Kingsland School Board held their monthly “work session” meeting on September 8, with all members participating (Jackie Horsman, Natasha Howard, Gwen Howard, Maranda Emig, Pamela Freet, Kyle Rader, and Superintendent James Hecimovich). Principal Scott Klavetter also attended. Business Manager Amber Herbrand participated via remote technology.
Becky Bicknese’s written report on Community Education included that Preschool enrollment for the 2021-2022 year includes 14 in the 3 & 4 year-old preschool and 46 in the 4 & 5 year-old preschool. She also reported that for ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education), “Alyssa is working on putting together a schedule that involves mostly outside activities for this fall while the weather is nice.”
Regarding the staff shortage in SACC (School Age Child Care), Hecimovich summarized, “SACC is hurting.” Bicknese’s report stated, “I want to point out this is not a unique situation for Kingsland… many programs are facing staffing issues. So districts that have multiple SAC sites are shutting sites down, limiting availability, and restricting hours. At this time our plan of action until we can get more staff is: Becky working in the SACC room and paying overtime when needed.”
Regarding Adult & Youth Enrichment, Bicknese’s report stated, “All AARP classes that were scheduled to happen in October have been canceled by AARP. They are not allowing any in-person classes until after January 1, 2022, at this time.” She pointed out a number of activities that are available for sign-ups currently, including flag football, grade 4-6 volleyball, open basketball, youth karate, fall driver’s training, ghost hHunting with BCP, and teen/adult karate.
Judy Tart’s Food Service report included, “Have had to revise September menus several times already due to product shortages from manufacturers. This is going to be an issue long-term according to distributors.” She also pointed out that the Prairie Farm milk bid, which the board accepted in August, was for 1% chocolate milk rather than skim chocolate milk. This change was not noticed by the board when the bid was accepted. She explained that “schools are not allowed to serve flavored milk except for fat free varieties.” She said Prairie Farms has requested, and been granted, a waiver by the State, and that Kingsland could also request a waiver, so that the bid can be honored as written (using 1% chocolate milk).
Mark Fitzpatrick’s Athletic Director report included, “Ticket sales have been going very well for home events.” Hecimovich then brought up the subject of Kingsland possibly offering livestreaming of sporting events. He said that while this idea has some appeal, it would obviously result in Kingsland losing out on a significant amount of ticket sales, which help defray the costs of various athletic programs. He said one option could be to charge viewers a “subscription fee” to access livestreaming of Kingsland events.
Regarding the possibility of livestreaming in the future, Jackie Horsman clarified, “So, the position of administration is, they’re not going to be livestreamed unless we’re in a situation again where spectators are limited because of COVID, pandemic or whatever.” No board action was taken at this time.
Superintendent Hecimovich informed the board, “You may have gotten wind of some T-shirt things last night at the volleyball game. We had several players come out with inappropriate shirts that they decorated. I won’t get into details, but it was handled by the AD, the coaches, and myself. It’s been addressed, and consequences have been leveled, and we’re moving forward.” He added, “If you want more information on that, you can always ask me later.”
Principal Klavetter shared some summary information on the most recent MCA testing. He said the results have now been made public, and as expected, there were some impacts locally and statewide most likely due to the challenges in educating during a pandemic. He said that overall scores were down, and that mathematics continues to be an area Kingsland needs to focus on.
Hecimovich shared that Kingsland is considering offering a flu vaccination “clinic” for students and staff only. He said Kingsland is currently gathering information on the level of interest in such a clinic, and further details will be shared if Kingsland chooses to move forward with this project.
The board approved several hirings, including Dana Beer (paraprofessional), Amanda Miner (lunchroom aide/supervisor and part-time van driver), and LeAnn Raveill (cook). Resignations accepted included Kourtnie Long (SACC assistant), Zachary Queensland (SACC assistant), and Samantha Campbell (SACC coordinator).
The Kingsland board’s next meeting will be a regular session on Monday, September 20 at 6 p.m., in the KES Conference Room. Kingsland continues to offer the option for anyone to “attend” via Zoom technology.
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