June 20, 2023
Our first meeting of the summer season was held on Monday, June 19th.
Superintendent Price shared that HB332 (School District Health Insurance Trust legislation) was recently signed by Governor Gianforte. This trust is a potential option for 2024/2025 employee insurance if enough districts/employees are to opt into the program. The trust will require 150 school districts and 12,000 employees statewide to participate to start the program.
Principal Broyles provided an update on Lakeside Elementary School’s test results and strategic plan. Staff and administrators will be refining this plan as they look toward the 2023/2024 academic year. Principal Broyles gave further explanation on how they are reviewing PBIS/SWIS behavior data and strategies. The intent is to go back to foundations and revise the behavior management flow chart to ensure consistent tools and strategies are available to staff. There will be focus on the interface between staff autonomy and administrator support. Currently there are open staff positions at LES for school counselor, librarian, and special education teacher. Please contact Mr. Price if you are interested in these positions.
The Negotiations committee met and reviewed the proposed contracts for approval. The committee confirmed that the funding was available and that contracts proposed were fair across the board for all employee groups.
The Ad Hoc Committee met twice and will provide an executive summary of survey results in July. They continue work on formulating Board goals and will meet again on July 10 at 2:15. There will also be a board work session on July 12th at 6 PM to solidify the first step of a larger strategic planning process of settling on the district’s core values. Information gathered from staff and parent surveys regarding core values will also be utilized.
The building committee has requested updates from Superintendent Price on the parking lot project at Lakeside. The project was supposed to start this week, but there has been a delay as the engineering firm and contractor finalize contracts. The timeline stipulates that the project must be completed before school starts in the fall.
The consent agenda was approved. We say goodbye to our wonderful librarian Ms. Amy and teacher Ms. Ostrem. Thank you for all you have done to support, encourage, and bring joy to Lakeside. We wish you the best in your future endeavors. Trustees approved the interlocal agreement for the Crossroads program that benefits students that need more specialized support than our district can provide. We have utilized this program for several years and it is a valuable resource for many districts to meet the needs of children across the valley.
Singular action items were approved and included the hiring of Ms. Reich (Kindergarten), Mrs. Aiken (5th Grade Math), and Ms. Kiefer (4th Grade). Welcome! We are so glad to have you here! Contracts were approved for the superintendent, principals, district clerk, technology director, SMS dean of students, food service director, and all classified staff. Wage increases for the AP/Payroll clerk and school nurse were approved. The district's insurance (MSPLIP) proposal was also approved. Thanks to Luke Fox for his work improving our digital security to keep our information safe while helping to reduce our cybersecurity insurance premiums.
Public comment was received regarding out of district student enrollment requests. At this time, the district still works on a case by case basis to allow out of district students as staffing and space allow. For several years we have been unable to accommodate new out of district requests. The motion to approve out of district requests (22) with an addendum to include one additional Kindergartener for a total of 23 passed unanimously.
The completion of the Montana School Board Association survey was tabled for further review by trustees.
Expenses and payroll items were approved and the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 pm.
We hope that you are enjoying your summer. Our next general board meeting is scheduled for July 24 at 6pm at LES. Our meeting times and reports will remain available on the district website throughout the break. Thank you for allowing us to serve the school and community as your trustees.
Sincerely,
Jesica Swanson
Board Chairperson
jesica.swanson@somersdist29.org