Notice Date & Time: 7/12/17 6:30 PM
OFFICIAL MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
BOX ELDER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
A Board Audit Committee meeting was held at 5:30 p.m. where the internal auditor presented concerns and findings from his audits for the 2016-17 Fiscal year. This was in preparation for the formal appointment of auditors in regular Board meeting.
Tentative minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Education, Box Elder County School District, held Wednesday evening July 12, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. at the District Office.
Those in attendance at the meeting included Board President Wade Hyde, Vice President Nini Anderson attending electronically, Members Nancy Kennedy, Lynn Capener, Connie Archibald, Bryan Smith, and Karen Cronin. Also present were Superintendent Steve Carlsen, Assistant Superintendent Terry Jackson, and Business Administrator Rod Cook, district employees, representatives of the press and interested citizens.
President Hyde welcomed those in attendance and conducted the business of the meeting. The prayer was offered by Karen Cronin, Nancy Kennedy led the audience in the pledge of allegiance.
Recognitions
Kim Burningham, State Board member who passed away recently.
Terry Jackson and Ron Tolman for starting the initiative with OC Tanner and employee benchmark awards
Approval of Agenda
Bryan Smith made the motion to approve the agenda. Nancy Kennedy seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Public Comment
There was no public comment
Action Items
Internal audit for 2017-18 and Independent Audit 2016-17
Business Administrator, Rod Cook explained that a formal motion was needed to officially appoint the internal auditor and independent auditor.
Lynn Capener made the motion to approve the internal auditor for 2017-18 and the independent auditor for the 2016-17. Connie Archibald seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Approval of Curriculum Review Committee
The Board was presented with a list of the curriculum review committee by Superintendent Steve Carlsen. Various Board members commented that the committee seemed balanced and included parents and constituents.
Karen Cronin made the motion to approve the recommendation for the curriculum review committee. Nancy Kennedy seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Appointment of USBA Pre-Delegate Workshop and Assembly Representative
Karen Cronin made the motion to approve Connie Archibald for the pre-delegate assembly representative. Bryan Smith seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Appointment of Taxing Entity Committee Representative
Bryan Smith made the motion to approve Superintendent Steve Carlsen and Business Administrator Rod Cook for the Taxing Entity Committee. Lynn Capener seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Information Items
Follow up on Attendance Policy
Jamie Kent and Bryce Day from the attendance committee reported on the attendance since the new attendance policy has been applied uniformly across the district.
Monthly Finance Report
Business Administrator, Rod Cook presented the financial report to the Board. He also discussed the effects of recouping the taxes and the truth in taxation advertisement and a spreadsheet showing the actual tax change for the average house would be $21 less than last year. The $63 in the advertisement compares the current tax to what it would have been had the Board allowed the tax to drop due to the low bond payment for the 2018 school year.
Policy Approval
First Reading
Policy 5035 Attendance- Requirements-Procedures
Policy 5280 Student Discipline-District Program
Second Reading
Policy 4078 Class Disclosure Statements-Elementary
Nancy Kennedy made the motion to approve the all of the above policies for their respective readings. Bryan Smith seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Information/Discussion Items
Board Goals
Nancy Kennedy spoke about a presentation she had seen where a board was using the PLC model in their operations. The Board agreed they should look at it. The materials will be distributed and discussed further.
Reading Chapter 2 'The End of Average'
Each Board member discussed their perspective gained from reading the chapter 2.
Involving Community Councils with the Board
Nancy Kennedy suggested that Community Councils need to be more involved with the Board. It was decided that they would be invited for the principal reports for their schools before Board meeting. They would also be invited to give a short report in Board meeting about how the School Trust Land money has been used to help their schools.
Teacher Recruitment and Retention
A discussion ensued on what the Board can do to recruit and retain good teachers. Terry Jackson, Assistant Superintendent of Personnel, reported that the district was almost fully staffed. Two positions are open at this point. The 6.1% raise has brought the district to a more competitive level, other districts have changed salary schedules toward recruiting at the bottom which still leaves Box Elder somewhat behind on the bottom. Terry stated that he believes Box Elder is still a great place to live and work and that helps with retention. Board members indicated that patrons are concerned about the loss of good teachers to other districts. They believe we will have support from patrons with students.
The Board assigned the Superintendent to get more information on the amount needed to keep the district competitive and bring back some ideas of how to go about it.
President Wade Hyde also reminded administration to work on a policy for non-district fundraisers as recommended by the internal auditor. He also asked that administration plan on a tour of the new building at 5:30 p.m. before the next Board meeting along with an update on the high school's athletic projects. The Board also agreed to think about the naming of the new ILSC building. The official open house will be planned for the September Board meeting.
Consent Calendar
Nancy Kennedy moved to accept the consent items. Connie Archibald seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The Consent Calendar included the following items:
Approval of the minutes of the working and regular meetings of May 16, 2017 and June 14, 2017.
Approval of claims numbered 00021984-22414, 00863017, 00962017, 00963017, and the school activity checks for the month of June.
Personnel Items
Leaving the District
Site Employee Position Reason
District Office Alan Shakespear IT Director Resigned
BRMS/BRHS Molly Cameron Drama Teacher End of Contract
McKinley Esther Beth Marshall Teacher End of Contract
Willard/Three Mile Heather Greenfield Literacy Coach Leave of Absence
New Hires
Site Employee Position Replacing
District Office Amy Woolsey Child Nutrition Supervisor Jordan Bryant
BEMS Jorge Garcia Custodian
Adjournment
With the announcement that the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 9, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. at the O. Jay and Tamra Call Education Center, 960 S Main Street, President Hyde adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m.
APPROVED: August 9, 2017
ATTESTED:
School Business Administrator President, Board of Education
Box Elder School District
