AITKIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION MINUTES OF SPECIAL BOARD MEETING A Special Board Meeting of the Board of Education of the Aitkin Public Schools was held Monday, April 15, 2019, beginning at 5:00 PM in the Aitkin High School Me- dia Center and at Buzzie’s Sunrise Cafe, 22167 State Hwy 47, Aitkin, MN 56431. 1. Call meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. by the chairperson. The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Chairperson Cindi Hills in the Aitkin High School Me- dia Center. 2. Roll call by the clerk. All members were present. 3. Pledge of Allegiance. 4. Approval of agenda - revise or remove as needed. A motion was made by Mr. Hoge, with a second by Mr. Janzen, to approve the agenda as present- ed. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. 5. Close meeting under MN Statute 13D.05, Subdivision 2(b) for preliminary consideration of allega- tions against an employee. A motion was made by Mr. Has- skamp, with a second by Mr. Hoge, to close the meeting at 5:02 p.m. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. Present at the closed meeting were Mr. Hasskamp, Mr. Janzen, Mr. Hoge, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Chute, Mr. Bailey, and Ms. Hills. Also pres- ent were Interim Superintendent Charles Rick and Business Manag- er Tiffany Gustin. 6. Re-open Meeting. A motion was made by Mr. Hasskamp, with a second by Mr. Janzen, to re-open the meeting at 6:07 p.m. All members voted in fa- vor, and the motion carried. The meeting was re-opened. A motion was made by Mr. Janzen, with a second by Mr. Has- skamp, to amend the agenda to include “Consider renewal of Head Coach Rebecca Peter- son.” All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. A motion was made by Mr. Hoge, with a second by Mr. Bailey, to not renew Rebecca Peterson as the head volleyball coach. On roll call vote, Mr. Hoge, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Chute, and Ms. Hills voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Janzen, Mr. Ryan and Mr. Hasskamp voted against the motion. The motion carried. A motion was made by Mr. Has- skamp, with a second by Mr. Has- skamp, to recess the meeting at 6:11 p.m. and reconvene at 7:00 p.m. at Buzzie’s Sunrise Café in Malmo, MN. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. The Board recessed and trav- eled to Buzzie’s Sunrise Café in Malmo, MN. Chairperson Hills did not travel to Malmo; Vice Chair- person Hasskamp reconvened the meeting in Malmo at 7:00 p.m. 7. Presenters: A. Paul Karelis - Registrations for Sr. High Mr. Karelis presented registra- tion information, including a pro- posal to move to a co-teaching model in 8th grade English. He stated the co-teaching model has resulted in increases in math scores. Implementing this model in English would require an addi- tional FTE. Karelis also expressed concern about PhyEd and adaptive PhyEd; an increase in the part-time PhyEd position for 2019-2020 may be needed. 8. Comments from visitors. A. Education – Aitkin Co-Presidents Julie Asmus and Aaron Samuelson appeared before the Board to extend an invitation to administrators and board members to attend a retirement celebration at Rippleside Elementary School for Jerilyn Kobberdahl, special ed- ucation teacher at Rippleside. The celebration is scheduled for Thurs- day, May 9th at 3:45 p.m. On behalf of the Aitkin Area Pickleball Association, Dorothy Casey offered that she and Jim Benda were present to answer any questions that the Board may have regarding pickleball. 9. Old Business: A. Pickleball Discussion Mr. Ryan explained the histo- ry of the pickleball court proposal being brought forward by the Aitkin Area Pickleball Association. Mr. Ryan and Interim Activities Director Gloria Curtiss will be attending a meeting with the City of Aitkin on Thursday, April 18, 2019. Secure Entry Update Scott Sosalla appeared before the Board with updated concept drawings for the secure entry for Aitkin High School. Mr. Janzen made a motion, with a second by Mr. Hoge, to proceed with the concept of the secure entry at the north door. Sosalla will meet with the principal’s office staff and refine the drawings; the project needs to be put out for bids in mid-May. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. 10. New business: A. A motion was made by Mr. Bailey, with a second by Mr. Ryan, to approve consent agenda items, as follows: 1. Approve School Board Min- utes: a. March 18, 2019 Board of Edu- cation Meeting Minutes b. April 3, 2019 Special Board Meeting Minutes 2. Office receipts for the month of March, 2019 in the amount of $1,746,525.53. 3. Report of expenditures for March, 2019 including $ 423,841.06 for bills and $ 864,096.29 for pay- roll and district contribution to PERA, TRA, OASDI/Medicare and 403(b). 4. Student Activities Account for March, 2019 5. Insurance Account checks #14520 through 14526 in the amount of $3,570.66 for March, 2019. 6. Collateral Report for March, 2019. 7. Donations for March, 2019 in the amount of $8,316.05. 8. Wire transfers for March, 2019 in the amount of $1,050,000.00. 9. Approve Youth Service Grants: a. Student Tour of MN State Capitol and James J. Hill house - Gina Courtemanche, $1,000 b. Yearbook Staff Spring Retreat - Briana Tetrick, $501.87 10. Accept retirements/resigna- tion/termination: a. Leslie Peters, Retiring, Para- professional, May 30, 2019 b. Stephanie Sension, C-squad girls coach, May 30, 2019 c. Allison Schoepke, Para- professional, effective March 22, 2019 d. Jasmyne Aufderhar, Parapro- fessional, April 8, 2019 11. Approve hires: a. Mark Mehr, Long-Term Sub- stitute Teacher - HS Math, effective on or about April 29, 2019 12. Approve Extracurricular As- signments for 2018-2019 School Year: a. Garrett Tetrick, Junior High Track Coach b. Ryan Fowlds, Junior High Coach 13. Approve Volunteers: a. Track: 1. Shari Gillingham-Tetrick 2. Nicole Visnovec b. Baseball 1. Dave Ditty c. Boys Tennis 1. Ann Kukowski 14. Approve Extended Con- tracts for 2018-2019 School Year: a. Samantha Croatt, High School Counselor b. Meredith Sander, High School Counselor c. Steve Jacobson, Industrial Arts Teacher d. Chris Halvorson, Band Les- sons 15. Approve School Calendars: a. 2019-2020 b. 2020-2021 16. Approve resolution granting 2019 Edwin Sweetman Scholar- ships: a. Lydia Magnuson - 60% of earned interest b. Sarah Curtiss - 40% of earned interest 17. Consider approval of con- tinuing contracts for the following Rippleside probationary staff (a (T) indicated tenure granted): Melanie Boyd (T) Chesna Siegford Continue All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. B. Approve Contracts A motion was made by Mr. Ryan to table action on the following con- tracts until the next Board meeting: 1. Jason Roos, Technology Inte- grationist, 2018-2019-2020 2. Jim Bright, Buildings and Grounds Supervisor, 2018-2019- 2020 3. Tiffany Gustin, Business Man- ager, 2018-2019-2020 4. Thomas Bruss, Transportation Supervisor, 2018-2019-2020 Mr. Janzen provided a second to the motion. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. C. Open No business was discussed un- der this agenda item. 11. Administrative reports: A. Board members’ reports: 1. PAC meeting Mr. Hoge reported that no meet- ing was held, so no report was giv- en. B. Committee Reports: 1. Personnel Committee Meet- ing, April 2, 2019- Mr. Hasskamp Mr. Hasskamp reported that the Personnel Committee discussed continuing with the interim staffing in the high school principal’s office for one more year to allow for fur- ther discussion on staffing levels. A motion was made by Mr. Ryan, with a second by Mr. Janzen, to continue with an Interim Activities Director and Long-Term Substitute Administrative Assistant – Activities Director and Long-Term Substitute Receptionist for an additional year. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. 2. Facilities & Finance Commit- tee Meeting, April 4, 2019 - Mr. Hoge Mr. Hoge reported that the com- mittee discussed projects for the summer. Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Jim Bright was tasked to get updated prices for various facilities projects. The committee will be meeting again and bring rec- ommendations back to the Board. 3. Facilities & Finance Col- or Committee, April 8, 2019, Dr. Charles Rick Dr. Rick reported that a group of staff and community members gathered to look at color options for lockers and flooring. They dis- cussed alternating black and red lockers in the second-floor hallway and moving to a grayish-colored paint as a base color for the walls. 4. Policy Committee Meeting, April 9, 2019, Mr. Hoge a. The Board accepted the first reading of the following policy and related form: 1. 722-Public Data Requests 2. Public Data Request Form 722 (form) 5. Transportation Meeting, April 10, 2019, Mr. Chute and Mr. Bailey Mr. Chute reported that the Transportation Committee had extensive discussion on the fleet, driver training, staffing challenges and possibilities for vehicle leases. a. Consider/approve committee recommendations for bus leases A motion was made by Mr. Chute, with a second by Mr. Janzen, to approve two special education leases, one new 59-pas- senger (seated as a 47+1) and a one-year lease extension for Mid- Bus 3 (a 34-passenger), as rec- ommended by the committee. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. C. Superintendent’s reports: 1. April, 2019 Enrollment Dr. Rick reported that enrollment is holding steady at 1,166 students. 2. Snow Makeup Days, 2018- 2019 Calendar Dr. Rick reported that his rec- ommendation is to consider the Thursday, April 11th snow day and two-hour late start on Friday, April 12th as full instructional days as allowed by the recent legislation. The missed time will not be made up by staff. A motion was made by Mr. Bai- ley, with a second by Mr. Chute, to approve the recommendation. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. D. Upcoming meetings: Vice Chairperson Hasskamp reviewed the upcoming meeting schedule, as follows: 1. AESS Non-Certified Negotia- tions, April 17, 2019 3:45 p.m., AHS Media Center 2. EM-A Certified Negotiations, April 18, 2019, 3:45 p.m. AHS Me- dia Center 3. Personnel Committee Meet- ing, April 24, 2019, 3:45 p.m., AHS Conference Room 137 4. Safety Committee Meeting, April 25, 2019, 3:45 p.m., AHS Dis- trict Office 5. Facilities and Finance Com- mittee Meeting - May 2, 2019, 3:45 p.m., AHS Conference Room 137 6. Policy Committee Meeting, May 8, 2019, 3:45 p.m., AHS Con- ference Room 137 7. Board of Education Regular Board Meeting, May 20, 2019, 7:00 p.m., AHS Media Center 12. Other No other items were discussed by the Board. 13. Adjourn. A motion was made by Mr. Janzen, with a second by Mr. Ryan to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. All members voted in favor, and the motion carried. Tiffany Gustin Business Manager Cindi Hills Chairperson Published in the Aitkin Independent Age June 5, 2019 943304