TINTIC SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION MINUTES – FEBRUARY 2021 MEETING Date: February 22, 2021 Time: 2:00 p.m. Location: Tintic School District Offices Eureka, Utah The meeting of the Tintic Board of Education was called to order by President Boswell at 2:00 p.m. President Boswell instructed the Business Administrator to call the roll which indicated the following Board members were in attendance: Members Present: Janice Boswell President Ryan Despain Member Jordan Grimstead Member Heather Young Member Jeana Rowley Member Greg Thornock Superintendent Jeremy Snell Business Administrator Work Session 2021 Board Meeting Calendar Changes President Boswell started discussion regarding the 2021 Board Meeting Calendar changes and stated the board would come back to the Consent Agenda Discussion. Superintendent Thornock stated the April 19, 2021 Board Meeting would need to be changed if the board wanted him to be in attendance due to the Utah School Superintendents Association Meeting and legislative update, as he would be in attendance at this meeting. Member Grimstead stated he would like to have Superintendent Thornock present at the April Board Meeting. Board members discussed different dates for the April board meeting. Board members agreed to move the board meeting to April 26, 2021 as well as change the regular board meeting start time to 6:00 p.m. and approve the amendments to the calendar in the regular meeting. Board members decided to leave the work session two hours prior to the regular meeting and have other work sessions scheduled as needed. Member Despain asked Superintendent Thornock to let the board know if a teacher or coach needed to present to the board at a different time so that notice could be posted of a time change if needed. 2021-2022 School Year Calendar Board members discussed different calendar options presented by the Tintic Education Association of starting the school year a day early or end a day later to be able to add a day to winter break. Board members discussed which calendar option would best benefit the teachers and the students. Member Rowley asked if there was a legal reason for the Board to approve the calendar in this meeting. Mr. Snell stated there was not, but it is on the agenda now for approval to be able to start creating other calendars from it. Board members decided to approve calendar suggestion one in the regular meeting. Consent Agenda Review Member Rowley asked regarding the minutes if there was a decision made regarding when previously discussed committees would begin. President Boswell stated they had not been set up yet. Member Young asked regarding the minutes of the discussion of having the Daggett School District Superintendent come and discuss his school fee schedule. Superintendent Thornock stated that the Daggett superintendent would be willing to come speak with the board or have a virtual meeting. President Boswell asked Superintendent Thornock if he would feel comfortable reporting what he had learned from the Daggett School District Superintendent instead of having a meeting. Superintendent Thornock stated that he would, that Daggett School District does have and charge school fees, but that they have different names such as Spirit Pack or Food. Superintendent Thornock stated that some of the school fees are to cover UHSAA dues. President Boswell asked if money for games missed was reimbursed. Superintendent Thornock stated that yes, unused meal money is returned to the student. Superintendent Thornock stated he has been in contact with the School Fees Team with the State Board of Education, asked them analyze Tintic School District’s spend plans, who found no issues with them. Superintendent Thornock stated there can be an issue when ten meals were paid for in the school fee, but then the team attended more than ten games. President Boswell asked who pays for the extra games. Superintendent Thornock reported that the team fund covers the cost, the District pays for all travel costs and officials, and that each team raises funds for items not covered in the spend plan. Superintendent Thornock stated that he is developing a process to refund money and be in compliance with the law, and that the State Board of Education is also working on this, as they did not have answers for some situations. Superintendent Thornock stated that school fees create equality among teams and that he is trying to be as transparent as possible with the fee schedule. Superintendent Thornock stated there is a misconception that fundraiser and bake sale money goes into a general fund. Superintendent Thornock stated this is not true, that all fundraiser money goes to that team’s account and that the records of this are kept in the high school and audited yearly. Superintendent Thornock stated that there will be two public hearings in March regarding school fees and the fee schedule is due to the state on April 1, 2021. Member Young asked if the board will have the current year spend plans and actual expenditures to study before the school fee meetings. Superintendent Thornock stated they would, and that some won’t be complete due to seasons not being over or even started yet to know the total expenditures. Member Young asked if the board could have information on the percentage of how many students qualify for a fee waiver. Superintendent Thornock stated he could get a percentage but that it might not be accurate due to some students who qualify still pay the fees. Board members discussed how many extracurricular activities could be signed up for before they are free. Mr. Snell stated that the policy says after the first three extracurricular activities, there is no charge and understands it to mean the first three activities as they come in their season. Board members discussed items that are kept by the students and returned at the end of the season. President Boswell allowed public comment from Mrs. Adele Pagnani. Mrs. Pagnani suggested to the board to address the issue if a student can buy their own, more expensive clothing or gear for sports, then it does not keep equality in the programs, if extra money in the team account from not attending games could be used for a team party or awards, and if the account needed to be zeroed out at the end of each season. Mrs. Pagnani advised the Board to ask these questions of the State Board of Education. Mrs. Pagnani stated that she understands there is a lot of gray area which makes planning difficult, but that asking families with multiple students participating in sports to pay $7000 is a lot of money. Mrs. Pagnani expressed concern for the way the school fees are worded and asked the Board to better advertise the public hearings for school fees. President Boswell stated that the public hearing notices were posted as they should have been for last year’s school fee meetings and that the coaches are working very hard to keep fees low. Mrs. Pagnani stated that starting to charge school fees for the first and only time last year and saying that all participation for every sport has to come exclusively from these fees, is bologna. Mrs. Pagnani stated that other parents are asking what the District is adding to it and what their taxes are paying for. Mrs. Pagnani stated the District has not had a problem paying before and that Juab School District, though much larger, are only charging $165 for the year and do not charge fees for drill team, cheer, and dance, and that it is hard to justify the $3500 charge when the District had enough money to pay it all two years ago. Mrs. Pagnani stated the District needs to go above and beyond to get the input of the community by advertising the meeting in all the businesses and the post office. President Boswell asked if Juab School District is only charging $165 for everything. Member Grimstead pulled up Juab School District’s fee schedule on their website and stated that their fees are more than $165.00 and the maximum individual total is $7500, using the baseball fee schedule as an example. Mrs. Pagnani stated she understands that Juab School District does not collect all of the fees listed on their schedule and she would check her source of information. Mrs. Pagnani asked if there was a reduced fee possibility. Superintendent Thornock stated there is not, and Member Young stated she misspoke earlier when she mentioned the free and reduced lunch schedule, but that it does not apply to school fees. President Boswell stated the board is trying to be transparent with school fee information and asked Mr. Snell where the notices were posted last year. Mr. Snell stated they were posted in most Eureka businesses and the post office. Mrs. Pagnani suggested that the public hearing notice not be an official looking document and needs to catch attention. There was more discussion regarding uniforms and other clothing. Mr. Snell stated that if a coach requires an article of clothing, it has to be on the fee schedule, and that if a student wants to purchase something not required, the coach or District cannot stop them. Mr. Snell stated that many school districts had not been following the state injunction of school fees from 1994 and that for last school year the state has mandated that all schools follow it, but still have issues that need to be resolved. Mrs. Pagnani suggested that the school fees for next school year explain what they cover and what the District pays, and add wording for what is kept by the student and returned.