Board Approves Next Year’s Budget; SRO Grant Received
The Council School Board met for there regular meeting on June 17. All but board member Bob Grossen were present. Immediately before the meeting started a couple board members were discussing where Mr. Grossen was and if anyone had heard from him. They didn’t seem to be expecting his absence.
Board Chair Steve Ryals reminded those present that any appropriation over $5,000 needs to be approved by the board. Ryals reported that there was a recent purchase over this threshold that was not approved by the board.
The board then went into executive session to speak with several students and their parents regarding receiving credit for classes last school year. After this session the board approved the hiring of Katherine Berger as the Elementary Secretary and Betty Esterburg as a Special Ed teacher.
The most impactful action of the night was the board’s approval of next year’s budget of $5,312,235. $3,206,270 of this amount is general fund and the remaining $2,105,965 is federal and special funds according to district clerk Mindy Ivey. The total figure includes school modernization funds from the state that the district received and is required to go to facilities improvements. This was done after a few minutes of public discussion and questions between the board members.
Ryals discussed and proposed a salary schedule for non-certified staff. These are positions such as maintenance director and other support positions, not teachers. According to Ryals, Council is one of the few districts that does not have a salary schedule for these staff. He stated that no one will see a decrease in pay and some will see a significant increase. This schedule was approved later in the meeting by a majority of the board. Board Member Julie Pate abstained from voting on this matter.
During Pat Griffin’s last report to the board he stated that the district was awarded a three year School Resource Officer grant which would pay salary and benefits for an officer for the district. Griffin said he is working with Sheriff Zollman to hire someone for this position.
Interim Superintendent and High School Principal, Brian Joyce discussed a new model for dealing with student behavior and school culture. Pbis.org defines the program as follows: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. Joyce is very excited about this program as a tool to address student behavior, to develop school culture and to get all staff and teachers using the same language when working with students. Joyce mentioned that they are using the acronym ‘GRIT’ (gratitude, respect, integrity and tenacity) to help build culture and school pride.
Action items at the end of the meeting included approving putting out bid notices for fuel, snow removal, a bus mechanic and construction projects. The Superintendent salary was also set to $90,000 and the principal salary was set at $78,000. The new elementary principal Leo Fontana has a one year contract at this rate.
