By Annika Doberenz
At their latest meeting on June 17, the Kingsland School Board discussed topics ranging from faculty retirements to applications for the soon-to-be open seats on the board.
Not only will Angel Apenhorse be resigning from her full-time position as custodian, but Theresa Zwart will be resigning in September from her position as the school’s bookkeeper, a job which she has held for the past 25 years.
“That one’s going to be a difficult loss to replace. Theresa has been with the district for quite a number of years, and has done a great job. She’s very thorough in a position… that requires somebody that’s very thorough and attentive to details, so that’s going to be a tough replacement,” said Scott Klavetter, the District Superintendent.
Klavetter added that they are working on putting together a job advertisement that will be posted during this week, in an effort to attract potential applicants. If everything went exactly as desired, the goal would be to hire Zwart’s replacement in either late July or early August, so that they could work with Zwart for at least a full month’s bookkeeping cycle before having to complete the requirements of the job on their own. Depending on the number and type of applicants, the board will consider changing the position from a four-day work week to a five-day work week, as it is possible that some applicants would find a full-time position more attractive. Additionally, it was mentioned that one of the other teachers at Kingsland has a larger workload than he could feasibly handle, so Zwart’s replacement would also possibly be aiding him in some of the extra tasks that he often takes on.
Following the discussion of the retiring and resigning Kingsland employees, the board moved on to the topic of insuring the school in the upcoming years. With fewer and fewer companies being willing to insure schools, the board has been searching for a replacement for their past provider. Property insurance is especially difficult to find, but when the board decides on a new provider, the plan is to bundle everything with the same company. Although it will be more expensive than in past years, Klavetter did confirm that the school will be completely insured in the upcoming school year.
With several new resolutions to approve, the board moved on to skimming through the changes to last year’s resolutions, which were few. It was decided that the board members would each do a more thorough read-through of each of the articles and resolutions to be approved in the time between the first reading, which occurred at the meeting on the 17th, and the second reading, which will take place at the board’s next meeting on July 15. By rule, each policy must be read and approved twice by the school board before it can be put into practice. The decision for the members to read the policies more deeply on their own time was simply an attempt to be more efficient with the meeting time.
In addition, the board also reviewed the 2024-2025 school year budget, which will likely not be completely finalized until January. Since the school year will not begin for approximately another two months, the board will continue to review and approve the budget as it becomes more solidified and filled out.
Finally, the board conferred about the seats which will soon be opening up. More specifically, the board approved the time frame of when the applications to fill the opening positions on the board must be submitted. Although it was a formality, since technically the district decides the dates rather than the individual school boards, it was approved that July 30 through August 13 would be the assigned time slot for turning in applications. In the upcoming term, there will be four 4-year positions available and one 2-year position available.
“It’s not as difficult as everyone thinks it’s going to be,” said Gary Broadwater, the board’s treasurer. “We have a good board, and we have a very cohesive board.”
“It’s a lot of learning,” added Vice chair Cindy Seabright. “There’s eye-opening stuff.”
Kyle Rader, the board’s Chair, agreed when he said, “It doesn’t deserve its reputation; it’s much better than the world thinks it is. And I don’t just mean that in Spring Valley or Wykoff or anywhere else.”
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