April 10, 2017 at 6:30 PM - Regular

Description:  Demuth, Habben, Hesse, Humbert, Schurman, and Wesenberg. 

Student Members:  Lisa Volkers, Tayler Dingmann, and Nick Warne.

Description:  The Board Chair will lead the board and attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Description:  Board action to approve the agenda for the meeting is expected.

Description:  The agenda is open to visitors of the meeting to offer comments to and/or requests of the school board. The comments and requests should follow the adopted district guidelines which are printed and available at the meeting.

Description:  This agenda item allows for comment and updates from the student representatives.  The more formal report opportunity remains the second meeting of the month, but opportunity to share information is also afforded at this meeting.

Description:  Action is requested on the following items of the consent agenda. Consent agenda items are typically adopted without discussion of the individual items because they are routine or ordinary in action.  Any consent agenda item may be removed for further discussion and deliberation by any member of the board.

Description:  The minutes from the regular meeting of March 27, 2017  are included in the exhibits. Recommend approval of the minutes from the meeting.

Description:  Joesph Russell, Early Childhood Teacher, has submitted a letter of resignation effective April 10, 2017.

Cathy Hansen, Teacher in the Middle School, has submitted her letter of resignation for retirement purposes effective at the end of the 2016-2017 school year.  Cathy started in the district in 1999.

Jen Lessinger, Assessment Coordinator, has submitted a letter of resignation effective June 30, 2017.  Jen started in the district in the fall of 2014.

Traci Eskew has submitted her letter of resignation from her position as a paraprofessional at the Cold Spring Elementary School effective April 7, 2017.

Recommend acceptance of the letters of resignation with appreciation for service.

Description:  Sherry Krippner is being recommended to fill the position vacated by Joseph Russell from April 10, 2017 until the end of the 2016-2017 school year.

Lynn Stein, Paraprofessional, is being recommended for an increase of 3.75 hours to fulfill the needs of a special education student.  This will bring her to 5.75 hours for ECSE.

Recommendation:  Approval of staff assignments as presented.

Description:  Local 284, Paraprofessional Union, has submitted their Notice of Desire to Negotiate.  It is the custom of the district to accept and acknowledge receipt of the letter.  Recommend acknowledgement of Local 284 letter of desire to negotiate.

Description:  Two requests for use of school property have been received for community events.  

The River Lake Days Committee has submitted a request to use the front parking area and grounds at the Richmond Elementary School on July 14, 2017 for the River Lake Days events.

The Cold Spring Hometown Pride Committee has requested the use of school district property for the car show held on July 29, 2017 as part of their Hometown Pride events.

Both requests are consistent with previous experiences with the organizations and the district has a long history of supporting the community events.  Recommend approval of the requests with the understanding that district use guidelines will be followed.

Description:  Brian Herrig, Spanish instructor at RHS, has submitted information related to a planned Spanish trip for 2017-18.  The trip has been reviewed with RHS administration and has support to move forward.  The Spanish advisers are seeking authorization early in the process so that students have adequate time and opportunity to raise funds for the trip.  

Recommendation:  Approve Spanish trip as outlined by Mr. Herrig.

Description:  This is the third and final reading on the following policies: #8-2 Balancing Class Sections, #8-3 Class Size Policy, #8-4 School District Curriculum and Instruction Goals, and #2-11 Superintendent Evaluation Policy.  Recommend adoption of all four policies.

Description:  Discussion items receive individual attention because of the nature of the issues and the need for introductory or other discussion in order to review the information prior to taking action.  This is also the agenda location for items which simply need school board review, but no formal action on the item is required.  Discussion items will typically return to the agenda at a future point for more specific action.

Description:  Pam Teal, teacher at the Secondary Schools has submitted a request for a leave of absence for the second trimester during the 2017-2018 and the 2018-2019 school years.  This is a request that has been made and honored for the past two years.  RHS Principal Jenson has reviewed the request in relation to staffing for FY18 and would be able to honor the leave of absence if it is granted.  

Desired Outcome:  Discussion of leave request.

Recommendation:  Review the elements of the leave request at this meeting.  Bring the item to the April 24 meeting for specific action.

Description:  In the spring of the year, the district reviews calendars for upcoming school years.  

A tentative calendar for 2017-18 has been adopted to allow parents and community members some opportunities to plan.  The district, through School Board action, typically returns to the calendar in the spring to finalize the upcoming year.  There have been a few minor adjustments to the tentative calendar to accommodate changes made during the 2016-17 school year.  Elementary conferences were shifted later into the year and that process seemed to be received better by staff and parents.  As such, the elementary principals are advocating a similar approach for next year.  A professional development day has also been shifted in the calendar.  Although the calendar is formally adopted in the spring, it is placed on the agenda at this time for comparison and review purposes and would return at the next meeting for formal adoption.

The district practice, for more than a decade, has also been to look a year further ahead and prepare calendar options.  In this case, several calendar options have been developed for 2018-19.  The versions are shared with the idea that there are strengths and weaknesses to each approach.  At this point, a brief opportunity to introduce the three options, with some initial feedback, is expected at this meeting.  A more specific recommendation among the three options will be brought to the next meeting for adoption as the tentative calendar for 2018-19.

Desired Outcomes:  Presentation of calendars for the next two years with opportunity to review strengths and weaknesses and time to consider the options prior to formal adoption.  Review the calendar before formal adoption of the final 2017-18 calendar.  Review proposed calendars before adoption of a tentative calendar for 2018-19.  

Recommendation:  No formal action at this meeting.

Description:  Members of the Administrative Team are expected to submit reports based on a schedule distributed among the team.  The reports are written and offered for board information.  The reports during the first meeting of the month are expected from the Academic team including principals and curriculum leaders.

Description:  The administrators responsible for the academic program of the district are afforded the opportunity to
report to the school board at the first meeting of the month. Reports received from the principals and
academic leaders are included in the exhibits.

Desired Outcomes: School Board members are offered information about the academic and educational
programs at each school site. School Board members gain insight and understanding of the programs
and initiatives in the buildings. Emphasis during the month of March is on the district elementary
buildings.

No formal action is recommended or required on the reports as they are submitted for informational
purposes.

Description:  Alicia Jepson from Benton Stearns shared the acronyms list that she handed out at the last board meeting.  These are just for your information.

Description:  A calendar of upcoming issues of concern to the school board is included as part of the agenda.