The USD 410 Board of Educa?tion approved multiple action items during its July 8 meeting to prepare the district for the upcoming school year.
First on the list involved getting board member positions in order. Mark Rooker, who was elected to Position 4 for the rural district, resigned from Position 2. Eddie Weber was then approved to fill that position for a two-year term.
Position 6, however, remains open.
Superintendent Steve Noble asked board members to ?tap shoulders? of those who would be good candidates willing to serve in that position. To qualify, candidates must reside in the designated area?generally east of Washington Street and south of Second Street?and cannot be a district employee.
Weber was reappointed as board president and Rooker was appointed as vice president for 2013-14.
Four individuals were present at the meeting and recognized for their service: Gary Andrews, board member for eight years; Monica Leihy, teacher for 10 years; and Sheila Nuss, bus driver for 15 years.
Michele Goldsby, teacher for 16 years, was honored but not present.
Noble reviewed four priority board policies updated by the Kansas Association of School Boards that are legally mandated.
The board approved the policies, which address bullying by staff, students and parents, and emergency safety interventions that involve restraining and secluding students.
The district needs ?to be transparent? with the bullying policies, Noble said, adding that state legislators had a sympathetic ear for those having experienced bullying over time.
Going forward, Noble said, he plans to have the board review its policies in upcoming meetings.
Noble also reviewed data on mill levies in area districts. USD 410 will publish the maximum capital outlay allowed by law after its Aug. 12 budget hearing. The board can choose to go lower, but not higher, of the published amount. The current mill levy for USD 410 is 62.502.
?Local property taxes are increasing while state funding is decreasing,? Noble said.
Other business
In other business, the board:
? approved student fees for 2013-14. All fees remained the same from the previous year except for accidental insurance for laptops, which increased to $40 for students who pay full price for meals, $20 for students with reduced meal prices, and $10 for students eligible for free meals.
? approved temporary employee pay rates, which remain the same as last year.
? approved substitute teacher pay rate at $90 per day for full day and $45 for half day. The rate is the same as last year.
? approved a 5-cent increase for all meals and milk because of costs incurred by federal nutrition requirements.
? approved the classified employee benefits manual. Those employed after June 24 must work a minimum of 630 hours per year to be eligible.
? approved the interlocal agreement for the Marion County Special Education Cooperative. Once each of the participating school districts approve the agreement, it will be presented to the MCSEC board for action.
? appointed the following to board positions?Joe Sechrist, MCSEC representative and Technology Excellence in Education Network alternate representative; Deb Geis, MCSEC alternate representative; Mark Rooker, TEEN representative and representative on USD 410 Technology Committee; Rod Koons, chief negotiator; Chad Nowak, assistant negotiator and Professional Develop?ment Council representative; and Eddie Weber, KASB governmental relations representative.
? approved renewing KASB membership requiring dues of $7,706 and approved renewing membership to the KASB Legal Assistance Fund for a fee of $1,650.
? approved Salem Home Emergency Evacuation Agree?ment, in which the district agreed to provide buses when they are available.
? accepted the resignations of Lee Albrecht as bus driver and Dave Espada as custodian for Hillsboro Elementary School.
? approved a two-year contract for Evan Yoder at a reduced salary of $58,698 and to providing a $1,000 full-family deduct?ible health insurance benefit.
? approved supplemental contracts for Leah Rose as Chess Club sponsor, Doug Dick as half-time Walking School Bus coordinator and Eileen Butler as half-time Walking School Bus coordinator. The bus coordinator positions are grant funded.
? approved work agreements for Leah Remboldt as Hillsboro Middle School secretary, Paula Jost as HES custodian and adjusted compensation to $16 per hour for John McMinn.
? heard in the MCSEC?report by Geis that a contribution increase of 7.5 percent per participating district is being proposed, primarily because of increased costs for insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act.
