Kingsland School Board held a work session meeting on November 1. All members were present (Jackie Horsman, Maranda Emig, Kyle Rader, Pamela Freet, Gwen Howard, and Natasha Howard), along with Principal Scott Klavetter and Superintendent Jim Hecimovich. Participating via remote technology were Business Manager Amber Herbrand and Activities Director Laurie Hendrickson. Three visitors attended the meeting, but did not address the board on any topics.
One topic that generated significant discussion was how Kingsland can best keep the lines of communication open with the community. One option discussed was using social media. It was pointed out that if Kingsland allows comments on any postings, then there should be someone designated to reply to comments and questions promptly and appropriately, and in line with the district’s practices and standards. Board members stated that Kingsland does not have anyone available to “wear that hat” currently because staff are already fulfilling multiple roles, so this idea would require adding personnel. Horsman said another option would be to disable the ability for public comments, but she added that if this option is chosen, Kingsland would need to clearly state that this was the case, and that the school would welcome questions and comments via other means. There was also discussion about using newsletters and flyers, and the various pro’s and con’s involved (postage, distribution, etc). No formal action was taken by the board at this time.
Regarding Community Education, Hecimovich highlighted some items from Becky Bicknese’s report. Regarding the planned Washington, D.C. trip, 25 students have signed up for the trip so far. He described that number as “Not too shabby… People seem to be pretty excited.” He explained that the trip will occur in the summer of 2022, and the itinerary will include visiting the site of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania in 2001. He also said the goal is to have at least 30 travelers on the trip.
Laurie Hendrickson congratulated Kingsland’s fall sports teams, and highlighted several of the team and individual achievements. She said the Kingsland Booster Club will be donating $10 per person, so that each fall sport can hold an awards banquet to wrap up the season. She also explained that, regarding the previous discussion about possibly having sixth grade girls “bumped up” to play on the junior high basketball team, Kingsland has decided it’s best to hold off on that for this year.
Hecimovich updated the board on the new flagpole being installed near the football field. He said that Building & Grounds Director Jason Thompson met with representatives from Gopher One, to be sure no underground cables would be impacted. Hecimovich said the flagpole will be installed between the football goalpost and the track, adding, “It’s outside of the whole field of play…It’ll be highly visible. And the flag will come down at the end of games, so we won’t have to worry about lighting.”
In discussing the status of the Food Service department, Hecimovich said some staffing issues remain, but he shared that, “The biggest issue we’re having right now is we can’t get food items. So a lot of what the kids are used to, you just can’t get anymore.”
Principal Klavetter noted that Kingsland has put in an order for two new vans, using COVID funding. The vans will be used to support after-school programming and summer programming.
Because of a scheduling conflict for some board members, the Kingsland board’s next meeting will be on Wednesday, November 17, at 6 p.m., in the KES Conference Room. December’s meetings will be a work session on December 6, and a regular session on December 20. On December 20, the annual “Truth in Taxation” hearing will be held at 6:01 p.m., immediately prior to the regular board meeting. Kingsland continues to offer the option for anyone to “attend” via Zoom technology.
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