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January 16, 2024 Minutes
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| School Board Regular Meeting Minutes January 16, 2024 The Board of Education of Independent School District #238 met on Tuesday, January 16th, 2024 at 6:00 pm in Science Room #50 at the Mabel-Canton School, Mabel, MN. Members present in person: Cristal Adkins, Dustin Tollefsrud, Diane Wilder, Jason Marquardt, Chris Miller, Traci Livingood and Superintendent Gary Kuphal. Also present in person: Principal Weidemann, Business Manager Aimee Lake, District Secretary Heather Kleiboer, Wanda Hansen (Fillmore County Journal), Nicky Eiken, Amy Hoscheit, Tina Michels No guests were present via visible-audible technology. Members absent: Mark Weidemann, Student Representatives Anna Wheat and Rachelle Tollefsrud. The meeting was called to order by Cristal Adkins at 6:00 pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was said. Motion by Chris Miller, second by Diane Wilder and carried unanimously, to approve the Agenda with no changes being made. Chris Miller made a motion to nominate the same officers on the board to the same positions for the next term. Jason Marquardt seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Chris Miller, second by Traci Livingood and carried unanimously, to approve the Dec. 19th, 2023 minutes. Consent Agenda: Motion by Diane Wilder, second by Traci Livingood and carried unanimously, to approve the following, with many thanks for all of the donations again this month: A. Authorization for the Business Manager, School Board Treasurer, and/or Superintendent to make wire transfer of funds for the purpose of reinvestments. B. Authorization for the Business Manager Office and/or Superintendent to issue checks, electronic fund transfers and wire transfers. C. Authorization for the Business Manager and/or Superintendent to invest funds not needed for current expenses. D. Authorization for the use of facsimiles and bitmap signatures for the 2024 school board officers on payroll and voucher checks. E. Authorization for the Business Management Offices, Principal and/or the Superintendent to sign the Activity Fund checks with signatures needed for withdrawal. F. Authorization for the Business Management Offices and/or the Superintendent to execute and file applications for State and Federally funded programs. G. Designation of Official School District Newspaper. (currently Fillmore County Journal) H. Designation of Official Law Firm (currently Kennedy & Graven)
J. School Board Salaries (currently Chair at $90.00 per meeting, Officers at $80.00 per meeting, Directors at $70.00 per meeting and additional meetings at $40.00 not same night as regular meetings) K. Official Communication Channels (currently Midwest Radio Family/WIZM, KDEC, KVIK, KTTC/FOX 47) Remind 101 L. School Board Meeting Dates, Times and Location (currently 3rd Tuesday of month at 6:00 pm, Mrs. Peter’s Science Room #50) M. 2023-24 Budget N. Claims Report O. Donations:
P. Resignation - April Brumm as MCA Testing Monitor Reports:
- ACT Prep is starting soon. There are a good number of students signed up to take advantage of this. - Working on the READ ACT - The Dream Job event is coming together. The date is set for Feb. 14th, and we are working with Maryann Smith, our Career Navigator, to set this up and encourage presenters to attend. All 9-12th graders will be invited to participate in this event. - New legislation is changing on Lock Down procedures. MC does not do live simulations, but the state says that we have to do drills. Michelle is reviewing our procedures. - SEveral choir students attended Dorian last week at Luther College, and had a great experience! The only drawback was the incoming weather that moved the concert up from 5 pm to noon, and many parents were unable to attend.
-MREA is offering a Zoom for School Boards to learn about MREA--if you are interested, ask Gary about the 2 dates available. -Gary attended the MSBA Convention last week with Dustin. A few things that he pointed out that he learned from this event. He learned about Gym noise reduction products. He also looked into increasing our Computer Science Course offerings. He also noted that AI is going to be a big part of education, and we can’t ignore it. We need to learn how to use it appropriately and effectively in the classroom. Items for Action and/or Discussion A. Committee Assignments for Calendar Year 2024 - Motion by Traci Livingood, second by Jason Marquardt and carried unanimously to keep all current positions the same for the next term.
B. Superintendent Position for 2024-25 - The School Board agreed unanimously that they would like to renew our contract with Superintendent Gary Kuphal again for the next school year. Gary is interested in staying for the next school year as well, but will be more serious about finding his replacement for the school year after that. C. Resolution directing the Administration to make recommendations to reductions in programs, staffing and reasons therein -No reductions are anticipated, Chris Miller motioned to approve, Traci Livingston seconded, motion carries. D. Resolution Establishing Combined Polling Places for Calendar Year 2025 - Motion by Jason Marquardt, second by Traci Livingood, Motion carries. E. Revised 2023-24 Budget - Thank you to Aimee Lake for her well organized presentation. Motion by Diane Wilder, seconded by Chris Miller. Motion carries. F. MSBA Policy Updates, 2nd Reading - Motion to be approved as presented by Jason Marquardt, second by Diane Wilder. Motion carried. Gary noted that they should start with the policy 500 series as it deals directly with students. G. Solar Grant - Gary asked the Board if they want him to pursue more information regarding this grant, and they agreed that this would be a good idea. Gary agreed to do so. H. Decorah School District Agreement Update - Gary brought the crowd in attendance up to speed on this situation. Decorah School District is no longer interested in maintaining an agreement with Mabel-Canton when it comes to allowing IA families to choose where they feel it is the best fit for their children to attend. Gary is disappointed with the Decorah Board’s decision, but not surprised, nor is he ready to give up. The Mabel-Canton School board encourages him to continue to pursue information and avenues that we can offer these families as options for enrollment. Gary would like to draft a letter to the entire Decorah School Board with information he wants them all to have, and to offer a joint meeting between the two school boards to try again for an agreement. Gary will draft a letter and follow up before sharing it with the Decorah School Board. Future Meeting and Calendar Updates
Adjournment: Motion by Jason Marquardt, second by Traci Livingood, and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7:18 pm. Jason Marquardt, Clerk ________________________________________________________
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