Kingsland School Board held their monthly “work session” on June 7, with all members participating (Jackie Horsman, Kyle Rader, Natasha Howard, Gwen Howard, Maranda Emig, Pamela Freet, and Superintendent James Hecimovich), along with Principal Scott Klavetter. Athletics and Activities Director Mark Fitzpatrick, Building and Grounds Director Jason Thompson, and Business Manager Amber Herbrand participated via Zoom technology.
Community Education Director Becky Bicknese submitted a written report regarding the summer food program that stated, “Still working through waivers and MDE is behind on approvals. We should be SFSP (Summer Food Service Program) through the end of summer. When school starts we will move to SSO (Seamless Summer Option) for free meals to students for the 2021-22 school year.” The board discussed ways to educate and encourage student families to submit an application for free/reduced lunches, even though all students will get free meals. Kingsland lost out on thousands of dollars in Title funding because it’s based on the number of students who qualify for free/reduced lunch. Hecimovich summarized the situation as a “double-edged sword,” saying that, “While it’s wonderful to have free lunches for all students, it creates a financial problem for schools because of the funding tied directly to the number of families that submit applications for free/reduced lunch.”
Dusty Tart’s Transportation report included, “We all survived the school year. Thank you for everyone’s help during this crazy school year! Now we are getting started on summer cleaning. Starting next week, I will be deep cleaning and repairing all busses and vans. We are working on getting down to four to five routes and hopefully pick up a few van and bus drivers along the way.”
Business Manager Amber Herbrand’s budget update showed that for Fiscal Year ’21, revenues are roughly $.8 million year-to-date, while expenses are roughly $4,650,000. Regarding the budget for the upcoming school year, Herbrand said there are many unknowns at this time, adding, “We haven’t heard any legislative rumblings, and we don’t know how many kids we’ll have in the fall. The two things that drive… revenues in the budget are students and, basically, state aid is the bulk of it.”
Principal Scott Klavetter shared that MCA testing has been completed for all grade levels, and that individual scores have been shared with students and their families. He explained that aggregated data is embargoed until August, so Kingsland will likely be sharing that information in September or October.
Klavetter also shared that Kingsland School Parents will be hosting the third annual “Color the Knight” Fun Run on the evening of June 18. He added that this year’s event will include a dunk tank, and he said rumors state that he and/or Mr. Fitzpatrick may spend time in the dunk tank’s “hot seat.” He also stated that the elementary office will be closed June 21 through August 8. During that time, issues needing immediate response should be forwarded to the district office.
Klavetter’s written report included, “The final weeks of the school year brought a welcome return to normalcy this spring. With a few modifications involved, students and staff enjoyed a spring music concert, outdoor field trips, field day, a trip to South Park for grades K-3, and popsicles on the last day of school.”
Regarding the recent scholarship night, Superintendent Hecimovich reported on “the outstanding generosity of our communities netted 18 of our seniors over $70,000 in scholarships… We are truly grateful for the support provided to our newest adult generation.”
Staffing updates included the resignation of Michael Green (evening custodian) and the hiring of Jena Wood (fulltime custodian) and Ariana Caddell (fourth grade teacher).
The Kingsland School Board’s next meeting will be Monday, June 21 at 6 p.m.
Leave a Reply