The Kingsland School Board met in regular session on May 18, with some members attending via remote technology. All board members were in attendance (board chair Jackie Horsman, Tiffany Mundfrom, Noella Lund, Natasha Howard, Maranda Emig, and Kyle Rader), as well as Superintendent Jim Hecimovich, Principal Scott Klavetter, and Building and Grounds Director Jason Thompson.
Regarding the meals that the food services staff have been preparing and delivering, Superintendent Hecimovich praised the hard work that the staff have done. He stated, “We’ve been providing about 375 meals a day. That’s going to go through the 28th (of May).” We will continue meals for our SACC kids through the summer, and also for people that would like to come and pick up lunches… We’re not going to be delivering. It’s going to be kind of a pre-order deal”.
The board formally accepted, and gave public thanks for, a number of recent donations including $2,580.20 from Casey’s General Stores, S. Rath and E/T Mundfrom families (bakery items for staff), Essig Agency (meat and cheese trays for staff), The Pizza Place (pizza for staff), S. Mulholland and S. Derby (cakes for staff), Spring Valley Subway (luncheon for class of 2020), and Sarah Reiland (cookies for staff).
In the area of transportation, Hecimovich said Kingsland had received bids of $400 each for two school buses (from Stacyville Farm Implement Repair), and $2,999 for the van (from Joe Haynes). The board accepted the bids. Hecimovich informed the board that “Dusty and his crew are prepping all of the rest of the buses to have an early inspection by the DOT,” so the buses will be ready to go at the start of the next school year.
Jackie Horsman asked when the last time was that Kingsland’s bus routes have been reviewed for efficiency. Hecimovich said he didn’t know, but would check and report back to the board. Horsman said she’s gotten questions from Kingsland parents about this, and wants to “make sure the fleet’s running in the most effective manner”.
Principal Klavetter informed the board that “We have slightly tweaked our plan for Smart Start conferences next year. We’re going to increase them to 30-minute conferences instead of 15… We feel like that’s going to give us a lot of flexibility for whatever we end up needing” such as possibly time to give parents a brief tutorial on distance learning processes (if distance learning continues into the 2020/2021 school year).
The board approved “Tier One” of the Capital Outlay plan for the upcoming school year, totaling just under $145,000. If the budget allows, the board will consider the “Tier Two” portion of just over $70,000 at a future date.
Regarding graduation, Hecimovich said, “This is a bittersweet issue” due to the unprecedented manner in which this school year is ending. Regarding graduation ceremonies he noted that, “We’re currently putting together a video to honor our graduates,” as a “Plan B” since guidelines from the state and elsewhere are dictating no contact. Noella Lund asked when diplomas will be available to graduating seniors. Hecimovich replied, “When we have the video released, I believe on the 29th, we will have the diplomas also available.” Regarding the specific timing of that, he added, “We’re still working a few of those bugs out.” The board formally approved the list of 38 graduating seniors.
The board’s next meeting will be a work session on June 1, at 6 p.m. The board will also hold a regular board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on June 15. Until further notice, the meetings will continue to be held via phone or electronic technology, due to coronavirus guidelines.
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