May 13, 2010

The May regular meeting of the Elementary and High School District No. 1 Board of Trustees was held on May 13, 2010 in the Choteau High School Library. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Kirk Moore.

Members Present: Kirk Moore, Perri Lindgren, Mark Henderson, Sharon Rice, Mark Salmond, Brodie Gollehon, Jonathan Stoltz, and Trustee Elect Ron Daley.

Members Absent: None.

Supt. St. John, Elementary Principal Gameon, High School Principal Achenbach, and Clerk Davis were present throughout the meeting.

A motion was made by Mark Henderson, seconded Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to approve the elementary minutes of the April 13, 2010 regular meeting as written.

A motion was made by Perri Lindgren, seconded by Jonathan Stoltz and unanimously carried to approve the high school minutes of the April 13, 2010 regular meeting as written.

VISITORS: Choteau Acantha Editor Melody Martinsen; District Patrons Cliff and Sally Heuscher, Doug and Katie Vandolah, Gary and Gail Durocher, Jody and Jolene Durocher, Susie Durocher, Christi Henderson, Lorraine DeBruycker, Jim Anderson, Heather McCartney, and Jolene Bowers; and Teachers Jami Gameon, Bill Durocher, Brook Durocher, and Rachel Christensen.

CANVASS OF ELECTION RESULTS, ISSUE TRUSTEE CERTIFICATES OF ELECTION, AND SWEAR IN TRUSTEES The Board canvassed the votes of the Annual School Trustee Election held on May 4, 2010. A motion was made by Mark Henderson, seconded by Mark Salmond and unanimously carried to ratify the tallies of the election results. There were no voted levies on the ballot and Kirk Moore was re-elected and Ron Daley was newly elected as joint elementary and high school trustees for three year terms.

The certified election results are as follows:

TRUSTEES (Choteau School District No. 1)

Three Year Term: Jolene Bowers 306

** Ron Daley 308

** Kirk Moore 351

Defeated trustee candidate Jolene Bowers presented Chairman Kirk Moore a completed candidate petition for recount and a completed electors’ petition for recount at this time. Clerk Davis outlined the conditions and procedures for conducting a recount as per code. 13-16-201, MCA states that if a candidate is defeated by a margin not exceeding ¼ of 1% of the total votes cast or by a margin not exceeding 10 votes, whichever is greater, the defeated candidate may request a recount to be conducted by filing a verified petition with the election administrator within 5 days of the official canvass. Clerk Davis noted that Jolene Bowers lost to Ron Daley by only 2 votes so met the requirement to request a recount and Clerk Davis had gotten the necessary petitions to request a recount from the Secretary of State’s web site so a recount should be conducted. 13-16-101, MCA states that the recount board will consist of three members of the governing body appointed by the presiding officer and this recount board shall convene to conduct the recount without undue delay but not later than 5 days after receiving the verified petition in accordance with 13-16-204, MCA. Chairman Kirk Moore appointed Trustees Mark Henderson, Mark Salmond, and Brodie Gollehon to serve as the three member recount board and they determined that the recount would be conducted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. in the High School Spanish Room, which is within 5 days as per code. Clerk Davis further noted that 13-16-418, MCA indicates that if there is a change in the result, a new certificate of election must be issued to each candidate found to be elected and the first certificate is void, which is why candidate Ron Daley will be issued a certificate of election and sworn in as the newly elected trustee.

The oath of office was taken by re-elected Trustee Kirk Moore and newly elected Trustee Ron Daley. Certificates of Election were issued and notarized by Clerk Davis.

Supt. St. John and Chairman Kirk Moore took this opportunity to thank outgoing Trustee Perri Lindgren for his 9 years of service as a joint elementary and high school trustee by presenting him with a certificate of appreciation and life time activity passes.

BOARD REORGANIZATION Supt. St. John informed the Board that to reorganize they need to elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, appoint the Clerk and appoint a County Transportation Committee Member.

A motion was made by Kirk Moore and seconded by Joanthan Stoltz to elect Mark Henderson as Chairman of the Board. Chairman Kirk Moore called three times for any other nominations. Hearing none, Mark Henderson was unanimously elected to serve as the Chairman of the Board. Kirk Moore was thanked for his service as the Board Chairman and Mark Henderson took over as Board Chairman at this time.

A motion was made by Kirk Moore and seconded by Brodie Gollehon to elect Mark Salmond as Vice-Chairman of the Board. Chairman Mark Henderson called three times for any other nominations. Hearing none, Mark Salmond was unanimously elected to serve as the Vice-Chairman of the Board.

A motion was made by Brodie Gollehon, seconded by Mark Salmond and unanimously carried to appoint Gloria Davis as Clerk of the Board.

Chairman Mark Henderson appointed Trustee Jonathan Stoltz to serve on the County Transportation Committee. Clerk Davis noted that the County Transportation Committee Meeting has not been scheduled to date, but she will contact Trustee Stoltz with the date, time and place once it is scheduled. The minutes should reflect that at the March 21, 1996 joint meeting of the Choteau, Bynum and Pendroy Board of Trustees, the joint Boards determined that Choteau will appoint one trustee as their representative on the County Transportation Committee and that trustee will have one vote and will be considered the representative of the Choteau High School District. Both Bynum and Pendroy will each appoint one trustee as their representatives on the County Transportation Committee and these two members will share a vote, which is the vote of the joint elementary districts of the high school district.

The Board was reminded that students in grades 7-12 can miss 10 days of school per semester. Students automatically lose credit for the semester if they miss more than this allotted 10 days, but they can appeal this loss of credit to the attendance committee and the committee can reinstate the lost credits for legitimate absences. It was noted that two trustees serve on the attendance committee along with the 7-12 principal and several 7-12 teachers. Chairman Mark Henderson took this opportunity to appoint Sharon Rice and Brodie Gollehon to serve on this standing attendance committee for the 2010-2011 school year.

CLAIMS A motion was made by Mark Salmond, seconded by Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to approve the elementary claims clearing warrants #15840-#15973 and payroll clearing warrants #20469-#20597 for payment. A vendor list for claims is attached to the minutes of this meeting.

A motion was made by Jonathan Stoltz, seconded by Kirk Moore and unanimously carried to approve the high school claims clearing warrants #15840-#15973 and payroll clearing warrants #20469-#20597 for payment. A vendor list for claims is attached to the minutes of this meeting.

CORRESPONDENCE

A) The Board received a thank you from Leslie Kesler on behalf of YES, once again thanking the District for their assistance with presenting the choices and consequences assemblies.

PRINCIPALS’ REPORTS High School Principal Nate Achenbach reported to the Board on the following matters:

A) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that word had just been received that Ashley Vandolah received a SAMMY award which entails a trip to Disney World, a $7500 scholarship, and a milk mustache promotion in USA Today. Criteria for this award include leadership, academic, sport, and community service achievements and only 25 were awarded out of 41,000 applications nationwide, so this is a very great honor for one of our students. High School Principal also informed the Board that Marissa McCormick was honored with the KSEN Female Athlete of the Year award last night.

B) High School Principal Achenbach reminded the Board that a committee of students and teachers had been formed to research initiating and establishing criteria to earn an academic letter. High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that it will be outlined in the new student handbooks that an academic letter, pin and bars will be awarded to those students that achieve a 3.67 GPA each semester of a school year. High School Principal Achenbach noted that the letter will have a new, smaller design to differentiate it from an athletic letter.

C) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that the student council has worked on revising the dress code this year and a new, stricter student driven dress code will also be outlined in the new student handbooks.

D) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that he had held the annual coaches meeting and about the only change in the athletic handbook will be a change in the football lettering criteria due to the change in coaching staff.

E) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that he had held the Senior Trip Parent Meeting last night and feels the meeting as well as the trip should go well. The Seniors will take their trip to Silverwood on Sunday and Monday, May 23rd and 24th.

F) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that he learned about new classroom technology being implemented by a number of districts at the MAESP spring conference and is looking into offering staff training and in-service over the summer and next year to put this technology in place here. It is called the Moodle Program and allows on-line classroom organization, contact, and teaching so students that need to be absent for whatever reason can better stay up to date on their classwork.

G) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that the school year is winding down but there are a lot of activities to be held before the end of the school year. Choteau will host the Divisional Tennis Tournament this Friday and Saturday, May 14th and 15th and that the State Tennis Tournament will take place in Missoula on May 20th-22nd. The District Track Meet will be held in Great Falls on Saturday, May 15th and the Divisional Track Meet will also be held in Great Falls on Saturday, May 22nd, with the State Track Meet being held in Laurel on May 28th and 29th. The State Golf Tournament will be held in Huntley Project next Monday-Wednesday, May 17th-19th with Freshman Tucker Rogers and Sophomore Nate Durocher qualifying to advance. The High School Awards Assembly will be held on Wednesday, May 26th at 1:00 p.m. in the auditorium and Graduation will be held on Sunday, May 30th at 2:00 p.m. in the gymnasium.

H) High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that the new scoreboards are on the way and distributed pictures of what they will look like once they are installed this summer.

Elementary Principal Chuck Gameon reported to the Board on the following matters:

A) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that there was a full house for the K-6 Science Expo that was held yesterday in the Elementary Gymnasium.

B) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that the spring session of America Reads will conclude tomorrow and a reception for the volunteers will be held before the end of school.

C) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that the new, big piece of playground equipment is here and volunteers have started the major process of installing it when weather allows. Elementary Principal Gameon noted that the students are continuing to raise funds for this piece of equipment and will be conducting a Penny War next week towards this effort.

D) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that the end of year events have been scheduled with the Elementary Awards Assembly taking place on May 27th at 10:30 a.m. in the Elementary Gymnasium, the Talent Show taking place on May 27th at 12:45 p.m. in the High School Auditorium, and the Field Day taking place on June 1st at 12:30 p.m.

E) Elementary Prinicpal Gameon informed the Board that the spring AIMSWEB benchmarks will be conducted next week.

F) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that at this time it appears the 2010-2011 kindergarten class will have an enrollment of 15, which is quite small, so he is looking for direction from the Board as to how to proceed with staffing assignments – two full day kindergarten sessions with two teachers or one full day kindergarten with one teacher and assign the other teacher to the 5th or 6th grade level and have one 5th grade teacher for the class of 14 and two 6th grade teachers, which would do away with the combo 5th-6th grade classrooms proposal. State accreditation standards state that a kindergarten class should be no larger than 20. Elementary Principal Gameon noted that a good job of teaching can be done with one teacher and 20 kindergarten students, but it would be better to split such a class and have two teachers at this age to allow for early intervention. The Board questioned what route Elementary Principal Gameon would prefer to go and he noted that ideally he would like to keep two full day kindergarten sessions, in case there are more than 15 kindergarten students this fall. Elementary Principal Gameon believes this would allow some flexibility that would benefit the teachers and more students as he would look into having two kindergarten teachers and classes in the mornings to have a smaller teacher to student ratio for the teaching of the core subject areas of reading and math. One kindergarten teacher could handle this small of a class in the afternoons when many of the enrichment and pull out activities such as music, art, library, and physical education take place which in turn would free up a teacher to assist and specialize in the 5th-6th grade combo classrooms. The Board discussed this matter further at this time with Elementary Principal Gameon and agreed to follow his lead, as it was the consensus of the Board that Elementary Principal Gameon will make the right decision that will best benefit the students of the District.

G) Elementary Principal Gameon informed the Board that the District will receive a check for over $1400 from Cellular One next week from local users enrolling in the rebate program. Elementary Principal Gameon noted that these funds will be split between the elementary, junior high, and high school student councils and the elementary student council will use their share towards the purchase of the new playground equipment.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT A copy of the Superintendent’s Report provided to the Board by Supt. St. John is attached to the minutes of this meeting.

A) Supt. St. John reviewed his report with the Board at this time and distributed a copy of the Effectiveness Report for the Board to review.

B) Supt. St. John once again noted that he had received and accepted the resignation, as allowed by policy, of Elementary PM Custodian Bob Archer. This position will be advertised and hopefully filled before Mr. Archer’s last day, which will be June 25th. Supt. St. John further noted that he had received a verbal plan to resign later this summer from High School PM Custodian Randy Bishop.

C) Supt. St. John provided the Board with a newsletter from the Montana Quality Education Coalition and noted that the Board may want to consider belonging and paying dues to this group once again.

D) Supt. St. John provided the Board with the recent updates regarding the Montana Digital Academy, noting that the District has students enrolled to take several classes through MTDA next year.

E) Supt. St. John once again informed the Board that Pat Greany of Northern Insurance Services has provided a quote for the District’s property and liability insurance coverage through the Montana School Group Insurance Authority. Supt. St. John noted that he is waiting for the renewal rate from Western States Insurance and if the MSGIA quote is considerably less, a committee of the Board may want to review both proposals and insure “apples are being compared to apples” before a decision is made regarding this insurance coverage for the District.

F) Supt. St. John noted that the Negotiation Packet has been mailed out to each Trustee and asked that they take the time to review the binder as it contains a wealth of information.

G) Supt. St. John informed the Board that the District was not awarded one of the competitive Quality School Grants to remodel the cafeteria/kitchen for approximately $300,000. Supt. St. John informed the Board that the Department of Commerce received 135 applications requesting over $75,000,000 and the $10,000,000 available was awarded to 33 schools. Supt. St. John noted that it appeared the grants were awarded to those schools that had matching funds or backing to provide a portion of the funding for their proposed projects. Supt. St. John informed the Board that these grants are very competitive but he plans to apply again in the next round and will work off of and improve the grant application generated by CTA at a cost of $1,000.

RETENTION DELIBERATION Supt. St. John informed the Board that the parents of a 7th grade student have requested their child be retained in the 7th grade for the 2010-2011 school year. Supt. St. John noted that such parental retention requests normally to not come before the Board because the school and parents usually see the matter “eye to eye” and the administration defers to the parents wishes. Supt. St. John outlined that the two essential questions that need to be answered in such retention issues is what is best for the student and what are the negative impacts to the district. The administration always considers if such retention requests meet MHSA and ANB age guidelines as an impact on the district and if so there is essentially no impact to the district; and then the district usually takes the position and feels that the parents know what is best for their student and so defer to their request, which was the case in this particular request. Supt. St. John noted that this particular request has generated a letter to the editor and discussion out in the community so was placed on the agenda for Board review. High School Principal Achenbach added that he wanted this matter to come before the Board as he is friends with these parents and has been accused of promoting this request and not following school district policy #2421. Promotion/Retention Policy #2421 states that it is the philosophy of the District that: A) Students do no progress at the same rate. Some need more time to grow physically and emotionally than others, B) Many factors influence school performance, among them maturity (physical and emotional), intelligence, diligence, and a desire to succeed, and C) In general, children shall be in the grade level to which they are best adjusted academically, socially, and emotionally. The last paragraph of this policy outlines a specific process the district should undertake when the school is promoting retention and was written into the policy to meet the needs of the district at the time it was written, as noted in the excerpt below from the January 4, 1995 minutes regarding the first reading of this policy.

The Board held the first reading of a new policy developed by a committee on promotion and retention. High school principal Maloney informed the Board that this policy was developed because the district is seeing an increasing number of students without discernable disabilities and with marked abilities that are doing nothing in school and are at risk of failing. Even though teachers are recommending these students be retained, they are being placed (not promoted) to the next level at the demand of their parents. Mr. Maloney feels that the threat of retention would be an effective tool to get many of these students to perform up to their abilities. Mr. Maloney informed the Board that this can be documented because the list of junior high students that were at risk of being retained has dropped from 8 to 4 since word has gotten out that a retention policy is being developed! Trustee Gerald Yeager stated he had real concerns with the last sentence of the policy which states the final decision concerning retention rests with the School District #1 Board of Trustees. Trustee Yeager feels this responsibility should rest with the parents not the Board. High school principal Maloney agreed that parents must be responsible and involved with a student’s education for them to succeed but the purpose of this statement is to allow due process. As with any decision made by the Board, if an individual doesn’t agree with that decision they have the right to appeal that decision.

High School Principal Achenbach informed the Board that since this was not a school promoted retention request as outlined above but a parental request, he dealt with it as a parental rights issue as he has with such parental requests in the past. Supt. St. John noted that policy #2421 on promotion/retention was adopted in 1998 and revised in 2001 and may require further examination in the future but would recommend that the Board approve the parental request for retention at this time. A motion regarding this issue was placed on the floor so that it could be discussed.

A motion was made by Kirk Moore and seconded by Ron Daley that since this retention request does not fall under the guidelines of policy #2421 as it is not a school promoted retention but a parental retention request, and such parental retention requests have not come before the Board for approval in the past; it was moved to refer this retention request back to the administration for the final decision. The Board, administration, and public discussed this matter further at this time.

District Patron Jim Anderson addressed the Board and stated that he agrees with the position to defer to a parental request, but stated that he wrote the letter to the editor regarding this matter because several years ago his sister had requested her son be retained at the elementary level and her request was not granted by the teacher or principal. Supt. St. John stressed that each such request is and needs to be considered on a case by case basis, as teachers and principals have differing views on retention and there may be specific reasons that a request is denied that cannot be made public for individual privacy reasons.

Chairman Mark Henderson noted that he hopes bringing this matter before the Board for discussion will make the community and parents aware that they always have the right to come before the Board to be heard if they don’t agree with a decision made by a teacher or principal. Chairman Henderson called for a vote on the motion on the floor at this time. The Board voted unanimously to refer this retention request back to the administration for the final decision.

APPROVE NON-CERTIFIED STAFF EMPLOYMENT FOR THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR Supt. St. John reminded the Board that non-certified employees are no longer considered “at will” employees due to court decisions. This means that employees may now have the expectation that they are employed for the school year and the District may only terminate employment for cause during the school year. Additionally, those non-certified staff not grandfathered in or who have been employed from the 2006-07 school year on have been placed on a written contract which states that the employee shall have no expectation of continued employment with the School District upon the expiration of the term of the contract, which is for the school year; and that without Board action, employment will automatically terminate upon expiration of the contract. Supt. St. John informed the Board that he had notified all non-certified staff in writing of this meeting date, time, and place so that they would have the opportunity to be present if they so chose. All non-certified staff were also notified what their 2010-2011 wage rate would be according to the current non-certified salary schedule.

Supt. St. John outlined the elementary, high school, and district wide non-certified staff, positions, and wage rates. A motion was made by Kirk Moore, seconded by Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to accept the administrations’ recommendation and employ all elementary non-certified personnel as outlined at the wage rate per the current non-certified salary schedule for the 2010-2011 school year. A motion was made by Jonathan Stoltz, seconded by Mark Salmond and unanimously carried to accept the administrations’ recommendation and employ all high school and district wide non-certified personnel as outlined at the wage rate per the current non-certified salary schedule for the 2010-2011 school year.

All personnel, positions, and 2010-2011 school year wage rates as approved above are listed below.

ELEMENTARY

NAME POSITION 10-11 WAGE RATE

Julie Shepherd Secretary $ 9.25/Hr.

Open PM Building Custodian $ 8.00/Hr. Start

Mary Smith Title I Tutor $11.80/Hr.

Julie Dalrymple Title I Tutor $ 9.35/Hr.

Della Yeager Title I Tutor $ 9.35/Hr.

Jerri Morris Title I Tutor $ 9.50/Hr.

Margaret Hanson Head Cook $12.25/Hr.

Robert Robles Part-Time Assistant Cook $ 8.00/Hr.

Shandra Lohf Part-Time Assistant Cook $ 8.35/Hr.

Shaun Worden Part-Time Kitchen Aide $ 7.50/Hr.

Lori Alzheimer Special Education Teacher Aide $10.65/Hr.

Crystal Carlson Special Education Teacher Aide $ 9.75/Hr.

Margi Corey Part-Time Title I Reading Aide $ 8.90/Hr.

Marribeth Foster Part-Time SpEd One on One Aide $ 8.75/Hr.

HIGH SCHOOL

NAME POSITION 10-11 WAGE RATE

Michaela Zwerneman Secretary $ 10.00/Hr.

Randy Bishop PM Building Custodian $ 9.75/Hr. *

Sue Facklam Title I Tutor $ 9.00/Hr. **

Emily Bouma Part-Time Title I Tutor $ 9.65/Hr.

Jill Smith Part-Time SpEd One on One Aide $ 8.90/Hr.

Pam Moultray Teacher Aide $ 9.25/Hr.

Jennifer French Library Aide/Tutor $ 8.60/Hr.

DISTRICT (Employed in Both Elementary & High School)

NAME POSITION 10-11 WAGE RATE

Larry Sattler Head Maintenance $ 14.25/Hr.

Lyle Arps Head Building Custodian $ 13.00/Hr.

Aaron Abentroth AM Building Custodian $ 8.35/Hr.

Charles Durr Activity Bus Driver $ 13.00/Hr.

Greg Alzheimer Activity Bus Driver $ 11.50/Hr.

Patty Mellinger Secretary $ 10.50/Hr.

Gloria Davis Business Manager/Clerk Negotiated

Robb Wearley Computer Technician Negotiated

Margi Corey Part-Time Software Technician $ 9.65/Hr.

* LiUNA Local # 1686 (2008-2010 Contract - wages as per non-certified salary schedule)

** Placed at the 1st Year $9.00 level due to certification and experience.

EMPLOY HIGH SCHOOL ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR FOR 2010-2011 Supt. St. John informed the Board that Randy Gramm applied for the assistant athletic director position open due to the resignation of Patty Mellinger and the administration would recommend he be assigned this position.

A motion was made by Brodie Gollehon, seconded by Mark Salmond and unanimously carried to accept the administrations’ recommendation and assign Randy Gramm as the high school assistant athletic director for the 2010-2011 school year.

APPROVE SUMMER CUSTODIAL STAFF EMPLOYMENT Supt. St John reminded the Board that additional custodial help is always employed during the summer and this year there are enough planned projects that two additional helpers will be employed. Supt. St. John informed the Board that the administration would recommend that last year’s summer custodians Erik Evensen and Robert Robles be rehired.

A motion was made by Mark Salmond, seconded by Jonathan Stoltz and unanimously carried to accept the administrations’ recommendation and employ Erik Evensen at a wage rate of $7.40 per hour and Robert Robles at a wage rate of $7.50 per hour as seasonal summer custodians.

APPROVE CONCESSION MANAGER EMPLOYMENT Supt. St. John informed the Board that Patty Mellinger reapplied to serve as the concession manager and the administration would recommend she be assigned this position. Trustee Kirk Moore questioned where this position was advertised and Supt. St. John noted that all such extra-curricular positions are advertised in house first. Trustee Moore also questioned what would happen if Mrs. Mellinger burns out on this position and resigns once again next year. The administration outlined a number of changes that have occurred that led Mrs. Mellinger to express an interest in returning to this position and noted they are very comfortable having her back in this position.

A motion was made by Kirk Moore, seconded by Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to accept the administrations’ recommendation and assign Patty Mellinger as the concession manager for the 2010-2011 school year.

ACCEPT RESIGNATION OF 1ST ASSISTANT FOOTBALL COACH Supt. St. John informed the Board that Blair Patton has submitted a letter of resignation as the 1st Assistant Football Coach for the 2010-2011 school year due to time constraints. A motion was made by Kirk Moore, seconded by Jonathan Stoltz and unanimously carried to acknowledge receipt of and accept Blair Patton’s letter of resignation as the 1st Assistant Football Coach for the 2010-2011 school year. Supt. St. John informed the Board that this position has been posted in house and Head Coach Robert McKay has an applicant in mind, so the administration hopes to have a recommendation for filling this position at the June Board Meeting.

District Patron Heather McCartney asked if the District was an Equal Opportunity Employer and if so why these extra-curricular positions were posted and advertised in house first, as she felt everyone in the community should be given a chance to apply for these positions especially in light of the hard economic times. Supt. St. John noted that all of these positions are essentially additional duties or extra-curricular positions to be assigned staff members if at all possible.

Elementary Principal Chuck Gameon requested and was granted permission to leave the meeting at 9:10 p.m. since there were no other elementary issues on the agenda.

CONSIDER NORTHWESTERN SCHOLASTIC INSURERS STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE COVERAGE Supt. St. John informed the Board that Northwestern Scholastic Insurers will again provide student accident insurance which covers excess costs up to $25,000 for the 2010-2011 school year, along with catastrophic coverage for grades 5-8 interschool athletics. Supt. St. John noted that this catastrophic coverage for grades 9-12 interschool athletics is provided by the Montana High School Association. It was noted that the premium for the student accident coverage is the same as it has been for many years and the premium for the better allocated catastrophic coverage, which the Board has chosen the past three years is about the same.

The Board and administration discussed this policy, noting that it has been a very worthwhile policy and that Northwestern Scholastic Insurers has continually paid more out in claims for our District than they have received in premiums. A motion was made by Sharon Rice, seconded by Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to approve paying the premium of $4,725 for the student accident insurance coverage and an additional $668.50 for the allocated option for the catastrophic insurance coverage for the 2010-2011 school year.

APPROVE MONTANA HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATION APPLICATION AND FEES Supt. St. John informed the Board that it is time to renew membership with the Montana High School Association. The dues remain the same at $250 per activity and the District plans to participate in the same 14 activities for a total cost of $3,500. The activities the District will participate in will be band, chorus, speech, drama, boys football, girls basketball, boys basketball, girls volleyball, boys wrestling, girls tennis, boys track, girls track, boys golf, and girls golf. The District also needs to pay the premium to receive catastrophic insurance coverage for grades 9-12 interschool athletic participants at a premium of $275.

A motion was made by Kirk Moore, seconded by Jonathan Stoltz and unanimously carried to continue membership in the Montana High School Association, to comply with the 2010-2011 bylaws, to pay the annual dues in the amount of $3,500 and to purchase catastrophic insurance coverage through them at a premium of $275.

APPROVE 2010-2011 MREA MEMBERSHIP AND DUES Supt. St. John informed the Board that it is time to renew the District’s membership with the Montana Rural Education Association. The District’s dues are $2,175, which is the maximum level and the same as the past several years. Supt. St. John noted that MREA is a great resource and organization that represent small, rural schools and recommended continued membership with the organization and as in the past to not participate in the legal services option.

A motion was made by Jonathan Stoltz, seconded by Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to renew the District’s membership in the Montana Rural Education Association and to pay the 2010-2011 dues assessment of $2,175.

APPROVE GOLDEN TRIANGLE CURRICULUM COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT Supt. St. John informed the Board that it is time to renew the District’s membership with the Golden Triangle Curriculum Cooperative. Continued membership is cost effective as the District would need to employ a curriculum coordinator if it did not belong to a curriculum consortium and GTCC continues to receive state wide recognition for their work in curriculum development and student assessment. The fess consist of a $2,750 Curriculum Director Fee, which is an increase of $250 from the past several years and is paid out of the general funds, and a $3,990 Professional Development Fee, which is based on $10 per student and is paid with federal in-service training funds.

A motion was made by Mark Salmond, seconded by Kirk Moore and unanimously carried to renew the cooperative agreement for the 2010-2011 school year with the Golden Triangle Curriculum Cooperative, to designate the Superintendent as the authorized representative of the District for this program, and to pay the 2010-2011 dues in the amount of $6,740.

ADOPTING RESOLUTION FOR CAFETERIA SECTION 125 PLAN RESTATED DOCUMENTS Clerk Davis informed the Board that the District’s Flexible Health and Dependent Care Cafeteria Section 125 plan, which is administered by Allegiance Benefit Management Services, was first established in 1988 by Board action. Regulations require that these plans be restated periodically and Allegiance Benefit Management Services is asking for a Board resolution to restate these documents at this time.

A motion was made by Brodie Gollehon, seconded by Mark Salmond and unanimously carried to adopt a resolution restating the required documents for the District’s Cafeteria Section 125 Flexible Benefits Plan. A copy of this Adopting Resolution is attached to the minutes of this meeting.

ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF AND APPROVE DEPOSIT OF CHECKS A motion was made by Jonathan Stoltz, seconded by Brodie Gollehon and unanimously carried to acknowledge receipt of and approve depositing the following checks in the appropriate funds.

1) Julie Gibson check #2401 in the amount of $97.50 for reimbursement of substitute costs in accordance with Article 13.1 of the CBA, to be used to restore the High School General Fund Budget.

2) A Plus Landscape Services check #8384 in the amount of $350.00 for 6/1/10 scoreboard sponsorship payment, to be deposited in the High School Miscellaneous Federal Fund.

3) Main Street Express check #13999 in the amount of $75.00 for rental fee of a floor scrubber machine, to be deposited in the High School Building Fund.

4) KEMA Services Inc. check #2253768 in the amount of $331.50 for additional lighting project rebate, to be deposited in the High School Building Fund.

5) Cash in the amount of $128.00 for excess State Music Festival meal costs, to be used to restore the High School General Fund.

6) Schwan’s check #246984 in the amount of $5.89 for a rebate, to be deposited in the Elementary Lunch Fund.

NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT Negotiations Committee Spokesman Mark Henderson reported to the Board that there is nothing to report as the committee is waiting for the CEA Negotiations Committee to contact them to start the negotiating process.

CLERK/BUSINESS MANAGER’S REPORT Clerk Davis informed the Board that there were no investments made by the Teton County Treasurer for April on behalf of the Teton County Investment Committee due to a lack of cash flow.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT Supt. St. John informed the Board that the District must sign a Memorandum of Understanding by May 19th so that the State can proceed and move forward in seeking Federal Race to the Top funds. If the State is approved for these Federal funds, the elementary would be in line to receive approximately $20,000-$25,000 and the high school $6,000-$8,000. Supt. St. John noted that the Board Chairman must sign this Memorandum of Understanding and by doing so is not committing the District to any particular plan or program, but simply allows the State to proceed to compete for these funds. Supt. St. John questioned if the Board has any concerns with signing such a Memorandum of Understanding and would like consensus from the Board to do so before the May 19th deadline. The Board and administration discussed this further and it was the consensus of the Board to sign the MOU and return it to the State so that they can move forward in their efforts to receive these funds. District Patron Heather McCartney urged the Board to use caution before accepting this grant money if the State does indeed receive these funds, since the District would lose local control as they would have to agree to align with federal standards if and when these funds are accepted.

SCHEDULE NEXT REGULAR SCHOOL BOARD MEETING Supt. St. John reminded the Board that it is best if the June Board Meeting is scheduled later in the month and recommended the Board consider the evening of either June 24th or 28th. The Board discussed the best date for the June Board Meeting, noting conflicts with baseball tournaments and the 4-H County Fair on certain dates.

A motion was made by Jonathan Stoltz and seconded by Mark Salmond to schedule the June Regular Board Meeting for Monday, June 28, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Choteau High School Library. Trustees voting for this motion were: Jonathan Stoltz, Mark Salmond, Sharon Rice, Brodie Gollehon, and Mark Henderson. Trustees voting against this motion were: Kirk Moore. The motion carried with a 6 to 1 vote.

There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m.

ATTEST: _______________________ CLERK _________________________ CHAIRMAN