Goessel School Board makes annual appointments

The Goessel school board met on July 12 and made annual appointments.
Board member appointments include president: Kelly Booton, vice president: Ben Schrag, meet
and confer: Schrag and Kyle Funk, Kansas Association of School Boards Representatives: Bryant Miller and Pat Flaming, Marion County Special Education Cooperative representative: Maynard Knepp, The Learning Consortium representative: Sara Hiebert.
Other appointments include board clerk: Joni Smith with alternates Debbie Schrag and Lacie
Hill, treasurer: Tyler Ottensmeier, school board attorney: Brian Bina of Karstetter and Klenda, official
spokespersons for the district: Booton and elementary principal/interim superintendent Mark Crawford,
food service representative and homeless coordinator: Crawford, truancy officers: Crawford and junior
high/high school principal Scott Boden.
School board meetings will still be held on the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the
board room at the elementary school.
Turning their attention to another matter, the board discussed lunches. All students will receive
free lunches again this school year, whether or not they would normally qualify for free lunches.
However, there will be a cost for seconds. Milk seconds will cost 40 cents, roll: 50 cents, and entree:
$1.50. Kindergarten milk will cost 25 cents.
Adults will pay $2.25 for breakfast and $3.85 for lunch.
The board also discussed textbook fees. There will be no textbook fees for all families who fill
out the food service eligibility form, even if they know they would not normally be eligible for free or
reduced lunches. Simply filling out the form will exempt them from textbook fees; therefore, all families are encouraged to fill it out, regardless of family income.
However, other fees will still be in place, such as 5th-grade planner: $5, skate fee for physical
education: $7, elementary yearbook (optional): $14, also junior high and high school fees including art:
$15 a semester, nutrition/wellness, food science, and culinary essentials: $15 a semester for each of those classes, principles of illustration and photo imaging: $15 for each, floral land design: $20, calculator: $15, goggles for high school chemistry: $6, animal science and advanced animal science: $20, agricultural mechanics and advanced agricultural mechanics: $30, physics: $20, freshman physical education: $7, band: $10, choir: $10, Elbiata: $10, laptop computer rental: $25.
In other business, the board:
* voted to approve Page Hiebert as assistant high school volleyball coach.
* heard of recent FCCLA accomplishments.
* approved a 3% increase in pay.
* voted to give all returning staff $400 (minus taxes) to show appreciation for their work during the
pandemic last school year. Kansas Association of School Boards is making this recommendation.
* adopted the standard 1,116-hour school year.
* set the contract day from 7:40 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.
* established $15 an hour for additional work assignments, noted on an “extra duty timesheet.”
* established the mileage reimbursement rate at 56 cents per mile, according to the current federal/IRS
standard rate.
* approved an out-of-state FFA field trip for October 27 to 30.
* approved the purchase of percussion band equipment.
* heard that the music department is planning a mattress fund-raiser on Saturday, August 7, during
Threshing Days.
* approved the purchase of maintenance equipment.
* approved a memo of understanding with Prairie View for a clinical therapist and case manager, to be
paid with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.
* discussed coronavirus protocol. At this time, the board is not requiring masks, although individuals may wear a mask if they choose to.
* noted that ionizers had already been added to the air conditioning systems.
* noted that Crawford, Boden, Janna Duerksen, and Megan Duerksen are on the trauma team.
* noted that 80 percent of the school’s employees have been vaccinated for coronavirus.
* noted that state law does not allow remote learning for the 2021-2022 school year unless a school is set up as a remote learning school. Goessel is not.
* heard that summer school had ended. Crawford said the teachers “did an exceptional job.”
* heard from board member Miller, the current Marion County Special Education Co-op representative.
He said Christy Graber will be the social worker in the Goessel school district.

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