This score placed us near the top of the "Accredited" scoring range. There were no districts that scored "Accredited with Distinction" this year and all districts gained full points for CSIP submissions. Mr. Barnes instructional leadership has been essential in the district's ability to continue to maintain high levels of accreditation. Please thank him for his work. The MSIP6 (APR) report to the board is also attached. Attached you will also find the APR district report from the DESE website which is available to the community.

New Business: The following items were approved...

Payment of $4842.80 to Al’s Heating, Cooling & Refrigeration, Inc. for a new milk cooler.
Payment of $4070.22 to Falls City Mercantile for food supplies.
2023-2024 calendar with updated teacher work days. See attached.
The purchase of a John Deere zero turn mower for $6800 from Hiawatha Implement Co. in Mound City.
The 2023-2024 Teacher Salary Schedule as presented. This schedule includes a 30 year column for bachelor's degrees, 2% raise to the base, and similar steps from the 22-23 salary schedule. The board discussed the possible impact of insurance costs, legislation pertaining to teacher minimum salary, the possible return of the baseline salary grant, and career ladder.
Hillyards was approved to do our gym floor refinishing in the summer of 2023.
Payment to first student for votec transportation. The board agreed to move this item to the consent agenda in future months.

Old Business:

Covid Plan: No feedback from the board
AMI Days: The board approved the use of AMI days for 2023-2024 school year as determined by administrative discretion. Survey information results were shared regarding family and staff opinions on AMI, access to internet in family homes, and family home bandwidth capacity. While a small margin of family responses (5 respondents) stated that they did not prefer AMI days, a large majority of staff indicated that they did want to implement AMI days (23 of 26 respondents). Dr. Burright explained that AMI days were important, not because we expect them to be on par with regular classroom learning, but because frequency of exposure to academic tasks is important in continuing the consistent learning of students.
Hiring Processes: After a question from the board regarding the documentation kept during hiring, administration sought training and consulted with legal counsel. The district will always seek to implement appropriate professional and legal practice. No information regarding documentation of interviews was gained through the training, but legal counsel was able to offer the following recommendations:
- Board policy and regulations are currently sufficient to cover hiring practices.
- Keep all documentation relating to the interviewing of candidates for at least one year. Keep it longer for a hiring event that is contested.

The board conducted business in executive session.

The board made no motion for the potential property purchase.
Senior Wills and Prophecies were approved.
The board accepted the resignation of Betsy Larson.
The board approved all certified/teaching staff for rehire. There was one abstention due to relatedness.
The board discussed and rendered a decision on administrative pay rates.

Principal's Report Mar 23.pdf

MSIP 6 REPORT TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.pdf

APR district report card.pdf

Fairfax R-III

Superintendent's Update:

Dr. Jason McDowell

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 12/19/2024 for regular, and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 11/20/2024 for regular, and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 10/16/2024 for regular, and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 9/18/2024 for regular, and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 8/22/2024 for regular, and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 7/18/24 for regular, and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 4/15/24 for reorganization, regular, and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 3/20/24 for regular and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 2/12/24 for regular and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 1/22/24 for regular and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 12/19/23 for regular and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 11/14/23 for regular and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 10/18/23 for regular and executive meetings.

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 6/15/23 for regular and executive meetings. Next Board Meeting: 7/20/23

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 5/18/23 for regular and executive meetings. Next Board Meeting: 6/15/23

The Fairfax R-III School Board met on 4/17/23 for reorganization, regular, and executive meetings.

On March 16, 2023 the board met in regular and executive sessions to conduct business.

On 2/20/23 the board met in regular and executive sessions to conduct business.

Next regular board meeting: 2/16/23 @ 6:30 pm

Board Meeting Summary 11/17/22

Board Meeting Summary 10/20/22

Board Meeting Summary 9/15/22

The Fairfax R-3 School Board met on 8/18/22 at 6:30 in the school library for regular and executive sessions. Please see the highlights below.

The Fairfax R-3 School Board met on 7/21/22 at 6:30 in the school library for regular session. Please see the highlights below.