MEETING MINUTES…WHITEHALL BOARD OF EDUCATION…March 28, 2016
The March 28, 2016 meeting of the Whitehall Board of Education was held at Whitehall Memorial Conference Room. David Skoyen called the meeting to order at 6:32 pm. Roll was called and a quorum established. Other Board members present: George Everson, Byron Fields, Kristen Carroll and Julie Dokkestul. Absent: Leah Johnson and Jason Molis. Others present: Superintendent/6-12 Principal, Mike Beighley; Elementary Principal, Damon Lisowski; MS Principal/Improvement of Instruction Director, Beth Lisowski; Special Education/Pupil Services Director, Vickie O’Dell; Finance Manager, Cheryl Maug; Jamie Youngbauer; Susan Speltz; Reporter, Scott Schultz.
Everson moved to approve vouchers as presented. Fields seconded. Aye – All members. Motion carried.
Dokkestul moved to approve the following items of the Motion Calendar:
- Approve minutes of February 22, 2016 Regular Meeting
- Approve retirement requests: Dave Henrickson and Barb Sylla
- Approve new teacher contract for PE Teacher: Tyler Peterson
Carroll seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.
Fields moved to approve the Resolution authorizing the sale of Pigeon Falls property to the Village of Pigeon Falls. Dokkestul seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.
Administration met with Arcadia, Blair-Taylor and Independence to discuss Co-op opportunities. The next step would be a joint Board meeting to continue discussions and to assure there is a common vision in establishing a cooperative program. Board asked Beighley to set up a joint board meeting.
Fields moved to table item 7.C. of Action Calendar until May regular meeting. Everson seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.
Beighley presented plans for 2016-17 staffing and budget planning updates. Kristoff Ausderau will replace Chuck Walek. Kayla Rudy has agreed to move to the HS Math vacancy (Kristoff Ausderau’s position) for at least one year. This will allow a long-term sub for one year to fill her current position for MS Math. The 2016-17 health insurance premium will be a 0% increase which is a significant budget factor. Everson moved to approve Kayla Rudy in HS Math for 2016-17. Dokkestul seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.
Discussion regarding a possible Board and Administration Planning Retreat for Spring/Summer 2016. Beighley suggested that it be held at school on a weekend or a series of evenings so that there will be no disruptions. The retreat would allow the Board to clarify the District’s vision for the future and to create a set of goals and action plans. It was suggested that the planning retreat take place after the month of May. Board will look at possible dates for the summer at the May regular Board meeting.
Beighley is currently having discussions with two insurance carriers for its property, liability and workers compensation insurance renewal for April 1, 2016. Clarification is still needed on a couple of items and should be answered within the next day or two. Fields moved to allow Jason Molis and Beighley to make the decision on which carrier to go with. Carroll seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.
Administrative Reports:
D. Lisowski –
Shared an article regarding head lice. District has been following a “No Nit” policy and would possibly like to move towards a “Case by Case” policy.
B. Lisowski –
ACT and Aspire testing has been completed. The next big test is the Forward exam for grades 3-8 and 10 and will begin on April 14th. PALS testing for 4K-2 will begin after the Forward Exam testing.
Results from last year’s testing (2014-15) was shared with the Board and results showed no significant drops in any of the test areas.
O’Dell –
Looking at Special Education staffing programs for 2016-17.
A Flowchart is being developed to help staff better understand how Special Education works and explain the process of making referrals.
Speltz –
Working on Skyward transition. Skyward will be here on April 1st to provide training so that the District can be sure there is consistent data entry in the student records system.
Training Youngbauer in the evaluation process and have been going into classrooms so he can get an idea of what is looked at for evaluation purposes.
Fields moved to adjourn. Dokkestul seconded. Aye – All Members. Motion carried.
Time: 7:17 pm.
Building walk through.
Cheryl Maug
Reporting Secretary